"Hm? You're back?"
Ian looked at Rio, wondering what he went inside this time for. There was a look of annoyance on his face and it looked like he was grumbling.
But Ian had no clue why he was acting like that. So he simply tilted his head to the side in confusion.
"Change your clothes! Your parents will get a heartattack if they see you like that."
Grumbled Rio as he threw a pair of clothes at Ian's face. Ian caught the clothes and jumped down from the moose's neck. He looked at himself and there it was.
"A complete mess, alright."
His clothes had blood patches everywhere and was ripped here and there. There was a huge claw mark on his shoulder, and underneath it, the wound that was still bleeding.
"This fucker won't heal?"
He mumbled as he took off his ripped up shirt, irritation visible on his face. A wound like that would only slow him down on his way ahead. And it was annoying. But then he remembered some
"There he is."Ian pointed towards Rio as he fastened his paces. He felt an unknown sense of rush as his thoughts started to blur.Olivia didn't have much time left on her hand. Ian could feel it. He was carrying her, her body which seemed to have lost more than half their weight, her sunken cheeks and pale expression, they were all warning Ian of something bad as he held her close to him.As they approached the carriage, Rio took a quick glance at Olivia but pretended not to know anything. He was going to bring them through the shortcut if it looked like Olivia didn't have much time on her hand.But to his surprise, Olivia was hanging on quite well. Although her physique was breaking down, she didn't show any signs of giving up. So he decided not to reveal his cards in front of people who weren't Ian, and take the long way back."Please hurry."&nb
Drip. Drip.Blood dripped down into the bowl slowly. The amount had already doubled in amount and Ian could tell instinctively that this was enough.He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around his wrist, making the blood stop flowing out temporarily. He was going to take a potion after curing Olivia completely.As he tightened the hankerchief holding one side with his teeth and the other with his other hand, the other's felt shivers down their spine at Ian's barbaric actions.He was the young master of a Duke's house, someone who hadn't ever taken part in any original battle, someone who shouldn't have experienced anything painful throughout his childhood.But these barbaric actions, and his indifferent gaze, they were things that others would only expect to see in someone who was a war veteran or torture expert.N
"Ian.. What's wrong with Ian?" Miller approached them as Ash placed Ian on the bed. "He fainted, probably because he over exerted himself." Ash guessed the situation pretty accurately even though he didn't know anything that happened inside the island. He didn't need to know, because, afterall, he knew how Ian was. And depending on that information alone, one could easily guess what type of torture he made himself go through to find Olivia's cure. Miller stood beside the bed and tried to check Ian's condition. The moment he placed his hand on his forehead, he instinctively removed his hand instantly. "Hot... he's burning.. Corner!" Corner was already behind Miller. Seeing his lords panicked expression, he quickly approached them. "The young master has a fever?!"
One week later.Everything had returned back to normal. Miller, Olivia, Ian and everyone else had returned back home safely from the medicine island.Miller decided to take a break from his work so he could nurse Ian and Olivia personally and bring them back to health. After a few days of regulated meal and potion intake, Olivia was almost back to her normal state, leaving behind little to no trace of ever being sick.As for Ian..."Brother... The tea is getting cold..""Huh? Ah! You're right. Thanks!"Ian snapped out of his daze and sipped on the tea in front of him.He was fine right now. He'd eat his meals properly, get dressed and go out occasionally, visit the mansion or the shops construction site as well.Everything was normal... Except..'Something is clearly wrong with brother!'
Ian woke up. He still had a slight fever but everything else was normal.They journeyed for another day and finally reached the duchy. Everyone in the duchy was delighted to hear of the recovery of their duchess.Although the details were strictly kept secret, the only thing known to the public was that Adrian risked his own life and saved his mother from death's door. And that they were both recuperating right now.They were indeed recuperating. And both of them had returned back to their normal health as well. The only things out of place were:"Young master, knight Arthur requested to visit you.""Ah... I'm not feeling too well right now.. Maybe later.""As you wish."Ron bowed and left the room.That was the first day after they returned from their journey.The second d
*Cough cough*"Ian... It seems like you're still feeling unwell..""That's right, young master. Why don't you get some more rest?"Albert and Arthur tried to pacify the situation since they could clearly sense Ian's dislike towards some of the people present there. Both of them didn't want Ian to make more enemies or get hurt so they took action."I'm fine. Thank you for your concern."Knock knock."Come in."Ian said as he looked at the door.Two maids along with Rob came inside, trays full of food and beverages in their hand."Young master. Tea for the guests.""Yeah. Thanks."Ian took a seat on his chair, which was the chair belonging to the master of the room. The two kids seated themselves right next to Ian.
After an awkward fifteen minutes of Ian and his guests munching on the delicious snacks that the head chef specially made, George, William and the other two who came to make fun of Ian left after failing their mission, miserably."Good riddance..."Ian sighed and leaned back on his chair, getting rid of the perfect noble facade that he was putting up even moments ago. Rianne was still there, but she wasn't a presence that Ian had to pretend in front.The change in his attitude had such a gap that it made the other's in the room question whether they were the same person."Was that too hard?"Albert asked with a concerned expression. He was, unlike the others, unfamiliar with Ian's cruel or vicious side. And even if he ever came to know it, he'd just shrug it off as Ian doing things in self defence."......."Ian do
"This is unbelievable...""But it's the truth."Reynold tried to deny the truth and Ian simply shrugged his shoulder."I.. I need some time to process all this..""Sure. Just make sure not to tell anyone what you saw that day.""At least give me an explanation... You also know what kind of disaster you're storing inside that little mansion of yours."Reynold said as he massaged his temple. He was having a pretty bad headache at the moment."I can't tell you the details.But I swear on my name, not even one person inside that mansion will hurt the kingdom in any way.""...How are you so sure?""Because they're my people.""What an absurd logic. Afterall, you're the most suspicious!"Reynold said a