‘Damn you, Devlin! Where in the devil are you?!’ Janis cursed in her heart.

  Looking at her now, she looked more like a schoolgirl in trouble rather than the battle worn mage she actually is.

  Janis stood there. Her head dropped down, avoiding the sharp gaze of the existence in front of her. Her gaze was so focused on her shoes, she could almost count the pores on her brown leather boots.

  For the existence in front of her was not a headmaster. It was the mighty King Raynel Alden.

  Worst of all, he came not as a king. But as a father.

  “So…where is my son?” Raynel asked.

  Janis could detect the rhetorical tone in his voice. As if he had already known the answer. But she didn't dare tell him the truth.

  “H-His Highness the Prince has been studying too hard these past few days. He requested to take a short break. Seeing how hard he worked, I couldn't bear saying no.”

  “Oh?” Raynel sneered. “So that's what it was. Entering into underground fights, killing bandits, those are all just a ‘short study break’, huh?! Amazing!”

  Janis was so shocked, she stared straight at Raynel. Her eyes opened wide. “...YOU KNEW?”

  “Heh. What kind of king would I be if I didn't even know about the whereabouts of my son?”

  The guilt that has been building up these past few days multiplied a hundred fold. So much so that she immediately went down on her knees. “I have failed you, My King. I accept any punishment.”

  Judging by her tone, she would accept it even if Raynel ordered her execution.

  Fortunately, Raynel did not do so. He only sighed. “It's not your fault, Janis. Even you only knew about it today, right? I don't think you would have let him go out if you knew what he was gonna do.”

  Indeed it was so. When he left yesterday, he said he wanted to go to the slums to buy some medicine for his sick friends. And Janis had given him plenty of spell scrolls to protect him over the years that he'd gone out to play.

  Only this morning did she realized that the Prince had entered an underground arena to win back his friend's freedom.

  Still, she kept kneeling. “That was merely an excuse for my dereliction of duty, My King.”

  Raynel rubbed his temples as he sank into the chair. “Hehehe. Who knew, the mage once feared as the Evil Annihilator was defeated by an eleven year old boy.”

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  That was too much! Janis abruptly stood up to protest. “Hey, fuck you Raynel! You know how much stress that-that gremlin had put me through?! You know how many Soothing Potions I had to drink in a day?!”

  As soon as she finished her tantrum, she immediately realized the error of her words. But when she looked at Raynel, he had that mischievous smile on his face.

  Janis couldn't help but to pout. “I hate you…”

  “Hahaha, I gotta say. Since I became king, I kinda miss that swamp mouth of yours. Kinda remind me of our days in the military.”

  Janis sneered. “Heh, now that I think about it, I shouldn't be surprised about how that kid acted.”

  Raynel’s grin disappeared. “What do you mean by that?”

  “I'm talking about you, of course. Remember the training grounds. Where you beat up the higher ups? If I recall correctly, you were heavily punished by the King back then too.”

  “Hey, fuck you! It was a spar, and it was a fair fight. They're just sour grapes!” Raynel jumped on his feet.

  There was silence as they exchanged looks. Moments later, both of them burst into laughter.

  A while later, they are no longer in the study. They are instead sitting at the balcony. Watching the garden sprawled down below in front of them. Sipping on their fragrant tea. Munching on their delicious meat pies.

  “Heh. I must be old already.” Janis scoffed.

  Raynel watched her, confused. “What do you mean?”

  “I used to hate joining all those boring tea time. Now look at me. Enjoying a quiet tea time.”

  “Oh. Hahaha, I know the feeling. I too detest these high brow events. I only tolerated it because of these delicious things.” He said, lifting a meat pie and showing it to Janis.

  “Pfft, as if you had a choice. Your father would have beat you up if you said no.”

  And both of them again drowned themselves in cackles of laughter and memories.

  At the end of the merriment, Raynel suddenly sighed. “Do you think I made a mistake?”

  “Huh? About what?”

  “Mamona…”

  That name deprived Janis of the ability to speak.

  It was a significant name to the both of them. Mamona was Raynel's beloved. And she was also her classmate at the academy. The three of them were close. Hell, they even survived the war together.

  So, when Janis found out what Mamona had done, and that she perished by Raynel's hands, it saddened her greatly.

  Still, it was the right thing to do.

  “You had no choice, Raynel. I can't even blame Mamona for what she did. She was manipulated by those Malus remnants. These scumbags saw a desperate mother, and decided to turn her into a tool.”

  “But maybe if I hadn't kill her, Devlin would not be so rebellious. Maybe Mamona could take better care of him.”

  Janis was slightly enraged. “So what? You're gonna just let Mamona revive Malus’s bloodline. Let the entire Pulcra be turned into potion ingredients. Is that what you want?!”

  “I didn't say that…”

  Janis interrupted him. “I know what you mean. But you were just carrying out your duty. Had Mamona not be stopped, Malus bloodline would have been revived. The entire world will be theirs. By that time, Mamona would be so far gone, she would probably sacrifice her son. So yeah, I think you made the right choice!”

  Both of them fell into silence after that. Even though Raynel just sat there silently, Janis knew he agreed with her.

  Only, he is a father. A father was always thinking about the best for their child. Even if the outcome could be bad for the entire world.

  Seeing him like that, Janis though she should say something. “Actually, I did asked him about this once before.”

  Raynel perked up. “About what?”

  “He's the one asking me about the history of you and Mamona. So I told him.” She repeated the last sentence. “I told him everything.”

  “Everything?! Even the…”

  Janis nodded. “Yup. I did. He's a bright kid, Raynel. At the end of it, I ask him whether he blames you. And you know what he said?”

  Raynel didn't respond. But his attention was totally on Janis. So she continued.

  “He said he had read on the ancient sorcery of Vario. Of the Malus family. He said that, if Malus was revived, his weak self would never survive. He would either be sacrificed to the demon, or be turned into a ghoul. So…he is really thankful that you did what you did. He said that it must have been hard on you all these years.”

  “He said that?! He really said that?!”

  “Of course. Why would I lie to you?”

  Raynel felt like he could float to the clouds right now. He was relieved. He was happy.

  And then, he frowned. “But then…what the hell is he doing? All the sneaking around, the fighting. What the fuck is up with that?”

  Janis smiled. “Hehe, that…you should probably ask him yourself.”

  “I did!”

  “No-no. Like ASK ask. Like really talk to him, you know?”

  “Oh…”

  At this point in time, a head popped up from a hole at the corner wall of the garden. Like a mole or a rat, the short figure wiggled itself into the garden.

  “Hehehe, the kid's back already.”

  Raynel almost didn't hear her. He stared at Devlin, who was oblivious that he had been caught already.

  “Send that brat to me!”

  Janis giggled as she mockingly fell on one knee. “Your wish is my command, My King!”