Precedence System: I Take My Rewards In Advance

Duke Fadrieth Holmes studied his son for several seconds. Ethan could explain himself later. First, someone needed to clean him up and do something about the smell of piss.

He pointed toward the nearby attendants. “Take him away, and get him cleaned up.”

Several servants approached with understandable hesitation. Ethan had regained enough awareness to realize people were touching him, though he offered little resistance when they took hold of his arms and began guiding him toward the residence.

His face remained pale.

Even after Zishan’s strange pressure had disappeared, Ethan had yet to recover the confidence he had carried when he first entered the courtyard. He kept his head lowered while the servants led him away, and none of the people who had witnessed what happened seemed interested in meeting his eyes.

Fadrieth watched until his son disappeared beyond the corridor.

There were questions he wanted answered.

Many of them.

Why had Ethan been inside Elinox’s private section of the estate? Why was one child and a little creature injured? Why did half the courtyard look as though a high-level battle had taken place there? And, perhaps more importantly, what could possibly frighten his Level 300 son badly enough to leave him in that condition?

The answers to these many questions could wait for several minutes. For now, his attention shifted toward his daughter.

Duchess Noxelle Holmes had already reached Elinox and seemed determined to inspect every part of her body for an injury her daughter might have neglected to mention. She checked Elinox’s arms, shoulders, neck, and face before attempting to turn her around.

Elinox caught her wrist. “Mom, I already told you that I’m fine.”

“Turn around.”

“I already told you I’m fine.”

“Turn around.”

Elinox released a quiet breath before allowing her mother to inspect her back as well.

Noxelle checked for torn fabric, dried blood, or anything else that might suggest Elinox had been involved in whatever had happened before their arrival.

She found none.

Elinox had already expected that her mother would refuse to take her word for it.

“However, these little ones aren’t.” Her voice softened as she gently patted Silvy’s head.

The newborn dragon remained cradled in one arm, her breathing steady while the bruises across her small body continued fading beneath Elinox’s Light Magic. One of her tiny wings twitched faintly before settling against her side.

Nearby, Ollie slept within a pale layer of Light surrounding his body. The strain on his face earlier had eased, and his breathing had returned to a peaceful rhythm.

Noxelle’s attention moved between them. “What happened to these cute little ones?”

Elinox did not answer yet.

Several servants standing around the courtyard lowered their heads, and Noxelle’s attention lingered on them for a moment. Whatever had happened here was not going to be a pleasant story.

Her eyes rested on Silvy once more.

The little creature stirred faintly against Elinox’s chest before mumbling something too soft to understand.

Then, her mouth moved again. “Mama…”

Noxelle gave Elinox a long, knowing look. “Noxi…”

Elinox sighed before her mother could continue. “No. I already know what you’re about to ask.”

That only made Noxelle look more amused, while Elinox adjusted Silvy in her arms as if refusing to entertain the subject any further.

Noxelle glanced toward Silvy again before deciding she could postpone that conversation until the little creature was awake enough to explain herself.

Fadrieth joined them soon afterward, though another person standing several meters away caught his attention first.

“Noxi,” he asked, “who is this young man you brought home?”

Zishan had barely processed half of what had happened since regaining control of himself.

His thoughts remained tangled around the strange state he had entered, especially the sensation of remembering everything he had done while feeling as though someone else had been guiding his anger.

He remembered threatening Ethan, remembered wanting to kill him, and what unsettled him most was how clearly he recalled meaning every word.

Zishan was still trying to make sense of that when an uncomfortable chill ran across his back. He glanced over and found Duke Fadrieth Holmes watching him with far more attention than he wanted.

‘Ah.’

Elinox’s father.

The same Elinox whose brother he had nearly threatened to mutilate several minutes earlier.

Zishan checked the nearest path leading away from the courtyard. Then, he began shifting toward it with all the subtlety he could manage, almost tiptoeing.

One careful step became another while Fadrieth’s attention returned to Elinox. ‘Good. Good. Nobody needs me here anymore. That’s right.’

Before committing to his retreat, Zishan glanced toward Ollie and Silvy.

Seeing both of them safe under Elinox’s Light Magic loosened the pressure that had been sitting inside his chest.

Silvy was alive. And Ollie was alright.

He could see the difference in both of them compared to several minutes ago, which made leaving feel less irresponsible.

Zishan silently mouthed, ‘Goodbye for now,’ toward them before taking another step toward freedom.

“Where are you going?”

Zishan froze with one foot halfway through his escape before quietly setting it back down. Elinox had not even bothered to turn around.

“Nowhere,” he replied, trying to calm himself down.

That answer only drew more attention to him. Fadrieth studied him in silence, while Noxelle finally took the opportunity to give the young man her daughter had brought home a proper look.

The longer she examined him, the more curious she became.

She took in the white hair, lean build, youthful face, and the fact that the young man clearly wanted to be anywhere else now that both of Elinox’s parents had noticed him.

“Who is he, Noxi?”

Elinox was about to answer when Noxelle’s lips curved upward.

“Is he the one you’ve chosen to become your husband?”

Zishan nearly inhaled wrong.

Noxelle continued examining him as though Elinox had brought home something she was considering approving. “Not bad. He’s quite handsome.”

Elinox gave her mother a flat stare. “No. He’s not.”

The speed of the answer only seemed to amuse Noxelle more, but Elinox refused to give her enough room to turn the situation into something larger.

“He’s someone I brought from the Eastern Battlefield,” she continued. “I brought him to the capital because he currently has no house, no money, and several matters involving his identity need to be resolved. As for his rank, I was the one who promoted him to Captain on the battlefield. The promotion has already been formally recognized.”

That redirected Fadrieth’s attention completely. “A Captain?”

“Yes.”

He assessed Zishan again, this time with far more seriousness. “At Level 99?”

Elinox nodded.

Fadrieth seemed to wait for some hidden explanation to reveal itself on its own, but he received none from his daughter.

“Are you joking with me, Noxi?” he asked.

Elinox shook her head.

Fadrieth folded his arms with one brow raised. “Just tell me he’s your lover or boyfriend. That explanation makes more sense to me.”

Zishan’s eyebrow twitched. ‘Hello? I’m standing right here. Can I have a say in this? Or at least can you discuss whether I’m dating your daughter after I leave?’

He briefly considered another escape attempt.

Then, Ethan’s face returned to his thoughts.

He frowned. ‘So that’s Elinox’s brother…’

Whatever Ethan had intended when he approached Silvy, the situation had gone far beyond a spoiled noble trying to claim something he liked.

Ollie had been beaten until he could barely crawl. Silvy had been thrown against stone, struck repeatedly, and lifted by one of her horns after losing consciousness.

Zishan’s hands tightened slightly. ‘Was he actually trying to kill them?’

He could not dismiss the possibility. Maybe Ethan had only wanted to force Silvy into submission. Though that hardly made what he did any better.

‘I need to be careful around him from now on,’ he thought.

See Synopsis for the Goals!