---Lord William Blackwood's POV---
I walked out of the alley and went straight to my carriage. My intervention had drawn more attention than expected. The boy walked out, still clinging to the corpse like a precious gem.
He squinted as soon as he stepped out of the alley; he must have spent so much time in the darkness and needed time for his eyes to adjust to the light. Once he regained his sight, he became aware of the glances—but strangely, this child didn't seem to care.
This wasn't confidence. It was indifference—but the extreme kind.
He was barely 5'10", and I couldn't see much of his facial features because he was covered in dirt. However, his green eyes had a gleam to them that made him fascinating to look at.
"Come on, lad." I waved, but his attention was elsewhere.
It wasn't the expensive carriage behind me, but the two spirit-bred horses. They were large, well-muscled beasts with faint glowing patterns on their coats. These horses were faster than regular ones and had stronger endurance. They could sense danger and resist minor magical attacks—but were only used by nobles.
I could understand his shock. Spirit-bred horses weren't common in this part of the kingdom. They were only abundant in my territory—Blackwood's Thicket.
Derek's gaze shifted from the spirit-bred horses to my guards. He seemed more impressed by their mounts. However, even his excitement felt shallow, like every other emotion he showed.
He never fully smiled or frowned. Or maybe I was just overthinking things.
Opening my carriage door, I gestured for him to enter. He hesitated and glanced at the corpse in his hand, but I simply shrugged and gestured again for him to get in.
I knew trying to separate him from that body would be more difficult than stealing a dragon egg. And frankly, I had just experienced loss myself—so I understood the feeling.
Sometimes it's hard to accept the people we love are gone and never coming back.
Anyway, Derek nodded and approached but froze half a step into the carriage. I wasn't sure if it was because of the seats—made of enchanted silk, always warm and comfy—or the tinted windows, or the miniature floating lantern. Either way, it took him a second to absorb the scenery.
I watched him gently place his sister in a sitting position before taking a seat beside her. Once he settled in, I entered and sat opposite him, legs crossed.
"Hiyaaaaaaaahhhhh!"
A crack of the whip accompanied the coachman's cry, and the carriage rolled forward. Meanwhile, I couldn't help but notice the striking resemblance between Derek and the girl.
"Is she your sister?" I asked.
He simply nodded.
"What happened?"
"My parents were killed by the Lord of the land. No one would take us in... she died of starvation. I did too…" he muttered the last part and glanced at me to see if I heard, but I showed no reaction.
Instead, I calmly nodded and looked out the window, watching smoke rise from the factory buildings and darken the sky. Only now did I realize how noisy this town was.
"The Ashford family has made many enemies over the years…" I nodded. "My House will support you if you wish to pursue your vengeance in the future," I offered. But he wasn't buying it.
For someone who looked fifteen, this boy had the kind of suspicious eyes that made you think he doubted everything from the start. I couldn't help but wonder what he must have gone through to make him distrust people so much.
"What do you want in return?" he asked bluntly.
I was about to respond, but the stench from the corpse was suffocating. I pulled out a cigarette pack and a lighter, lit a stick, and took a deep drag before blowing out a plume of smoke.
The thick smell of smoke quelled the suffocating stench.
"I want you to become a member of my small family," I answered with a shrug—and he nodded like he expected it.
I watched his expression shift to something more thoughtful. His eyes turned distant as he looked out the window. The cuts, bruises, and dirt were nothing compared to the coldness in his gaze.
'This boy is dead inside,' I thought.
Those were the eyes of soldiers on the frontlines. I couldn't help but wonder what he had seen in this town to make him that way.
The rest of the journey back to my territory was long—nearly ten hours. By the time we entered Blackwood's Thicket, it was late. Still, it was a relief from the deafening noise that filled Lord Ashford's territory.
Emberfield's revenue came from its steel weapon factories, so I couldn't blame them. If it weren't for the abundance of fire-type cultivation materials, I wouldn't spend hours traveling to that noisy place.
We soon neared the outer grounds of my estate. Enchanted stone walls surrounded it—7.6 meters high and 2.4 meters thick—topped with watchtowers manned by archers.
Derek leaned on the window, watching the scenery with a faint excitement in his eyes.
"In here, you have nothing to fear. I prefer to keep security close to home, so I built my guard barracks within my estate—about 70 trained guards," I explained, hoping to break the ten-hour silence between us. But he shrugged my words aside like they didn't matter.
Riding past the barracks and further down the paved path, he looked at the beast pens and the guard buildings with the same dull gaze.
"Your home is big."
That was all he said about a place the size of a small fortress. I sighed and took it as a compliment.
'He'll open up with time. It's just a phase,' I told myself. But deep down, I doubted it.
Anyway, the Blackwood family home was like a small village—just filled with soldiers and one very wealthy family. Barons were the lowest tier of nobles, but the difference between us and peasants was like the gap between heaven and earth.
The main manor was a three-story mansion, and a dozen maids in uniform stood in the cold night waiting. Derek glared at them from the window with that same dull look as the carriage came to a stop.
This time he didn't wait for me—he hopped out with his sister still in his arms. I stepped out, only to see him walking ahead confidently like he wasn't carrying a day-old corpse.
"Is he clueless, or does he expect people to welcome him with that?" I facepalmed.
I caught up to him quickly. As soon as we got close enough, the maids bowed at a precise 90-degree angle and chorused:
"Welcome back, Lord Blackwood..."
Then came the awkward pause as they looked at Derek and the corpse in his arms.
Bam!
A maid collapsed with a soft thud while others covered their mouths in horror. Only my butler, Andrew, remained calm—he'd seen worse in my younger days.
"I'll have them preserve your sister's corpse at my family mortuary. We can pick a date to bury her tomorrow," I offered gently, afraid he might insist on keeping her in his room.
Derek frowned at first, clearly reluctant to let go. But after a moment, he nodded and let one of my knights take her.
"Good lad." I smiled.
I had expected resistance, but it seemed this boy was more thoughtful and mature than I first believed.
"Come on, lad. Welcome to your new home."