In the past few months, Drac had a lot of time to think about his favorite hobby. He knew that he had to make some changes to his hobby because killing without even being investigated was not fun at all. He had thought that maybe he should try doing the stuff he used to do in his previous life.
There came a time in his previous life when killing was not thrilling at all. He had gotten so good at what he did, that he would not leave any traces behind. The authorities were having a bad time searching for him, and his next target. It is when he read about someone called the Zodiac Killer. One of the most notorious killers in the world, who was never caught, and he used to send encryption to authorities.
He thought about it and realized that this would be the best way to kill. He could send the authorities the identity of his next target, along with the address of where he would kill, in the form of a puzzle. If the police are able to decode the puzzle before he kills, then that would mean that they would win. Otherwise, he would win.
It was the most thrilling that he ever expirenced in his life. But the authorities got used to his message sooner than he expected and were able to catch him in the act eventually. But not before he was able to kill at least 100 people.
If he were to try this method here, then that would simply not work. The people of this world simply dont have the brains to decode a puzzle. And even if he acts like this mysterious assassin who tells the target, before they kill, that would be something. But he does not have the power to do that. Hell, he doesn't know half the stuff that the rich and nobles of this world are capable of.
In the Sumor Keep, he heard that the Keep had some functionality where it could surround itself with a dome of mana, that could protect it from most of the attacks thrown at it.
He believed the information, because he saw the contraption or device that would be used to create the dome. He was not allowed to go near it as there were soldiers present around it, 24/7, on guard duty. But he did see it from afar. He could sense a lot of mana being emitted from the thing, as well he saw many of the weird symbols like his satchel bag, being imprinted on it. Which meant that it was the real deal.
So if he were to go kill someone influential, like someone from the Sumor family, that would be a suicide. Not only the guards of the household were stronger than him, but the main residents were also way stronger than him. Except for the youngest and the eldest siblings of the family, they were very weak. If he were to deploy his past technique and send a message before coming, they could deploy the dome which would render his effort useless.
Which was why, he decided that he would use another technique to create chaos. And that technique was seduction, and it was going rather poorly…
In the past few days of traveling, Drac had been continuing his classes with Agatha, in Helen's presence. But he was not able to have a proper one-on-one conversation with Helen, as they were surrounded by soldiers who were keeping an eye on him. He didnt want to seem suspicious in any way, so he was not pushing his luck.
But he would have to act fast because soon the chance to seduce Helen would slip away from his hands.
"WHY ARE WE DOING THIS!" Agatha yelled from the top of her lungs, "I dont want to do this" She then pointed her finger at him, "Didnt father and grandfather relinquish you from our service? Why are you still here, run away to the hole from which you came up,"
Helen, who sitting not too far away from them didnt say anything. He on the other hand was unfazed by the brat's tantrum, "Miss Agatha, do I need to remind you what will happen again if you dont pay attention? I will cut off your meat supply. You would have to eat and drink vegetable stew all the way to your grandfather's house." For some reason the brat loved meat so much, that he would use it to make her listen to him.
"And what about it? I can eat vegetable stew for a few days. Then after that, I will be free from your reign anyway," the brat spoke.
"Agatha," Helen finally intervened, "That is enough. Focus,"
Agatha groaned, "But why mother? Why do I have to learn maths? Why would I do with accountancy? I can hire a weirdo like him to be my accountant, dont I?" she said while pointing at him.
"A weirdo huh?" he mumbled. Then an idea came to his mind.
He took the paper and quill from her and put it aside. And then asked her, "Alright Miss Agatha, let's play a game, shall we?"
"A game?" the child looked confused.
"Yes, a game. This game is very easy. It is about you. I want you to tell me, what and who are you, without the Sumore Household's name. And tell me how you would survive the outside world,"
"What?"
He smiled at her, "It's pretty simple actually. For example, me… My name is Drac. I am an educated person who is a mana wielder. I have completed my first circle. I might not come from a noble household, but I am a qualified fellow who survives and thrives wherever I go… Now your turn,"
It looked like Agatha didnt fully understand what the game was about, but still, she tried, "My name is Agatha Sum.. My name is Agatha. I am 10 years old. I am going to be a strong mana wielder in the future. And I am going to make my grandfather proud."
He smiled at her, "Very good. But here, the facts that you told are not quite accurate,"
"What do you mean?"
"You said that you are going to be a strong mana wielder. Through potential testing, we can only guess whether a person will become a mana wielder or not. But we cannot guess, how strong they would be. You are going to be a mana wielder, but you dont know what kind of strength that you would be able to achieve. It might be a case, where you could only reach the first circle. Like me. Or you could reach heights greater than your grandfather."
"I will be able to become stronger than my grandfather. That is for sure," she said with confidence.
"Why? Why do you think so?"
"Because I know,"
He chuckled, and shook his head, "Miss Agatha, I think that I have taught you many times that having unrealistic expectations is never a good option," It was true. Like any Earth child, he had started making tests for her to track her performance. She would score poorly most of the time, and when Helen would scold her, as a child she would set this unrealistic expectation for her next test, which would never come true.
"So you think that I will not be a good mana wielder?" she asked in a soft voice.
"You will be a great mana wielder, Miss. But your whole personality and your attitude should not be based on the fact that you would be a great mana wielder in the future. Because the future is unpredictable. You can be as strong as your grandfather, or you can be as strong as me,"
Agatha scoffed, "Even if I dont become a strong mana wielder, so what? I will still be a Sumore,"
He then quickly replied, "Like your aunts?"
"DRAC!" Helen who had been listening to everything snapped. "Mind your words. You are talking about the core member of the Sumore Family,"
He slightly bowed his head, "I understand Mistress. But the young mistress needs to learn the cold facts of this world. She is not a kid anymore, and her attitude would not help you in her life."
Helen hesitated, "Still. You are a servant of the Sumore Family. And you will show them respect,"
"My aunts are great people," Agatha mentioned.
The sentence made Helen finally snap, "Shut your mouth Agatha. You dont know a thing," she said. Agatha was clearly taken aback, Drac knew that Helen was frustrated with both of her husband's sisters, and she would spill out everything when pushed too hard. But he didnt know she would spill up in front of Agatha.
"Both of them are a pain in the ass. They are not good at studies and have been failing to make good choices in their life. They act as if they are these big hot shots, but without your Father and Grandfather's influence, both of them are nothing. In many events, they have embarrassed me, and I fear that you are becoming like them,"
Agatha looked aghast at her mother's outburst, "Mother," she softly mumbled.
It is there Drac picked, "Miss Agatha, the reason why we push you, is because we want to make something out of you. If there is a chance that you might not become the mana wielder that you aspire to be, at least you would be educated. And you will be able to make your own decision, and be not bound by any pressure from your Family…" The sentence was a jab at Helen, who had faced a similar thing in the past, "… All this education would help you in the future."
And for the end, he decided to go with something that Agatha and Helen could really relate to, "Remember the War Mage Agatha the Great… became free from her family because she was a great scholar. She didnt have great power, but she was a smart woman. You could be like her… free from a love-less marriage as she dodged hers. You can be something. You just need to be free. And for that, you need to study…"
As a child, Agatha didnt seem to grasp what he told her, but from that point onwards, she did started focusing on her studies. As far as Helen was concerned, she started spending time alone. She looked like she was lost in her thoughts most of the time, which made Drac smile as it meant that his plan was working.
The seeds of doubt had been sown in her mind, now she had started questioning everything about the world. Now he just needs some one on one talk with her, and he would be golden. But he didnt dare to talk here, where the guards could see him. He would try to push her further into the chasm, when they reached the castle.
And like that, 3 weeks went by, when finally there party started seeing the silhouette of a castle in the horizon…