窃情谋欲

It was already late in the night, and it was exhausting for everyone present at the party.

"Are you sure this is the way? We aren\'t lost are we?" Celeste asked as she felt like she has ran for more than 4 hours. The other party members were also feeling numbness in their bodies.

"Yes, this is the way. Just a little bit more and we\'ll reach \'Green Water bay\' at the spring kingdom."

Perhaps, the most exhausted one was Damien himself. Out of all the people there, he had the weakest body but he endured as he don\'t wanna get caught again.

He along with the bickering duo broke into Maelys\'s office. He made them stand guard on the door and didn\'t allow them to enter the office room.

Upon searching he found a letter hidden in the drawers. It was a letter from the Autumn King.

Apparently, the magical gem Celeste and party excavated from the Goldberry mine was too magical and the Autumn King wants it himself and he hired Maelys and party to acquire it.

All of this bloodshed and drama was because of a greedy bastard\'s never-ending hunger for power.

But the thing is, Maelys haven\'t cracked where the gem is and now she won\'t find it.

It will make things hard between Maleys and the Autumn King but that won\'t happen as Damien had already helped her.

It\'s not because he wants to sleep with her or something, it\'s because he wants to maintain a good relationship with her. After all, a thousand men can be useful in any way possible, right?

He did leave a letter explaining his departure and he hope she find it funny more than an insult.

On the way back, Celeste whistled to signal her brother to end the fight.

"How is there a hidden tunnel system? No one even knows about it! How did you come to know about it, young master?" Celeste crooked her neck to look at the annoyed young master.

"I know many things common people won\'t ever know about. Such is the power of a noble of the highest authority."

Celeste was no noble, at that, not anyone on his party was close to a noble except for Luther who was from a count family.

Damien knew this would shut her down.

"..."

And sure enough, no bickering came again.

After some more walking, they finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

"Yes! That\'s the end. We\'re saved!"

Everyone rejoiced as they saw the moonlight.

The tunnel was connected to the sewer system that runs across the kingdom and the tunnel ends in a slum.

The first thing that greeted them was the foul stench that penetrated through their nose.

"Fuck! What is that smell?!" Celeste cursed out.

"Oh? My bad. The tunnel ends at the slums. You may have to close your nose." Damien said with a funny sound as his nose was already being pinched.

"Thank you very much, young master." She said as she also pinched her nose but the damage was done.

The first thing they saw as they exited the tunnel was the slum bathed in moonlight.

And the next thing they saw was a silhouette on a branch of the tree.

???!!!

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Luther brandished his spear.

"I\'m glad you\'re okay, sister." came a lazy voice from the top of the tree.

Woosh~

The silhouette jumped down and sluggishly landed on the ground.

"Calen?" Celeste came forward, seeing her brother.

"Yes." He came close to her. It was supposed to be a happy reunion but...

Thwack!-

"Ouch! Ouch! Why did you do that?" Calen held his throbbing head as the pain and exhaustion invaded him again.

"You could\'ve died today. Not to mention, where were you? If it wasn\'t for the young master everyone could\'ve died there."

"...Young master? Who?"

"Him!" She pointed at the white-haired thin man. He was just looking at the duo with wary eyes.

"Him? You-its you, right? young master of Zadkiel. How the hell did you get here?" Calen had an amused look on his face as he saw the guy he bounded onto the tree to be the rescuer of his sister and family.

"...You know him, young master?" Luther asked as he saw the wariness on the young master\'s face.

"Yeah, that\'s the same guy that tied me up and left me in the forest. He was about to kill me because I didn\'t know the way to the fort."

"What? He dares?" Luther looked at the guy with fuming eyes.

Everyone else also heard the young master.

Celeste had a shocked expression on her face. Even though the guy was weak himself, he was one of the Zadkiel\'s. They could kill them all even though they are from different countries.

Such is the power of Zadkiel.

"...What have you done, Cal?!" She asked him in a low voice.

",...Ha ha, I was angry and he was the first one I saw at the scene and I lost it. But he did know about their fort and seeing him saving you guys and leading you through a hidden tunnel, I guess there are more things he knows about than he let out."

Thwack!-

"Oh c\'mon, sis. Now what?"

"Apologise now. He saved us and you almost killed him because of your rage. I thought you became more mature but I guess it was just my own fantasy."

\'Wow, she really looks like a big sister now.\' Damien thought as he watched the brother-sister duo.

"Bu-but sister...?"

"There are no ifs and buts. Apologise now!" She held her ground.

Reluctantly, Calen turned towards the young master. Though there were questions he likes to ask this young master, he decided to forget them as his primary and the most important goal was achieved.

"I\'m extremely sorry for the way I acted. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me." He bowed deeply.

It felt like sincere but he knows him better than anyone.

"... I will just forget what happened out there and I\'m too tired to deal with the likes of you." He walked away. "I hope to never see you again."

Seeing their master leaving, Luther along with the other Zadkiel\'s servants also left.

"..."

"...Thank you."

Celeste wanted to say more but seeing them walking away made her stop in her tracks. She give a sharp and venomous look at her baby brother and walked off in a different direction.

"...What the fuck did I do?" Calen widened his hands.

***

The cold breeze shook past him as the sound of water from the sea had a lullaby to it.

"...Where are we going, young master?"

"..."

"...We could visit the count for the stay as he is obliged to do so."

"..."

Still no answer. Luther was becoming worried for the young master as the lazy man with the feeble body was the one who did the most work.

"There is an inn 2 blocks away. It\'s not grand or luxurious or like the estate, but for a night it is good. We can take a good night\'s rest there and decide our course of action. Whether to continue our journey or to go back to the estate." The young master finally spoke but it was...not what Luther had in mind.

\'Not grand or luxurious? Wait a minute, aren\'t you the one who wants everything grand and luxurious? When did you become okay with living in a run-down inn in the slums?\' There were many questions to be asked but Luther swallowed them all and asked the obvious and the most important question.

"But young master, we don\'t have money for the inn. Not to mention, wagons are needed for travel. We can\'t just travel back barefoot. No offense, young master, but you certainly can\'t."

klik!~ klak!~

Something suddenly flew towards Luther and out of instinct, he caught it.

It was a pouch.

"...This..!?...How?"

"That much gold can do us good, right? We have enough gold to buy some acres around this area. Go on, see to the inn. I need a good night\'s sleep and in the morning, buy the necessary things."

"How did you...?" Luther was still astonished by the sudden arrival of the gold pouch.

It was one thing if it was copper or silver, but a pouch full of gold! It was insane. He could literally buy a decent castle with this much money. Just how did the young master have this amount of money in the middle of all the problems?

"Does it matter?" He heard a nonchalant and annoyed voice. Of course, it was stolen from Maelys\'s office. Well, she did have his wagons and other possessions, so it\'s only a fair trade.

"No, young master. I\'ll see to the inn. You can sleep the moment you arrive there."

With that Luther sped up. Since it was just 2 blocks away he could just come back if anything happens.

Just like that, the craziest crazy day of young master Damien came to an end and it hasn\'t even been a week since he came to this world. Now was the time for sleep. Until he meets another problem we could wish him a good night.