"Man, I am exhausted!"
"Please be patient, my lord. We are about to reach my villa soon," Livius said.
Usually, I go first when we walk, but I let him lead the way because I was tired of walking. This body's stamina is pathetic— I barely walk, and it's already whining.
Well, that is because we didn't walk straight from home. Livius agreed that we could go home early this morning but did not agree that we should head back home straight.
While walking home, he couldn't help but take a different route because he wanted to explore that side of the forest bit to find additional herbs.
I can't turn him down because I understand that it is not his fault that he didn't get enough herbs he needed because of the incident yesterday. After all, we spent our afternoon extinguishing the fire caused by the battle.
I put my hand on my side and looked up. "I kinda regret that I asked you to go in the forest. I can't believe I did that!" I complain again, but we are still walking.
When I looked around, I realized I was familiar with the surroundings. That means Livius is right: We are now near the villa.
Even though Livius is walking ahead of me, I still look at him as I speak, "Hey, use your light magic again to regain my stamina. I don't want Father to see me like this."
He looked at me at his side while still walking. He also had a little smile on his lips as he spoke, "I will, my lord." His voice is low and gentle, but it is enough for me to hear.
Even though we were already near the villa, he still couldn't stop looking around while walking as if he was still looking for a herb nearby or if he remembered that side of the forest hiding herbs there. Livius has a borderline obsession with herbs.
I waited for him to turn his gaze to the front before I commented, "I must say that it is pretty convenient to possess a light magic. You look like you are not exhausted at all."
The truth is, I have this feeling that he is hiding something from me about his light magic.
Yesterday, when fighting the Spriggans, Livius didn't hesitate to heal me right after I asked him to heal me. But when I asked him to heal Sebastian, he insisted that he use herbal remedies to heal somebody, although it is obvious that magic is not working that way.
Does he dislike using light magic without a tool? Is this connected with the mystery of why he suddenly possesses dark magic in the original story? Or am I just overthinking things too much?
"Yes, my lord," he answered. "I've built up resistance to fatigue. It's one of the few benefits of light magic. That's why even if I don't have a strong mana, I can manage to walk for too long compared to you," he admitted. I notice he walks a little bit faster now.
I tilt my head to check the front, and from here, I can see already a glimpse of the villa. I am smiling for the first time since we started walking.
I opened my mouth as I was about to shout that we were finally back, but before I could even speak, I halted because I noticed a man standing in the front of the greenhouse.
Of course, Livius saw him first, but he didn't bother to mention it or even wonder who that guy was. That means he knew who that guy was.
The guy was so busy peeking inside the greenhouse that he didn't notice that we were about to approach him.
I expect Livius to say something about the guy before we finally reach the villa. But it didn't happen after a moment because the guy finally noticed us.
He turns his gaze to us with a polite smile. "Oh! There you are, Livi!" he shouted while pointing to Livius.
After putting down his hand, he walked to approach us. "Where have you been? I've been standing here for minutes now, calling you outside, but no one is answering," he added as he reached us.
There is a smile on Livius's face as he speaks. "I'm sorry, I went to the forest to gather some herbs," he said as he stopped walking, so I imitated him. "I didn't know that… you will return now… Kaiden."
My eyes widened when Livius mentioned his name. I looked at the guy from head to toe. I couldn't help but notice the guy's build—solid, as if someone carved him out of stone. Is he the scrawny kid who used to defend Livius against me when we were kids?
He is still looking at Livius while talking. But his eyes widened as he tilted his head to Livius. "You went to the forest to gather some herbs, you say?!" his voice is loud again. "Alone?!" he added.
Livius bows his head. "O-of course… not!" he stammered again. "Lord Nicodeim… accompany me."
Kaiden immediately looked at me when Livius mentioned my name. Oh, it's a dead glare.
He lifts a single eyebrow at me and cock his head. "You trusted this man to go with you in a forest?!"
I put my hand inside my pocket, lifted my chin, and looked away from him. I don't need to answer an idiot like him.
Livius takes place between us. "K-Kai! He is the son of Duke Nicomar! He is Lord Nicodeim! Show your respect!" he speaks rapidly.
He clucks his tongue and looks away. "Fine anyway, what matters is that you're home now."
I still put my hands inside my pocket, but I am glaring at him now. Who does he think he is to act like that in front of a duke's son? He is lucky that I just gained Livius's trust last night, or he won't live tomorrow.
Livius turned his gaze towards me and immediately bowed his head. "My lord! Please excuse the behavior of my friend! He didn't mean anything to disrespect you. It's just his attitude so—"
"Enough. I don't care," I cut Livius off. It's pissing me off that he is apologizing just for his trash friend. Yeah, since we were kids, I hated his gut, and until now, I still hate him.
"I will rest inside your villa while waiting for my carriage. Tell your servant I want tea and a bath," I said, walking to the villa.
As I walk by, Livius immediately bows his head. "Y-yes, my lord!"
"Whatever scheme you're cooking up, it ends here. I'm not letting you drag Livius into it."
I halted from walking when I heard what Kaiden said. While my hands were still in my side pocket, I looked up at the sky as CC suddenly notified me.
[NOTICE: Critical Point Notification]
First Critical Event: "Kaiden will leave Livius for good as he needs to move to the other estate."
Warning: Prevent this from happening.
'So, this is what a critical event means,' I said in the back of my mind.
Critical events push Livius toward villainy. CC will notify me whenever critical events occur, and all I have to do is prevent them from happening. CC even gives me an option to help.
[NOTICE: Here is the list of options to prevent the critical event from happening.]
Option A: Persuade Kaiden to stay by convincing him of his importance to Livius.
Cost: 10 Influence Points
Success rate: 40%
Option B: If Kaiden's departure is inevitable, you can introduce a trustworthy replacement who could fill the void in Livius's life.
Cost: 10 Influence Points
Success rate: 40%
Option C: Use Kaiden's departure to push Livius to rely more on himself and develop confidence.
Cost: 10 Influence Points
Success rate: 40%
Option A felt like a gamble, but Kaiden's loyalty to Livius was strong. It would be me if anyone could talk sense into him— though I doubted he'd thank me.
It's good that I never used my influence points because I await this opportunity.
I turned around and sneered at Kaiden. "Oh? I thought you gave up already on acting as a hero, but you still do creepy things like that…"
I step closer, letting my shadow fall over him. His jaw tightens, and he tilts his head away— like a mouse cornered by a predator.
I still looked at him intensely and said, "Well, you're right. I am hiding something on my sleeves and using Livius for that. But what can someone like you possibly do to stop me?"
His way of swallowing hard doesn't escape from my eyes. I don't care what he thinks of me after this; I know this is the right approach to deal with the first critical event.
My decision is final; I will go with option A, which is my way.