CLYDE ASTLEY POV

It was currently 4 in the afternoon. I was on my way towards the gates after packing my stuff.

When I was about to turn a corner, I heard someone speak to me.

“Hey, you just come back from class?”

With a smile on my face, I turned towards the person.

“Has it been settled?”

Damian smirked and nodded.

“Follow me.”

Damian wasn’t wearing his school uniform. Instead, he was wearing adventurer gear. He had black armour and gauntlets, as well as a black sword. It seemed that black was his favourite colour.

“Phew."

I sighed heavily after downing a mana potion. There was a cold sensation of something going down my throat. It turned into pure mana after reaching the depths of my body. I felt a little of my mana being restored after a while.

“You seem quite prepared.” Damian looked at the ring on my finger. It was a spatial storage ring. All my equipment and items was inside of it. We were going up the Minerva territory’s forest so I had to come prepared.

“It’s necessary to prepare this much. Anyway, you’re early. I thought we’d meet at the entrance gates.”

He smiled wryly.

“I had to leave before my sister could ask where I was going. I know that she’ll never approve of me going to that place.”

“She looked pretty mad when Roman was at the inn.”

“Hahaha. She nagged me all night to tell her. In the end, she ignored me the rest of the week for not giving her any answers.”

The two of us reached the kingdom’s gates ten minutes after walking.

I rubbed my eyes in amazement when I saw our steads.

“...Eh?”

“Why are you so surprised?” Damian chuckled and hopped onto his ride.

What was it, you ask?

“A griffin!?” It was my first time seeing such a fantastical creature.

It was a neutral monster many used as aerial transport. They had an eagle’s head and a lion’s body. Although their body was that of a lion, their claws were still as sharp as any eagle’s.

The other griffin—which was probably mine—snorted and arrogantly lifted its head.

I must bow my head to this puny human? Ridiculous.

Its eyes alone was saying that. It was deliberately standing tall so I couldn’t get on.

“Tch. You bastard mutated bird.”

The griffin snarled and slapped me with its wing. Damian merely laughed as he looked at me trying to climb up the griffin’s back.

“The Minerva estate lies in a dangerous place so aerial monsters can’t go over the forest. We can only fly until that mountain there.”

Damian pointed to a giant mountain east from the kingdom gates. Even though it was sunny where we stood, harsh lightning struck on the mountain. A dark cloud was flying above.

I gulped.

‘How the hell do you guys survive in such a place?’

There were rumours that the mountain was crawling with dinosaurs and dragons. There was even rumoured to be a dragon lord up there.

It sounded like a bunch of baloney but nothing was impossible for this crazy world.

After trial and error, I was able to steer the griffin correctly without falling. It finally became obedient after a while. We were getting ready for lift-off.

“How the hell did you even afford these?”

“Well, I had some help from the family butler.” Damian tightened his grip on the reins and looked at me. “Let’s go.” Damian’s griffin flew off ahead of me.

◇◆◇

DAMIAN POV

Ever since my childhood, I was never allowed outside the premises of our household.

We had to train everyday. Training meant for killing.

Zelda and Aubrey were the ones who used to train me since father was so busy with his work as the patriarch of an assassin family. It was a nightmare having those two as my training partners.

I’d wake up everyday wishing I’d at least get a day off. That never happened. On the contrary , when I turned ten, my training became even more hellish.

I was pushed past my limits until my own body would crumble from exhaustion and pain. But those bastards would only give me half a bottle of a healing potion to keep me from dying. It was to increase my vitality apparently.

I had one wish.

–I’ll wipe those smirks off your faces.

I wanted to twist their heads around their necks whenever they ridiculed me. My father had nearly thirty wives so I had a lot of siblings. The worst thing about being into an assassin family was that I was the youngest to be born.

I faced all their abuse and ridicule that I some times almost broke down a few times. I hated how much of a cry-baby I was.

I had one person in life that I wanted to become strong for. It was my former fiancé, Laurielle. She was the light of my life. The only one at the end of my tunnel.

When the day came that I was called to my father’s office, I was excited when I heard his words.

–Laurielle will become your wife. The head of the Arden household agreed to unite our families.

I never knew anyone could feel such joy. The person I loved and cared for dearly would become mine.

Both of us were happy to be with each other. I woke up every day hoping to see the face of my angel in my eyes.

The night we consummated was one of the best things I ever experienced in my life. I had a wife, training wasn’t so hellish since my grandfather, the previous head took over and I started enjoying my life.

That, however was short-lived.

When I finished my daily training and headed back to take a bath in our villa, I was called to a meeting between the heads.

–Laurielle will marry his son. You have been deemed unworthy of the flower of the Frer family.

My father pointed to the man who looked similar to a tiger. He was the head of the assassin guild, Shadow Hitmen.

His son was a guy who I hated with my entire being. He was the one who regularly joined Aubrey whenever the latter trained me in swordplay.

-His son? That bastard?

I could still remember how pissed I was when I heard my father’s words. Power I didn’t know I had grew inside my body.

It was the famous black magic our entire family was born with. Naturally I wasn’t worthy because my powers didn’t manifest yet.

They wanted to take the only happiness I had in my life. My father killed my first friend and then he wanted to take my first love?

I didn’t stand for it.

-Bring him here. I request a duel.

They didn’t refuse. It was more like they wanted to see me get beat up by that guy. I knew nothing would be resolved by duelling but I had to let my anger out somewhere.

When we battled, I beat him to near death. All the heads of the families were speechless by my power that they didn’t utter a single word.

There was only one person who didn’t look impressed.

-This changes nothing.

My bastard father. The one parent I wanted to acknowledge me.

I was fated to lose Laurielle anyway.

In front of all of their eyes, I did the most disrespectful thing any member of a traditional family could do.

I tore off the insignia of our household on my shirt and threw it in my father’s face. He was livid.

Before he could grab me, my grandfather saved me by holding his finger to my father’s neck. Many said that grandpa was still far stronger than father. He just never shows his power. It was proven true when I saw father hesitate to move.

He told me one thing.

-Leave.

“You made it, lord Damian.”

An old man’s voice came from behind us when we entered the gates. His rough but elegant voice sounded familiar.

“Roman.”

That man’s personal butler and the one that raised both me and Elizabeth. He greeted me with a nod but I could tell from his eyes that he was happy to see me.

His eyes widened when it landed on Clyde before he bowed to us.

“I shall lead you to the arena.”

Even though I was curious about his reaction, I followed him anyway without asking any questions.

Tap, tap.

Our footsteps echoed in the large castle halls. I couldn’t hear them but I knew the shadow servants were following us. They must’ve been dispatched to deal with the outsider—Clyde—if he tried to run away. Many instances like that had happened in the past.

Even if they were servants, they were as experienced as any professional assassin. They were trained by the head butler and his subordinates after all.

Roman had been a part of the family for many generations.

Why?

He was a vampire so he had been alive for a long time.

‘He failed to protect the first head when he tried to raid the tomb of a vampire lord if I remember correctly.’

My ancestor, the first patriarch of the Minerva family sought a powerful artifact that could make him stronger. He—along with the young Roman—wandered into the relic tomb.

What he didn’t expect was that a vampire lord made the dungeon her lair. Roman managed to survive her assault but his lord wasn’t so fortunate.

He had to live with the fact that he failed to protect his master. For thousands of years.

You are just like him, Damian.

I made a small smile as I remembered his words from when I was a little child.

Adventurous, ambitious and confident. However, that is exactly why I must protect you and watch over you.

‘Even though I changed, why do you still watch over me...’

I thought as I looked at the back of the one that I truly viewed as my father.