"What do I want?" Eden smiled politely. Too polite even, clearly showing his dissatisfaction toward the man in front of him. "It should be me who is asking this question, right?"
The man felt a cold sweat roll on his back, realizing that the boy in front of him was dangerous. Not because of his ability to summon dangerous beasts, but because of his brain. However, the man still played it cool, acting confusedly. "What do I want? Of course, I want to save the princess, something that is affected because of you and this stupid girl's actions!" He said righteously.
This time, even Fiona frowned, seeing that the knight who her father sent to save her was not a good man. However, Eden was still calm, chuckling a little. In such a narrow alley, his chuckle echoed loudly, sending creep on the back of all the knights there. "Oh? Do you really want to save the princess? Then, why did you come so late when this place is only three blocks away from the base camp where your subordinates usually gathered? They didn't seem to act immediately, especially after hearing the princess's scream, right?"
This time, all of the knights behind him sweated a lot, somehow feeling that danger was coming.
"Also, it is suspicious…" Eden patted his chin playfully, looking at the sky. "Earlier in the day, the young princess was visiting the main market, and I know because she is one of the visitors to my show. At that time, I could recognize two… No, three guards protecting her in the shadow, yet this time, none of them are here. Were they getting beaten by the thugs? But, why didn't I think that the thugs were so strong? I am curious… Are those guards incompetent… Or is there a hidden conspiracy behind this kidnapping incident?" He smiled knowingly, making everyone shudder involuntarily.
'Shit! This is bad! The boy knows too much! If words get out about this, I will be hanged instantly by the Lord!' The man gritted his teeth, racking his brain as quickly as possible to get out of this situation. Somehow, the man forgot that he was the official here, and once he ordered his men to detain Eden and Ilya, no matter how much the siblings wanted to complain, at least those two wouldn't be able to reveal anything in public like this situation.
Fiona herself felt that her eyes were shining brightly. At first, she just came here because of the rumor about a handsome magician who was good at performance, and after watching it live, she was satisfied with the young boy. However, what she didn't expect was that the boy was a strong summoner magician and also had a smart brain, revealing the conspiracy behind her kidnapping accident that she hadn't even seen before.
'Okay, I decide!' She thought inwardly. 'After this, I will propose to my father to let him and his sister become my guards!'
Of course, she thought about this because the girl saw the potential of those two, not because she was attracted by the man's handsome face. No, if anyone pointed that out, she would deny the accusation immediately.
"Hmm… It is curious, indeed…" Eden smiled knowingly when he saw the panic state on the man's expression. "Your subordinates didn't even try to take a look at the princess's state, wanting to end this farce as quickly as possible and wrapping this under the rug even with the cost of wronging her savior. I wonder, what did you say to the City Lord to make you this anxious to end this incident so quickly?"
"Okay, enough!" Suddenly, another man came from behind. This time, the man wore a bigger and shinier armor, with the clover emblem of the Silvaris Family embedded on the chest proudly. When all the knights saw him, they all kneeled immediately, as if they faced their boss.
Ilya herself tightened her grip on the wooden sword in her hand. Yeah, she took advantage of the commotion that Eden created earlier to grab her wooden sword and be prepared for another fight. However, this time, the man who just came gave her a different feeling, as if all of her move was seen by him clearly. This made her feel naked, which made the girl feel nervous.
'Damn! He is even stronger than the man who stripped me out of my wooden sword before! Who is he?!'
Meanwhile, even though Eden didn't know who the man was, he could see clearly the respect that all the knights here had for him. Also, what made him lower his guard was the fact that Fiona, the victim of all of this incident, rose instantly after seeing the man's presence and leaped onto his hug.
"BIG BROTHER!" The girl squealed happily.
Hearing how the girl addressed the man, Eden was startled for a second, but reacted quickly by bowing his head politely. After all, even though he was still suspicious about the conspiracy agenda behind this kidnapping incident, he still believed that as the girl's big brother, the man in front of him would never mean any harm to his sister. Also, it was good to create a nice first impression toward an important man, knowing that this would be beneficial in the future.
The new man who Fiona called brother nodded satisfactorily when he saw Eden's quick reaction like this. After all, he liked smart people the most, and he had already seen how Eden played with everyone's heart here to convince everyone that he and his sister were right. "Good, I like a smart person like you. What is your name?" He asked pretty straightforwardly.
"My name is Eden, My Lord, and this is my sister, Ilya. We are two humble peasants who are trying to do the right thing, so please forgive our rudeness before." He bowed his head elegantly. Even though Ilya was a little bit awkward, she still followed her brother's example, showing respect to the man in front of her.
"Eden and Ilya, huh? Thank you for saving my sister here. Don't worry, I have already heard about your concern. Later, I will deal with those bastards after this." Then, he grinned ferally at the knights around him, making their knees turn into jelly immediately. "As for your prize for saving my sister… What about you come to the castle together tomorrow?" He asked casually.
Fiona's eyes lit up immediately, wanting to talk about the prospect of recruiting the pair of siblings to be her guard. However, before she could say anything, the man, the leader of the knights here who also stripped Ilya's wooden sword out of her hand, protested.
"My Lord, you cannot do that! Our castle is a clean place, not something that those… Those dirty peasants – AAARGH!"
SLASH!
Right before the man could even finish his words, Fiona's big brother had already taken action, slashing his left arm decisively as if there was nothing wrong with it. Everyone froze, not daring to say anything. Fear leaked from everybody as they looked at the man like their God of Death, trying to decide their fate in the world.
The man – Fiona's big brother – just stared at the leader of the knight earlier coldly, unfazed by the blood gushing from the man's lost arm. He didn't even give the man a face, as he whispered lowly, "Don't think that I don't know your dirty thought, Bastard. I will investigate this matter soon, and if I see your name as one of the culprits, don't think that even death could save you from my wrath. So, don't you dare tell me what to and what not to do, and know your place, okay?"