Chapter 161: The Warmth of Family

The young knight was Yaguez who had followed Old Wilson from Blackwater City to the Kingdom of Blackmoon. Back then, Yaguez was just an ordinary knight. He was not even a heavy-armoured knight nor did he have any quality to become an Elemental Swordsman.

However, a year had gone past. When Merlin saw Yaguez again, he noticed that Yaguez had grown into a muscular man, as if he had undergone a second puberty where his physical attribute was astonishingly excellent. He had reached the peak of a First-level Elemental Swordsman.

Merlin immediately realized that Old Wilson must have taught the strange posture of the mysterious relief sculpture to Yaguez. This was why he possessed such strong physical attribute now.

Yaguez was extremely surprised. Staring at Merlin who had uncovered his face, he exclaimed in an almost shaky voice, “Baron… Sir Baron? Is that really you?”

Merlin nodded. “That’s right. I’m back. Let’s go in together.”

Then, Merlin brought Yaguez and entered the castle together.

Celia and Conxion were brought to the hall by the maids. When Merlin reached the hall, Yaguez explained Merlin’s identity to the two young maids.

These maids had entered Wilson Castle after Merlin had left. Upon hearing that this young man was the true master of Wilson Castle, Baron Merlin, they quickly put Celia and Conxion down and bowed respectfully to Merlin. “Sir Baron!”

Merlin waved his hands and placed his gaze on Celia and Conxion. These two were not afraid of strangers. Full of curiosity, they even blinked softly and stared at Merlin.

Merlin reached out his hands and hugged Celia and Conxion – both seemed quiet and did not wriggle out from his arms. They were only curious about the long black robe on Merlin as they pulled the robe relentlessly.

Looking at Celia and Conxion, Merlin did not feel particularly pumped up. Instead, a faint warmth flowed into his heart as they were the best proof of his existence in this world – his blood flowed in Celia and Conxion’s body.

“Merlin!”

“Merlin!”

Suddenly, two familiar voices rang. Merlin raised his head to see two beautiful women running down from the second floor. They were Merlin’s wives – Charise and Avril.

Charise seemed to look the same whilst Avril was younger. After a year, her figure had bloomed into a full-grown and her physique looked fuller. Her exquisite face which resembled a porcelain doll back then had become mature and more attractive now.

Merlin put Celia and Conxion down and smiled at his wives, walked toward them quickly and spoke softly, “Yes, I’m back.”

Charise and Avril were filled with surprise. They quickly came to Merlin while holding Celia and Conxion in their arms respectively.

Avril was still as shy and quiet as before even though she kept her eyes glued on Merlin. She seemed to have a lot of questions, but she did not reveal her thoughts. Charise appeared more outspoken as she said to Merlin, “Merlin, we’ve received your letter where you mentioned that you’ll be back after two or three years.”

Merlin shook his head rather helplessly. “There’s a small incident in the Dark Magic Region, so I return earlier than expected. But I don’t know when I’ll leave again.”

Following that, Merlin asked about some matters regarding Celia and Conxion. When the children were mentioned, even the shy Avril had endless stories to share where she could not stop the chat.

Merlin listened carefully as he glanced at Celia and Conxion. Warmth which made him feel like home filled his heart to the brim. Only in his home and in front of his family that he was able to feel completely relaxed.

After the few had chatted for a while, the maids had understandingly left them. Merlin asked about Old Wilson.

“Right, where’s Father? Is he still at the territory?”

Charise nodded. “Yes. Father’s been in the territory all this while, taking care of Conxion Town. But due to the tension between Prakash City and Lebis City lately, the merchants in Conxion Town have been decreasing. The tax revenue from the territory has declined by at least thirty percent during these few months.”

Upon mentioning this, Charise seemed helpless. Moreover, since Old Wilson was at the territory all the time and with Merlin’s absence, almost everything in Wilson Castle was managed by Charise and the old butler.

Probably Charise was more experienced in management, the old butler had seldom cared about the matter in the castle lately. Most of the things were arranged by Charise and nothing had gone wrong. Instead, everything was managed neatly and accordingly.

Thus, when she talked about the tax revenue from the territory, Charise furrowed her eyebrows.

“Lebis City?”

Merlin recalled about those sneaky Elemental Swordsmen he had met during his journey back to Prakash City. They must be from Lebis City.

“What’s the matter exactly?”

Merlin did not know a lot about Lebis City except that it was a city-state near Prakash City. Before he left Prakash City, everything seemed to be fine.

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Charise shook her head. “I’m not sure about the exact reason. Maybe only Count Selin will know. There’s increasing tension in the air during these few months. Even Count Selin has gathered some Spell Casters again. They seemed to be preparing for a war.”

Avril glanced at Merlin, then added in a low voice, “Yeah. Since you left, Count Selin recruited two Spell Casters, especially that Wizard Baires…”

Before she finished her words, Charise quickly interrupted her. “Avril!”

Merlin frowned and a strange light flashed in his eyes. Then, he waved his hands. “It’s alright. Avril, continue what you’re saying!”

Avril did not dare to speak now. Instead, she glanced at Charise cautiously. Having seen Avril’s reaction, Merlin knew that Charise had become the true master of Wilson Castle.

However, Merlin was not dissatisfied by that. Having a capable wife was an excellent thing, so he placed his gaze at Charise. He said in a heavy tone, “Since Avril doesn’t want to say it, Charise, you tell me about it!”

Charise was a little helpless, but she saw Merlin’s slightly dark expression. After hesitating for a while, she told him at last, “Alright. Three months ago, Wizard Baires, whom Count Selin has recruited, heard from who-knows-where that you’ve defeated Merilung of the Abyss Fort and you’ve also obtained Merilung’s ring.

“Then, he looked for all sorts of excuses to enter Wilson Castle, but we rejected him. Dissatisfied, he crashed into the castle thinking that you must have left something in Wilson Castle, so he came looking for them.”

“But Wizard Hill came right in time and scared Wizard Baires away…”

After Charise explained the situation, Merlin squinted his eyes and let out a frigid air. He looked at Charise and Avril and asked softly, “Did anything happen to you guys?”

Charise and Avril shook their heads and replied, “We’re fine thanks to Wizard Hill… But I heard Wizard Hill’s situation has worsened. He did not go out in public lately.”

Merlin nodded again. This was the reason he asked the black-robed old man to take care of the Wilson family as well as Count Selin at the same time. If it was not the old man, he was afraid that Wilson Castle would not be as calm as it was now.

However, Merlin knew about the old man’s situation. He might have “scared” Wizard Baires away, but he must have paid a great price for it. After all, his Spell Models were unstable. He could not easily cast a spell or his Spell Models might crumble anytime.

“Baires, huh? I owed Wizard Hill once this time… But it’s good that you’re fine. Alright, let’s not talk about the unhappy incident. Let me have a good look at Celia and Conxion…”

Merlin glanced at the children who were twisting around on the ground. Then, he played with Celia and Conxion, along with Charise and Avril. He was enjoying a chance that was hard to come by to spend quality time with his family. At once, a series of laughter echoed from the hall…

…

In the castellan’s castle, a guard was reporting the news that Baron Merlin had returned to Prakash City in detail.

Count Selin revealed a hint of surprise and asked anxiously, “Are you sure it’s Baron Merlin?”

The guard nodded with a serious face. “Yes, it’s Baron Merlin indeed. I won’t see it wrongly.”

“Haha. Good. Good. Now that Baron Merlin is back, we have another strong aid to our side!”

Count Selin was truly exhilarated. He had been worried about the matter with Lebis City recently. Now that Merlin had returned, this was already the best news during these few months.

“Oh? Is it Wizard Merlin who have resolved the danger at Sir Count’s castle and defeated Merilung of the Abyss Fort?”

Beside Count Selin, one of the calm-looking men suddenly spoke in a passionate tone.

Count Selin nodded and smiled. “That’s right. It’s Wizard Merlin! But he’s the baron in my Prakash City now. Wizard Baires, didn’t you always want to meet Wizard Merlin? Here’s your chance now. I’ll call for Wizard Merlin.”

Count Selin immediately sent a few guards to look for Merlin at Wilson Castle.

“Yes, I really want to meet Wizard Merlin.”

Wizard Baires stared at the door, his gaze filled with passion…

…

“Sir Baron, there’re some guards out there, saying they’re sent by Sir Count. They want to invite Sir Baron to the castle.”

The muscular Yaguez suddenly walked in the castle and informed Merlin respectfully.

The smiles on Charise and Avril’s face slowly disappeared. They glanced at Merlin.

Merlin slowly stood up and replied calmly, “Since it’s Count Selin, I’ll go. It’s time to meet Count Selin as well!”

Merlin’s aura was a little dark. Then, he walked out of Wilson Castle and followed the guards, heading to Count Selin’s castle.