In the days since Ian left, the Kastian manor seemed to have returned to its usual peace.
But for Leo, this peace was nothing short of torture.
He had thought that with Ian gone, he could finally let loose completely. Instead, he found his mother’s surveillance of him had become even stricter.
Not only had she set mandatory daily self-study hours, but she also strictly forbade him from stepping foot outside the manor alone.
“This is practically house arrest.”
Leo stood before the full-length mirror in his room, preening as he adjusted his bow tie.
Then, he tucked the wand that had accompanied him through those difficult years into his belt, ready to step out and embrace the long-missed, vast world of the streets.
He carefully avoided his mother, who was checking accounts on the first floor, and crept along the corridor all the way to the manor’s back door.
Just as one foot had crossed the threshold and a triumphant smile was already spreading across his face…
“And where might you be going?”
A completely flat, emotionless voice drifted out from the shadows beside the door.
Every hair on Leo’s body stood on end. His foot slipped, and he nearly tumbled down the steps right then and there.
He turned his head stiffly. There stood Ailiya, wearing her signature black-and-white manor maid uniform, holding a checklist. Her cold, icy blue eyes lifted slightly to glance at him.
Leo forced a dry laugh, his brain racing to come up with a reasonable excuse for his attempted escape.
“Ahem, Head Maid Ailiya.”
Leo straightened his clothes and walked over to the carriage with an air of seriousness, hands clasped behind his back, striking a thoughtful pose.
“Well, you see, I can’t just stay in an ivory tower forever. I need to go to the grassroots, understand market prices, and… help you carry things, build up my physique. So, I’ve decided to accompany you on today’s shopping trip.”
Seeing Leo’s ridiculous display—clearly excited but trying hard to look profound—Ailiya’s eyes flashed with undisguised contempt.
Hmph.
Ailiya sneered inwardly.
If you want to sneak out to play, just say so. Why spin tales about ‘going to the grassroots’? What good will you do besides cause trouble?
However, she didn’t expose him. She simply nodded. “Since the Young Master has such a desire to improve, please get in the carriage.”
After all, free labor is free labor. Might as well have him carry the bags.
***
The carriage soon left the manor and arrived in the bustling city district.
The moment they reached the market, Leo was like an unleashed wild dog, his eyes darting everywhere.
Seeing the street stalls selling magical trinkets, he was ready to slip away, feet slick as if oiled.
“Hey, those wands over there look pretty cool. I’m going to take a look…”
“Young Master.”
Ailiya’s voice wasn’t loud, but it nailed Leo squarely in the back.
“If you get lost today, or cause any trouble whatsoever…”
“I guarantee Madame will learn the specific details of your ‘grassroots experience’ immediately.”
“Furthermore, I’m taking your earlier offer to help carry things quite seriously.”
Leo’s leg, already mid-step, froze stiffly in the air.
He looked back at Ailiya’s utterly expressionless eyes. Unbidden, the painful memory of being beaten to a pulp in the training ground by a single brush flashed through his mind.
“Cough… I’m coming right now. What are we buying? I’ll carry it for you!”
Leo obediently shrank back, following meekly behind Ailiya, reduced to a gruntless pack-mule child laborer.
After purchasing several large bags of spices, flour, and some daily necessities, Leo’s arms were so sore he could barely lift them.
The two of them, carrying their purchases, took a shortcut through a somewhat secluded alley to return to the carriage parked on the main road.
Just then, three swaying figures approached from the opposite direction.
The leader was a burly man with a face full of coarse features, wearing shabby leather armor with a short knife at his waist.
Beside him were two similarly thuggish-looking underlings, walking while cursing and dividing a few copper coins.
These three were none other than Walker, the ruffian leader who had been sent flying by Ailiya’s slap, and his two henchmen.
The two parties met head-on in the middle of the narrow alley.
Walker initially just looked up impatiently, wanting to see who was blocking the way.
But when he saw the well-dressed, golden-haired youth in front of him, holding two bags of flour, he froze completely.
“Hey, isn’t this the Kastian family’s…” one of the underlings started to jeer, but Walker clamped a hand over his mouth.
Now, just the sight of anyone from the Kastian family made Walker’s cheek throb with phantom pain.
That silver-haired woman’s slap hadn’t just shattered two of his molars; it had left him with deep psychological trauma.
“Don’t start trouble. Let’s go!” Walker hissed in a low voice, pulling his underlings along as he tried to slip past by hugging the wall.
However, they wanted to leave, but someone else wasn’t having it.
“Halt!”
Leo had also recognized these three who had once beaten him to a pulp.
Talk about a narrow road for enemies!
But times had changed.
Right now, Leo was itching for a place to show off his newfound skills.
With extreme arrogance, Leo threw the flour bags in his hands onto the ground, lifted his chin, and strode forward, blocking the path of Walker and his men.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the lowlifes who like to fight dirty? What’s the matter? Seeing me today, you’re so scared you want to run away with your tails between your legs?” Leo crossed his arms over his chest, his tone as irritating as possible.
Walker’s mouth twitched a couple of times, barely containing his anger. “Little Master, let’s not trouble each other today. You take your sunny road, I’ll cross my single-plank bridge. Don’t go looking for trouble.”
“Trouble? I want to give you trouble today!”
Leo didn’t take their backing down seriously at all. On the contrary, he thought they were afraid of him.
Excitedly, he drew the short wand from his waist and pointed it at Walker’s nose.
“Last time, I hadn’t eaten breakfast. Today, I’m well-fed and watered.”
“Come on! Let me show you what real magic is!”
Even a clay figure has a temper of three parts.
Being cursed at and pointed in the face by a brat like this, Walker’s temper flared too.
He glanced around. In this alley, it seemed to be just Leo alone.
“Damn it. You refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit.”
Walker’s eyes turned fierce. “Brothers, since this kid’s itching for a beating, let’s loosen his bones for him again today. We’ll beat him and run out of the city!”
“Let’s go!” The two underlings also clenched their fists and charged.
Watching the three men charging ferociously toward him, Leo wasn’t flustered at all. In fact, the corner of his mouth even hooked into a confident smile.
“Hmph. Watch closely.”
He took a deep breath and began rapidly channeling the magic power within his body. The tip of his short wand lit up with a faint blue glow.
Just as Walker charged to within three meters of Leo and raised his fist to smash down…
His gaze traveled over Leo’s shoulder and saw the figure that had slowly emerged from around the alley corner behind Leo.
Silver-white short hair, black-and-white maid uniform, and those utterly emotionless, icy blue eyes that looked at him as if he were garbage.
Walker’s pupils instantly contracted to pinpricks. His heart skipped a beat.
“Holy shit!! It’s her!!”
Walker’s forward-charging body slammed on the brakes mid-air.
He pushed off too hard, his feet slipped, and his whole body fell backward.
“Boss, what’s wrong?” The two underlings beside him hadn’t caught on yet.
“Run! Run for your lives!” Walker scrambled up from the ground, pushed his underlings aside, and started sprinting back the way they came.
The two underlings followed Walker’s gaze and also saw that expressionless silver-haired maid.
They were instantly scared out of their wits, their legs going weak. They stumbled and scurried after Walker, fleeing in utter panic.
Meanwhile, Leo, completely unaware of what had happened behind him, saw the three fierce-looking ruffians suddenly turn pale with fright and run away.
He thought it was the “powerful magic aura” emanating from him that had intimidated them.
“Hahaha! Know fear now, do you? Too late!”
Leo’s confidence skyrocketed to its peak. He shouted loudly:
“WATER BULLET.”
A water bullet, as large as a doorframe and under immense pressure, surged forth from the tip of his short wand, whistling as it hurtled toward the fleeing backs of the three men.
Boom!
The power of this water bullet was far greater than the commotion he’d caused washing vegetables in the kitchen before.
The water bullet accurately struck the back of the underling running at the rear. The tremendous impact exploded instantly.
“Oof!”
The underling was sent sprawling to the ground by the water blast, tripping up Walker and the other underling in front of him.
The three of them tumbled like rolling gourds, rolling several times in the muddy alley, soaked to the bone and covered in mud, looking utterly pathetic.
But they didn’t even dare let out a cry. They scrambled up and disappeared around the corner of the alley in a flurry of limbs.
“Hmph! Pathetic!”
Leo blew coolly on the tip of his short wand, tucked it back into his belt, turned around, and struck what he thought was an extremely cool pose.
Only to turn his head and come face-to-face with Ailiya.
Ailiya was holding the spices she had just bought, looking at him expressionlessly.
“Ailiya! Did you see that?!”
Leo excitedly pointed toward the end of the alley.
“I used just one move! I didn’t even finish the incantation, and I scared those guys off, pissing their pants! The power of that water bullet… even Teacher Ian would have to praise me!”
Ailiya looked down at the flour bags Leo had casually thrown into the muddy water on the ground, then looked at Leo, who was preening like a peacock.
“All I saw was…”
Ailiya’s voice was so flat it held not a single ripple, “…the Young Master personally throwing the flour for the entire manor’s breakfast tomorrow onto the dirty ground.”
Leo’s smile froze on his face.
“Uh… this… it’s fine, it’s fine. The mud won’t penetrate. It’s still usable…”
“It doesn’t matter. Madame will deduct it from your allowance.” Ailiya delivered the verdict mercilessly, then walked straight past him.
“Also, hurry up and pick up the things from the ground. We’re going back.”
Leo’s face fell. His earlier prestige was swept away. He could only bend down miserably to pick up the mud-stained packages.
Walking ahead, Ailiya shook her head slightly.
Just as Leo had gathered the two bags of mud-smeared flour into his arms and Ailiya was about to urge him to hurry…
Tap, tap, tap, tap!
A series of extremely orderly and rapid footsteps, accompanied by the crisp clatter of metal armor, suddenly approached quickly from the other end of the alley.
Immediately afterward, a squad of city defense soldiers in silver standard-issue armor rushed into the alley, swiftly blocking the exit.
The captain at the lead rested his hand on his sword hilt. His sharp gaze swept over the muddy, water-filled alley, finally settling on Ailiya and the mud-covered Leo.
“You two, stay where you are.”
The captain’s voice was low and authoritative, carrying an undeniable pressure.
“Please cooperate with our investigation.”