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2024-10-29 19:42:56Deep into the night.
Ian woke up from his sleep. He looked to the left where Ash was sleeping soundly. To his right, the maze was also asleep. Looking at the maze, events from a few hours ago came to his mind naturally.
"A name?"
Ian placed the food in his hand down and looked at the millennium old kid beside him.
"Yes. I heard that it was you who gave Ash his name. I also want one."
"Hmm.. That's true. I can't keep calling you the maze forever."
Ian agreed with his request and asked for some time to think of a name for him.
Ian stopped thinking about it for now and decided to focus on getting out of the duchy quietly. He was going to use the teleportation portal in his study since that way, he won't need to avoid the guards or sneak out like a thief.
He got up from the bed, cha
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"Young master.. You have dark circles under your eyes."Corner pointed out while peeling an apple with a knife. They were currently in the training ground of the duchy. Two days had passed since Ian had that encounter with Albert at the Empress's palace."Thanks for pointing it out, Corner. I totally didn't notice..."Ian said in a sluggish voice. He was lying flat on the grass and looking at the sky in a daze."Are you having trouble sleeping nowadays, young master?"Corner didn't mind Ian's sarcastic comment and continued with his worries. At this point, he knew exactly what Ian meant even if his words were the complete opposite of it."No.. It's not that I couldn't sleep.."Ian plucked a grass leaf and placed it on his mouth, his unfocused gaze looking like those of a man in his sixties.'I'm only
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"Young master..""Son..""Ian! How come you always have the answer to every problem?!Mister wizard! Please hurry and find my sister now!""Yes Prince Albert. Right away!"Arthur and Miller showed their bewilderment while Albert shouted in joy and hurried the wizard.Once he received the earring, the wizard managed to quickly track the princess down."It seems like they're planning on leaving the city."He pointed to a specific location on the map and spoke. The others weren't as tense as before since they all had a ray of hope now."Father. I'll go rescue her right away. My knights are ready."Reynold spoke, ready to take off any moment."I'm going with you."Albert said blocking his way. He didn't want to lose
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"The food was good."Ian said. Rianne also had quite a satisfied look on her face. She didn't plan on having dinner with Ian in the first place. But seeing how considerate he was, and how there was no one bothering her when she stayed with him, Rianne changed her mind."Yes. I enjoyed it as well.""What do you plan to do now?"Ian asked casually. He initially wanted to leave the party as soon as the ceremony was over. But with the whole princess kidnapping case, he had to stay here till the end and look after things."I don't have any prior engagements."Rianne replied. She didn't seem to have any intention of mingling with the nobles present at the party."Hmm.. You don't have any friends?"Ian asked. Corner would've dropped his sword if he heard Ian speak like that, and Rob would've had a heart attack. The blu
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"What..?""That's absurd!""Is that sorcery? Does he think he can fool us so easily?!"There were looks of disbelief, shock and confusion on everyone's faces as they looked at Ash. But no matter how tough they acted or how oblivious they tried to be, the bone chilling aura coming from Ash that slowly filled the room was undeniable. It was an aura that was impossible for any human to manifest, dark and scary."It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not.""I'm not the one behind bars looking at lifetime imprisonment and possible death sentence."Ian shrugged his shoulders in a casual manner as he signaled for Ash to stop. He was only here to give these people a chance. A chance at repentance. If they refuse to grab it, he didn't care less whether they died or lived inside a cage forever. 'Human resources are valuable after all.'That was one of the other reasons why Ian was here. He wanted to bind all these people under contract and have them serve the country. It didn't sit right
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"YOU!"Smack!"THOUGHTLESS!"SMACK!"BAS-! JER-!! PERSON!"Ian had to wake up from his peaceful sleep with the sound of someone's shout along with the obnoxiously loud yet not so painful smacking of the pillows."Ow ow ow.. what the hell...?""Huh?""I'm back?"Ian woke up rubbing the back of his head that was the victim of continuous battering and looked around. The changed bedroom and the familiar faces made him aware of the fact that he had indeed come back. "What?""What are you talking about, young master? You didn't go anywhere."Both Albert and Arthur looked concerned as they checked Ian's status for any abnormalities. Only after multiple checking did they finally sigh in relief. "Ah no.. ""Hey guys.. Long time no see?"Ian greeted the kids and the Prince and the Knight all together while leaning back on his bed. The one responsible for the ruthless battering from before still had a massive pout on their face as they silently glared at Ian. "Are you angry? I'm sorry. How lo
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