In Julius' room at the Daylight Inn, a silver-haired girl was in his embrace, crying uncontrollably.
Julius only fiddled with her hair as he comforted her.
'Damn, they took her away from her loving family and made her a killer, all because of the Duke's long-term plans. She must be feeling happy that she's free; I don't know why she's crying,' Julius thought as he comforted her.
She stayed in his arms, and after a while, she knelt down before him and looked at him, their eyes meeting.
"Are you going to put a collar on me?" she asked him with a sad voice, and Julius shook his head.
"No. Do you miss your family?" he asked her, and she nodded.
"You're going to go back to them. One thing, though: do not tell them about how you got missing. That is my only request," Julius said to her, and she could only stare at him, bewildered.
As he said it, she couldn't help but think about it.
'My parents,' a thought passed her mind as she remembered her mother and father.
She then looked at Julius again, then at the Duke's manor, which was a bit far in the distance.
"I... I don't want to see that man again," she said, looking at the manor, and Julius yawned.
'The demon of destruction. After she awakened her latent powers, she's going to bring down the grey convoys and even kill the Duke with her own hands. After being charmed to not feel emotions for anyone, the day that she got control of herself, she went on a killing spree, feeling uncontrollable rage.' Her story played in Julius' mind.
'Damn, even that MC couldn't save her anymore and had to kill her. That one's on him, though; he wasn't fast enough.' Julius shrugged, and then all of a sudden, a golden game-like screen appeared in front of him.
[You have made changes to the original story. You have earned 12,000 fate points. You will need 2,000,000 to open the Abyssal Treasury.]
'I was already starting to wonder why I haven't seen anything like this,' Julius smiled as he saw the message.
He dismissed the screen and looked at Seraphina.
"We might both not be able to get some sleep. Why don't you tell me what's been going on in the grey convoy's base?"
Seraphina sat down as she heard the prince. She was still a bit shaken after finding out that she was free after seven years.
Julius looked at the flat disc on his table and saw that the golden light was now at the bottom and had faded, which meant it was night now.
...
The next day, the marketers had already begun to come out. If not for the flat disc telling him when it was day or night, Julius would have no sense of time as the skies are always dark.
He packed his stuff and boarded a carriage out of the northern capital the next day. Afterward, he and Seraphina got down from the carriage.
In front of them now was a straight road leading far into the distance.
"This is where we part ways," Julius said to her, and she looked down sadly, not knowing what to say to him.
"Can we meet again sometime?" she asked him, and Julius only smiled warmly at her.
"There are two weeks left before Midgard Academy starts accepting new students. You're 15, so you'll be able to enter. That's where you'll be able to find me next year," Julius said to her, and she nodded towards him.
She walked forward towards where there were some carriages and looked back at him.
"Thank you," she said in a low voice, and Julius could read her lips even if he didn't hear.
He could only smile to himself as he put on his cloak. He watched Seraphina take a carriage that immediately left in a direction.
"Well, my work here is done. She was really cute. I wonder how I'll get her to like me," Julius mused, putting a hand on his chin.
'I might even be considered greedy, wanting my best female character to myself,' Silas laughed, and then he turned around and took the same carriage back to the royal capital where the royal palace was.
...
Seeing the prince leave, Ray went over to his secret corner and saw the five assassins there. The ropes suddenly untied them and flew to his hand before shrinking and becoming a bracelet.
"I decided to spare you this time. Now scurry off back to that Duke," Ray said, and they gritted their teeth as they couldn't do anything but immediately take off towards the Duke's manor.
The people all looked up as they saw a large bird, and they saw a knight get on it before it took off.
...
Julius' initial plans were already complete. He had a way to control magic, he had secured someone he liked, and he was done jotting down all the major events in the book.
...
"Seraphina hasn't come back? She failed?" The Duke couldn't help but panic.
At that moment, Patrick came into the place, looking for the Duke.
"What happened? Did she succeed?" he asked, and Atryas only looked back at Patrick with a gaze full of uncertainty.
"I don't know. She didn't return. The other assassins we sent out to take care of him came back earlier, and they said his personal guard was watching over him."
Patrick coughed as he heard what the Duke said.
"Damn it, I heard the personal guards of the royal family must all be master seekers."
"Yeah, looks like we'll have to go into hiding for a while," Atryas said, and Patrick sat on the chair.
"They also didn't find her body, so she's not dead. It seemed like the prince planned this all out. Either his bodyguard took her away by force, or he deactivated the slave collar," Atryas said, and Patrick could only sigh as he pulled out a big bag of coins from his pocket.
"What is this?" Atryas saw gold coins in the bag, and he looked at Patrick.
"That's your cut. The prince left it for the girl," Patrick said, and the Duke couldn't help but be bewildered by the prince's actions.
...
Two weeks later, in the royal castle, an exquisite carriage came to pick up his sister. It was the day she would go to the academy to study more about magic.
Julius looked out of his room's window, looking at the blue carriage and the envoy of knights that was going to escort her.
On her shoulder was a red-colored bird observing the surroundings.
Yes, it was a mountain falcon.
"I gave that creature to her so casually. Even elites of this world would fight for the chance to obtain the egg," Julius said, and then Alexa, who was behind him, came forward. In her hands was Aria, who was being pampered.
"It was a good idea to give it to her. Now your sister will also benefit from its powers," she said, and Julius only nodded.
After bidding Sasha farewell, he decided to go back to training his aura. He might want to learn from his father, but he was always so busy, always leaving after coming back to the castle.
The only thing he could do now was prepare for next year when he'll go to the academy himself.