"Thank you, Young Master," Magnus replied. He bent his body forward to show his appreciation for the early gift.
"You're part of my clan now. Serve me well, and I might reward you with your very own staff in the future," Farqos said and nodded his head in satisfaction.
He liked Magnus a lot. He was professional. He might be from a poor family, but there were few in the world that couldn't be taught.
In his mind, as long as he taught Magnus well, then he would have a strong subordinate in the future.
Magnus raised his head and looked at Farqos differently. It was hard to be mad at Farqos even though he wanted to be.
What was right? What was wrong? Magnus had no idea.
Magnus left the room and walked out of the silk curtain. He stopped in place as his mind wandered. He was confused about his values.
If he sowed a grudge in his heart against Farqos, then that would mean he would have to hate everyone in this world. From what Caitlyn told him, every man and woman had done something terrible while thinking it was normal to do so.
No one in this world was absolved from the guilt of doing something terrible to other people.
Magnus... felt like his brain was melting.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had already decided earlier to follow the rules and values of this world. If women were trash for men, then he would trash women since that was *normal*.
When Magnus opened his eyes, he noticed a pair of eyes glaring at him with hatred.
"Rivia?"
Magnus didn't know why she was glaring at him like that.
"Follow me."
Rivia didn't say much, but rather, her cold voice ordered him to follow her. Magnus was too stunned to disobey her raging voice.
...
Rivia led him to the back. A trio of camels stood in front of an open carriage filled with orange rocks of various sizes.
"You killed one of them!?" Rivia shouted angrily.
"Ah..."
Magnus immediately understood why she was angry. She must've been listening in earlier.
"You bastard! To think that I thought you were different!" Rivia shouted and balled her fists.
Magnus couldn't see her facial expression because of the mask, but he saw droplets of tears fall down her chin. He didn't know what to do or what to say in reply.
A powerful sense of guilt washed over Magnus' body. He knew that he could've not killed Caitlyn, but he still did because he was worried about his own safety. And then he couldn't accept the things Caitlyn revealed to him.
Magnus' mind whirred into motion. He remembered everything that Caitlyn told him and the guilt he felt quickly disappeared.
"What about you?! You have killed baby boys, right!? You Caitlyn women deserve to die!" Magnus shouted back in anger.
If this wasn't an isolated part of the Bravodel Clan, many would've walked over to see what the fuss was about. The sound of the wind pushing sand around also drowned out their argument, making it less likely for someone to hear them.
"OH! WHAT ABOUT YOU!? HADN'T YOU DONE THE SAME TO BABY GIRLS!?" Rivia fought back angrily.
She felt like she had been played. She was already suspicious of him before. She thought that she might be wrong with her judgment, so she decided to be friendly with him.
She was wrong! Men were all the same! Magnus was one of them. He was not an exception!
"I have never killed a baby girl before!"
Magnus felt insulted by her words. He wasn't like these Phaeton men that would kill their baby because she wasn't a boy. He was from a different world with better values and more equality than the current one.
"You're lying!"
Rivia wasn't buying any of Magnus' bullshit. She saw through him already. There was nothing more he could say to change her mind.
"I'm saying the truth!!"
Magnus was annoyed at her. He raised his fist and walked close to her. He raised his chin and glared at her, ready to swing his arm to knock her out.
There was a voice inside his head telling him that it was okay to punch her. This wasn't Earth anymore. He was free from all the equality bullshit.
But there was a tiny sense of reason within Magnus that was left. His vision became blurry.
When things became clear, he found himself sitting in front of a mirror he pried off the wall of his prison cell's bathroom. He was staring at his own depressed face.
"If only... If only I chose a different path to become rich..."
He became silent again for a long time.
"I don't know if there truly is a God out there or not, but I want a second chance... I will change. I want to live. I don't want to die..."
Magnus' rambled to himself day in and day out.
All of a sudden, he stopped talking in front of the mirror as he realized something.
"Huh?"
His vision changed, and he found himself grasping Rivia's collar and about to punch her face. Her mask had long fallen off.
A beautiful face with one side burnt stared at him tearfully. Her past trauma came back, and the anger she was feeling was gone. All she knew was that she would definitely have her face hit today.
"..."
Magnus slowly lowered his raised arm and lowered his gaze. He slowly relaxed and let her go.
Rivia blinked her eyes at him in confusion. She wanted to say something but stopped herself for fear that he might change his mind and actually punch her.
"I'm sorry."
Magnus released a sigh and sat down on the sand. He stared at her in a daze.
This was wrong. He shouldn't follow the rules or values of this world. Wouldn't he just be walking the same path as his previous life?
Magnus felt conflicted. On one hand, he had already killed Caitlyn, on the other hand, he didn't know where to start reasoning with things.
Rivia had obviously killed a baby boy in the past. He truly thought that she deserved to be a slave for her crimes.
But what about him? Wasn't he already punished for his crimes? He was sentenced to death.
He was given a second chance, and he almost didn't take it. This was his time to prove himself again.
And if that was possible for him, wasn't that also possible for Rivia?
Magnus bit his lips and stood up. He walked forward to Rivia with uneasy steps.