This empire had strange rules which I frowned upon. Peasants weren't allowed to have last names; they had to be bought. So outside the nobility, only wealthy businessmen and merchants like Mr. Fairchild.
I still don't understand why I would save up a gold coin to get a last name and it would be Fairchild. Yeah, I already know you are light-skinned, but is it necessary to have your complexion added as a last name?
Anyways, it's not my money, so who am I to judge?
Mr. Fairbook's rocking chair was of high quality but was lacking what I had back at the Blackwood residence. Sitting near the warm fire was comforting plus it gave me a vintage view of the interrogation going on.
"My husband has always been a chronic cheat. I caught him so many times, I just gave up." Mrs. Fairchild lamented.
This was the very fast time I had to restrain myself from laughing. I glanced at Mr. Fairchild's portrait. How was this bald, obese man pulling bitches?
If I were her, I would be more impressed than hurt.
"Fairchild dealt in women's perfumes so he was quite popular around most females in your territory." Commander John explained better to Lord William.
'That explains a lot.'
{It does!} Lin agreed with me
"Do you know who he was with tonight?" William asked, I could hear the frustration in his voice.
Both the widow and the city guard weren't helpful.
Mrs. Fairbrook shook her head and William turned his attention to John.
"I apologize my Lord, he was found lying on the streets, some blocks away from a brothel—"
"Which one?" I cut him off and John frowned.
It wasn't news that the Blackwood family had adopted a peasant. Knowing his background, John felt disgusted by my presence.
How can I tell?
I can feel it.
Negative emotions, I can sniff them out, and honestly, it's energizing weirdly.
Anyway, thoughts and emotions didn't matter because I am currently known as Derek Blackwood, heir of the Blackwood family. He will call me boss in seven years and I'll toss him aside like that trash he is.
"Whispering Lotus." He answered, and Lord William frowned like he had a history with that place.
"Let's go." He said to me and walked out.
I hopped to my feet and met John's disdainful glare, looking directly into his eyes but this obese officer didn't have the balls to maintain contact. He glanced away, and I let out a loud, disdainful snort before walking out.
"I won't just kick him out. I frame him for murder or something and have him hanged." I concluded.
{I recommend you don't consume his soul. Once he gets to the underworld, I'll make sure he gets special treatment.} Lin offered and I chuckled.
Bam!
The carriage door was shut with a bang and Williams seemed to have been waiting for me. As soon as I sat down he instinctively leaned forward with a strange resolve in his eyes.
"Have I treated you well the past five months?" He asked and I nodded without hesitation.
The death magic didn't completely strip me of my emotions; it suppresses the intensity which allows me to think clearly at all times.
With this in mind, it is safe to say I am the best judge of character, and based on everything I have seen so far, William Blackwood is a good man.
The only reason Lucy's funeral had been postponed this long was because she was to be buried as a member of the Blackwood family. The House of Blackwood used high-quality coffins ordered from the empire capital. It is prepared beforehand when a family member is nearing their demise, and since Lucy's funeral was abrupt, we had to postpone.
The casket and tombstone were expected to arrive in a week, and now this…
"Yes, yes you have." I gave a simple nod and crossed my legs.
"Then I must ask for your help with this case." His eyes burned with passion for the first time since I met him.
"Sure…" My voice lacked his enthusiasm, but it was enough to bring smiles to Williams's face.
I could understand why he was happy. Hiring mages isn't cheap. In fact, we were the only two mages in the entire Blackwood Thicket—this showed how rare mages were.
It is said that the Loth Kingdom, which has a population of nearly a million people, barely has up to a hundred mages, and includes all the noble's families and mages affiliated with various adventure guilds scattered across the kingdom.
A guard walked over to the window, and William ordered him to look into the Whispering Lotus, and then, we headed home.
____ William's Study Room, 2 hours later ____
Seated on William's comfortable reading chair, I went through past reports on what they described as fox spirit infestation, and signed at the bottom right was a name: Robert Blackwood.
After staying here for nearly over five months, I have seen almost every corner of this home and there was a portrait that always stood out.
It was a picture of Anne and Chloe hugging a man who was the carbon copy of William Blackwood; just a younger version of him. Since William never bothered to speak about him and only introduced his granddaughters to me a month ago, I didn't bother to ask, but now I know who that man is.
Robert Blackwood; an Earth realm magic knight and son of William Blackwood. A man who died in his fight against the fox queen a year ago but succeeded in killing her or at least, that was what everyone believed until tonight.
I gasped as I remembered a statue of a hulking figure dressed in heavy armor with a scutum and a fiery spear raised high. My carriage always rode past it on my trips to the forest.
Everything finally made sense. That man was the hero of Blackwood Thicket he would hear people chatter about. It also explained why William was on edge— he wanted to avenge his son.
The morning weather was perfect for a hot breakfast, or maybe investigating the fox spirit infestation, yet I was dragged outside for a reason I was yet to fully grasp.
"Why am I here again?" I asked with a raised brow.
Since our first class here a few months ago, we haven't trained together. That was the main reason I hunted a lot.
"To train you. Since we are dealing with this together, the least I can do is get you prepared." William pulled out a thick dusty grimoire from underneath his shirt and tossed it forward.
I caught the book effortlessly but was slightly amazed by its weight. I took a good look at it from all angles before flipping it open.
"My primary element is fire, and my secondary is shadow. I guessed you may not have created spells of your own, so you can use that." He explained and I didn't respond.
After flipping a few pages, I stopped at a familiar spell: Infernal lance.
"This was yours?" I speculated.
This was exactly the spell he used for the demonstration months ago and as I suspected, he nodded.
"I see," I mumbled while going through a few spells.
He wasn't wrong about my current situation. It's been five months since I became a magus and I am yet to create even one spell. Probably because I'm more interested in consuming souls and improving my overall strength.
"How do you use it?" I asked, wondering if I was meant to hold the book by hand and flip through pages while an intense battle was going on.
William gave an exhausted sight before grudgingly walking over and snatching the book from my hand. I watched his eyes reveal an amber glow that spread from his body onto the grimoire, and then he let go of it.
Buzz!
It was floating beside him, its pages flipping rapidly until it abruptly stopped and William's eyes turned dark
"From the abyss where darkness dwells,
Silent shade, heed my will.
Slither forth, a creeping chain,
Bind my foe in endless pain!"
Shadow magic: Shadow Bind!
As the words were spoken, I noticed William's shadow stretch unnaturally, slithering like a living serpent across the ground as it sped toward me.
With hesitation, I jumped left and released a wind outburst to boost my speed slightly, and I narrowly escaped the spell. Skidding back a few meters, William watched and clapped with a small smile.
"At least all that hunting wasn't in vain."
I wasn't sure if he was mocking or complimenting but my attention was stolen by the floating grimoire that lost its light the moment it reached and fell into my hands.
"Now use it," William ordered.
I rolled my eyes and concentrated on the grimoire and I felt it, a faint pull from the book as if it was begging to receive the mana of its wielder; I obliged.
A green glow escaped the grimoire as its pages flipped open, and my eyes matched its burning emerald intensity.
"Now what?" I asked.
"We fight until I beat you into shape." William grinned.
"What?"
Bam!
I barely got the words out and William shot towards me like an arrow and left behind blue trails as he moved. I noticed his veins pulsating blue light as if raw mana flowed through them unrestrained.
"From the abyss where darkness dwells,
Silent shade, heed my will.
Slither forth, a creeping chain,
Bind my foe in endless pain!"
Shadow magic: Shadow Bind!
Unlike William, my affinity for the dark elements is unmatched. My shadow didn't slither, it expanded rapidly to a fifty-meter radius. However before it could reach Williams, he was already airborne, gazing at the improved version of his spell with a shocked expression.
He knew the shadow element was my strongest but didn't think it would be this strong.
"Not bad, lad but far from enough!" William roared and I blinked in confusion.
'We are just training right?'
A deafening explosion erupted above and I saw William engulfed in fierce flames, shooting down like a comet. Instinctively I jumped back while manipulating shadow to wrap around me like a mummy made of black bandages.
Boom!
The impact was heavy and instant. As soon as it hit the ground, fierce flames poured out in all directions, but before that was a shockwave which I failed to see.
I got hit and my vision blurred while I felt fire flames race past me. Even with the shadow protecting my skin it felt hot, really hot!
Bam!
I hit the ground and the grimoire lost its light. The shadows slowly unfolded and returned to my shadow while I was panting heavily.
I heard William's approaching footsteps, and when I looked in that direction, he had his hand stretched out to help me up.
"Are you trying to kill me?" I asked in a neutral tone while I took his hand.
He pulled me up with a chuckle and shook his head.
"Don't worry, I won't go beyond what you can handle." He chuckled.
"Shouldn't we be out there looking for evidence and chasing foxes?" I asked with a raised brow.
However, Lord William shook his head but this time with a stern look.
"We are mages. The strongest fighting force in this territory. Such irrelevant tasks are relegated to powerless humans around us. Our duty is to destroy a target once found. That's all." William explained.
I found this annoying even though it made sense. We were the lords of this territory; it would look strange if we got involved in the investigation stage, which should be the duty of the city guard.
Maybe it's because I was hoping for something adventurous and thrilling. Unfortunately, we don't get everything we want in life.
I simply nodded in understanding and picked up the grimoire while William took some steps back to create some space. Since we are here, I might as well try to learn a thing or two before hunting down fox spirits.