Chapter 114: The Curious Guild Master

A Few Days prior...

A few dozen kilometers off the main road to Northwatch in the Timberfell Village sat the Ashwood family Ethan had rescued.

In the small living room, both Anna and Sepharina stood beside their mother’s bed. Their features had become slightly more refined, and their bodies carried a subtle, firm strength after consuming the elixirs Ethan had left behind for them, but there was no trace of happiness in their expressions... their eyes held nothing but deep sadness as they looked at their mother’s condition. William sat beside his wife, his broad hand resting gently on her shoulder.

"Cough!"

Blood spurted outward. Elene frantically pressed a napkin to her mouth, but only a second later, blood began trickling from her nose as well, her hands trembled violently as she tried to wipe it away. After taking the pill Ethan had given her, her condition had improved for a few weeks, but now her symptoms had begun to worsen again.

"It’s okay... It will be fine in a few days," Elene said calmly as she tried to ease the crushing burden visible in their eyes.

Tears welled up in Sepharina’s eyes, spilling down her cheeks. "Mom... you won’t leave us, right?"

Even though she always acted tough in front of everyone, insisting that she would find a cure for her mother herself, seeing Elene’s condition deteriorate so rapidly was beginning to crack her resolve. She wasn’t sure whether her mother would even be alive by the time she managed to find a cure.

"Father... let’s go to the healers in the city. Maybe they can do something. Or maybe, just maybe, we can ask the Young Master for that pill again," Anna said, looking at William hesitantly.

William’s grip on his wife’s shoulder tightened. He wanted nothing more than to rush straight to Northwatch and beg Ethan on his knees for another pill. He knew it would be shameless to ask after everything the boy had already done for them without asking anything in return, but watching his wife’s condition worsen was tearing his heart to pieces. Yet, Elene had firmly forbidden him from seeking Ethan out, unwilling to become a burden to their saviour.

"Dear... I know you don’t want to trouble the Young Master. William pleaded gently, looking down at his wife. " But at the very least, let us take you to the healer’s for a blessing and buy a few medicines. Please... don’t say no."

Deep down, William knew they couldn’t afford a high-tier healer. He had already spent almost all their savings earlier, and the healers had even told them that their holy energy couldn’t cure Silveravyn. There was currently no medicine capable of treating it, they heard rumours that their exists some mythical elixirs which can treat this disease, something a woodcutter family couldn’t even imagine affording. Still, the symptoms had improved for a while whenever Elene received a blessing.

Elene already knew her fate all to well. She at least wanted to save what little remained of their savings for her daughters’ futures, but seeing their persistence, she could no longer bring herself to refuse.

"Come here..." Elene whispered softly, looking at both of her daughters.

Sepharina and Anna slowly leaned in, their eyes still moist. Elene gently pulled them into a warm, gentle hug, caressing their hair and wiped away their tears.

"Okay. Let’s go," she finally said.

Meanwhile, after delivering the Twin Wind Daggers to Kael, Iron Wolf made his way to the village to deliver the Twin Guardian Pendants to Anna and Sepharina. However, when he arrived, they were nowhere to be found.

He quickly asked the village chief, who told him that they had probably departed in the early hours two days ago. He suspected they had gone to seek treatment for Elene, whose condition had been worsening lately.

"Shit... shit..."

Iron Wolf began to sweat as he thought about Ethan. If he had already messed up his first mission, he could only imagine the consequences. Apart from delivering the pendants, Ethan had also asked him to check on Lady Elene’s condition. He had specifically told Iron Wolf that if her symptoms were worsening, he should bring her to him and treat the family with the utmost respect.

He should have arrived several days ago. His thoughts then shifted to Kael. No matter how much he searched, he couldn’t find him at the location Ethan had mentioned. After several days had passed, he finally decided to ask around.

While cutting through an alley that night, however, his senses suddenly issued a warning. Iron Wolf immediately moved to the side, narrowly dodging a sudden attack. He wanted to retaliate but he realised that it was the person he was looking for. "T-The Young Master sent me!" he said.

Only then did Kael emerge from the shadows. After learning that Ethan had sent Iron Wolf to deliver the daggers, he accepted them.

If it weren’t for him... I would have already reached here in time.

Northwatch

Ethan made his way to the Adventurer Guild to acquire some information now that his rank had increased to Captain.

Upon entering, the young clerk greeted him as usual. When she learned that he had come for information, she excused herself, as Ethan was already familiar with the place. Ethan ascended the stairs and made his way to the area opposite the Guild Master’s office.

Meanwhile, Evelyn, who was seated in her office, sensed Ethan’s presence from afar. She had only recently issued him the rank of Captain upon Marcus’s instructions, but her curiosity about Ethan’s background burned stronger than ever.

When she sensed that he had come looking for information through her aura perception, she quickly went to the information room, concealed her presence, and instructed Merin to act as usual.

Ethan opened the door and stepped inside. The familiar room greeted him with hundreds of shelves containing information from across the Empire. Merin sat in her usual place near the entrance, her brown hair neatly braided. Her eyes briefly fell on the Captain’s badge Ethan wore, though her expression remained composed.

"It’s been a while, Ethan."

"Yes, Lady Merin," Ethan replied.

"I never thought you would get promoted this quickly," she said calmly.

"Neither did I." Ethan said with a smile. He already knew that Merin had extensive access to the Guild’s information. She was merely pretending to be surprised, so he decided to play along.

"Then, what information are you looking for this time?" Merin asked, leaning back.

"Can I access the information about the Four Great Evils now with my rank?"

"It seems you’re kind of obsessed with them," she said, her eyes curious and calculating.

"Am I?"

Meanwhile, Evelyn’s eyes brightened as she listened to their conversation. She quickly extended a thin thread of aura toward Merin, lightly poking her. Merin immediately understood her lady’s intention without breaking her expression. Everything happened within a fraction of a second.

"Hmm... you’re a tough nut to crack, kid. But you still can’t access that information as it’s above your current clearance. However, if you answer my question, perhaps I can answer a thing or two," Merin said.

Ethan paused for a brief second, considering her offer. He had already sensed Evelyn’s hidden presence long before entering the room, thanks to his enhanced perception and traits. But decided to see where she was going with this.

"Okay. What is it?"

"Who are you, and what is your relationship with the Commander of Northwatch?"

Evelyn had already looked through the information on people who had awakened high-rank cores and talents, trying to find anything that might reveal Ethan’s identity. She had suspected from the beginning that Ethan had a close relationship with Marcus as he told her to look after him and that’s one of the reasons she had placed the defensive enchantment on his card as well as she took a liking to his boldness. She had considered the possibility that he might be related to House Ravencrest. His features were strikingly similar to theirs, and she had briefly wondered whether he might actually be the Heir of Ravencrest.

However, she knew the Ravencrest heir had yet to undergo his Awakening Ceremony, and even the information available about the heir did not match what she had discovered about Ethan. Because of that, she had eventually discarded the possibility. There was one more thought that came to her mind and she tried her best to deny it.

"It seems Lady Evelyn is still obsessed with my identity," Ethan said, his voice echoing clearly in the quiet room.

"You... Kid, how did you—?" Merin’s composure shattered, her eyes widening in shock.

"So I was right." Ethan murmured smoothly.

Merin instantly clamped her mouth shut, a cold sweat breaking out on her neck. She had completely fallen into his trap, confirming Evelyn’s involvement.

This kid is far more dangerous than I thought...

Merin quickly analyzed the situation trying to regain her composure, while Evelyn herself looked completely shocked.

"Now, if you won’t answer my questions, I’ll tell the Commander that Lady Evelyn tried to investigate my information and spied on me."

"Do you really think the Commander would take your word over Lady Evelyn’s?"

"Should we find out?" Ethan’s expression remained calm as he pointed directly toward the place where Evelyn was hiding. "Lady Evelyn, please step out."

Evelyn let out a low sigh and lightly tapped her forehead with her hand.

"This kid got me good..." she muttered under her breath.