"Rex, my good friend, it's been so long since I last met you," said a tall, well-built brown-haired man as he stepped forward, outstretching his arms to hug the white-haired man in front of him.
"Cloward I'm glad to see you again," Rex said as he hugged the man named Cloward.
Finally, after a few seconds, both men broke out of their hug and stepped back.
"Rex, meet my beautiful wife Cleona and my cute son and daughter," Cloward said as he pointed behind him towards the pretty blonde-haired lady and the brown-haired boy.
"My name is Jack Fiel; it's an honour meeting you, sir." The boy came forward and bowed as he introduced himself.
"Ho, you've taught him well," Rex replied, amused at the manners of the boy in front of him.
"But where's your daughter?" He asked.
"Ah, she's a bit shy around strangers, but Ciara, come on out," Cloward said.
Hearing her father's voice, a small girl walked out from behind Cleona.
The girl had blonde hair and gem-like blue eyes; she also had a small, round face, making her look very cute and like a miniature version of Cleona.
The girl took a second to mentally prepare herself before bowing and saying.
"H-hello, sir, my name is Ciara Fiel." Her voice was very pleasant to the ear, making one ignore her little stutter.
"Hi sweetie, it's a pleasure making your acquaintance," Rex replied, feeling his heart get lighter looking at the cute girl. If possible, he wanted to grab her cute, chubby cheeks.
But he was a master of self-control, so he restrained himself, as he said.
"Why are we just standing here? Come, let's go inside.
"Sounds good," Cloward replied.
As both Rex and Cloward made their way to the living room, Rex stopped and said,
"Jack and Ciara, why don't you go to the garden to play with William?"
"Belle, come out and guide these two to where William is."
"Yes master" A brown-haired girl in a maid outfit materialised out of shadows as she bowed and agreed to her master's orders.
Both Jack and Ciara didn't mind, as they didn't want to get bored with 'adult talks' anyway.
And besides, they were really curious about the boy called William; after all, he was currently being acclaimed as a once-in-a-century genius throughout the Karka kingdom.
"Hey Ciara Are you alright? Talking in front of a stranger for the first time must have been hard," Jack asked as he moved closer to Ciara.
"No, it's fine," she replied, appreciating her brother's concern.
***
After a few minutes, both the children reached the garden.
The garden was at the backside of the mansion and looked completely picturesque, as if a part of nature itself and untouched by human hands.
It had green grass on the ground with many trees and bushes, making it look very luscious and appealing to children.
However, the most eye-catching thing was the white-haired boy sitting on a swing, holding what seemed to be a book. The boy was completely immersed in the book, ignoring the squirrels and birds who had gathered around him and seeming to be playing as if enjoying the boy's presence.
"Hello, you must be William Verhein, right?"
"My name is Jack Fiel, and over here is my sister Ciara Fiel. It's a pleasure making your acquaintance." Jack stepped forward and introduced himself, curious about the boy he had heard so much about.
William finally noticed the two kids in the garden and frowned as he noticed all the squirrels and birds running away as Jack stepped closer.
He finally looked up and said,
"Yeah, that's me," he said as he immersed himself back in the book.
William originally wanted Jack to apologise to the animals, but he remembered how his father had scolded him in the past for being mean to kids his age aside from Zack and Lilly, so he just decided to let it go.
It must be noted that William right now still doesn't have the memories of his past life, so he is just a really talented 8-year-old for now.
"Wow, what a jerk!" Jack muttered, and just as he was about to leave the rude boy alone and leave with his cute little sister, he heard something that completely shattered his world.
"Pretty," Ciara muttered, too silent for anyone to hear her, but due to Jack's close proximity to her, he was able to hear her loud and clear.
Right now, Ciara wasn't talking about William's above-average looks, even for a noble, but rather the purity of the mana surrounding him.
Ciara was just 8 years old right now and still hadn't awakened, but she had an extremely high affinity for mana, due to which she could sense the aura of people's mana.
Due to this, she was shy around the adults, as most if not all of them had a very intense aura honed throughout their lifetime, which was more than enough to scare a little girl like her.
However, the aura of the boy in front of her was pure—ridiculously pure—to the point that it blended in with the nature around him.
Due to which, despite the crimson colour of it, which would scare her normally, the boy looked very pretty.
Unfortunately, Jack was completely oblivious to all of this, and to him, the rude boy in front of him had stolen the heart of his cute little baby sister.
But that can't be right? After all, she had already promised to marry him when she grew up, all those years ago on his birthday.
So how could he let the rude jerk in front of him steal his sister?
Due to his irrational anger, he shouted.
"William Verhein, I, Jack Fiel, challenge you to a magic duel."
Jack had just turned 11 this year, so he had now been awakened for a whole year, and he was proclaimed a genius by his family; after all, he had a whole 400 BF.
Which was way above what someone his age would normally have, so surely he could beat someone 3 years younger than him and win back the heart of his little sister, right?
***
"I'm so proud of you, Rex, my old friend. I always knew you were meant for greatness."
Cloward said his genuine pride in his friends achievements was evident in his tone.
Rex and Cloward were both friends ever since their days in the academy.
Back then, Cloward was the heir of Fiel Douchy and was acclaimed as a genius throughout the academy.
However, that all changed when Rex, a commoner at the time, joined the academy with a scholarship earned through his pure talent.
Due to this, he was put directly under the spotlight, with everyone acknowledging and admiring his talent.
Back then, Cloward was jealous of Rex, as he had stolen all the spotlight that should've belonged to him.
Due to his own jealousy, Cloward did a bunch of things to annoy Rex back then, until Rex finally had enough and challenged him to a duel.
The duel was completely one-sided, with Cloward getting completely humbled and being forced to acknowledge Rex.
However, this didn't stop the boy, as it only strengthened his desire to win, causing him to declare Rex his rival.
At first, Rex was very annoyed by Cloward's constant pestering, but after months of constantly duelling and challenging each other.
What started as an annoying one-sided jealousy eventually grew into a friendly rivalry, with both boys acknowledging each other and pushing each other to grow beyond their limits.
Back then, Cloward always knew that Rex was destined for greatness; after all, he was the man whom he had declared his rival.
It would look bad for him if his rival, whom he was never able to defeat, just ended up being a nobody.
Thankfully for him, his hunch about Rex was right.
Back when Cloward had heard news about the numerous times Rex defended the whole Karka kingdom and how he was promoted to the status of a count.
It was one of the happiest days of his life, right after his marriage and the birth of his children, of course.
However, despite his pride in his friend's achievements, he was still bitter about never being able to beat him.
And after he heard the news about his achievements, he knew the gap between them had only grown larger over the years.
But instead of wallowing over that, he decided to welcome his best friend into his family by marrying his daughter to Rex's son.
Rumours about William's talents and awakening at only the age of 4 were enough to tell Cloward that his monster of a friend had created another monster who would reach the same level as him, if not higher.
This was the reason why he had come today to talk about the engagement with him.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!
However, before he could even start the conversation, he was interrupted by a loud bang.
Which completely interrupted all of them as they ran out to see and neutralise the threat.
***
Author's note:-
Thanks to everyone for all the recent support. I really appreciate it and hope the novel can live up to your guy's expectations.