"What? Your family wants to capture Ethan, dead or alive?" Samantha, who was one of the members of Nicole's party for the Heir Wars, asked. "How much are they paying?"
Ethan glanced at the young lady who looked genuinely interested in tying Ethan in a sack and dumping him off at the Asta Family's Main Residence in exchange for money.
"Probably a few thousand gold coins," Nicole answered with a smile. "Are you interested? If you are, we can seriously plan to kidnap this guy. I'll be the Matriarch, and you'll get your money. I can only see this as a win-win."
"I like the sound of that!" Samantha clapped her hands before looking at Ethan. "Now, we just need to spike his drink and make sure he doesn't wake up until everything is over. By the way, Ethan, do you know what color of underwear I am wearing right now?"
"I don't care," Ethan replied.
For a brief moment, her words tempted him to use his X-Vision to check the color of Samantha's underwear as a payback. However, he changed his mind because he thought that it was a very petty thing to do.
Seeing that her teasing didn't work, Samantha rested the side of her face on the palm of her right hand, while looking at Ethan.
"The bad rumors about you are spreading like wildfire," Samantha said in a serious tone. "Even the ladies of Terra Manor, who only focused on the healing arts most of the time, would often talk about you as their favorite pastime. The only good news is that most of them are on your side, with only the guys being against you."
"And?" Ethan asked as he placed his teacup on the table. "What kind of rumors are being spread about me?"
"Well, it's not as bad as you think," Samantha replied. "You know, the girls in the Terra Manor are hopeless romantics who believed in dashing princes on a white horse. They said that after obtaining the Legacy, you became a Fairy Prince, and the fact that you were accompanied by Water Fairies back to the academy proved it.
"Also, since everyone knows that you have a good relationship with the Fairies in the garden, the new rumor is consistent with how they view you. I mean, those nasty critters don't usually allow people near them, but you are an exception, you know?"
"Who are you calling Nasty Critters?!"
An annoyed voice shouted near Samantha's ear, making the Second Year jump up in fright.
The red-haired Fairy, Ruby, glared at her with her arms crossed over her chest.
"You're asking for a fight?!" Ruby flew towards Samantha's face, and poked the young lady's nose repeatedly. "Do you want me to blacklist you from the Garden, huh?!"
"C-Calm down," Samantha tried to reason it out with the angry Fairy, who was repeatedly poking her nose with vengeance. "I was just joking!"
"Tch!" Ruby clicked her tongue before flying towards Ethan.
The fairy didn't hesitate to land on Ethan's shoulder to sit on it.
"Those rumors are getting out of hand, but don't worry Ethan!" Ruby patted her chest with confidence. "The Fairies will always be on your side. Also, I can tell that you're not under someone else's control. So, there's nothing to worry about."
"Thank you, Ruby."
"Hahaha! If you want to thank me, giving me a bag of candy would be better. Of course, a bag of chocolates works just as good!"
Ethan couldn't help but smile as he summoned a bag of candy from his storage ring and handed it over to the Fairy, who happily hugged it with both arms.
"Thanks, Ethan!" Ruby said before kissing Ethan's cheeks. "You're the best! Also, if anyone talks bad about you in the garden, we will make sure to curse them with a pimple overgrowth! Let's see if they can still show their faces after that!"
Ruby didn't hesitate to give Samantha a side-long glance making the young lady flinch.
Getting a pimple infestation was a nightmare for ladies, so she made an oath in her heart to never again offend the Fairies of the academy.
"By the way, why are you here, Ruby?" Ethan inquired. "This place is far from the gardens."
Right now, Ethan, Nicole, and Samantha were at the Northern side of the academy, having afternoon tea together.
They made sure to hang out in a secluded place so that no one in the academy would be able to find and see them easily.
"Oh, it's because I was looking for you, Ethan," Ruby stated. "You see, we wanted to visit the Water Fairies who are now living on the lake at the back of the academy. However, we didn't want them to think that we were going over there to start a turf war.
"Fairies can be very territorial, so we don't want to be misunderstood. Of course, even if they want to fight, we have the advantage in numbers, so we are not scared of them."
The Fairies in the Garden and the Water Fairies still hadn't met each other because they had no reason to visit each other.
But Ruby was very curious to find out more about her Fairy Cousins, who were also very close to Ethan.
"Okay. I will introduce you to them later," Ethan replied.
"Thanks!" Ruby said. "I knew that I could count on you!"
Suddenly, a White Raven landed beside Ethan.
He had asked Dantalion a day ago to visit his Grandparents to check on their condition and deliver his letter.
Agnes, who was happy to receive Ethan's letter, replied that she and her husband, Benjamin, were doing fine.
She didn't mention that they were attacked by Wizards and Witches, not wanting to worry her grandson.
But Dantalion noticed the traces of magic power in the surroundings, so he went to investigate.
That was how he came in contact with Enzo, who was protecting the Farmhouse while hiding himself on the branch of a tree, away from the sight of anyone.
Emma had shared much valuable information about Ethan, including the fact that his Spirit Guide was a white raven.
When Enzo saw the White Raven enter the Farm House, he assumed that it was Dantalion, the White Raven who belonged to his Young Master.
After getting Agnes' reply, the White Raven didn't leave right away. Instead, it circled around the Farm House, and used its powers to investigate the surroundings.
That was how Dantalion met Enzo, and he decided to talk to the latter.
The White Raven was very smart, and since Lilith was a Catkin that protected Ethan, he felt very certain that the Old Catkin was on their side.
Fortunately, his guess was right, and the two conversed. Enzo didn't hide any information and told the raven everything that happened.
After careful deliberation, Dantalion decided to share this information to Ethan.
However, he didn't mention that his grandparents got hurt because he knew that he would definitely leave the academy to visit them to check their condition.
The Raven only said that Enzo scared the mercenaries away, making Ethan breathe a sigh of relief.
The Old Catkin believed that it was not his place to tell his Young Master about the secret of his grandparent's family, so he decided to keep mum about the situation.
Also, in order to not have any misunderstandings, Enzo reached out to Agnes and Benjamin to explain to them that he was on their side and that he would be there to protect them from harm.
He didn't share his background and simply told them that he was paid to guard them.
Although Agnes and Benjamin were still in doubt, they decided to believe the Old Catkin for the time being.
Ethan, of course, didn't take his news well. But knowing that one of the members of the Protector Clans was already there to protect his family, he was finally able to calm down in the end.
'Enzo…' Ethan thought. 'I'll ask Emma later if she knows him.'
But just as he was about to think of what to do next, another raven landed beside him, carrying a letter addressed to him.
Ethan didn't recognize the black raven, but since their role was to deliver letters, he decided to see who had sent him the letter.
Recognizing the seal on the letter, Nicole couldn't help but arch an eyebrow. The letter had the seal of the Royal Family of Eastshire.
Ethan, who had also recognized the seal on the letter, read its contents with a solemn expression on his face.
After he finished reading it, a sigh escaped his lips, making Nicole and Samantha very curious about its contents.
"The King invited me to the Capital City for an important discussion," Ethan said before handing the letter to Nicole. "He didn't mention anything else aside from that."
"Do you think it's a trap?" Samantha asked in a teasing tone. "Maybe they plan to capture you and make sure that you will never see the sun again? Or worse, they can just turn you into a stud horse and hope that one of your seeds will bear the power of the Water Fairy Queen's Legacy."
"Very funny," Ethan replied. "Should I laugh now?" Searᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
"You're no fun."
"You're having too much fun."
Samantha stuck her tongue out at the young man, while Nicole read the letter in her hand.
The timing of the letter came at a time when the Noble Families were targeting Ethan, making her wonder if this was a really good time to go to the Capital to meet with the King.
"What are you going to do?" Nicole asked as she returned the letter to him. "Are you going?"
"No," Ethan replied. "I will write a letter back to the King and tell him that I am not allowed to leave the academy at this time."
Ethan glanced at the black raven, who was pretending that it wasn't paying close attention to Ethan's words.
Dantalion, on the other hand, walked beside the Raven and nudged its head with its beak, making it look at it.
'Make sure to not share what you heard here to your Master or else,' Dantalion said through telepathy, making the Raven shudder.
As Ethan's Spirit Guide, he had a duty to ensure that his Master's words would not reach the wrong ears.
His power was directly proportional to Ethan's power.
And now that his Master had grown very powerful, the White Raven had also gained new abilities that made it a cut above the other Ravens in the Shire Continent.