"Damian? Is that you?"
Damian shivered, then he turned around and saw someone he didn't expect to see here. He stammered: "D-Darnag?"
"Damian!"
"Darnag!"
Then the two men rushed into each other's arms and cried like two babies. The joy of seeing each other again made both of them so happy that they did not pay any attention to their image as enchanters.
Mille and Uner, who were both standing by the side, also had tears in their eyes. Although they were not students of Darnag, Darnag still helped them out with a lot of things, and they also considered Darnag to be their family. So, when they saw him alive, Uner and Mille were both deeply moved.
There were no words to describe this moment. However, perhaps they didn't need any words to describe this moment because everyone understood the feelings they were experiencing and that it was the bond of a family.
After 10 minutes of being excited to meet each other, Darnag was suddenly startled and asked, "Why are you here?" Uner and Miller too—why is everyone here? Maybe…"
Darnag suddenly thought of a reason, but he was still unsure.
Damian, Uner, and Mille looked at each other, then at Darnag, who nodded. Damian said: "Darnag, before I tell you why we are here, I have something to tell you. What do you think of Jiken?"
"Jiken?" Darnag looked at Damian and felt a bit puzzled; however, seeing his serious face, Damian knew that this was important. Besides, when he didn't see Jiken here, Darnag had a bad premonition. Darnag sighed and said: "Damian, whatever it is, I'm prepared for the worst-case scenario."
Damian nodded and said: "Before I get to the matter of Jiken, I need to tell you that I, Uner, and Mille are all dead."
Darnag was mentally prepared for this, so he was not surprised. In fact, Darnag had also died; then he had been summoned to this territory and became Hikaru's servant.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtDamian continued: "The prince's accident and the deaths of me, Uner, and Mille are all because of Jiken."
"What?!" Darnag exclaimed, as he couldn't seem to believe what Damian had just said.
Damian sighed; he knew Darnag certainly wouldn't believe this. At first, Damian didn't believe it either, but he had seen it all with his own eyes, so he could be sure of what he speculated. Damian continued: "I know this is hard to believe, but I have seen it all with my own eyes and heard it all with my own ears." Darnag, this is not your fault; this is Jiken's fault.
Damian finished talking and silently observed Darnag's reaction. He thought that Darnag would get angry and not believe what he said. However, Darnag just silently sat on the ground, and his face seemed to have aged by 10 years.
Darnag sighed heavily and said: "Actually, I was skeptical of Jiken at first, but at that time I let my emotions overwhelm my reason."
Damian frowned and said, "Did you also suspect Jiken?"
Darnag nodded: "That's right. I have taken care of and taught Jiken for more than ten years, and I know what her personality is like. I know her very well. However, I just didn't expect Jiken to be able to do that."
Damian sighed, patted Darnag on the shoulder, and said: "Don't be heartbroken."
Damian wanted to comfort Darnag, but he couldn't utter any words of comfort. Reality is reality anyway; Jiken was a student of Darnag, but she killed Darnag and even killed Damian, Uner, and Mille.
Whatever reason Jiken used to justify her betrayal, Damian could not accept it.
Darnag sighed and said, "Although Jiken has a very high talent for becoming an enchanter, she is blinded by greed and aggressiveness. I know Jiken really wants to possess the "White Fire" and the other stone, but I fear that when she possesses them, she will harm other people. However, even without possessing those two things, she has still become a threat, and she even became that goddamn King's dog."
"So... you know everything?" Damian asked.
Darnag nodded; his mood was very heavy. Damian also sighed and advised Darnag: "It's over. It's a blessing that we're alive now and we do not have to serve that damn king anymore."
Darnag nodded and stood up; he managed to smile and said: "So... what about our research? Did Jiken get it?"
"No!" Damian shook his head, saying: "At that time, I detonated myself, and everything within a 100-meter radius instantly turned to ash. That bitch won't get anything."
Darnag breathed a sigh of relief: "That's fine." "If we let the damn King get the results of our research, then it will be very dangerous."
"Good! Let's stop talking about this; aren't you going to introduce me to this place?"
Listening to Damian's words, Darnag seemed to forget all the painful memories and laughed, then he said, "Hahahaha, my bad."
…
Hikaru, after completing a day of hibernation, teleported upwards. When he saw that many people had basically woken up, he breathed a sigh of relief. Even though they hadn't fully recovered, it didn't affect their lives as well.
Hikaru looked into the distance. Anno had woken up and was sitting with her back against a tree; her face was pale, and her breathing was extremely weak.
He approached Anno and asked: "Are you okay?"
Anno saw Hikaru and gritted her teeth, her face showing her anger and helplessness. Although she was angry, Anno did not have the strength to stay angry. She felt pain all over her body, and it was as if countless needles were going through her stomach.
Anno was so angry that she started breathing rapidly; her chest, which was like two mountains, rose and fell with each breath. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down, then said: "Thanks to Saraya, I was able to experience death for a while."
Hikaru didn't get angry when he heard Anno's mockery; if he were to be in her shoes, he wouldn't be able to bear it either. Hikaru sighed and sat down, then he used his mana to start healing Anno. Even though he didn't have any healing skills, he could still use his mana to help Anno heal faster. Anyway, Anno couldn't use Mana now anyway, so Hikaru could relieve her pain by doing this.
Hikaru sat down and put his hands on Anno's shoulders.
Hikaru's action startled Anno, and besides, his face was now less than ten centimeters away from hers. It was because their faces were so close together that Hikaru's breathing and aura made Anno blush.
This was the first time Anno had come into close contact with another man, and it was also the first time a man had touched her. Although she used to study at the Royal Academy, it was an all-girls academy. Besides, when she attended parties with other nobles, she only saw their disgusting lies, so Anno only drank a little and then left, without dancing or socializing much with others.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmFor Anno, although she had lived for more than 400 years, she knew almost nothing about love, and it was not because she chose to be like this but because she wanted to be like her mother and become a queen and rule the kingdom without relying on any man.
However, right now, Hikaru was very close to her, and Anno's heartbeat was pounding like a battle drum. Her face was as red as an apple. Anno didn't understand why she was staring at Hikaru without averting her eyes.
Hikaru didn't notice Anno's expression at this point; he just lowered his head and tried to control his mana to help Anno ease the pain. Suddenly, he felt Anno's heartbeat faster; her body was also getting hotter, and it startled him. Hikaru thought to himself: "What's going on?" Did I do it the wrong way?
[No! Master, you are doing the right thing; just continue; this is just a normal reaction when Anno receives Mana from someone else.]
Rika of course knew Anno's current situation; however, she chose to remain silent. For Rika, maintaining her silence would make this all the more interesting.
Hearing Rika's words, Hikaru breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid that he had done something wrong and had put Anno's life in danger. If something happened to Anno, Selvih would certainly not let him live peacefully.
Hikaru continued to use mana to help Anno recover.
Suddenly, Anno asked: "Do you treat any girl this gently?"
After Anno finished asking this question, she felt so stupid; she didn't understand why she said something that could be easily misunderstood. However, Hikaru felt strange, and he thought, "Gentle?" Please! If you have any problems, I will be the one to suffer. "If your mother wasn't Selvih, I would have ignored you."
Hikaru of course wouldn't say this; he thought for about 3 seconds and then said, "Isn't being nice to a girl what a man should do?"
Anno was a bit surprised; she didn't think that would be Hikaru's answer. However, her mind was now blank, and she couldn't think much. What she was feeling right now was Hikaru's breath and his warm hand on her shoulder.
Anno didn't understand why she was thinking about Hikaru. She thought that maybe it was because she was poisoned, so her thoughts were all over the place, or it could be because Hikaru was transferring his mana to her, so that was why her thoughts were directed at him right now.
Anno didn't understand what was going on.
She was confused.
Anno also didn't want to think too much. She continued: "So... what if that girl is your slave, or your servant?"
Hikaru didn't think; he shook his head and replied: "It doesn't matter; I treat others well because I want to, not because I'm a good person. I am an ordinary person; if I like someone, I will give them gifts; I do not discriminate against anyone."
"So… Do you like me too?"