A tall woman with long, glossy, black hair slowly made her way through the crowd, her expression aloof and condescending. The crowd involuntarily parted and made way for her, humbly lowering their heads as a display of respect for the Rank 2 Magus.
This woman had exquisite facial features and could easily be considered one of the top beauties of the Southern Federation even while considering elven women, who were known to be very beautiful.
She was wearing tight, black pants and long leather boots that reached to her knees. Moreover, she was wearing something akin to a black jacket which was covered by her white cloak. Her militaristic appearance gave her quite an intimidating aura.
As she slowly made her way in front of the crowd, she first glanced at Adam and coldly muttered, "I can assure you, the actions of this man do not reflect the principles of my family."
When Adam glanced at this woman, his heart involuntarily skipped a beat. However, this wasn't because he was enamored by her beauty, but because he didn't expect her to come here.
The youth had been going on and on about the Roy Family, now he was wondering if Marcella had overheard him.
He pressed his right hand over his chest and respectfully bowed, "Greetings, Magus Marcella."
Marcella deeply glanced at this youth and stated, "You keep talking about my family like you know us. Tell me, Magus, who gave you the permission to speak my family's name?"
Toward the end, the woman released a bit of her mana pressure to frighten Adam. However, much to her surprise, she realized that this youth wasn't affected by it at all.
Of course, the truth was that Adam was indeed affected by it, but he didn't show it. In times like these, it was important to keep a brave and confident front. Showing weakness would just give the other party an advantage over him.
So he glanced at the woman and amicably smiled.
"It is precisely because I know of the greatness of the Roy Family that I felt compelled to stand up to this bully right here," said Adam while pointing at Elton.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"The Roy Family is famous in these lands for nurturing brave warriors. They are a house that embodies the principles of honesty, bravery, and righteousness," Adam began with a passionate tone.
The next moment, he shook his head with a disappointed look. "But when I saw this man beating these innocent kids, I couldn't help but stand up to him. You see…"
He then glanced at Marcella and faintly smirked, "I really hate bullies."
The crowd seemed to share his sentiment and most of them couldn't help but nod. No one liked bullies, after all. Especially, if one party was a Magus and the other party was a child.
"My Lady, please don't listen to a word he says. I swear it by my name that I had reason to—" Elton hurriedly tried to defend himself, but the words got stuck in his mouth when Marcella coldly glanced at him with narrowed eyes.
A single gaze was all it took for Elton to drop to his knees and shut his mouth, his body trembling in fear.
Marcella then glanced at the pair of siblings lying on the ground behind Adam. Their clothes were dirty and patched in several places, soot and dirt covered their faces, and their knees and elbows were bruised.
Seeing this, Marcella's gaze softened. But when she glanced at the bleeding lips of these two siblings, her eyes gleamed with slight anger. She then looked at the crowd that had gathered and noticed how they were looking at Elton with hostility.
Putting two and two together, she could infer what had happened. She gazed at the kneeling Elton and asked, "Why did you do it?"
Elton's body shuddered. "T-That… they… they d-dirtied my cloak."
Marcella's face contorted ever so lightly. "That's it?"
"Y-Yes, my lady."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})The crowd anticipated Marcella's verdict with bated breaths. She thought for a few moments before glancing at Elton and coldly stating, "You're lucky we're in the middle of a war. Your abilities are still needed."
"T-Thank you, my lady!" Elton kowtowed, smashing his head against the ground repeatedly. "I will never forget this grace!"
"However," Marcella's voice turned cold. "You are to compensate these children for the damage you've done. And I don't just mean the food that you've wasted.
"Furthermore, you will also be responsible for their safety from now on. If I hear they've received something even as little as a scratch, I'll put your head on a pike. Understood?"
Elton bit his lip and hurriedly nodded. "I understand, my lady. I will do as told."
The surrounding crowd, especially the mortals, burst into cheer. They couldn't help but praise how generous and righteous Marcella was. However, she was indifferent to all these praises.
She looked back at Adam and flatly said, "With that glib tongue of yours, perhaps you should look for a career in statesmanship. The path of a warrior doesn't suit you."
"Is that so?" Adam humbly smiled. "Thank you for your advice, my lady. But I believe the path of a warrior suits me just fine."
Marcella's eyes narrowed as she deeply looked at this youth who didn't seem to be intimidated by her even a little. Moreover, although he spoke politely, she couldn't help but feel disrespected by his attitude.
"What is your name, young Magus?" she asked.
"The name's Adam," the youth replied. "Adam Constantine."
At once, gasps of surprise could be heard from the crowd. However, it was mostly the Magi who were taken aback when they learned the identity of this young Magus.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Even Marcella was slightly taken aback when she heard his name, thinking to herself, So this is the Magus who has the highest kill count up till now… He's far younger than I expected.
Marcella was only momentarily surprised before she cast one final look at Adam and walked away. Meanwhile, Elton, who was still kneeling down beside Adam, raised his head and looked at him in shock.
This monster is Adam?! He nervously gulped. He then gave a small pouch containing gold coins to the siblings before scurrying away with his tail tucked between his legs.
Adam didn't pay this man any attention, instead, he crouched down and spoke to the siblings with a gentle smile, "Here, take these potions. It will cure your wounds."
The little girl smiled brightly as she reached out for the vials. "Mister, can we really?"
However, her brother stopped her and stood before her. "S-
Sorry, my lord. We cannot afford it."
Adam gently ruffled the boy's hair. "It's alright. This is my gift to you." The next moment, he weaved hand signs, following which, a couple of spectral hands materialized and started putting the dumplings back on the plate.
Then, the youth cast a simple cleaning spell on the dumplings as well as the plate before giving it back to the siblings. "Here, as good as new."
The boy hesitated before accepting it. He glanced at Adam with tearful eyes and softly asked, "My lord… why go so far for people like us?"
"Because I want to," Adam smiled. He then got to his feet and turned around, slowly walking away.
"Stay strong and take good care of your sister. As long as you persevere, good days will eventually come. I speak from experience."
The pair of siblings watched Adam's departing back, their eyes glowing with gratitude and hope. They got to his feet and bowed in his direction.
"Thank you…"
