“My life goal is to avoid bloodshed as much as possible.”

Izeline was about to retort that he always made her faint with his training each time, but she thought it would be a waste of breath and kept her mouth shut. Instead, she beckoned him to hurry and quickened her pace.

“Come on, huwwy. Camry is still locked up.”

“I know, I know.”

Oren had been making plans and taking action, spreading rumors by visiting many taverns and chatting with people. He had been saying that a rich man was participating in the auction, someone who was notorious for buying young children and training them as slaves to the bone.

People were buzzing with this news.

Who was this rich man, how many children would he buy, and so on? It was a very interesting topic to gossip about, regardless of the unfortunate fate of the children who would be sold as slaves. After all, it was like watching a fire from across the river.

Oren, who had planned to bid a ridiculously high price and then have Heint pay for it, wasting the fortune of the Duke of Armanty, was disappointed that his plan had failed.

“If you dwon’t come within a day, they’ll sell Camry!”

Even if he had been the one to win the bid for Camry, he had no choice but to activate Plan B since his cute disciple was begging him so earnestly.

“It’s been a while since I stretched my body.”

Oren cracked his neck from side to side and looked somewhat excited. It seemed like he felt like a hero going to clean up a den of villains all by himself.

He followed Izeline, who was running ahead of him…

Boom—!

“What the hell is that noise?”

Izeline was startled and stopped dead in her tracks.

Similarly, Oren, who also felt an ominous surge of mana, wiped the smile off his face and looked in the direction of the loud noise. The source of the sound was the place the two of them were headed to anyway.

In the next moment, the two of them ran at the same time as if they had made an agreement.

Crash—!

Dust and dirt swirled around the collapsed building. Beyond it, a one-sided assault was taking place.

Bam! Crack! Thud!

Along with the fierce sounds of fighting, people were flying through the air like sheets of paper, letting out groans.

Izeline spotted someone among them and screamed.

“Robert!”

Startled, the small figure wearing a robe turned around at the sound of her voice.

Flap.

The hood fell back, revealing the face of a young boy burning with a desire for revenge. Robert’s bloodshot eyes slowly captured Izeline’s figure.

In the illusion that time was passing as slowly as a turtle, he slowly blinked his eyes.

It felt like sanity was returning to his mind, which had been burning hot from anger. Contrary to his expectations, she seemed to be unharmed after being kidnapped. Just that fact alone filled his heart with relief, and he returned to his usual self.

“You…”

His crimson eyes returned to those of a young child, and his expression, which had been cruelly darkened as if he would destroy everything, became infinitely pitiful, as if he was about to burst into tears.

“You’we here!”

He ran to her, shouting at her as if he was blaming her before hugging her tightly.

Izeline couldn’t say anything as her heart was filled with bittersweet emotion, while the hands that were holding her were so desperate that her throat tightened. She stood still for a moment, and then she hugged him back.

The sight of his dark eyes, whom she had seen briefly earlier, muddled her mind. Her trembling lips finally uttered the words that had been swirling around in her mouth.

“Dwon’t do this just for me, Robert.”

“….”

“Don’t hit people…”

“I’ll kill anyone who bothers you.”

“I told you not to.”

“I’ll get revenge fow you.”

“I said no!”

As Robert flinched at her sudden outburst, Izeline pulled away from him and looked him straight in the eye.

“You’we going to end up in trouble. You know that, so don’t do it.”

“But…”

Seeing him unable to agree as she mumbled, she felt suffocated, as if her heart was being crushed by a large rock.

‘This is all for you, you idiot. If you become a villain, you’ll end up being killed by Crown Prince Arsen’s sword…!’

Though he wanted to scream his heart out, Robert could only hold back his anger.

“Ouch!”

Someone suddenly hit Robert’s head with a chestnut. He looked up and rubbed his head in surprise to see Oren staring down at him.

“Why dwid you hit me?!”

“You caused all this damage, and you think you’ll get off with just one hit?”

He pointed to a building with one of its walls completely collapsed.

“If the Duke hears about this, you’re in big trouble.”

Robert’s shoulders flinched in terror. It was because the thought of his father’s gaze, looking at him like he was a monster, made his breath catch in his throat.

In the meanwhile, Oren’s gaze softened as he looked at his pale-faced disciple. Though he was so strong, he was still just a child, longing for his father’s love.

Thud.

A large hand covered the top of Robert’s head.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

When Robert looked up with wide, red eyes, Oren winked at him before he walked leisurely into the ruins that his disciple had destroyed. While Robert and Izeline watched him go, blinking in surprise, Michael approached them from a short distance away.

“Shall we prepare to head back?”

“What is he gwoing to do?”

Izeline asked, and Michael shrugged.

“He’ll probably resolve it somehow. That’s just how Master is.”

What did that mean? Would it be okay?

Even though Izeline was confused by his vague words, Oren soon returned. He was carrying Camry, who was shivering on his shoulder, and he was followed by the trembling head of the slave auction.

After exchanging a few words with the head, Oren returned with a light step.

“Okay, it’s all settled.”

“What dwid you talk about?”

When she asked curiously, he smiled and took something out of his pocket. It was a piece of paper with Izeline’s and Camry’s faces drawn on it. It also said that the Armanty Duchy would offer a large reward to anyone who found the two children.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but they’re supposed to know, right? They told us just to leave quietly since we wouldn’t have to pay anything.”

“….”

It seemed that Camry really had been mistaken for Duke Armanty’s adopted son.

What were they going to do about this?

Should they clear up the misunderstanding and leave?

After thinking for a moment, she shrugged as if to say, ‘whatever.’ In her green eyes were reflections of Camry, Oren, Michael, and Robert. She hadn’t expected to meet them all in Toulouse, so far from Souvri.

“Izel.”

Robert looked at her hesitantly. He had been disheartened by her words earlier, and he was worried that she was disappointed in him.

‘You idiot. I was only worried about you.’

She reached out to him as he timidly approached her. Robert’s face lit up.

Izeline smiled brightly at him.

“Let’s go home, Robert.”

* * *

After returning to Souvri after many twists and turns, Oren really cleaned up things. He wasn’t just bragging. One of them was to resolve the issue of Robert and Michael sneaking out of the mansion.

“Find the young master and young lord Wilbright!”

“They must be somewhere in the mansion!”

“The guards! Were they really guarding the doors properly?!”

Heint scoured the surroundings, questioning the people.

He no longer showed any concern for the disappearance of Izeline and Camry. In the midst of the chaos in the mansion, when Oren confidently entered through the main gate with the three children, making him open his mouth wide as if he had seen a ghost.

Izeline, curious about how he would handle this situation, glanced at her teacher. For some reason, Oren was leisurely humming a tune.

“Oren, what on earth happened?!”

Heint couldn’t help but ask, wiping away the sweat that flowed when the missing children returned. Instead of answering, Oren quickly extended his palm.

“….?”

When Heint raised an eyebrow, questioning the meaning, Oren took something out of his pocket.

Flip.

He unfolded a piece of paper and thrust it in front of Heint’s face.

Izeline and Camry’s faces were drawn inside. As Heint watched Oren opening his palm as if urging something, his surprise made his mouth drop open like a fish.

“The reward.”

“What happened to the young master and the young lord?”

“It’s a long story. Now, give me the reward.”

“….”

—