My Home is Not a Magical Creature Farm

by Usui Takumii

not mine, exiledrebelsscanlations. Beware Bl.

3. 21 to 30

When they fell, the levitation spell was floating in Augusta's mind. He had been reciting the spell all the way to avoid accidents, and now it became handy. The only trouble was that Kyfayar, who seemed to be afraid of him falling, kept holding on to his waist. It should be noted that the weight of the body must be calculated accurately to cast the levitation spell.

If the body weight increased or was reduced, the combination of the spell and runes would change. Now, with Kyfayar holding on to his waist, it meant his weight was an addition of both their weights. Within those few seconds of the fall, Augusta was unable to complete the calculation for the reorganized spell, and had to make do with the incantation he had prepared to levitate just himself with.

He quickly recited the spell, and it was completed in an instant. The speed at which the two people fell suddenly slowed down. It could be said that for a second, they were suspended in the air, but it was not for long. The levitation spell could not support the weight of two people, and so it failed. Then, they fell like the apple that hit Newton hundreds of years ago, following the call of gravity.

Plop!

There was a huge splash as they hit the river. Fortunately, there had been the buffer of the levitation spell on the way down, so the speed at which they plunged into the water was not very fast. Augusta knew that if they couldn't swim, they shouldn't struggle, or they would only sink faster. The density of a human body was similar to that of water, and he didn't carry any heavy things on him. If he was lucky enough, he might be able to rise to the surface

Then, he sank like a stone.

"Ogh, gululululu, ah, glub glub…" Kyfayar wanted to shout when he fell into the water, but the cold water poured into his mouth instead. He held his breath, dived into the water, grabbed onto the sinking Augusta, and rose to the surface using his hands and feet.

The water current was very fast. If there was a waterfall ahead, it would be bad. Kyfayar held Augusta from under his armpit with one hand, and paddled with the other to swim to the shore in the standard doggy paddle style.

The current washed him off course several times. Fortunately, the river was only deep in the middle and was shallow on both sides. As he approached the bank, Kyfayar stepped on the riverbed. He dragged Augusta ashore, half-walking and half-swimming.

"Lord Augusta?" Kyfayar laid the magician flat on the bank and patted him on the face. The magician was motionless, his eyes closed and his face white, like a dead fish.

"My God, what do I do?! Lord Augusta has drowned! He will die!" Kyfayar said to himself, flustered, "No, no, no, calm down. I've seen it on TV. If someone drowns, one must perform artificial respiration…"

Kyfayar couldn't give first aid and had never done any artificial respiration, so he could only follow the things he had seen before. He straddled Augusta, straightened the magician's head, pinched his nose, plucked up courage, and took a deep breath to start the mouth to mouth resuscitation.

Augusta had cold lips and tasted a little like — Damn it! Don't think about all this! Kyfayar warned himself.

After a breath, Augusta still didn't respond. Kyfayar was in a hurry. Try one more puff! He took a deep breath and pursed his lips close to Augusta again. But before he touched the magician's lips, he got a hot slap on the face!

Slap!

"What are you doing?" Augusta opened his eyes and glared at the young werewolf.

Kyfayar covered his face and said with a wronged expression, "I was doing artificial respiration for you…"

"Why would you do it like that?! The method was not right at all!"

"How should I do it then? Will you teach me?"

"Get off me!"

Kyfayar rolled to one side while looking timidly at Augusta, for fear that he would be slapped again in his anger. Augusta checked himself over, and it seemed that he had not been taken advantage of. Except for being wet all over, having a sore throat and the strange taste of mud in his mouth, there was nothing abnormal.

He stared at Kyfayar, who was huddled up to show that he had no malice. Kyfayar's hat had been washed away down the river, revealing a pair of bushy wolf ears. They were drooping dejectedly at the moment, indicating that the owner of the ears was in a low mood.

Augusta thought to himself, although he made the levitation spell ineffective, he was still responsible for dragging me ashore. He waved to the young werewolf, "Come here."

Kyfayar used his hands to push himself off the ground and walked over.

Augusta touched the young werewolf's red and swollen cheek, "Does it hurt?"

Kyfayar's ears stood up.

"It doesn't!" He was overjoyed to reply, then softened down and looked longingly at Augusta, "Actually, a little…"

Several creases appeared between Augusta's eyebrows. "I… I was flustered, I didn't mean it—"

"Mr. Augusta!" A loud female voice came from above, echoing in the canyon, "Are you still alive?"

"Quentina! You two bastards, get down here! I am going to kill you!" Augusta immediately forgot his reserve and swore loudly.

"Did you hear that, unicorn? He said he was okay!" Quentina exclaimed ostentatiously.

"Great! Thank God!" The unicorn's hypocritical voice also came from above, "Since you're okay, then I won't come down to pick you up!"

"Swim down, Mr. Augusta! The cottage is just down the river. You can see it at a glance. We'll meet there!"

"You two wash your necks and wait to die!"

Augusta got up in a fit of anger. He had come up with more than twenty curses, enough to make the unicorn and female vampire feel they were better off dead and regret this damned vacation!

"What shall we do, my Lord?" Kyfayar wanted to comfort the angry mage, but he did not dare to approach him.

Augusta clenched his fist and soon let go. His wet clothes kept dripping, which made him shiver. "Go down and beat up those two thugs." He raised his eyes. "Kyfayar, come here!"

The young werewolf, with his arms shivering, stuck close to Augusta. The magician's eyes were wet, and he whispered something. Kyfayar exclaimed, grabbing his coat, "Amazing, my Lord!"

"It's just a little skill. What are you doing? Go!"

"Yes!"

The gloomy magician saw that Kyfayar was very happy. Although his face didn't show it, his shaking wolf ears revealed his heart.

"By the way, my Lord, what did you mean just now?"

"Ha?"

"You just said, 'I was flustered, I didn't mean it,' before Miss Quentina interrupted. What were you going to say next?"

"I don't remember!"

"You must remember!"

"Here, shut up! I'll break your leg if you talk too much!"

According to Quentina, the cottage was located downstream and would be seen as they continued walking. She said it in a relaxed tone as if 'the pizzeria is just a block away.' But this was far from the case.

The fact was — Augusta and Kyfayar went down the river. The topography on both sides gradually became gentle, and the forest extended, but they had walked all day until night fell, and still didn't see even half of this 'vacation home'!

Augusta was tired and hungry. In his sophomore year, because of Cavaldien's wrong navigation, everyone was trapped during the study trip to the mountain. He had never been in such a mess again.

At noon, they wanted to stop to eat, but there was no food to eat! No food, no cooking utensils, no fish in that damned river, and they couldn't live on the earth! So Augusta had to starve and move on, imagining how to make delicious roasted unicorn when he arrived.

Even after night fell and the stars rose in the East, they still did not see any vacation home. They did not know whether the cottage was far away or Quentina pointed in the wrong direction. Looking hopelessly at the silvery river, Augusta felt that he might die here.

Kyfayar was still full of energy. It did not matter for him if he ate less or walked ten kilometers more. He noticed that Augusta was slowing down. "Are you tired, my Lord?" He asked with concern.

"No, I'm fine!" Augusta replied angrily, "It's just cold. Don't you think it's too cold now?"

Kyfayar touched his neck, "It's colder at night than during the day, but it's not unbearable. If you can't stand it, you can put on my coat…" He made a gesture to unbutton.

"No! I don't want to wear it even if I'm dead!"

"Can you teleport us to the vacation home?"

"No, I have to know the location of the place before I can."

Kyfayar grabbed his head.

"Otherwise, you can take a short rest and light a campfire to keep warm. I can quickly run ahead and find the way. I will come back to pick you up when I find the cabin."

Augusta looked around. The dark, ancient and dense branches of the forest covered the night sky, and only a few stars and the moon peeked through the cracks. The rippling river, reflecting the starlight, was their only source of light. There were many wild animals in the dark, from birds on the branches to insects in the soil, and perhaps dangerous wild animals lurking behind certain bushes.

If Kyfayar was sent ahead to explore, he would have to stay alone in this dark place, facing the unknown and terrible nature. He didn't want that!

"Don't bother!" Augusta said, "It's a waste of time. Let's keep going."

When he stepped forward, he stumbled over a tree root, staggered and nearly fell. Kyfayar held him from behind. "Is it that… Are you afraid?" There was a smile in the voice of the werewolf youth.

Augusta's face turned red. Fortunately, the shade of red on his face was hidden in the night. "Blind idiot, nonsense! Would I be scared? I, the mage, Augusta? Ha ha, it's a great way to smooth the world! You only care about yourself! It's dangerous everywhere at night, especially in the wild. What will you do if you run into danger alone?"

"Are you worried about me?" Kyfayar asked cheerfully.

"No!" Augusta was so misinterpreted that he turned furious, but now he was so exhausted that he didn't even have the strength to be angry. "Shut up and walk!"

They went on in the dark, and soon Kyfayar stopped and sniffed twice.

"My Lord, I smell barbecue. There should be no one else in the forest but Miss Quentina."

"Oh, maybe it's some unknown monster. It especially attracts tourists who don't know the truth with the aroma of barbecue, and then turns them into a new barbecue…"

"There seems to be a fire ahead."

"Maybe it was the monster who lit the fire to attract travelers."

"No, it must be Miss Quentina!"

"How can you be 100% sure?"

Kyfayar looked at Augusta in silence. The magician gulped nervously. "Why are you looking at me like this? What I said is very reasonable!"

"Because Miss Quentina is behind you."

Augusta suddenly turned around and saw a woman in black, with long hair and bright red eyes, hanging upside down on a tree. She was facing Augusta with a smile that showed her blood sucking fangs.

Augusta sat on the ground in horror. Quentina chuckled and fell off the branch, landing softly on the ground without making a sound.

"I heard you talking to Kyfayar, so I came here to have a look." She said, "You're too slow! Unicorn and I arrived long ago, and we had plenty of time to explore the surrounding environment and caught two rabbits. Unicorn just grazed, and I had some blood from the rabbit." With that, she licked her lips. Augusta and Kyfayar shivered at the same time. "You're just in time. The rabbit is almost ready."

Augusta said to Quentina, "I'm a human being. Of course, my feet are not as good as vampires and unicorns."

"But you had a werewolf with you. Why didn't you let Kyfayar carry you on his back? I'm sure, even with you, he would walk much faster than you walking on your own."

Convinced that he was now safe, Augusta had some strength to become angry. "Rude! How rude! I'm Augusta Hollich, a man with a healthy body and sound limbs. How could I let myself be carried on someone's back? You are insulting my dignity!"

"If you don't want to be carried, let Kyfayar hold you."

"Quentina!"

"Do you still want to eat roasted rabbit?" She asked sharply.

"…Yes."

Augusta Hollich, known as the great mage, once again succumbed to the influence of the vampire Quentina.

Led by Quentina, they advanced about half a kilometer to the resort house. As the advertisement said, the house was built on the bank of the river and only had one floor. It was difficult to identify the specific shape of the house at night, but it looked very large, and there should be enough rooms. There was a yellow light shining from the window of the cottage, and a bonfire was built in front of the door. The unicorn stood by the fire and chewed a handful of hay. There was a simple grill over the bonfire with two roasted rabbits on it. The attractive aroma was diffused around with the wind.

Kyfayar cheered and ran to the bonfire. Augusta followed. He was so tired once he finally got a chance to relax, and he felt dizzy. He sat cross legged by the fire, slightly warm, but still cold. Kyfayar took the two roasted rabbits from the fire and handed him the larger one. Augusta took it gratefully and had a big bite without thinking.

The unicorn beside bim 'vomited' in a disdainful way, "Savage! Bloody!"

"Like you're civilized and noble!" Augusta retorted.

"Nonsense! Of course I'm much more civilized than you barbarians! If I eat with you, I will lower my sensibilities! You should be grateful! You are not qualified to dine at the same table with me at ordinary times!"

Augusta was too lazy to argue with him. He felt his throat was dry. It might have been because he had choked when he fell into the river, and his throat was aching ever since. He put the roasted rabbit to the side, "Is there any water? I'm thirsty."

Quentina replied, "The house doesn't have running water, but I got water from the river and the water tank is at the back of the house."

"Is this really a vacation home?! How come I feel like it is a place where monks in the middle ages were put to practice?"

"At least we have electricity! Although it's a diesel generator…"

Augusta thought he was going to faint. This was not a holiday, it was simply them being exiled outside the civilized world and forced to accept punishment!

He got up and staggered towards the back of the house, looking for the water tank. Quentina put her hands around her chest and said, "What are you complaining about? Wasn't that a good time? Have you experienced the Middle Ages? Do you know what it means to live without zippers and toilets?"

Kyfayar grinned, "We need to look forward, Miss Quentina…"

"Hum, young man, do you understand what it means to recall bitterness and think sweetly?! You know how to pick and choose all day long. Be content!"

They chatted for about ten minutes, but Augusta had still not come back.

"He needs to drink for that long?" Kyfayar muttered, "I'll go to him."

"He may be lightening his body. Don't disturb him," said the unicorn.

Kyfayar left the bonfire and headed for the back of the house.

"Hey! If Augusta starts chasing you, I won't plead for you!" The unicorn yelled.

"Ah!" A scream came from behind the house. The unicorn and Quentina looked at each other and rushed to the source of the sound.

Augusta, of course, didn't go after Kyfayar. Instead, the young werewolf was half-kneeling by the water tank behind the house, while Augusta was face down on the ground, with no one knowing whether he was dead or alive.

Seeing this, the unicorn stepped back in horror and said, "Quentina, have you poisoned the water? You deceived us into the mountains and forest, and you really have ulterior motives!"

"Damn it, didn't you poison it? You've finally killed Mr. Augusta! I thought you were suspicious for a long time!" Quentina, regardless of her image, swore.

Kyfayar turned Augusta over and put him over his knees. Quentina squatted down and touched the magician's pulse, "His heartbeat is fast… Why is his body so hot? No, I'm a vampire. It's hot to touch anyone…"

Kyfayar immediately put his palm on Augusta's forehead. The skin under his palm was so hot, it felt like there was a fire burning in the magician's body.

"He has a fever. No wonder he felt cold the whole time. Lord Augusta must be ill! Sob, it must be because we fell into the water…" The young werewolf was crying.

"Carry him into the house!"

Kyfayar and Quentina scrambled to carry Augusta into the vacation home. During this period, Augusta remained unconscious. Kyfayar helped take off Augusta's shoes, socks and coat (Quentina was staring at him with wide eyes the entire time while he was doing this) and covered him with a thick blanket.

The unicorn couldn't get into the room. He stuck his head in through the window of the room and asked in horror, "Is Augusta going to die?"

"Shut your crow's mouth! He just has a cold!" Quentina said aloud, "Just drink plenty of water, keep warm, and get some sleep!"

The unicorn was not convinced, "As long as he drinks water and rests, he can be cured?"

"Um… I think so? I haven't been with a human for a long time, so I'm not sure."

The unicorn retracted his head and screamed, "You're lying! Augusta is dying!"

He then ran into the night, disappeared, and only his long cry reverberated through the forest.

Kyfayar looked at Quentina with tears in his eyes, "Is there anything wrong with Lord Augusta?"

"…He just has a cold. Why are you acting like he has a terminal illness?"

"I'm not sure. Lord Augusta's body is so fragile…"

The female vampire helplessly supported her forehead, "Okay, okay, I know. I'll go out and look around to see if I can find any herbs."

Kyfayar's ears pricked up, "I didn't know you knew herbalism!"

"Nonsense! I have lived for hundreds of years. Is it strange to know more?" Quentina said as she walked out of the house. "Take good care of him. Don't let him die before I get back!"

She opened the door and turned into a mass of bats with a thump, and burst into the sky. Kyfayar watched her leave in awe. It took awhile for him to realize that the doors and windows were not closed, and the cold wind was pouring into the room. He closed the door and window, afraid that Augusta's cold would become worse.

"Don't die, Lord Augusta…" Kyfayar lay in front of the bed and touched the magician's forehead — it was still hot. He whimpered and his ears drooped listlessly. It was all his fault, he thought sadly. If he hadn't foolishly tried to improve his relationship with Augusta through some kind of 'suspension bridge effect,' they would not have gone on a holiday at all, would not have passed the damned suspension bridge, and Augusta would not have fallen into the water.

There was no ice compress in the cottage (because there was no refrigerator at all), so Kyfayar had to put a soaked towel on Augusta's forehead to cool him down. Augusta's eyes were closed and he was still frowning in his lethargy. Kyfayar did not know whether his body was suffering or he was having some unpleasant dream.

After about an hour, there was a soft knock on the window of the cottage, as if someone was knocking from outside. Kyfayar went to the window and looked out with suspicion. He saw nothing. There was a light in the room, but it was dark outside. He could only see his reflection on the glass.

He pushed open the window and a swarm of bats flew in, nearly grazing his face. The bats swarmed into the middle of the room and transformed into a human. It was Quentina. She had a strange bunch of leaves on her hand, probably the so-called 'herbal medicine'.

"How's Augusta? Is he still alive?"

Kyfayar cast a sad glance to the bed, "Alive."

"You go and get some water to boil, and I'll boil it."

"You really know medicine…"

"Yes, of course!" Quentina looked offended. "Before the development of modern medicine, human beings relied on this to save their lives! Get some water!" She said as she walked to the kitchen, "Because I knew of this, I was almost burned because they thought I was a witch! Well, it's almost the same…"

After Kyfayar went to the water tank behind the house, he poked his head into the kitchen. Quentina had set up a big pot (there was no gas pipe, they had to burn firewood like they did a century ago), and instructed Kyfayar to pour the water into the pot, while she crushed the herbs and threw them into the water as she muttered. When the water turned an eerie dark brown, Quentina somehow produced a mug (Kyfayar recognized it as Augusta's cup with his graduation photo on it), scooped a full cup of water from out of the pot and handed it to Kyfayar, "Make him drink it."

Kyfayar stared at the strangely colored, pungent liquid in the glass, "Is this really drinkable? Otherwise, we should treat it conservatively…"

Quentina glanced at his mouth, looking like she wanted to hit Kyfayar on the head with the big pot. "I'm going to…"

He returned to Augusta's bed with the cup and gently shook the magician, "My Lord?"

Augusta's eyelids moved, but he didn't wake up.

Kyfayar was worried. How could he get Augusta to drink this so-called 'herbal medicine'? He was afraid he couldn't pour it directly into Augusta's mouth. Should he ask Miss Quentina for a funnel?

He suddenly had an idea. He took a big mouthful of the concoction himself (the taste was so disgusting that he almost spit it out), lifted Augusta's head and fed it to him, mouth to mouth. Augusta's throat bobbed as he swallowed the medicine. Kyfayar looked tearfully at the rest of the glass. Although he could take the opportunity to kiss Lord Augusta, the taste of this thing was…

He turned his head abruptly and found Quentina peeping out of the kitchen, looking at him with burning eyes. He shivered. Miss Quentina's eyes were so strange. What did she want? Warn him not to do business for personal gain?

"Cough, cough…" A cough turned Kyfayar's attention away from the female vampire. Augusta opened his eyes with difficulty, turned over and coughed.

"My Lord! You're awake!" Kyfayar was excited.

Augusta coughed for a long time before it subsided. "What did you give me to drink?" He asked angrily. "Unicorn vomit?"

"No! It's herbs from Miss Quentina!"

"She must be preparing to murder me…"

"That's really herbal medicine!" Quentina exclaimed, "I know more about herbalism than you do! You can't think of it as a placebo!"

Augusta looked blankly at the ceiling, his eyebrows squeezed together. He reached out to feel the towel on his forehead and dropped his hand weakly.

"I feel like I'm dying. I must be returning to the light…"

"You're ill. Take the herbal concoction and rest. You'll feel better tomorrow."

Augusta gave a sad look at Kyfayar, and a weak voice flowed from his lips, "Kyfayar, Quentina, come here…"

The female vampire ran to Augusta's bed and said, "My Lord, what can I do for you?"

"I'm going to dictate my will now. You two are witnesses. Please record it for me. I, Augusta Hollich, own the following movable and immovable properties…"

"Lord Augusta!" Quentina and Kyfayar screamed at the same time and interrupted him.

"What are you talking about?! You have a cold, not an incurable disease!"

"A cold…" Augusta's lips bent down. "Do you know how many people die of influenza every year?"

"You will never be one of them!" Quentina said, "Even if you have the most terrible infectious disease, I can guarantee that you will not die!" She patted her chest and confidently said, "Before you die of disease, I will turn you into a vampire, and there will be no risk!"

Augusta uttered a groan from hell. "Thank you for your kindness. It's really no consolation at all…"

"Kyfayar, listen, Lord Augusta has the strength to fight with me. It must be the herbal medicine!" Quentina was jubilant.

"I'm just reflecting," Augusta gave a blank look. "Don't you think I'm confused and logical?"

"Your logic is the same as usual, and there is no problem at all!" Quentina jumped up. "How about I get more herbs?"

It was a question, but Quentina jumped into the kitchen without waiting for Augusta to answer. Augusta, who wanted to stop her but couldn't get back from heaven, turned weakly to Kyfayar, "Stop her… The thing she makes will kill me…"

"That's herbal medicine," Kyfayar protested in a whisper. "It's good for your health…"

Augusta hummed in despair, "So you're rebelling. I'm going to fire you and let you go home. I'm going to pack you up for Cavaldien…"

Kyfayar pounced on him, and his wolf's ears fluttered up and down. "As long as you get better, you can pack me up for whoever you want! As long as you get better…"

"Kyfayar… Let me go… I'm going to… suffocate…"

The young werewolf was in a hurry. "I'm sorry, sir, I've hurt you," he said. "What can I do? As long as I can do it, I will try my best to do it!"

"Damn it! Can you change your tone? I just have a cold, not a terminal illness…"

Kyfayar thought for a moment, changed his tone, and enthusiastically spoke in a tone similar to that of a TV shopping salesman, "What can I do for you? Kyfayar will sincerely serve you!"

Augusta's mouth trembled and seemed to want to laugh. Unfortunately, he didn't.

"I want to take a bath." He said.

"Take a bath?" Kyfayar's ear collapsed and stammered, "But… but in this little house… There is no bathroom…"

Even if there was a place for tap water, there was no such luxury as a 'bathroom'!

Augusta moaned bitterly, "I should have known. This place is hell! I might as well die…" He turned over and curled up, and the towel on his forehead slipped onto the pillow. Kyfayar hurriedly took the towel away, then put a new one on Augusta's forehead.

"Don't worry, I-I'll ask Miss Quentina if she can help…" He ran to the kitchen. Quentina, with a strange smile, threw a handful of grass leaves into the boiling water, as if she were concocting some kind of unspeakable poison that would destroy all mankind.

"Miss Quentina, Lord Augusta said he wants to take a bath."

The female vampire scornfully said, "There is no bathroom here! Do you think I'm an omnipotent blue skinned robot?"

"That's what I told him…"

"Make him bear it!"

"Isn't there any way to help? Lord Augusta looks miserable. I want to make him as comfortable as possible…"

Quentina put her hands on her hips, "There is a way, but I think it's useless and I threw it by the firewood." She reached over and told Kyfayar the direction of the heap.

"I'll go and get it back!" Kyfayar turned and ran.

Quentina called behind him, "You have to make your own hot water! It's troublesome!"

"For Lord Augusta, I don't mind a little trouble!" Kyfayar responded in a loud voice, hoping that Augusta's evaluation of him would be improved a little after hearing this.

At the back door of the cottage, he found a neat pile of firewood, and next to it was a bathtub which was upside down on the floor. Perhaps the renter of the vacation home also knew that the tub was useless, so he put two pots of flowers on the bottom.

Kyfayar moved the flowerpot, turned over the tub, washed it with water from the water tank, picked up a handful of firewood from the woodpile and went to the kitchen to heat the hot water. The cottage was really original, but it was inconvenient (there was no toilet! Maybe the renter wanted the tenant to go to the forest to solve the problem by himself, and fertilize the plants). Couldn't the renter renovate the cottage to attract customers?

After boiling two buckets of hot water, Kyfayar moved the now clean tub to Augusta's room. The magician was curled up in the corner of the bed, blanketed like a bear preparing to hibernate. Kyfayar gently shook his shoulder, "My Lord, the tub is ready."

Augusta hummed twice, opened his eyes, and looked at him in a trance. He seemed to have no idea where he was. He was probably confused.

Kyfayar pointed to the tub and said, "Didn't you want to take a bath?"

Augusta came to his senses. He struggled to get up from the bed, and grabbed at his lapel. He seemed stupefied for a moment before turning to Kyfayar, "You go out, don't peek."

"Er… But can you do it alone?"

Augusta stared at Kyfayar, his eyes red and bloodshot, and he didn't have his usual dignity. "Nonsense. It's just bathing. It's not diving 300 meters below to explore the seabed."

Since Augusta had the strength to make complaints, maybe it would not be a problem for him to take a bath on his own. Kyfayar exited the room and went to the kitchen to boil more hot water. Quentina was still studying her horrific concoction (the color of her herbal juice was like a hillside behind a mudslide, and it suspiciously bubbled). When Kyfayar returned, she wondered, "Why are you here? Aren't you going to serve Mr. Augusta in the bath?"

Kyfayar tugged at the corner, "My Lord said that he wanted to bathe on his own. Told me to go out…"

"You should be tough now! It's always up to his temperament! I thought you came to these wild mountains to get Augusta… The result is for nothing?"

Kyfayar's face was hot, "I… I don't think this time is right…"

"Mn, you let go of such a good opportunity." Quentina rolled her eyes and continued to pound her herbs.

Dejectedly, Kyfayar added firewood to the stove. Of course, he would like to take the opportunity to get close to Augusta, but how would he dare to disobey Augusta's order to go out? On the one hand, he was known for his careful thinking; on the other hand, Augusta had absolute authority over him.

He was sandwiched between the two, which was more contradictory than anything else. How can he be accepted by Lord Augusta? Even if it was not 'acceptance' in the sense of love, as long as Augusta could open up a little to him and let him walk in a little bit, it would be better than anything.

He heated up another bucket of water and estimated the time. It was almost time to add some hot water to Augusta's bath. He came to the door of Augusta's room, tapped three times and whispered, "Lord Augusta? May I come in?"

There was silence behind the door, and Augusta did not answer.

Kyfayar raised his voice and asked again, "Lord Augusta! Can you hear me? Do you need hot water?"

He waited for a moment, but there was still no sound from inside the room. He was worried, had Lord Augusta fallen asleep after washing? That was not good. He'd catch a cold if he slept in the tub! For his health's sake, I should secretly open the door to have a look, shouldn't I? He'd understand!

He held the door handle, pushed open a slit, peeped in, and saw Augusta sitting in the tub with his head tilted, his eyes closed, and his hand on the outside of the tub. His posture was like that of the world famous painting, 'The Death of Marat'. Seeing this, Kyfayar immediately incarnated into the world famous painting 'The Scream', holding his face in both hands as he shouted, "Lord Augusta! Are you all right?"

He rushed into the room and held Augusta by the shoulder. The magician didn't respond, apparently having fainted. Kyfayar fumbled to get him out of the tub, regretting so much that he almost hit the ground with his head. Miss Quentina was right. He shouldn't have been fooled by Lord Augusta's nature! If he insisted on staying with Augusta, this would never have happened!

Augusta was fished out like a dead fish, motionless, wet, with naturally no clothing on. Kyfayar would have thought he was dead if his chest hadn't been moving up and down. He didn't dare to enjoy Augusta's nudity and quickly dried him. When he touched some sensitive parts, Kyfayar sheepishly moved away, but the touch under his palm made him blush and his heart beat quicker. Maybe his temperature was higher than Augusta's.

After wiping him dry, he picked up the magician by his waist, threw him back on the bed and wrapped him in a blanket from head to toe. Augusta went from a dead fish to a sea cucumber. When Kyfayar moved the tub away and wiped the water on the floor, the sea cucumber creeped over slowly, and half of his head emerged from the blanket.

"Kyfayar…" Augusta's muffled voice came from under the blanket, "What's wrong with me…"

Kyfayar said in a heartbroken manner, "You fainted in the tub!"

"Ah… Yeah, I don't remember…" Augusta's eyes looked muddled and he quickly retracted his hand into the blanket, like a frightened hermit crab in its shell.

"How do you feel? Is there anything else you need — don't mention a bath! If you wash it like this a few times, you may die!"

"Uh huh…" Augusta answered vaguely, and Kyfayar estimated that he didn't understand what he was saying. He reached out again from under the blanket and shook Kyfayar to indicate him to approach. The young werewolf half-knelt by the bed, holding Augusta's hand.

"Kyfayar, listen up…"

"I'm listening!"

"Next, I will dictate: I, Augusta Hollich…"

Kyfayar really wanted to grab the pillow and kill Augusta himself. But he held back. It made him admire his perseverance. "You have already said that!"

"Ah? I don't remember," muttered Augusta like a forgetful old man.

"In short, what else do you want to say besides wanting a bath and making a will?"

The magician shook his head and his brown hair fell on the white pillow, making him look haggard. "No more…" He closed his puffy eyelids as if he were asleep. Kyfayar was about to release Augusta's hand, but the magician suddenly opened his eyes, "No, wait. Kyfayar?"

"I'm here, my Lord."

"Don't go. Stay with me for a moment."

Kyfayar felt his head bubbling like Quentina's herbal juice, "Of course! I will accompany you every step of the way!"

Augusta snorted, lowered his eyes, and soon fell asleep again. Kyfayar still held his hand and was afraid to let go. He simply lay on the bed with his head resting on his other arm and stared at the sleeping Augusta. The magician's eyebrows were twisted together, his face was still ugly, his skin was as hot as charcoal, and his condition was not much better. Kyfayar wanted him to sleep well. Maybe he would be better after dawn.

Poor Lord Augusta, why was he so unlucky? It was supposed to be a nice and relaxing holiday, but he got sick. It doesn't matter. I will take good care of you and make you as comfortable as if you were at home.

Kyfayar blinked, and his tiredness welled up in his mind, and he also, soon, fell asleep.

"Get up! You lazy dog!"

The sharp sound pierced Kyfayar's eardrum like an arrow. He fell to the ground, and the hair on his tail stood up far enough that it made his leg hurt. Augusta mumbled, covered his head with a blanket and continued to sleep.

"What's the matter? Is there an earthquake?" Kyfayar looked left and right. The earth was safe and the hut was safe. It was already light out, and the window of the room was wide open.

The unicorn's head squeezed into the window, snorting contemptuously, "You're lazy and you're dozing off, huh?! I knew you were not a good thing, lazy bones!"

Kyfayar stretched out and his mouth curled. "You stupid horse, you still have the face to say that to me?! You ran so fast last night that Miss Quentina and I were left to do all the work. Where have you been all night?"

"It's none of your business! Is Augusta dead? Is that why you want to investigate my alibi?"

"Mr. Augusta is doing very good. Can you not say the word 'dead' all the time?"

"If I say 'dead', will others really die? Then I am not a great prophet!"

"Shut up, you pessimist!"

The unicorn spat on Kyfayar's face. The young werewolf covered his face and yelped as he avoided the saliva attack. The unicorn was so happy that he smacked his lips and ordered, "Open the door!"

"Why? Are you coming in? Give up. Miss Quentina has just cleaned the floor and if you come in and get it dirty, she'll cut off your tail and make a head rope!"

"Nonsense! Open the door when you are told to! Or I'll spit at Augusta!" The unicorn turned to the bed and was ready to spit. Kyfayar thought for a moment that the unicorn might really do such a wretched thing, so he had to comply to its words.

He opened the door, and the fresh morning breeze came to his face, which gave him a lift.

However, there was no unicorn in sight, except for a wicker basket on the ground in front of the door, which was full of fresh raspberries, tender red fruits, green wild vegetables and various mushrooms. Kyfayar picked up the basket and found it was quite heavy. Who would be kind enough to put a basket of food in front of the door? He had been sleeping and Quentina was busy boiling the herbs. Was it the one who woke him up, the unicorn? The unicorn had disappeared all night. Did he go to the forest to collect ingredients?

"Unicorn! Did you find these? Thank you for your help!" Kyfayar called out.

"Fuck you! I didn't mean to help you!" The unicorn yelled, and with the distant sound of a horse's hooves, Kyfayar caught a glimpse of a silver shadow disappearing into the forest.

Although this guy was very annoying most of the time, he was also cute occasionally. Wait, the unicorn didn't have hands! How did he collect these raspberries? Did he turn into his human form?

Kyfayar imagined the unicorn in the form of a fuzzy, silver haired man, with a basket in his arm, jumping up and down the forest naked. Kyfayar shuddered and closed the door. He didn't know if the fresh morning wind was too cold but he had goosebumps.

He entered the kitchen to see that Quentina had filled several bottles of strangely colored herbal juice. Kyfayar sympathized with Lord Augusta at the thought that he would have to drink this blood-sucking witch's potions.

"What's in your hand?" Quentina stared curiously at Kyfayar's basket.

"Raspberries, wild fruits, wild vegetables and mushrooms." Kyfayar carried the basket to the stove. "I don't know if there is any poison. I hope not."

The female vampire widened her eyes and said with great emotion, "Is there really a forest fairy with a good heart in the world? She came to help us when we were in trouble?"

"…Your imagination is too rich. It was the unicorn."

"Ah, how can it be! He has no hands!"

"I think he went as a human being…"

Quentina looked at the basket and was silent for a moment. "Fortunately, I didn't meet him when I went out. I'm glad I did not see a naked man picking mushrooms in the forest…"

"…Obviously, it's not a common thing. But why does it become a little abnormal when you say it…"

"What are you saying?! Only a pervert would say that!" Quentina shook her head in disgust, took a wooden tray out of the cupboard and put her special potions on it. "Come on, it's Mr. Augusta's time to take it!"

She looked like a commanding head nurse, and Kyfayar, her new intern, who were preparing to majestically patrol the ward together. In fact, Augusta was shocked by their momentum (and the tray full of disgusting colored potions). He grabbed the blanket like a hamster and shrank to the corner of the bed in horror, muttering in a trance, "Don't come closer. If you come closer again, I won't be polite…"

"Take the medicine!" Quentina grabbed a bottle and poured it impolitely into Augusta's mouth. The magician dodged and flailed on the bed, but the potion still slipped down his throat. The vampire didn't let him go until the bottle was empty.

Augusta collapsed on the bed. He pointed at Quentina, like a dying person trying his best to accuse the murderer, "You… Rebellion…"

Quentina ignored him. "Kyfayar, remember, make him take this medicine three times a day, one whole bottle at a time. Don't leave even one drop."

Kyfayar was shocked. Does she want me to force Augusta to take his medicine? No, I can't do it. "Can you trust me with such an important task? You…You should do it yourself?"

"I haven't slept for a day and a night. It's daylight again. I want to find a dark place to sleep…" Quentina looked out of the window sadly. "The sun is so big. It's like an explosive bomb…"

"To be precise, it's not an image. The sun is a nuclear bomb," Augusta said hoarsely, "because there's nuclear fusion on the surface of the sun all the time. Damn it, I'm a magician. Why should I be explaining this scientific truth to you?"

Quentina beamed with joy, "You were just like a withered vegetable. Are you energetic now? It must be my herbs!"

Augusta asked, "What dark place are you going to sleep in? Under the bed?"

Quentina grabbed the pillow and made a gesture to hit Augusta. The magican yelled, "Fuck off! Don't touch my blanket!"

"I found a basement. I have not entered it yet, but I discovered a door in the kitchen. There was originally a pile of debris in the corner of the kitchen. After moving it away, there was a wooden door under it! It must be the entrance to the basement. I'll just stay there!" The female vampire happily exclaimed.

Kyfayar grabbed at his wolf ears, "But… If the landlord of the cottage piled up debris on top of the door, won't it mean that he doesn't want people to find the door, let alone enter the basement? Is it alright if you rush in?"

"What can be the problem? I rented the house. The basement is part of it. I'll sleep wherever I want!"

Augusta murmured in a sickly voice, "You clearly spent my money to rent it…"

Quentina glared at him, and he didn't dare to say anything more. "I'm a vampire. What can hurt me in the world? At best, this place is broken and dirty, and it doesn't match my elegance and beauty."

Kyfayar had a drop of cold sweat on his forehead. After spending a long time with the unicorn, Miss Quentina also became a narcissist!

"I'll come out at night, so I'll leave it to you during the day." Quentina patted Kyfayar on the shoulder. "The medicine is here. You have to supervise Mr. Augusta to take the medicine on time. There is food from the unicorn in the kitchen. If it is not enough, you can ask him to find more, or you can go hunting by yourself. There are many delicious and slow-moving animals in the forest — cough, I mean, there's a lot of prey. There are also fish in the nearby pond. The fishing gear is in the kitchen. You can go fishing."

Kyfayar couldn't fish and had never hunted. But he was able to pick a few wild fruits. "I see. It's only half a day. I can handle it. Have a good rest."

"Then I'll go."

Kyfayar sent Quentina to the kitchen.

There was a wooden door on the floor in the corner of the kitchen. It looked so old that it must have been out of sight for a long time. Quentina opened the wooden door. With a little light, they could see a wooden ladder under the door. The rest of the place was dark, so they couldn't see further in. Quentina stepped on the wooden ladder carefully, for fear that it would not be able to bear her weight. Fortunately, the wooden ladder was not as fragile as she thought.

She went all the way down to the bottom and called out to Kyfayar, "Close the wooden door! But don't lock it up, or I won't be able to get out!"

"Okay!" Kyfayar said.

He closed the wooden door and turned to make breakfast. The food from the unicorn was sitting there. However, in less than a minute, only a series of "aaaaaaaaaaah" came from the bottom of his feet and gradually became louder and louder. With a bang, the door of the basement flew open and Quentina, who seemed to have stepped on a rocket, jumped out.

Kyfayar looked at her helplessly, "What happened? Are there any mice in the basement?"

"If it was a mouse, I wouldn't have screamed!"

"So there are cockroaches? It is said that Blattella germanica is very difficult to deal with…"

"Not a cockroach like creature! No! It's not a creature at all!" Quentina yelled out of control. "We really rented a haunted house! There's a body in the basement!"

A pale light shone into the dark basement and reflected a round spot on the wall. Although there was light, it still set off the darkness in other places.

Kyfayar, holding a flashlight, made a discreet little step, and Quentina followed him with trepidation.

"I'll tell you why the rent for this house was so cheap. It must be a trick! I thought it was just poor living conditions, but I didn't expect it to be a haunted house!" The female vampire said quietly, "This is not a supernatural film, but a murder horror film! There are only ghosts in supernatural movies, but there are real corpses in murder movies! Is there a manic killer lurking nearby? Or is the owner of this house a bloodthirsty murderer?"

Kyfayar moved the flashlight, and the pale light moved to the left. All of a sudden, he took a breath of cold air, and his flashlight fell to the ground and went out. Quentina screamed.

"Miss Quentina! What are you panicking about! Don't you have night vision?"

"I'm flustered just because I have night vision! I've seen everything!"

Kyfayar picked up the flashlight while enduring her deafening scream, flipped it on, and shone it into the darkness again.

Within the glow of the pale light, there was an old-fashioned reclining chair. A skeleton was lying on the chair with its head askew, wearing a rather luxurious silk robe.

"That's it! That's it!" Quentina turned into a bat. "A corpse! Oh, my God! I didn't think there was such a terrible thing under this cottage! A body! I want to complain! I'm going to take the landlord and the agency out of business!"

Kyfayar took a few steps with a wooden face, looked at the skeleton carefully, turned his head and sighed helplessly, "Miss Quentina, you are just too shocked. It's not a body at all. It's a skeleton."

"…What are you saying?" Quentina looked pale.

"If it was a corpse, it would rot before it turned into white bones and the clothes on it wouldn't be so clean." Kyfayar tugged at the silk robe on the skeleton. "You see, it's so neat, almost like it's brand new."

"It's a model?"

"Certainly. Which landlord would rent out a place with corpses in the basement? Wouldn't you be afraid of someone calling the police? If it's a human skeleton model, it makes sense. Well, the landlord of this house even dressed the model and put it in the basement. It's so funny."

"What a bad taste! It's awful! Bloody awful!"

"Also… Why are you afraid of a corpse? Aren't you immortal yourself…"

Quentina was indignant, "People can scare people to death. Why can the undead not be afraid of dead people? Besides, even if the corpse can move, vampires and skeletons are two completely different undead creatures, which can't be generalized at all! Just as mammals, don't humans scream when they see bats and mice?!"

"It won't hurt you!" Kyfayar went around the back of the chair, grabbed the skeleton's left hand, waved it to Quentina in a friendly way, pinched his voice and said, "Hello, Miss Vampire, I'm a little skeleton. Nice to meet you!"

Under the light from the flashlight, Quentina's face changed greatly, and the originally pale skin color of the vampire was now like a layer of chalk white.

"Corpse, corpse…" She pointed to the skeleton on the chair and stopped talking.

What was wrong? Kyfayar lowered his head.

Kyfayar vowed that he had not moved the skeleton, only touched its arm! After a few seconds, the skeleton's head turned to Kyfayar, and its neck bone creaked.

"Boy, you're being impolite. Put my arm down," said the skeleton.

Finally free from the werewolf and vampire, Augusta was able to enjoy a moment of peace. He lay in bed, sleepy. He wanted to change and didn't want to understand why he was so unlucky recently? Either entering the police station or falling ill after getting wet seemed to have spent all his bad luck of the year. He hoped to be lucky in the future, otherwise he really wanted to…

"Aaaaaaaaaah!" The screams of terror grew closer from a distance. The door was slammed open and Kyfayar and Quentina rushed in and fell on Augusta. The magician was so stressed by their weight that he almost vomited all the herbal concoctions he had just taken.

"What's the matter?" Augusta yelled, "This is my bed, not a holiday shopping mall! Why jump on my bed! No! Get out of here, Kyfayar! Don't get into my blanket!" He kicked the young werewolf away.

"Monsieur Augusta, the matter is not good!" Kyfayar was in tears.

"What's up?"

"There was a basement in the house. We went into the basement and found that there was…" Quentina grabbed the blanket and sobbed.

Augusta conjectured, "Was there a magic book to summon the great evil god?"

They shook their heads and couldn't even speak. Augusta was full of question marks. Since it was not a horror movie, what was in the basement that scared them like ostriches?

There was a slight sound of footsteps outside the door. Da. Da. Da. The sound was loud, not like the soles of shoes on the floor. Da. Da. Da. The footsteps came right to the door. Augusta's heart went up to his throat. He instinctively wanted to release a defense magic, but now that his brain was full of paste, he could not even remember half of the mantra!

Squeak—

The door that had not been shut was pushed fully open.

A skeleton in a green silk robe entered the room.

Augusta was speechless.

What is this? Why were there skeletons in a holiday cottage? This was definitely the trend of a horror movie! Kyfayar, Quentina, what did you do in the basement? How did you make a skeleton? Are we going to be cut to death by this guy? I never thought that my life would end here! After all, why else would a skeleton appear in this house!?

"That…" Augusta hesitated. "Are you the God of Death?"

The skeleton was speechless.

Augusta exclaimed ruefully. "Oh! I knew it! I should have made a will. I shouldn't have listened to Kyfayar and Quentina's slander at that time! Now, it's too late! All of my inheritance will belong to those distasteful distant relatives!"

The skeleton raised its right hand and scratched the back of its head. Augusta didn't know why it did it. In theory, the back of its head shouldn't itch. It was a sign of confusion.

"Er? I don't know what you misunderstood," said the skeleton politely, "but I'm not the God of Death."

"Then what are you?"

"It's rude to ask what I am. Nowadays, young people are becoming more and more impolite. It's really declining in the world. At least, what you should ask is 'who are you?'" The skeleton replied.

Augusta calmed down (he was dizzy and seemed to have a higher fever) and wanted to ask who the skeleton was. But Quentina suddenly exclaimed, "Don't ask, Lord Augusta! If you ask, it will say, 'Ha ha, you know too much. You can't save your life, just die.' I know, this is the usual routine of a horror movie! Don't ask!"

"Yeah!" Kyfayar echoed, "I haven't seen a lot of horror movies, but Miss Quentina seems to have seen a lot of them. There must be some reason for her to say so!"

"Enough from you two!"

"No, Lord Augusta! What's more, we can't let it know our names, otherwise! Oops, did our names leak out? Whoa, whoa, I'm too young. I don't want to die again!"

The skeleton (as if it had eyes) looked at them, and the three screamed like the end of the world was coming. It was enough to bring down the earth.

The skeleton watched them calmly for a while, and then suddenly said, "Actually, I am the owner of this house."

The screams of the three stopped.

For a moment, the house was so quiet that even the breath of several people could be clearly distinguished. Outside the window, a crow in the forest crowed twice, as if laughing at the farce.

Augusta was skeptical, "What evidence do you have?"

The skeleton lifted its left hand and raised its middle finger.

Augusta was furious, "How dare you make such obscene gestures! Believe it or not, I can cut your hand off!"

Kyfayar tugged at Augusta's sleeve and whispered, "It's a ring! The ring!"

The skeleton had a gold ring on the middle finger of its left hand with a shield shaped emblem on it. It also pointed to the door. Kyfayar and Quentina ran out and found that the same emblem was painted on the door, like some kind of aristocratic family emblem. They hadn't noticed it at all.

"…He might be the owner…" After listening to Quentina's report, Augusta sighed.

The skeleton's face showed no signs of joy or anger, but Augusta guessed that it was probably unhappy. "Nonsense. If I'm not the owner, why am I in this house?"

"We are not the owners, but we are staying here as well?"

The skeleton was speechless.

Quentina hastily came out to make a comeback, "Mr. Landlord, don't mind his words! He's sick, he's confused, he doesn't keep his word!"

Augusta glared at the female vampire, "You're sick!"

Quentina lifted the blanket over his head, pushed him back to bed and said to the skeleton with a smile, "Listen, he's talking nonsense!"

"Oh, is this gentleman ill?"

"Yes, he fell into the water. As a result, he caught a cold."

"What a pity." The skeleton said regretfully, "Are you here for a holiday? You can't play around when you're sick. We have to find a way to cure you."

Kyfayar's eyes brightened, "Do you have medicine for colds at home?"

"No," the skeleton replied decisively.

"…Then why would you make such a remark?"

"Expressing my concern. It's just social language. Don't mind it."

"Let's have a good time…" Kyfayar muttered.

"I think there should be a lot of herbs growing in the forest." The skeleton said, "Aren't there? That disgusting smell floats right down to the basement, I can even smell it in my sleep. Thanks to that, I specially asked the people of the intermediary company to pile up debris at the entrance of the basement, but it was totally useless!"

Quentina frowned unpleasantly. "You don't even have a nose. How can you smell the herbs?"

"How rude, how can you point out other people's defects?" The skeleton covered its chest.

Augusta struggled to emerge from the blanket, "Those herbs are so bad that even the skeleton knows it's disgusting! I don't want to drink that again!"

"The landlord just said that they smell bad. Just because it smells bad does not necessarily mean it is hard to drink." Quentina defended her herbs.

"This one smells and tastes bad! I might die faster if I drink it!"

"Don't drink it. You can cure yourself with your weak immune system."

"I can't!"

"You can't say that, sir." The skeleton said, "You still need to drink the medicine. A small cold can also develop into a serious disease! I had a cold that developed into pneumonia and died. Medicine was so underdeveloped at that time."

The house was silent.

Why bring up such a heavy topic, Mr. Landlord! Augusta thought. I was in a good mood, but now I'm at the bottom! Are you really not sent by the God of Death? Oh, I knew I shouldn't have come here for hell's vacation!

"Let's change the subject." The landlord probably noticed the tangle in the hearts of the people and happily spoke. (Augusta suspected that he said it on purpose to destroy their mood.) Everyone nodded and said yes. "Just call me Leopold. As you can see, I was the owner of this house and the surrounding land before when I was alive and, of course, after I died. I haven't asked for your names yet."

The three gave their names. Leopold was surprised and said, "Oh. I have heard that you are the famous upstart local rich man in Dongqing County… Oh, no, descendant of the Holligers of the New Upper Class?"

Kyfayar and Quentina smilingly looked at Augusta. They knew that Augusta's family used to be quite rich (and still were), but it was the first time they'd heard someone use the word 'upstart' for him.

"What are you looking at?" Augusta exclaimed, "Who in the world has money from the beginning? There must be a process of accumulating wealth! No matter what era, ordinary people become rich people, and some rich people go bankrupt overnight. Why are you looking at me like this?"

Leopold said, "Yes, that's right. To think you'd rent a cheap house like mine to spend your holiday. You're probably not an upstart any more."

Kyfayar and Quentina turned their heads and giggled. Augusta beat the bed angrily, "What are you laughing at? Did I want to come on a holiday? It's Quentina who rented the house on her own initiative. I didn't know of it before!"

"I don't want to save you money." Quentina said.

"Didn't you sell your land to build a small town?" Kyfayar asked, "And let the unicorn go out to work and make money?"

"My family sold the land to develop real estate!" Augusta felt like he was going crazy. "The money from the land sale is now used to invest in other businesses! As for the unicorn, he's an adult. What's wrong with letting him go out to work? He can't be a loafer who stays at home all day."

"Ah, aren't you referring to yourself?"

"I'm a magician! I'm not idle! I do research every day! Are you sick of your eyes and don't want to see any longer?"

"I haven't seen any research results anyway," Kyfayar said.

"Are those two ears on your head decorative?"

Kyfayar covered his furry wolf ears, "Can this also be called 'research findings'? It's clearly a product of failure!"

"Many things in the world are invented by mistake!"

"Do you want to take the potion that makes werewolves grow ears and tails as a 'new invention'?"

"That's a good idea. There are business opportunities," Quentina said.

"I agree. If the promotion is successful, you can 'be an upstart' for a second time," said the skeleton.

"If I die today, I will be angry with you!"

Suddenly, the unicorn poked his head into the room. He threw a basket to the ground, and the wild fruits and mushrooms fell out one after another.

He was staring at Leopold and did not speak for a long time. Augusta thought he was so scared that he would scream and run into the forest in a short time. Unexpectedly, he just puffed through his nostrils and said scornfully, "Hmph, nouveau riche."

"I beg you to repeat it?" Leopold asked.

"The clothes you wear are really a nouveau riche's taste."

The skeleton looked down at his green silk robe, "What's wrong with this?"

"Typical Augusta style, nouveau riche taste." He said the word for the third time, "I didn't expect that you would dress like that. Even skeleton soldiers that are summoned wouldn't wear the same clothes as you. I really admire you."

"I was not summoned!" Leopold raised his voice, "I'm the landlord here!"

"Really? I thought you guys were going to train Kyfayar's fetching technique, but couldn't find the right bone, so you just called on a skeleton soldier to make up the number bones needed. Kyfayar, if the skeleton ran out of the door now, would you be unable to extricate yourself from it and involuntarily want to chase it?"

Leopold turned to Augusta, "Your strange horse with the long horn on its head is so open-minded that it dares to say anything."

Augusta waved his hand, "It's a vice virtue."

"Is that drawbridge yours, too?" asked the unicorn.

"If you are talking about the suspension bridge in the upstream gorge, it is indeed funded by me, and the property right should belong to me."

"Can you fix it? Or we won't be able to go back. Although we have other ways to cross the river, it's very troublesome."

"What's wrong with the drawbridge? Is it broken?"

"What do you think?"

The skeleton screamed, "You broke my suspension bridge?"

"What's with 'you broke'? Your broken suspension bridge was in disrepair for a long time. It should have been broken for a long time now. To be up for this long is a miracle."

"There is magic on the suspension bridge. Except for human destruction, it will not be broken even if the natural conditions are bad, so it must have been broken by you!"

Augusta, Quentina, and Kyfayar bowed their heads with a guilty heart. It was true that the suspension bridge was broken by the unicorn. There was no excuse for it. Unicorn, why did you open the pot?! What did this have to do with the suspension bridge?

"There is no such ridiculous magic in the world!" The unicorn didn't like the skeleton.

"Yes! You, a frog in the well, of course, don't know! You broke my suspension bridge! How can I have the guests come to the house in the future?"

"What a worry! No one wants to come to such a dilapidated house in the mountains and forests!"

… And so, Augusta and his party were swept out!

Quentina and Kyfayar each waved a branch to chase the unicorn.

"It's all your fault! We were driven out by the landlord!"

"Lord Augusta is still ill. What do you want him to do?"

The unicorn howled, "I didn't know the skeleton had such a fragile heart that he wouldn't be able to stand a word or two! He doesn't respond like Augusta!"

"That's Lord Augusta to you! He is so kind! You have such a cheap mouth but Lord Augusta has not driven you away!"

"You ruined the wonderful holiday! How are you going to pay for it?"

The unicorn continued to howl, "What's so wonderful about this holiday? What's the pleasure of living in such a shabby house without running water?"

"It's called natural ecology. What do you know?"

"You've made Lord Augusta fall ill. Of course, the holiday is not good!"

The unicorn ran around screaming, "I was wrong! I'll carry you away! Stop fighting!"

For the first time in this life, he violated his own principles and carried three people to the suspension bridge. The unicorn was so fast that it took them less than an hour to reach the drawbridge and cross the canyon to the other side.

The canyon was empty, and the broken suspension bridge hung down the cliff and swayed weakly in the wind.

"What do we do, this suspension bridge…" Kyfayar looked anxiously at the broken ropes and planks. "We… Do you want to pay for it?"

"Let the unicorn make money from being a cattle and horse to pay for it." Quentina said.

"You fallen woman! At that time, you were also on coaxing from the side! It's your fault too!"

"Stop being noisy!" Augusta yelled. He was riding on the unicorn's back, still with a fever and dizzy and sick from the unicorn's poor flying skills. "I'm so tired of you! Every time I get into trouble, I have to clean up the mess. I should have fired you!"

He pulled the unicorn's mane roughly and forced it to the edge of the cliff. The unicorn gave a shivering glance down below, and quickly drew back, "Augusta, you want me to jump down and apologize with my death?"

"Shut up!" Augusta raised his right hand, stretched out his fingers, and whispered a mantra. The silver light spread like a ripple from his hand. Kyfayar exclaimed, "I've seen this spell! It's a recovery spell!"

The broken suspension bridge hanging from the cliff on both ends floated up with some nameless great force. The broken boards returned to their original position and the ropes that had snapped connected with each other, as if someone had inverted the process of breaking the suspension bridge. Shortly after, the suspension bridge was restored to its original state.

Quentina and Kyfayar applauded. "Great Lord Augusta. Now we don't have to be sued by the skeleton!"

"I knew it would have been fixed directly by magic, otherwise it would have caused so many troubles."

Augusta did not respond to their cheers, and his body on the unicorn's back shook.

"Lord Augusta!"

Kyfayar held onto the magician. If he had been a little too late, Augusta would have fallen off his horse. Augusta was pale, short of breath and there was cold sweat on his forehead. Kyfayar knew this was not good. Augusta was sick and had just used magic. He must be weak at this moment!

Kyfayar climbed up the unicorn's back and sat behind Augusta. He put his arm around Augusta's body so that the magician could lean against his chest and not fall off.

"Come on, unicorn, take us home!" Kyfayar urged.

"Get off! How can I carry both of you?! What about the luggage?" The unicorn yelled.

"Leave the luggage alone! Can't you hold on a little bit for Lord Augusta? There is no spirit of hard work at all!"

The unicorn swore, but somehow he didn't leave the both of them. He took off directly, and Quentina followed after them in the form of multiple bats. Their luggage was left in the forest but there were no valuables in it anyway. There were probably no thieves in the forest. They would come back to get it when they had time.

Kyfayar hugged Augusta tightly to prevent him from falling down and to keep him away from the cold. Augusta's skin was so hot that it burned like charcoal. He leaned in Kyfayar's arms, unconscious, frowning or twitching from time to time, as if in a nightmare.

Although the unicorn was said to be 'faster than a jet', he couldn't fly at that speed with passengers. However, he never stopped and took nearly three hours to get home. Kyfayar was moved to tears when the familiar house came into view.

As soon as the unicorn stopped, Kyfayar jumped down with Augusta in his arms. The bats gathered at the door before reverting to the posture of a female vampire. Quentina's hair was scorched and smoky because of her long flight in the sun. She pulled the key out from Augusta's pocket, the magician being currently held by Kyfayar, and opened the door. Kyfayar rushed in and put Augusta on the bed in his bedroom.

Augusta looked a little better because he was back in his familiar environment. Kyfayar was lying on the edge of the bed worried, and his wolf ears lay drooping on top of his head. Quentina grabbed a hand mirror and straightened out her burnt hair.

"What shall we do? Should we take him to the hospital? But the hospital seems far away. Are doctors in the private clinics in town able to go out? Should we have someone come over?"

"Even if a doctor is invited, he will only ask him to drink more water and rest more. I have seen more than my herbal medicine." Quentina hummed.

There was a faint groan from the bed. Augusta raised his hand, squeezed the corner of his eyes, and then opened his bloodshot eyes. "I… Where is this?"

"We have come home, Lord Augusta," Kyfayar replied.

"Oh…" Augusta looked blankly at the ceiling and realized after a long time that it was really his bedroom. "Did I faint again?"

"Yes. Do you want to go to the hospital? Or have a doctor from town come to visit?"

"No, it's not a serious illness…" Augusta said vaguely, "I just need sleep."

"Do you need anything else? It's okay to take a bath. The bathroom at home has hot water and it's warmer here."

"No, I'm… I just want to rest. " Augusta's voice dropped as he spoke, and his sleepiness showed on his eyebrows.

"Can I change your pajamas?"

He didn't know whether it was the power of the illness or his sincerity, but Augusta nodded. Kyfayar said to Quentina, "Can you make some food? Lord Augusta hasn't had a good meal since last night…"

"Well, there should be some food in the house."

After the female vampire left, Kyfayar took Augusta's pajamas out of the closet and helped the magician change into them. Augusta was half-asleep and half-awake, knowing to cooperate with him. Quentina quickly made a vegetable soup, and Kyfayar fed Augusta half a bowl. The latter said he had no appetite and went back to bed, huddled in a soft quilt. Kyfayar tucked in his quilt anxiously. Every once in a while, Kyfayar took Augusta's temperature. Although it was not a 'high fever', the temperature did not drop.

As night fell, Kyfayar turned off the ceiling light in the bedroom and lit only the wall lamps. It was almost time for dinner, and even if Augusta did not have an appetite, he had to be forced to eat something. Kyfayar crept up to the bed and gently pushed the magician, "Wake up. It's time for dinner."

Immersed in his sleep, Augusta seemed unwilling to wake up. Kyfayar called several times before he opened his eyes. He looked vaguely at the werewolf youth beside his bed who was partly illuminated by light and partly hidden in the dark, as if he had not woken up at all.

"Ah… Who's there?" He muttered, "Cavaldien? Is that you?"

"Cavaldien? Is that you?" Augusta blinked his eyes hard to dispel his drowsiness, "Oh, it turned out to be Kyfayar…"

Kyfayar was stunned. How could Augusta mistake him for Lord Cavaldien? In his opinion, there was no resemblance between them in appearance, physique and voice, and no matter how lame their eyes are, they will not admit their mistakes! Was it because Augusta had just dreamt of Lord Cavaldien, so he got confused with his dream and reality? But if he had a nightmare, why did he dream of Cavaldien?

"What can I do for you, Kyfayar?" The magician's voice awakened the young werewolf from his complex thoughts.

"Er… That… It's time for dinner."

Augusta sat up with difficulty, and Kyfayar grabbed several cushions to place behind him.

"I think I just had lunch?"

"That's because you've been sleeping."

Augusta nodded, signaling Kyfayar to serve. Dinner was still thick soup for the weak magician, since he needed something easy to digest. During the meal, Kyfayar sat dejectedly on the chair beside the bed, his ears and tail drooped feebly, and even Augusta could see through the gray atmosphere.

"What's the matter with you?" The magician put down the spoon and placed the soup bowl and tray on the bedside table to show that he had finished his meal. He didn't have much of an appetite anyway. "Why are you so sad?"

Kyfayar grabbed the corner of his coat, "You just… How could you mistake me for Lord Cavaldien?"

"I wasn't completely awake." Augusta said lightly.

Kyfayar was hit hard by his calm tone. How could this kind of thing be dismissed so easily?

"That's why you're upset?"

"Why can't I be?" Kyfayar kicked off his chair, threw himself on Augusta's lap and beat the mattress angrily. "I've been taking good care of you! It's me! But you mistook me for someone else! How can I be reconciled!"

A hand fell on his head and rubbed his hair and furry wolf ears. "I know it's you."

Kyfayar, with moist eyes, looked up at the magician, "You know?"

"I just had a cold, I'm didn't become a vegetable."

"Then you also… You still regarded me as someone else…"

Augusta looked away from his gaze and stared at the curtain in a meaningless way, "I said I wasn't awake…"

"You dreamt of Lord Cavaldien?"

"Mn, I guess. I dreamt of the past."

Kyfayar's ears popped up. "What is it?"

Augusta pinched his fluffy ear and pushed him away. "Do you like to pry into other people's private affairs so much?"

Kyfayar called out, "Ow, ow, ow," covered his ears and jumped back to his chair. "How can it be considered a private matter?" He said discontentedly, "It has something to do with me! I want to know! No, I have to know!"

His hands were on his knees, in a 'if you do not tell me, I will entangle you for life' posture.

Augusta pretended to cough twice and said helplessly, "Old things are not worth mentioning. I went to college with Cavaldien. Our university and another college nearby hold friendship rowing competitions every year, and I was on the same boat with Cavaldien. The boat capsized during the race, and I couldn't swim. When I fell into the water, I was so scared that I forgot the mantra. Cavaldien saved me. At that time, well, like now, I was sick for a few days, and Cavaldien took care of me until I recovered. That's what I dreamt of."

Kyfayar was even more troubled. He knew that Augusta was as famous as Cavaldien, and he had heard that they were good friends in college, but he never expected that their relationship was so close. Was his dream of Cavaldien a good one for him? With this in mind, he could not help but feel more gloomy and heavy.

"You're so close," he said dejectedly, "I thought you were just ordinary friends…"

Augusta's face suddenly changed. "Who is friends with that bastard?!"

"He not only saved you, but also took care of you when you were sick," Kyfayar swallowed back the words 'you still remember this after so many years.'

"That's all in the past!" Augusta snapped. Kyfayar didn't know which scale he had touched on Augusta that made him furious. This kind of anger was not 'irritated by the unicorn's venomous tongue' or 'angry at Kyfayar's stupidity.' It was about hating a person from the bottom of his heart and wanting to cut him to pieces. Lord Augusta, what's going on? Just now you just recalledthe precious friendship between the two people, and suddenly it turned into a feud?

Kyfayar, stupefied, watched the magician throw away the pillow and retract into the quilt.

"In the end… What happened?" He asked as though standing on thin ice, "If you don't want to say it, I won't ask…"

"Nothing to do with it!" Augusta clenched his teeth. "It's a good thing that one more person will know that guy's despicableness and treacherousness."

"Despicable, treacherous? You mean Lord Cavaldien?"

"Yes, he is! He was my best friend but he betrayed me! We broke up once, and I still can't forgive him even though he thinks we are now reconciled!" Augusta clenched the quilt, as if he thought of it as Cavaldien, and had to crush it to death. "That guy! You also know that he has a bad character, which is 'ambitious to suit with his taste', and 'unscrupulous in order to achieve his goal that even his relatives and friends can be used at will, regardless of their feelings'. At first, I didn't see through his true face. I thought he was a decent and good man. I was so blind…"

He cursed Cavaldien incoherently, and only when he was done did he find his logic. "I have to start from the beginning. Cavaldien and I were classmates. I was born into the Hollic family. After that, he was born in a very ordinary family. It is said that his parents still think he studied economics in University. After the boat race, we became friends. Cavaldien is a brilliant young magician, and considering his background, it is not too much to say that he is the type of rare wizard you come across once in a century. At that time, I admired him very much. If anyone ridiculed his origin, I even defended it. Until the third year of college…"

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then slowly spat out, "That year, there was a famous event in the magic world — have you ever heard of the magic challenge?"

Kyfayar was stunned. "I seem to have heard of it. It is a match between magicians?"

"Yes. The competition is held every eleven years. It is said that it was a trial set up by a great mage to test his disciples. Later, it gradually evolved into a competition that all magicians could participate in. You can think of it as the Olympic Games for magicians. All contestants will be dropped on an isolated island. There is a mountain peak in the middle of the island. There is a cup on the top of the mountain. The one who attains it is the winner. In other words, there may be only one winner in the competition, and there is no such thing as 'two people are equal in strength and win the cup together'.

"The contestants not only have to compete with each other, but also fight against all kinds of strange magic traps on the island, so they are often annihilated and no one wins the cup. When I entered the competition, I wanted to be the winner. At that time, because Cavaldien and I participated in the competition, there was even a rumor that the winner of this competition would be one of us. To be the final winner meant to be recognized by the magic world to a certain extent. It is the lifelong dream of many magicians to win the magic challenge.

"Another special feature of the competition is that all participants can only use magic in one field. If they use magic in other fields, it will be regarded as a violation and they will be disqualified. As for the specific field of magic, the organizing committee will draw lots before the competition. At that time, it happened to be the 'sixth evil way' — force.

"Unfortunately, Cavaldien and I are the worst at magic in this field. So we agreed to form an alliance to fight against the other contestants and the traps on the island. When we got to the top, we would fight against each other. In theory, this was the most feasible and efficient method. And I trusted Cavaldien one hundred percent, believing that he wouldn't stab me in the back. We went through all the way and were about to reach the mountain where the trophy was placed, when we were suddenly attacked.

"The magician who launched the surprise attack was defeated by me and was willing to admit defeat and quit the game. Unfortunately, Cavaldien was injured in the attack. Although it was not fatal, he could not move on. Even if I took him to the top and blocked any others on the way, he would not be my opponent in the final showdown. In this case, the only way left was for him to abstain. Abstainers would be taken away from the island and taken to hospital by the staff responsible for monitoring the game.

"Cavaldien was very sad. I knew he had always dreamed of winning the game, and with his strength, maybe he could even beat me. However, he was on the verge of success and lost here. I sympathized with him very much. I knew that he wanted to prove himself through this competition and prove that he would not lose to any 'blue blood aristocrat'. Even if he is of ordinary origin, he could still become a great mage. I even wanted to, I was still young. What if I lost this competition? Eleven years later, I would only be in my thirties and at the peak of my strength. I thought I could always compete again. At that time, no one was my opponent. So I made a decision…"

Augusta dropped his gaze and his body trembled in pain. These old memories were like the devil's claws, tearing open the scar in his heart that had healed, and letting it bleed again. No, perhaps these wounds had never healed. In the dark night, with no one aware, it was still flowing blood.

"I used a spell to heal his wounds so he could move on. However… As you may have guessed, that spell wasn't of the reigstered field, so I was disqualified. After Cavaldien recovered, I was taken away from the scene by the staff. Later, Cavaldien beat the others one after another, climbed to the top and won the cup, becoming the first person to win in thirty-three years. His special thanks were given to me at the ceremony, saying that without my generosity and friendship, he would never have won the championship, so this trophy should be half of mine. Although I felt very sorry at that time, I was very happy for him. He finally got what he wanted. As a friend, I was also very proud. But…"

"But?"

"But then I learned," Augusta's voice sank. Just now, he still had a little feeling and honor of recalling the past, but now only felt cold, "he did it on purpose. It was all in his plan."

"It was all in his plan."

"Do you mean that he was deliberately injured and led you to use a spell to get you out of the game?" Kyfayar asked.

"Yes. That's it." Augusta turned his head. He had thought that the vicious flame of hatred had long been extinguished, but he did not expect that the flame still remained in the seemingly cool and dead embers, which would be ignited again once the wind blew. He wanted to bury the past forever. Why didn't he let go of his hands and drag him into the abyss again?

"How do you know? If he had done it on purpose, how could he have disclosed it to you casually?"

"Because the truth is not a weakness for him, but a weapon. He had already planned when to attack me with this weapon. No, maybe on the contrary, it's my weakness. Cavaldien had already figured out my character and knew what I would react to before telling me the truth."

"He told you that himself?"

"Well." Augusta dropped his gaze. "A year after the game, one of the great mages at that time, of course, died, and Cavaldien and I were among the candidates to be elected. Candidates must pass the tests set by the Archmage before they can be elected. I thought it was just another fight between me and Cavaldien, but I didn't expect that Cavaldien would come to me in private and say…"

The voice reappeared in his mind. He thought he was a valuable and close friend, but it was his closest friend who betrayed him.

"I was hurt on purpose," said the voice, "and I knew you would use an illegal spell to save me, because you are the kind of person: arrogant, abusive person. And I'm just the opposite of you. If I have to use you to achieve my purpose, then I will use you without hesitation. Because I have to win in the competition, I want to prove to everyone that even though I come from an ordinary family, I don't lose to any noble family. Of course, I could have chosen to fight with you, but I didn't have the confidence to win. What's more, I can't bear the consequences of losing to you in the duel. In that case, everyone would say, 'That Cavaldien is really capable, but what, he's not at par with Augusta Hollich.' No, I couldn't take that risk! If you want to pursue 100% victory, you have to get rid of this obstacle. So I deliberately hurt you to get out of the game for me. I paid the price, but It's all worth it!'

"How could I stay calm when I heard that? If it had not been in public, I might have killed him directly to vent my hatred! But Cavaldien had calculated everything, even my mind and my actions. I was so overwhelmed by his words that I was naturally out of order for the next day's test and failed. So Cavaldien was the winner again."

Kyfayar said excitedly, "Why don't you tell the truth? Why not expose him?"

"You think I didn't try?" Augusta yelled out of control. "I told this to several 'friends', but none of them believed it! I even went to the great mage and told him everything. I asked him to give me another chance to test my real strength. But he swept me out of the house and ridiculed me because he said I was unwilling to lose to Cavaldien. Said I made up rumors and slandered him!"

He still remembered the day clearly. He was driven out of the house by the great mage and walked in the cold rain, but his heart was colder than autumn rain. He looked at the withered leaves and the distant lake rippling in the rain. For a moment, he even doubted whether he had imagined everything. Because he was not willing to lose, had his brain automatically fabricated a false truth to comfort itself? What was the difference between him and a madman? No, he's not crazy. He's not the kind of person who lives on delusions. Cavaldien really betrayed him twice and took away what should have been his! At least it's something he's entitled to fight for.

He looked at the gray lake and remembered the day of the rowing race. He almost drowned. It was Cavaldien who saved him and took care of him. Was that fake, too? He was in the freezing rain. If he fell ill again, would Cavaldien come to take care of him? No, definitely not. Even if he was bedridden, Cavaldien would probably not come to give him even a helping glance. Maybe Cavaldien had been planning since then how to win his favor and use him.

He was not good at dealing with people, and his friends were very few, so everyone's friendship was precious to him. Why should anyone who had been his best friend betray him? Why was there no one around to believe him? If even Cavaldien could renege, how many other 'friends' around him really treated him as such? How many of the 'friendships' he had were insincere? When he saw his other friends, there would be a devil's voice whispering to him: he or she may be the same as Cavaldien, secretly thinking about how to use you, look at them — what a fake smile!

"At that time, I was deeply disappointed with everything around me, so I left the metropolis, ran back to my hometown without saying a word, locked myself in this old house, and never saw anyone again. I didn't care about what happened to the outside world, and I didn't want the outside world to care about me. For a few years, I didn't step out of my house. It was only later that the situation improved slightly."

Of course, even today, Augusta was not willing to go out, as if all the outsiders were Gorgons, and their gazes would kill him.

Kyfayar's hands on his knees clenched involuntarily. "Aren't you still friends with Lord Cavaldien?"

Augusta gave an ambiguous, "Heh. Then we made up."

"Have you forgiven him?"

"Reconciliation does not mean forgiveness. It's just… Some sort of settlement has been reached. I had been in this house for years, and one day Cavaldien came to me. I used my best space magic to weave a seal around the house. All uninvited guests will lose their way and finally return to the original spot they were standing in for no reason. But Cavaldien impolitely broke my magic, broke into my house and demanded a duel."

"Why fight?"

"He apologized to me, saying that he deeply regretted what he had done and that he should not have trampled on our friendship — though he would have done so if he had been given another chance. He vowed that he would try his best to make up for it in the future, but first of all, he would fulfill his long cherished wish and compete with me. I agreed without hesitation. Now I think, at that time, I was so ridiculous to think that I had to defeat Cavaldien to prove my value. Didn't I become the same person as Cavaldien — the one I hated the most?

"We took a group of people as witnesses and ran to the island where the challenge was held. As a result… " Half-disappointed and half-resigned, he sighed, "I lost again. Over the years, Cavaldien had learned many rare spells from the great mage, while I had spent my time in a broken house. In the past, we were equal. Now the gap between him and me was an insurmountable gap. But the duel sobered me up: I couldn't afford to waste it. I started studying and doing research again, and the seals around the house were removed, and my friends who wanted to visit could come at any time, although there were not many people.

"I made a settlement with Cavaldien. I still can't let go of my resentment and forgive him, but we can sit down and talk like ordinary people, and we won't throw fireballs at each other if we don't agree. I even occasionally recall the old days — the days when I didn't break up with him — and I can say it was a good life. Probably people are like this, no matter how deep the pain is, once the wound is healed, they will forget the pain."

"You still… Do you still hate him?"

Augusta stared at Kyfayar with strange eyes, "Of course, I hate him. He is the one who made me look like a ghost! Of course I know it's abnormal to stay at home all day! I want to change it too! But whenever I…"

Suddenly he was mute, turned in the opposite direction, raised his hand to block his eyes, as if he didn't want to be seen. It took Kyfayar a long time to see the transparent tears under his fingers.

"Whenever I try to go out, I can't help but be afraid. I can't help thinking and hesitating: what if the so-called 'reconciliation' was also calculated by Cavaldien?" He choked, "In the end, I can't see the true feelings of others. Can all people be hypocritical to me and put a mask of hypocrisy on the treacherous heart? How can I trust others? Who can I trust? Even the person who I regarded as the best friend of my life could betray me, let alone others? I constantly torture my heart, and the result is not to encourage me to go out, but to keep me in my protective shell forever, so that I will not be hurt again. Don't I know it's abnormal? Do I want to stay in an old house all my life and get moldy? But I am… No matter what, I can't… I can't convince myself…"

One hand grabbed Augusta's wrist and forced it away to reveal his swollen eyes. In panic, he tried to cover his face with his other hand, but the other hand was also caught by Kyfayar.

"You still have me, Lord Augusta." The young werewolf said, "I will not betray you! I'm stupid. I can't plan this or that. I will never use you or trample on your good intentions! You and me! Believe me!"

Augusta tried to break free of his grip, but failed. He couldn't say it was because he was still ill. Even when he was healthy, he was not a werewolf's opponent.

"But one day you will leave me!"

"How could you think that? I will always be with you!"

Augusta struggled again and failed again. He simply gave up resistance and could barely cover his face with his elbow.

"You are still young, and one day you will find that the world is vast and promising. When you walk out of this house into a world of infinite possibilities, you'll never want to come back! Then you will leave me without looking back! If I believe in you now, I have to risk losing that trust in the future, and the only thing I've learned from Cavaldien is to never take risks when you are not sure."

Kyfayar shook his head. "No! Incorrect! That's not the truth! I will not leave you! Please believe me! Don't care about the outside world! I just want to have you!"

"There are many things in the world that are more wonderful and interesting than a boring magician. Can you guarantee that you won't? You can't predict the future. How can you know that you won't be attracted to those things in the future? What if you meet someone else? What if you want to leave?"

"No! If I really encounter something very attractive, I will take you to see it! Since it's such a wonderful and interesting thing, I'm willing to share it with you. I'm sure you'll like it. I'll take you to see the vast world! No, it's to bring you that vast world, not to pursue those things alone!"