Chapter 2: Ross Family

"Wait!" A melodic voice erupted from within the carriage, right then a white-haired man dressed in an expensive white sleeveless robes with numerous pieces of jewelry worn all over his body.

He tiptoed off the carriage and gazed at Damon with a bright smile and greedy eyes.

Many of these normal humans may not have understood what had happened earlier, but it was different for someone like him who had come across a good number of mages.

Circulating his mana all over his body while imbuing some of it at his feet, Damon was able to improve his speed far beyond that of an average human, that was why he could outrun the trained city guards.

The man squatted next to Damon and ruffled his hair playfully with a smile.

"This kid has the potential to become a mage… Do you know how much he is worth?" He said in an icy tone, stunning all the guards.

How can a kid dressed in rags and covered in dirt have the potential to be a mage?

"But Lord! He is a murder suspect!" The city guard captain said with a frown, but the noble didn't even bother acknowledging his presence.

"For neglecting your duty and pinning the crime of murder on a twelve-year-old child… I sentence you to death!" The noble's smile turned sinister.

The city guard captain turned pale a retreated by a few steps. He was too stunned to speak, and the surrounding guards were terrified as well, all frozen in fear.

"Have mercy!" The city guard captain fell to his knees with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"What are you waiting for?" The noble's gaze turned cold. "Carry out my order!"

"Y-yes, Yes sir!" They stuttered as they reached for their weapons with shaky hands.

Without hesitation, they unsheathed their swords and plunged them into their leader's body in hopes of appeasing the Lord.

In their opinion, it would be better to kill their boss than die alongside him. 

Damon could barely see, but he barely he could hear the painful cries of the city guard captain being murdered in broad daylight and in a busy road, filled with people who could only watch in horror.

This was the power of a noble!

He felt his body lifted off the floor and carried into the carriage. The noble wore a smile as he gently placed him on the cushioned seat of the carriage. There his vision faded and he fell into a deep sleep.

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{You are the only one who can comfortably sleep in the home of an enemy! Wake up child!} the cold voice boomed.

Damon yanked his eyes open and sat up abruptly. He looked down and realized he was on a king-sized bed and was dressed in a clean pair of gray shirt and trousers.

His body has been properly washed, and his hair trimmed perfectly.

"What the hell is this?" Damon was confused.

He jumped off the bed and ran over to the window, only to realize he was on the fifth floor of what seemed to be a castle.

Images of his final moments before passing out flashed across his eyes, causing him to rub his aching head.

'Doesn't that mean he now lives in the home of the nobles responsible for his parent's death?'

The home of Baron Ross, Owner of Langa village!

This is just a small village with barely up to a thousand people. It had only one castle, which was owned by the Lord of the land. 

His parent's murderer was from this house!

Damon could remember how he and his sister stayed inside all day waiting for their parents to return, just like they did every day, but that never happened. Later that night people knocked on their door only to deliver the headless corpses of their parents.

He wasn't sure who in particular did the deed but the Ross family are the only nobles in this small town, located in a massive kingdom.

Who else could have done it?

Scared to incur the wrath of the nobles his parents offended, they were isolated by the entire town. Their relatives shut them out, and their friends abandoned them.

Even orphanage homes refused to take them in, leaving them to wander the streets aimlessly and die of starvation.

Damon's eyes were void of any emotion as he remembered this.

In his opinion, he had lost those most important to him, and there was nothing else to do in this life. He looked over to a small desk near his bed and saw a basket full of fruits and a knife.

Damon casually walked over to the basket and picked up the knife.

He wanted to go outside and murder as many members of the Ross family as he could before he was killed. He didn't care about the consequences, he had survived death twice now, a third time didn't mean anything to him.

{You attack now and let's say you are lucky, and you kill one of them, what happens after that? Did you survive death twice just to do something stupid and die again?} the voice returned, but this time it sounded irritated and disappointed.

Clank!

The door opened, and the white-haired man walked in with two guards behind, but he signaled the guards to stay outside before closing the door.

He stood at the doorpost with his eyes pinned on the knife in Damon's hands.

"I looked into your background…" The white-haired man said calmly, his words startled Damon, causing him to tighten his grip on the knife.

"I know what's going through your mind, but you are making a mistake. The Ross family didn't kill your parents" The white-haired man said with a smile.

Only by hearing this did Damon show some sort of reaction.

"Lair!" He screamed. "Who killed my parents then?" 

"Langa town is at the center of two prosperous trading points in the empire. Countless nobles and merchants pass through the streets every day, and many locals come out to sell their goods." The white-haired noble explained. "Anyone could have killed your family, but I'm sure of one thing… it's not my people, but I can help you find them" 

"I am sure you are not doing this for free. What do you want in return?" Damon asked with a skeptical look.

He didn't believe the Ross family would just be good to him from the bottom of their hearts. There was no such thing as that, so they assumed there must be a reason for all of this.

"Become a member of the Ross family" The noble said with a nod.