They started walking once again. While they were passing by the kids, Ian noticed something unusual. One of the kids weren't playing with the others. Or rather, they didn't let him play with them. Ian narrowed his eyes as he observed the kids.
'He has bruises in his body. Looks malnourished as well. An orphan perhaps?'
"Art"
Ian quietly called for Arthur. He came beside him as they continued their walk.
"Yes, young master?"
"Find out what's wrong with that kid while we're having breakfast. And have one of the guards observe him."
Olivia couldn't hear anything Ian was talking about since she was busy chatting with Corner. Arthur nodded his head and silently left the group.
Soon they reached the restaurant that she mentioned before. To be precise, it was what one would call a book cafe in modern world. Ian was impressed with the owners thinking. Whoever it was, they were way ahead of their time.
"T
Ian sighed as he stared at his new family. The more he saw, the greater his fascination was. 'No matter how many time I see it, mother's smile is always so mesmerizing. And no matter how elegant she looks, father always looks like her perfect other half. They're like the main characters in a romance novel.' Ian was trying very hard to focus this time when something caught his attention. It was what Miller was talking about. "Should we bring a painter?" 'Painter? Yeah, would've totally clicked a photo in this situation, if I was in earth. Good thinking.' "Should we?" Olivia was glancing at Ian as if asking if it was okay. Ian tilted his head as if he couldn't understand her question. 'Why'd I have any problem with it?' - is what Ian's expression was saying. "You didn't like painters since you were a kid. Is it okay now?" "Yes it's fine... So I don't have any portraits with either of you, mother?" "No. Since you were a kid, you'd always cry whenever we brought any painters in
'Oh? He looks brave. Is he the oldest?' Ian was thinking that maybe the kids were in better shape than he thought. But his thoughts only lasted a moments as he noticed the kid clenching his fist tightly to stop shaking in fear. 'Can't believe I just thought that. Damnit.' Ian was mad at himself for his thoughtless comment. Maybe he wanted to deny to truth, the truth about these kids and their past, just to ease his mind. He was being cruel and he hated that. "Sit. I'll show you." They all sat around him in a half-circle as they wondered what Ian was going to do. First he took a flexible flower branch from beside him and wrapped the two ends to make a circle. Then he added some pretty looking grass around the circle. After that he took 3 or 4 types of wild flowers each time and attached it to the circle. Within a few minutes, it turned into a beautiful flower crown made by many types of wild flowers. With each steps he took making the crown, the kids eyes sparkled more and mor
While Ian was busy stuffing his mouth with cakes and pastries, they soon arrived in a secluded part of the city. It was where the sewer ended. And as expected, the steel bars were broken and it looked like people frequently went inside and out. Steve was standing near the entrance looking like a loyal guard. Seeing Ian and the others approaching, he quickly went and greeted them. Ian accepted the greeting and ordered him to wait near the carriage as they headed inside. Ian still had a cake in his mouth and a packet full of pastries in his hand as he nonchalantly entered the hole. 'Is he really a noble?' Arthur wondered how Ian had no problem eating in a place like this. Even someone like him found it difficult to go inside without covering his nose. "Do you have anything to brighten the place? It's dark." Corner took out a magic stone powered torch from his pocket and handed it to Ian. Ian didn't take the torch and instead signaled Corner to take the lead. Corner happily took
"Fu-Ow ow ow!" Ian almost swore as he felt a sharp pain throughout his whole body. The kid wasn't moving but he knew what was happening right now. His vitality was being snatched away from him. He clenched his fist as he smacked the kid with his twisted arm. He knew it would be dangerous for him if the kid kept stealing his energy. The kid was thrown away to the side as Ian stood up. No matter how strong the kid was, he was still a kid while Ian was a full-grown adult. The kid groaned as he glared at Ian, unable to stand up from the impact of the fall. He was mumbling something while glaring at him. Ian looked at him mumbling as he carefully approached him. When he was close enough, he could finally make out what he was muttering. "S...hu...ng....r...y...food" Ian lowered his guard as he finally understood the whole situation. Just like him, the kids attribute also awakened when they felt each others presence. It was resonance, a trait that only people of darkness attribute posse
When Ian reached home, it was almost time for dinner. So he hurried back to his room with Corner following behind him. The servants jaw dropped seeing him covered in dirt and mud but they all closed their mouth when Ian said that he slipped and fell. Some of them were even worried about him getting injured but Ian said that he was fine. After taking a proper bath to get rid of the stench and dirt, Ian ordered the servants to give the kid a warm bath as well. When the butler asked where he planned on keeping the kid, Ian replied with a short "In my room, of course." and left for dinner. At the dinner table, Miller and Olivia was already waiting for him beforehand. Ian felt bad that he always kept them waiting and apologized. "It seems I'm late again today. I apologize." "It's fine son. I don't mind waiting for you." Olivia looked at him and smiled. Her expression looked like she was looking at the most precious thing in the whole world. Ian felt awkward at that overwhelming affec
At that moment, Ian was having a lucid dream. From the moment he opened his eyes, he knew he was dreaming. Even if he didn't want to, he would still need to realize it was a dream since dead people don't come back to life. A memory of his past. It was a past he remembered way too clearly. 'Anyway, why this dream? It's been so long and so much happened after this.' Ian couldn't understand why, among so many nightmarish incidents, he had to re-experience this one. The backlash of using his ability was exactly this. To be trapped in their own nightmare. Well not exactly nightmare, 'past' would be a better word to describe the situation. And all the pain of that past, be it physical or mental, he had to suffer through all of it once again. "Noah? Hey! What are you spacing out for?" A young boy in his teen called out to him as he tried to smack the back of his head. Ian swiftly lowered his head and avoided the hand approaching from behind. "I'm listening." 'Noah', it's been a w
The outside had began to light up as the sun started rising slowly. The soft sunlight comforted Ian as if knowing his struggles all too well. He tried to sit up, only to find both his hands caught is someone elses grip. Ian turned to his right, finding Olivia, asleep while grasping his hand, as if he'd disappear if she let go. Her eyes had dark circles around them and tear stains were still visible around the corner. On his left, he found Miller. Although his complexion didn't look too bad, the deep frown in his brow made it pretty clear how much he worried about his son. Ian had an unconscious smile on his lips as he observed the two of them. 'It's a shame that none of them belongs to me.' Ian always found himself smiling whenever he looked at the couple. It wasn't because he felt happy. It was a smile mixed with regret, jealousy and a little bit of sadness. He felt regret as he thought about all those emotions that were being wasted on him, the wrong person. Sad how he had to
"Let's go in." The black haired kid nodded his head as he stole a glance at Rob and quickly turned around. The room looked a bit different at night compared to how it looked right now. The kid felt that it looked a bit lonely at night. But now it felt warm and comfortable. He was glancing around, observing the same things he saw at night with a different perspective. On the other hand, Ian was only observing him. A few minutes passed and the kid was finally done looking around when he realised that Ian was silently staring at him. He instinctively stiffened up as he looked at Ian, sitting down on his bed like he owned the place, which he actually did. "Are you done?" "Yeah." "You like it?" "Yes?" "The room. You can stay here if you want. It's better than the guest rooms, right?" The kid looked at him like he was a crazy guy spouting bullshit. But then he remembered that he had already slept here yesterday and became even more confused. "You don't like it? Well I guess it's
Ian returned. After wondering the continent for half a year, he came back with a 'Bang!'. Right when the nobles all around the country gathered to 'show the hero his place', Ian returned. Crazy hypothesises such that Ian being a Devil worshipper, betraying the country and being on the run or that he's actually a demon etc etc all came to an end as he openly took Arthur's side and threatened the other nobles.Of course, most of those rumours weren't too far off the mark. Ian did prefer villains over heroes, demons over angels, he had no love for their country and lastly, he was a darkness ability user with a twisted moral sense. And! To top it all off, he also preferred these rumours over ones that would hail him as a hero. he'd rather be on the run after being called a demon rather than be called a hero and worshipped. Again, twisted morality. But he couldn't do that this time. There were too many people using his name so he couldn't just let it be as those people got treated bad
"It's been a week since young master lost consciousness."Rob wrote in his diary as he sighed. There was a heavy atmosphere surrounding the duchy ever since the day Adrian fell down from the roof and went into a coma. How or why it happened was still a mystery around the duchy but speculations about an attempted suicide was slowly spreading around. Rob didn't believe them though. The Adrian he knew was too selfish and arrogant to do something like that. Yet, even when he was so sure, a small part of his mind kept lingering over that quiet and motionless room where Adrian was."Ah.. It's been a while."With that, Rob went to take another look at the sleeping Adrian for the 36th time that day. Although he was telling himself that Adrian's situation wasn't that serious, that he'd wake up soon, as he tried to remember all the bad things Ian did in his short lifetime just to mask his worry, he didn't even realise that he was unconsciously heading towards Ian's room again. After worryin
Things Ian did(Unintentionally or intentionally) that influenced the future of Arthur's world: First of all, although the effect wasn't that eye-catching at the moment, Ian was going to be known as the figure that erased racial discrimination. Due to him giving shelter to people of all age and race, and the humans around him having constant changes in their views and perspective, it was going to be the seed that erased all future discrimination and racial profiling. Secondly, he was going to be known as the bridge between Humans and the Demons. The Queen of the Demons, Ash's mother who had gone back to the demon world to deal with some 'internal affairs' would soon return with an actual offer of friendship between the demons and the humans. It was Bela's way of showing gratitude to the people who had taken care of her son in his times of need. Ian's love for Ash was plain as day and the care and gentleness he showed when dealing with him was no different from what a parent woul
"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
"You're gonna let them go?" Arthur asked, conflicted, as he looked at Ian. They were currently in an underground prison, the biggest prison that was made on Ian's request under the Duchy. The war criminals, the cult members, were being held here. Seven days had already passed since Ian's soul returned to his body. He was forced to have complete bedrest this whole time by his parents and the kids. They finally let him go after he managed to manipulate them emotionally with everything he had. It was a difficult job indeed. But nothing was impossible for Ian. "Let them go? NO?" Ian asked back in utter shock instead. But it wasn't Arthur's fault that he misunderstood. Ian did indeed say something that could be easily misinterpreted. "But you just said 'It's time to go out.'..?" That's what he said. To the criminals. Not that he meant it literally. "To the hall. TO.THE.HALL." Ian repeated himself twice, once for the criminals and once for Arthur. Everyone captured already had
Ian's time with the kids were cut short as the Dicarious couple arrived in a haste. A part of Ian was happy to see them again after so long. But a part of him was also wondering if they really were there for Ian. What if they were expecting their son to come back? What if the person they expected to see coming to his senses was Adrian and not him? How disappointed they would be. With a mixture of these various emotions coursing through his mind, he failed to make any type of expression when faced with those two people. Neither could he smile wholeheartedly nor apologize and cry. The kids were guided outside by Arthur and Albert, giving Ian and his parents the room to themselves. Ash was reluctant to leave seeing Ian's expression, but the atmosphere was too heavy for him to interfere. So while everyone else went to another room, he stayed, waiting while standing outside Ian's room. The others also didn't force him to leave since they didn't know which was better. "Are you
"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
Ian enjoyed the tea from hell while having a long and informative conversation with death, or at least that's who he assumed the other person was. He learned about the past that he had locked away and the people he had forgotten. But it all felt distant, like he was viewing the life of somebody else. "Why did I do that? Lock my memories?"Ian was curious. Just by watching the memories of Noah's future, he could tell that he lived a pretty okay life. The daughter he adopted also turned out to be great. She became his family. These were precious memories. So he couldn't understand why he'd lock them up like this. "After I presented you with my request, this is what you told me."Death continued showing Ian another set of completely different memories. An old man, wrinkly hand, white hair, hazy eyes. The room looked similar to the one he was in right now, and so was the person in front of them. "The me right now cannot save a world.""The blade has already lost it's edge.""I've grow
"What do you mean by welcome back?"Ian asked, confused. As far as he could remember, never before in his life did he see this man or these scenes. And these weren't circumstances that he'd forget 'by chance' either. "After your first death, you came here.""First death.. Ah.. When I jumped down the bridge?"Ian remembered his last moments as Noah. The music that played, the scenery he watched on top of that bridge, they were all very memorable. Yet, he had no memory of coming to this place.But unlike Ian's thoughts, the guy in front of him shook his head in denial. Not understanding exactly which part he was denying, Ian tilted his head to the side slightly."What death are you talking about then?""You didn't die back then."The guy sat down on the bed, facing Ian and the endless hell behind him as he spoke. "When you were at the verge of losing consciousness, you heard a childs cry.""A child?""Yes. It was the final monster outbreak." Ian wondered what this guy was talking abo