When Gavin Durrell and Isabel Grimhill met for the first time, it was awkward, very awkward. He was very inapt in talking to women, which was somewhat understandable since he probably never had a decent chance at flirting. He was extremely nervous as well, making the whole situation worse.

  “Y, your ladyship!” Stammering, Gavin was barely able to string a set of words to make a sentence, which made Ansel face-palm himself. “I, I welcome y, you to the …”

  “The baron seems a bit nervous today, Lady Durrell,” Ansel said, mimicking Wallace’s gesture once again. “We welcome you to the Durrell manor. There isn’t much to speak of, but this is our humble home.”

  Isabel looked into his direction. She wasn’t a beautiful woman but wasn’t bad-looking, either. By his own standards, he felt that she was slightly above average in appearance. She had a long brown ponytail with a pair of light brown eyes. Gadic did meet up with her before this greeting. Even though he was her godfather, he still chose to exclude himself from this.

  “You really are a child,” she remarked with an amused face. He found her voice quite charming. It wasn’t annoyingly high and had a certain feminine charm.

  “My name is Ansel Asvete, my lady.”

  “Yes…, my Godfather’s newest pupil…” She, then, moved her attention back to Gavin. “Baron Durrell, my name is Isabel Grimhill. I thank you for your genuine welcome.”

  She probably meant it, Ansel felt.

  “Y, yes…” His face was red and he started to scratch the back of his head. “I apologize, my lady. In spite of my age, this is the first time I am talking to a woman…”

  Her eyes went wide, probably surprised and even shocked by the sudden reveal.

  “You’ve never slept with a woman?”

  “I was never married, my lady.”

  “Still, you would have a chance…?”

  It was easy for men to seek out companies from taverns and whatnot. Gavin would have had plenty of chances if he desired.

  “I would never.”

  Ansel quickly chimed in to boost his value, “My lady, the baron has been a model knight in his life. He would never share a bed with a woman unless married.”

  “A model knight…,” she mumbled and asked, “Page Asvete, how long have you been serving the baron?”

  “Two years now, my lady.”

  “And how old are you?”

  “Eleven, my lady.”

  “Answer me earnestly. During the two years, has the baron ever approached a woman?”

  “No, he has never,” Ansel replied promptly without a moment of hesitation, and it wasn’t a lie. Gavin had never shown any desire for women during his time. She would stare deeply into his eyes.

  “You seem to be telling the truth.”

  “I am.”

  “Pardon me… I just find it extremely hard to believe that a man with such dignity exists…”

  “My lady,” Gavin spoke. “Until not long ago, I was just a poor knight. My entire wage was spent to maintain my personal soldiers. I had no leeway to spend money on anything or anyone else.”

  Ansel noticed that she was looking somewhere afar. He soon realized that she was inspecting the manor. At the moment, they were in the main lobby right by the main entrance. There was a set of curved stairs on each side to access the second floor. The manor was in a poor condition because, until very recently, only a single maid was looking after the whole place. Gavin did replace many of its furniture but the man never had an eye for such things. What he replaced wasn’t that much better in Ansel’s eyes.

  “This will be your home from now on,” Gavin added, having noticed her eye movements.

  “Yes…,” she replied weakly.

  “I do understand that you may not be used to a rustic lifestyle. I am more than willing to improve the condition of the manor to your standards.”

  “That will not be necessary. I’ve seen the town. It’s in tatters. Improve the lives of your subjects first before improving ours.”

  Ansel felt that she was neither happy nor unhappy. She seemed and sounded content or rather she sounded as if she gave up or had no expectations. Case in point, the convoy she brought was bare minimum. She had brought a single maid and about ten guards and she dismissed all of them upon arrival, even the maid. He had a feeling that she was unable to turn down this marriage even if she wanted to and gave up. Excusing himself to leave the couple alone for some quality time, he found Gadric standing idly right outside. He seemed to be gazing into the direction of the mine. Walking up to him, Ansel stood next to him.

  “How is she doing?” Gadric asked casually.

  “I feel she is a lot like me, devoid of emotions.”

  It took a moment for Gadric to answer, “You aren’t wrong.”

  “I feel like she has given up on life.”

  “You … aren’t wrong.” He chuckled weakly. “Your intuition is really something, lad. Maybe, it’s a voidkin thing.”

  Ansel understood why this marriage was approved in the first place. This was really the last resort to somehow bring her back to life. He was sure that they tried without avail. If conventional methods failed, then perhaps unconventional methods might.

  “I am jealous.”

  “You are?”

  “When I was shunned by others, nobody helped me. I had to help myself. She should be happy that there are people who care. Not even my own family cared about me.”

  “I hope you don’t say that to her even though you aren’t wrong.”

  “Perhaps I should.”

  Gadric opened his mouth to say something but he closed his mouth without saying a word. Taking a deep breath, he sighed in the end.

  “Yes, perhaps you should,” he eventually said after a long silence. “Because you aren’t wrong. I guess you can call her spoiled.”

  “Being spoiled is a luxury of the rich,” Ansel said.

  Gadroc changed the subject. “Lad, I will be leaving soon now that she is here. A month is probably the maximum I am going to stay.”

  “I see. I thank you for everything so far. You’ve taught me a lot.”

  “You have been a good student as well. You absorbed whatever I taught you on the first try. That’s a mark of an intelligent person.”

  “I thank you for the compliment.”

  “Fear not. It’s not empty. Anyway, what do you plan to do if the count does raise a flag of rebellion?”

  The punishment for a rebellion was execution without exceptions. Whole families would be executed, even children.

  “Baron Durrell is greatly indebted to the count. He will likely follow whatever he decides to do except…”

  “Except?”

  “If he and Lady Durrell get along well, she might be able to persuade him to abandon the count and seek a shelter at the duke’s side.”

  “The duke will be greatly saddened to lose his niece.”

  “... I will do what I can.”

  In Ansel’s mind, Count Rassier’s concern about Gavin marrying Isabel was perfectly justified. The very conversation he was having with Gadric was proof enough. At the moment, he was impartial to both sides. He was going to side with whoever was going to win.

  “Hmmm?”

  He saw a man on a horse, galloping toward the manor. As he got closer, Ansel noticed that the man had something like a quiver on his back but no bow.

  “Excuse me, sirs, do you work for the baron?” he asked when he was close enough.

  “I do,” Ansel replied, bowing lightly to show some respect.

  “I have got a delivery for the baron.”

  “May I ask the content?”

  “It’s a world map.”

  His eyes lit up. It’s what he was waiting for.

  “Ah, yes, the baron was expecting that.”

  Nodding, the man on the horse opened the quiver-like object and pulled out a rolled parchment.

  “Here you go.”

  “Thank you.”

  “May I know your name? To confirm receipt.”

  “Ansel Asvete, a page working for the baron.”

  The courier nodded firmly. Turning his horse around, he began to gallop away.

  “At last…,” he mumbled, looking down on the rolled map.

  Gadric glanced at the map. “Were you waiting for this?”

  “Yes, I always wanted to know how big the world was.”

  He wanted to look at it right away, but the main lobby was currently occupied. Therefore, he went to the stable where there was a small round table. Gadric followed.

  “So…, this is the world…” he said in awe. “Our country is Steterra, right?”

  “Yes, this is a pretty detailed map. The baron must have paid good money for it.”

  “And, for that, I am grateful.” His index finger moved around the map and paused at Steterra. Soon, it moved north. “So, this is the kingdom of Novar where your pupil countess is… I see now why it acts as a buffer zone.”

  “Yes, we have to protect the kingdom or it will be us who will be set ablaze.”

  “And there is Opria…, another small kingdom.”

  “Novar and Opria have been allied through royal marriages for generations. They are effectively the same country.”

  “And… Kecliaca?”

  “A semi powerful nation with excellent blacksmithing abilities. Their volcano produces a unique type of metal called ‘Ash steel’ which is black iron of some sort. Very tough and sharp. Their soldiers equipped with such weapons are much more powerful. They’ve been able to hold off the empire by themselves.”

  “Interesting… Well, it looks like there are only two routes into the country. Shouldn’t be hard to defend itself with such advantages, and Opria has it rough… They have no geological advantages. I see that they are making it up for the sheer number of fortresses, but it can’t be cheap maintaining them.”

  Gadric beamed a grin, truly impressed by Ansel’s tactical foresight.

  “What about Ramor and Fladal?”

  “We have virtually no relationship with them. Our kingdom doesn’t have a naval fleet to begin with. But I will say that neither of them is really a kingdom. They are more like petty kingdoms. Coastal settlements may trade with them independently.”

  “Meaning our threat is only the empire of Sol?”

  “For the time being, yes.”

  “I see… If so, then I am pretty sure that the count will cause a conflict in one way or another.”

  Gadric narrowed his eyes.

  “The country is too safe,” he added while pointing at Novar. “They have allies even if we can’t help them. They won’t fall right away.”

  Folding arms, Gadric scratched his chin slowly. He still quite didn’t believe that Ansel was right but, having seen how the guards at the Rassier manor reacted upon hearing the name “Grimhill”, there was some grain of truth in what he was saying. But he said no more, and Ansel continued to study the world map, taking everything in.

  Meanwhile, the town was, at last, starting to look like a town. With more and more people returning to their home and the mine up and running, what was once a deserted town felt like a place where people lived. Perhaps a more important change was the opening of the market although there was only one stool for simple vegetables.

  “Hello, Mr Page,” greeted the woman behind the stool as Ansel walked by, to which he nodded along. The woman was the wife of the farmer who sold him a sack of wheat. Gavin granted them the rights to open a market stool as a gratitude for selling them the sack of wheat. The woman seemed to have a knock for this sort of thing and opened a market stool right away, taking vegetables from neighborhoods and selling them. As the only market stool open, she was making a good amount of money.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “I have a favor to ask of you.”

  “Yes?”

  She had two sons, seven and six years old. She wanted one of them to be taken to the Durrell manor and be trained as a servant.

  “Only one of them can inherit the farm. The other will need to leave,” she explained. “I will let you pick which one is better suited to be a servant.”

  It was a fairly reasonable request. In fact, it was a smart move on her part. One that’s chosen to live in the manor will have a far better life than that of a farmer. And more importantly, the manor did need more staff. At the moment, there were only three maids. There was no official butler and there was no gardener.

  “I don’t see why not. Where are they?”

  “They are at the farm. My husband has been told about it, so he will cooperate.”

  “I see.”

  The husband’s name was Mikeky. He was apparently known for his strong physique and was wanted by several women in the town. It was something he heard over his shoulders when he was walking around the town, inspecting things.

  “Yo, Mr Page.” Mikeky threw a casual greeting when he saw him approaching his field. He had a rake with him, and his two sons were walking around the field, yanking out weeds whenever they spotted them. They started off badly, but the farmer warmed up to him after finding out that Ansel did really work for the baron.

  “What are their names?”

  “The taller one is Mikeky Jr. The shorter one is Mikeky Jr Jr. Come over, lads!”

  Those are not names! he barked internally. It was a miracle that Ansel was given a proper name given how many siblings he had. The two children ran over to them promptly. Both resembled their father very much with light brown hair and dark eyes. Patting the head of the taller one, he casually asked, “So, who are you gonna pick?”

  Ansel needed someone with some hint of intelligence, and it was fairly easy to test that out, at least in his mind.

  “Your father harvested too much wheat, what would you do?”

  “We eat extra!” the taller kid exclaimed happily with his fist in the air.

  “We store,” said the shorter one calmly. That was the winner.

  “Mikeky Jr Jr, you will come with me.”

  “Works fine for me as well! That one's a little slow,” said the farmer. By “slow”, he probably meant physique wise.

  The child would be allowed to visit home of course. In fact, he was going to allow him to stay with his parents for as long as possible because it looked like the parents cared for their children. Just because his own parents abandoned him, it didn’t mean he had to deprive parental affections from the child as well. On their way back, he told the child basic rules.

  “You will follow the head maid’s order. Her name is Selena. She’s easy to recognize.”

  Indeed, she was quite a beauty.

  “I will give you two days off a week. Spend time with your parents during those breaks.”

  “Okay,” the child responded nonchalantly. He probably wasn’t sure what was happening.

  “Just follow her orders and you will get the hang of it soon enough. What did your parents tell you about this?”

  “Mommy said I was going on a trip for a while.”

  “Not exactly wrong, I guess.”

  Selena was pleasantly surprised to see Ansel bringing a child.

  “You have a son already?” she joked with a smile.

  Ignoring the joke, he responded, “I put him under your care. He will work as a servant for five days a week.”

  “I see. Well, we will take care of him.”

  The child stared up at her with his mouth agape. “Wow, you are so pretty!”

  Beaming a bright smile, she got down to his eye level and patted his head gently. Even in Ansel’s eyes, she was far more beautiful than Isabel.

  “How are the baron and the baroness doing? Have they consummated marriage yet?”

  She looked at him weirdly. Perhaps, such words coming from an eleven year-old was odd.

  “W, well, she was not a virgin to begin with, so it’s hard to tell.”

  It wasn’t that he was educated in sex. But he overheard many times merchants talking about “consummating” marriages. In other words, he asked without fully knowing what he was saying. Just like how he copied Wallace’s behaviors, much of his knowledge was directly copied from others often without fully understanding.

  Looking away from them while subtly scratching the side of her face with her index fingers, she hesitantly added, “I believe it has not been consummated because the bed sheet wasn’t too much of a mess.”

  “I see. We need to do something.”

  “W, well, what could we possibly do?”

  The child was looking back and forth, completely clueless of whatever was going on.

  “Are you close to the lady now? It’s been a few days now, hasn’t it?”

  “She is very …, how should I put this, cold? She doesn’t react much. I feel like I am dealing with someone who has shut doors.”

  Very much like me… What did I desire when I was younger…?

  When he was blatantly ignored by his own family members, he went to the market frequently to listen and inevitably learn from others. He did whatever he could in order to keep his mind occupied from darkness.

  “Well, I will leave Mikeky Jr Jr to you.”

  “The what? Jr Jr?”

  “It’s me!” Mikely Jr Jr merrily responded with a smile, jumping up and down.

  Her eyes were suddenly filled with sympathy. “Mr Page, can we rename him?”

  “We probably can. His parents entrusted him to us for life.”

  A servant working in a noble’s manor from a young age generally worked for the same master for his entire life. In more honest words, his parents abandoned him but in a more positive way than Ansel’s own parents did. At least they cared for him enough to send him where he’d be taken care of.

  “I see. In that case, I will come up with a good name for you!”

  “Yay, thanks!”

  The boy had a bright personality or was he pretending? Different people had different ways to vent distress. Smiles were always not the sign of happiness. An idea came to him eventually to drag the lady out of her darkness.

  “Baron.”

  “Oh, Ansel.”

  They were in the office where Gavin was going through paperwork. His hands were busy signing off papers.

  “How is it going with your lady?”

  Then his hand stopped, and that was all he needed to see.

  “Baron, I may have an idea.”

  “You do?” He raised his head to face him.

  “Why don’t you give her work to do?”

  “WHAT?!” he exclaimed at once. “Ansel, she is a Grimhill!”

  “So what? She must be bored out of her mind. All she does is stay in her room, doesn’t she?”

  “But isn't that what a noblewoman does?”

  “Well, noble or not, they are all humans, aren’t they? She must be bored. Give her work so that she can focus on something rather than staring out of a window or reading books.”

  He crossed his fingers. “My word, if they heard that I have Isabel working, they’d rush here to kill me. No, wait, Sir Asvete might kill me before then.”

  “Baron, please listen to me.”

  Gavin froze. Within seconds, he regained his focus. “Yes, of course. It’s you. I wouldn’t be here without you. You found Isabel even.”

  “Baron, I have something that I’ve been meaning to do. I want you and your lady to do it.”

  Looking confused, Gavin spoke inadvertently , “What…?”

  “Line up! You over there! Don’t fucking test my patience! Line the fuck up!” Finnic was barking at people. Well, they were the local town folks. Those who returned only did because they ran out of whatever supply they brought with them. Essentially, they had no choice but to come back. Ansel was aware of their rather dire situation and had maids prepare a large pot of porridge along with over 50 breads. He was originally going to ask Selena to distribute them to the folks but chose to employ Gavin and Isabel instead. They were doing this in front of the wooden gate at the manor. Isabel wore an apron with a large ladle in her hand. Gavin was standing right next to her in charge of handing out loaves of bread. She looked amused to have taken such a role. She probably never saw it coming.

  “Alright, now you are talking! The couple you are seeing in front of you is the Lord and lady of this town! Show your respect! They are baron and baroness!”

  The folks murmured.

  “Shut your trap! Only one may approach them at once!”

  There were five guards in the immediate vicinity keeping watchful eyes. Ansel was watching them from a short distance away. This was not his place to butt in. Gadric was inside the manor on the second floor, observing the whole event from a window.

  A middle-aged man whose cheeks had clearly shrunken approached with a wooden bowl. He had a wooden spoon in his other hand. Isabel awkwardly poured porridge into the bowl with Gavin handing him two loaves of bread.

  “I thank you! I thank you!” He bowed but, in doing so, he spilled his bowl. The man fell to his knees at once with tears filling his eyes.

  “No, no!” Gavin rushed to keep him up. “It’s alright, man. Get me another bowl!”

  A maid rushed in to hand him an empty bowl.

  “Isabel, pour him the porridge.”

  It was Ansel’s instruction to call her by her name. And she looked dazed for a second before coming to her senses.

  “Oh, ah, yes, of course…”

  “I am sorry… I am sorry…”

  “What are you sorry for?! I am the one who should be sorry!” Gavin barked. “I am the lord and you are my subject! Your well being equals mine! It is breaking my damned heart to see you suffer! Hurry up and eat! Regain your strength!”

  “T, thank you, m’lord…”

  There were two things Gavin was genuinely good at. One of them was making heartfelt speeches. In other words, he had charisma. Another was his combat prowess. It was not just luck that he was able to survive the recent battle. He was a proper knight who led soldiers into battles. In order to show him his real qualities, Ansel had to create a similar scenario. Leadership and charisma shone during the crisis after all.

  “Finnic!”

  “Yes, captain!” Finnic responded with glee.

  “Make sure that no one steals another’s share!”

  “Loud and clear, captain!”

  One after another, they were given a bowl of porridge and loaves of bread. After being given food, they sat down on the ground and vigorously consumed their food. Some asked for seconds and were given extra if needed. They began this at noon, and they could see the twilight sky by the time everyone was fully fed. Gavin and others were fine since they were battle hardened men. But Isabel was buffing and puffing, totally spent. This was probably the most work she had done in her whole life. But she never backed out to Ansel’s mild surprise. She had grit at least.

  “Are you alright?” Gavin asked as he kindly let her lean onto him. She was about to collapse and couldn't even resist.

  “Y, yes…”

  “All in a good day's work, madam,” said Ansel, approaching at last. “Have a pleasant rest, m’lady.”

  She passed out right after, and Gavin carried her inside. After that day, Isabel’s behavior changed. She volunteered to work although Gavin prevented her from taking any labor-intensive chores. Where she ended up was ironically as Ansel’s aide which was deemed the safest. Selena also adamantly rejected the idea of having her work within the manor. In her own words, their lady working within manor would just taint her ladyship’s image and reputation. Ansel did agree with her point.

  “Page Asvete, please take a look at this manifest,” said a worker of a convoy that arrived early in the morning. Ansel looked over, handed it over to Isabel, and went on to check the content of carriages. Isabel quickly followed after skimming through the manifest.

  “You are missing a sack,” Ansel claimed. “We ordered 15 wheat sacks. I see only 14.”

  “What? Can’t be!” The man ran over and counted. “I will be fucking damned.” Then he looked down, checking the ground. He must have feared Ansel pulling a trick.

  “This is harming your reputation, mister. Do you want us to change our supplier?”

  “NO!” he exclaimed. “I, I swear there were fifteen! I will make it right.”

  “I am taking two sacks worth of coins off the payment. Do you accept?”

  The man gritted his teeth. “Fine.”

  Ansel went on and checked everything. “Alright, everything else seems to be in order. Here is your payment.” He handed over a small pouch of coins. The man snapped it off his hand. He was not pleased.

  He beckoned over. “Men, bring them over to the storage room!”

  Four soldiers rushed in and started to carry cargo in.

  “Mister, we will be done in an hour. Take a sip at the tavern, will you?”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Grumbling, he walked away.

  “Are you really eleven?” Isabel asked with a bemused face.

  “I am, Lady Durrell. Did you sleep well?”

  “I always had trouble sleeping. But, ever since coming here, I’ve been sleeping like a log.”

  “That’s because you did nothing all day. You can’t fall asleep fast when you aren’t even tired.”

  “Nobody lets noblewomen work.”

  “Not here. We can’t care for that kind of bullshit. If you are able to work, then you work, woman or not.”

  Taking a deep breath, she looked around vacantly. She saw Gavin and Finnic running around to build up stamina. They were all shirtless. When she saw them half naked for the first time, she covered her eyes. Well, not anymore.

  “Well, Lord Durrell is in shape,” she remarked.

  She wasn’t making it up. Gavin was indeed ripped.

  “I’d be better if you simply called him your husband.”

  “Ehm, well…”

  “He is your husband. You are his wife. Please remember that.”

  “I am aware…”

  Ansel was indirectly telling her to do the job as a wife. Gavin needed a family. If possible, he needed more than one child.

  “He is not young, my lady. I am sure you kno-”

  “I know, I know!” She interjected. “God, you nag more than my mother…”

  “That’s because we all care, my lady. Those who do not care simply ignore you.”

  The nonchalant voice and the vacant look in his eyes, she did notice it.

  “I apologize, Page. I must have sounded like a spoiled child.”

  Age didn’t really matter when someone acted in such a mature manner. Even she had to admit why Gavin listened to every word he said because the boy proved to be correct the majority of times.

  “My lady, we are all trying to make our lives work, are we not?”

  She seemed confused at first but replied, “Yes, we are.”

  “Then why did you stop trying?”

  She was frozen in place, unable to reply for a moment.

  “To be brutally honest…, I don’t know.”

  “My lady, the baron is a fool.”

  “I beg your pardon?” she blurted, surprised by the sudden turn of the topic.

  “He is a fool, isn’t he? What kind of idiot lives by his own codes for his entire life?”

  Mouth agape, she was unable to respond because she, too, was somewhat similar to him. She, too, had stuck to her own sheltered feelings.

  “My lady, I won’t be with my lord forever. He is going to need someone smart to look after him. That someone is you.”

  “Are you planning to leave?”

  “Not right now. Not for a while but, if I am to achieve my goal, I will have to leave him at some point. Please look after him. Take him to your uncle if you must.”

  She looked bemused. “My godfather did tell me that you are smart… Just how far into the future are you seeing?”

  Ignoring her, he continued, “For him to listen to you against all odds, you must bear him children.”

  She froze.

  “Only then will he break his own codes for the sake of his family.”

  For someone like Gavin to be able to override everything he believed in, it would need to be something far more fundamental, like his wife and child. Otherwise, he may prefer dying fighting for his liege, Count Rassier.

  “My lady, you may never be able to love him but you will love your children.”

  That was what he frequently overheard from the market. Women who loathed their husbands still loved children born from their “cursed” unions because they were women’s flesh and blood literally. He barely heard exceptions to this. No matter how much women loathed their husbands, they still loved their children and frequently the children were what rooted them from running away.

  “You cannot be eleven,” she retorted, looking somewhat angry and demanded, “Who are you?”

  “I am a result of the broken society,” he replied nonchalantly. “Farmers having so many children for free labor. Anyway, please consider what I’ve told you. It’s not a bad deal for you, either. Who knows? You may have a change of heart along the way.”

  Placing one hand on her waist and placing another on her forehead, she lamented while shaking her head slowly, “What have I gotten myself into?”

  You didn’t have a choice, my lady, he thought.

  Time flew relatively fast, and Gadric decided that it was time for his departure. Gavin, Isabel, and Ansel were about to see him off. He got on his horse with a large bag on the animal’s back.

  “Well, I cannot stay here forever. Since Isabel seems to have settled down a bit. I shall take my leave.”

  “Thank you, godfather. Your presence has made it easier for me.”

  He chuckled in response. “Child, I hardly did anything. Thank my pupil.”

  “Ehm…” She could only look down, unable to retort.

  “Anyway, the Duke would like to meet you in a year. You know, just to check on you.”

  “Sir, that won’t be possible,” Ansel said.

  Gadric turned his attention slowly to him. “Is that so? May I ask why?”

  “The baby will be too young to travel, sir.”

  Everyone froze momentarily upon his statement.

  “L, lady, are you pregnant?!” Gavin asked urgently.

  “No? I don’t think so?!”

  “She will have one soon.”

  Gadric laughed pleasantly as he clenched his thighs which made the horse move.

  “A year and half then!” he said while waving his head. “Oh, right. Almost forgot.” Digging through the backpack on the horse, he pulled out a potion and tossed it at Ansel.

  “Take it, lad. It’s a mana potion.”

  It was a small glass bottle with clear blue liquid in it.

  “Should work on you. That’s my parting gift to you. It’s pretty expensive, so use it only when you must.”

  And you threw this?! Internally exclaiming, he bowed to show gratitude.

  “Thank you for everything!”