The Wizard World

After lying on the bed for about half a day, Ye Song decided to get up. He could hear noises from the people outside the wall of their yard. It seemed like someone was gathering the boisterous crowd. Ye Song knew that his father was chasing the wanted criminals with the guards.

A group of criminals that came from nowhere was robbing random people around, and they’ve already murdered ten whole families. People in the territory were extremely terrified because of this. Knight Audis took the order, and was searching around the city with his guards.

Outside the bedroom, Ye Song saw a small grey yard with a small pond located in the middle. The yard was definitely not well-maintained; there were weeds growing everywhere. Two conversing middle-aged guards were standing by the pond, and they saluted Ye Song right after they saw him. They were under the direct order of the baron, and they looked tall and strong.

“Young Master Angele, how was your rest?” The guard with whisker asked in a light tone. He wore a heavy golden leather armor, and a huge axe was being carried on his back. He looked extremely intimidating with those gear.

The other guard looked thinner, and he only wore a half-length leather armor. There was a crossguard sword hanging from his waist; he did not look very strong but the light gear made him seem agile, and Ye Song could feel the steadiness in his eyes.

Ye Song took a glance at the edge of the crossguard sword that still had dark-colored blood smeared on it. Ye Song decided not to look at it anymore.

“Did Uncle Audis send you here?” Ye asked.

“Yes, we will take you back to the castle, and we still have to go back to our duty after. Let’s be on our way, we don’t have much spare time.” The thinner guard answered with a deep voice.

“It seems that you have already acquired the information about those wanted criminals?” Ye Song nodded and asked.

“Yes, we found their temporary hideout this morning, and leader has brought the army there and surrounded them.” The thinner guard answered as he nodded.

“Okay, I am going to change right now.” Ye Song said. He went back to the bedroom and took off his robe. He wore an appropriate suit and stepped out of the room. Ye Song looked for the two guards and left the place with them.

The house was just a place for Ye Song’s family to stay when they are in the town. The place was not that good for Ye Song to rest and heal. Outside the house was the street, many people were walking around. They were all wearing dull grey linen clothes, and the whole street looked filthy.

Some merchants were selling various things by the streetside, and they were advertising their products with loud voices. There were people selling fruits, wooden toys, and even vegetables. Some women were checking the goods while holding baskets.

Ye Song quickly noticed the differences between him and the people walking by right after he left the house. His clothes had a different color than anyone else on the street. He was wearing black, and the others were wearing grey. The reason was that only nobles were allowed to wear clothes of other colors, and common people were restricted to only grey-colored clothes in this world. It was one of the special rights of nobility; if anyone tried to violate the rule, they might be sentenced to death right away. It was, after all, a serious offense. But even then, there were still color restrictions between the nobles, and the colors they could wear were determined by their status.

Ye Song talked with the two guards along the way. He noticed that people would salute to him every time they saw him, and their faces always showed an expression of fear. He felt like he was a lion walking among a flock of sheeps.

“You are still not used to that, Young Master Angele?” The thinner guard laughed.

From their conversations, Ye Song learnt the two guards’ name. The thinner guard was called Carter, and he was an adventurer that lived around here. He was recruited into the army, and he was actually lucky. Adventurers were pretty much just people with no actual jobs. They were very low in terms of social standing, and being a guard in the army was like being a policeman in a police station on Earth. His standing became much higher than common people, and he gained a lot of benefits from his job.

The strong guard was called Miro, and he grew up in the Baron Rio’s territory. Miro was talented, and he was immensely powerful.

“Yea… The Candia City is much larger than this little town.” Carter said and laughed, he did not even wait for Ye Song to respond. Carter grabbed a tomato from a vendor they passed by and took a large bite off it; the owner did not seem to be happy about it. Ye Song knitted his eyebrows a little bit, but he did not say anything.

Ye Song thought those family guards were used to taking things from the vendors without paying. They probably had an awful reputation in the territory. But it reminded Ye Song of his old self.

Ye Song talked with the guards about random things on their way out, and it did not take an ample amount of time for them to get out of the town. They could see a black carriage waiting outside the fences of the town. The coachman got off the carriage quickly when he saw Ye Song and two guards coming. The coachman greeted them and waited at the side.

The group of three got on the carriage, and they let Carter drive it. The carriage got to the main road at full speed quickly.

It took them about twenty minutes to reach their destination, which was the main base for the Rio Family, the Karl Castle.

Ye Song got out of the carriage carefully, and raised his head to get a view of the castle in front of him. The castle was built within a green forest, and it looked like a manor from ancient times to him.

The whole Karl Castle is surrounded by the moat. It would be more precise to describe it as a city surrounded by high walls than a castle.

The grey castle did not look so former to Ye Song, and it did not fit Ye Song’s imagination about castles at all. It was about the height of a five-storey building. There were two guards with iron swords on their back in front the main entrance, the bridge was lowered over the moat, and the guards were staring at the group of three confusedly.

It was right before sunset, and the castle looked red with the huge sun in the back. Ye Song did not know where it came from, but he could smell the scent of flowers.

Ye Song took a deep breath. The sun almost went down, and it was getting cold.

“Is Old Wade here?” Ye Song asked in a faint tone.

“He is here, we brought you here safely, and we need to get back to work now.” Carter nodded and said.

Ye Song agreed, and he saw the two guards go back to the carriage. It did not take a long time for them disappear from Ye Song’s sight.

Ye Song started walking towards the castle, and there was an old man wearing a black coat walking out of the castle. The old man’s hair was completely white, and he was walking towards Ye Song with several female guards following behind him.

“Old Wade, I am back!” Ye Song yelled, and he started to walk faster.

Wade was a butler that works for Baron Karl, he was in charge of general inquires within the territory, and he has been working here for about 30 years. He knew Baron Karl since the baron was very young.

“I told the baron a long time ago, he should’ve let Audis take care of the Young Master, but he didn’t listen. Now, the Young Master is hurt; he should’ve taken my advice…” The thin old man talked while walking close to Ye Song.

Ye Song had his official smile on his face, and he followed the people welcoming him into the castle.

Wade complained for a while then suddenly stopped.

“Young Master, this time you should just stay in the castle and let Audis teach you all the necessary knowledge.” Wade said.

“Did Father say that?” Ye Song asked.

“Yes, the situation outside is not good right now. We don’t think letting you live outside alone is a good idea. More importantly, you suffered a lot this time. We will get our revenge for sure, even if the opponent is Viscount Candia.” Wade said. Ye Song could feel how serious the old butler was.

“I am fine with Father’s decision.” Ye Song agreed.

Ye Song followed Wade into the main hall, and there were two maids together with them too.

Two young girls wearing white farthingales were waiting there, and they bowed together when they saw Wade bringing Ye Song in.

“Brother Angele.” The girls said together.

“Celia and Maggie!” Ye Song searched through his memory quickly.

Celia was Angele’s young sister, and they have the same father. Maggie came from a poor relative, and she came seeking help from the Rio Family; Maggie’s family declined a long time ago. They were all younger than Ye Song so they called Angele ‘brother’.

Angele had a crucial position in the family, so relatives like Celia and Maggie must be careful when dealing with him. There were many other girls like them in the castle, but they didn’t have high status. The baron did not really care about those girls. Celia’s life in the castle was actually pretty decent; she could get a certain amount of money to spend every month, and had maids to do the housework for her. She was at the same level as the leader of the maids.

Maggie’s life was easy, though. Her parents worked for the baron in the castle, and they could easily get some money to survive. They were just like regular workers in the castle, maybe they were even treated a bit better than the ones at the lowest status. There were many poor relatives trying to seek help from the Rio Family, and Maggie’s family was just one of them.

“It has been a long time.” Ye Song said, and he smiled. He played well with the two girls because they were relatively good-looking, and they had nice styles. He treated them well whenever he was around, and the two girls had thought they found someone that they could rely on so they were willing to stay with Angele.

“We heard you were injured, and we decided to wait here to welcome you back. Are you feeling better now?” Maggie asked. She was thirteen years old and her voice sounded young, but her body was developed quite well. Maggie had a nice style and a cute face. Her waist was slim, and her breasts were large. Ye Song was attracted to her, and he stared at her for a while.

It seemed like Maggie knew Ye Song was looking at her, and she started to blush. She did not act like she noticed Ye Song’s gaze, but she tried to make her breasts become more enticingly apparent to his eyes.

Celia’s body was a bit underdeveloped compared to Maggie, and she was very shy. Celia looked at Ye Song like a young deer, having a tinge of fear in her eyes. She put her hands over her stomach, seemingly showing nervousness as well. Ye Song could feel her innocence.

There were actually more people trying to welcome Ye Song back to the castle, but the two girls thought about the situation and decided to come earlier than others. People would think they were close to Ye Song if they were the first ones to welcome him. Maybe their parents asked them to do so.

“I feel much better now, don’t worry.” Ye Song nodded his head, and talked a bit with the girls.

Wade left quietly to do other jobs, and Ye Song followed the two girls into the inner hall. After many people in the castle sent their greetings there, Ye finally got some time to take a rest.

He went back to his own bedroom, and he took a deep breath.

There was a writing desk inside the room beside the bed. On the desk was a piece of yellow parchment lying there. A feather ink pen was placed beside the ink bottle at the side, with three lighted candles arranged into the shape of a mountain. Ye Song could smell the special fragrance wafting off the candles.

Ye Song pulled the chair out and sat down. He started to read the paper.