Upon leaving their lounge Irwyn had followed Desir into the lobby with the girls in tow. There they met the same butler from before the auction.

“Did you find what you were looking for, lord Irwyn?” he questioned Irwyn after a polite bow.

“Unfortunately I didn’t. But I will certainly return tomorrow to look for the item I require,” then the smile on Irwyn’s lips shifted “I believe I have yet to introduce you to my companion,” he said as he pointed to Alice and motioned her to move forward “she is the astonishing mage who faced off against me during the final match of Dragoncull, I have fortunately been able to bring her to my side.”

“I see,” the butler gave Alice a polite smile and a bow “it is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Alice gave a very awkward bow as she glanced at Irwyn in confusion.

“She will likely be attempting her advancement trial in the nearby future. But enough idle chatter. I have already taken up enough of your likely busy schedule. Let’s leave,” he said and walked towards the exit, only to turn around in the doorway to relay a last few words: “It would be ideal if you could assign Desir to me specifically during my stay in the capital.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem, lord Irwyn. Have a good day,” the man gave them one last elegant bow before they departed.

“What was that about?” Alice questioned Irwyn as soon as they took a few steps beyond the auction house.

“I was simply giving a gentle nudge to fate,” Irwyn smiled mysteriously.

“What is that supposed to mean,” Alice was not any less confused.

“And why did you only introduce her and not me?” Elizabeth huffed.

“We came here for a first-rate catalyst for Alice, remember?” he explained with a sigh “I introduced him to Alice and her circumstances just after telling him that we didn’t find the item we were looking for. The very definition of his job is to find out and provide what the customer wants; he will take the hint and make absolutely sure there will be anything we might be looking for auctioned during this week.”

“I see,” Alice’s eyes shone as she grasped the brilliance of what just transpired, and that her odds of getting what she needed just got a lot higher.

“That makes sense,” Elizabeth just dully nodded, but Irwyn noticed that her eyes were also glittering as she stared down the ground.

“Hey!” all of a sudden a loud shout sounded from behind Irwyn and his group “hold up,” it was an awfully familiar voice, and Irwyn could already taste the annoyance that was just about to arrive. But it couldn’t be helped; Irwyn had to deal with it, so he turned around. There stood none other than Brite von Blackburg, his unkempt black hair waving in the wind as he had just rushed out of the auction house. Two young Blackburg maids who seemed to be around 15 were also following behind him. Their uniforms hid most of their skin, but Irwyn noticed that their exposed wrists were bruised.

“Good afternoon, Brite,” Irwyn turned around and motioned for Elizabeth and Alice to step behind him “what is the matter?”

“You have been in the auction house and didn’t even come to greet your brother,” Brite started off with nonsense. It was uncertain whether he had some goal behind those words or if he was just badly trying to taunt Irwyn.

“Why would I?” considering who was speaking with Irwyn assumed the latter, but kept the former in mind “you have been openly hostile to me for quite some time.”

“Shut up!” Brite got immediately angry. It was almost astonishing that someone could have such a short temper “anyway, that is not what I wanted to speak about. I am inviting you and the girls to a meeting with some of my friends in the capital.”

“I naturally refuse,” Irwyn said, but a frown almost formed on his face. Even someone like Brite knew that Irwyn would refuse, so he must have had some ulterior motives. There were quite a few possibilities in Irwyn could come up with, and some of them could end up being rather annoying.

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“Of course, you can refuse,” at this point Brite and his entourage had reached a position barely 2 metres away from Irwyn “but the girls are Blackburg maids, can they do the same when I make a request?” a smug smirk appeared on Brite’s face. It was weird that Brite expected something like this to work. He might have just been attempting to aggravate Irwyn into attacking him. Or had something else in mind entirely.

“I see, so that’s what it is,” Irwyn just smiled and flashed, with a quick step he appeared in front of Brite. Brite seemed to have been expecting that and raised his hands to protect his head from a fist blow, but no such thing came. Irwyn instead just stood on his toes and whispered into Brite’s ear: “You should think twice before laying your hands on what is mine, brother. Or you might just become the next Alira.”

“You!” in an instant Brite went completely pale and then beet red. Meanwhile, Irwyn had already turned around and was once again approaching Alice and Elizabeth. “You piece of shit!” Brite completely lost his temper upon hearing that threat. Blinded by rage he charged at Irwyn with his raised hand, void magic gathering over his fist. It was extremely crude magecraft, so crude it had no form or intention, it was just raw power taking a chaotic form. It was a barely passable strategy when fighting someone with far lower power reserves, much less against Irwyn. He elegantly turned around, a glove of flames enveloping his own hand. Unlike Birte’s leaking magic, Irwyn had given his magic a complete form: No bursts of flame were discharged from the magical fabric, and to those less perceptive it could undoubtedly be mistaken for an actual glove. As Brite’s fist neared him, but Irwyn easily caught it with his own palm. The older of the boys might have been much more muscular and even taller, but the vast difference in their attributes more than made up for it. Irwyn didn’t even flinch.

“Please stop,” one of the girls from his entourage pleaded with Brite, placing a hand on his shoulder while the other one seemed stunned mute. They were in the end just teenagers without much experience. Their training could properly prepare them for this sort of situation.

“Hrr,” Brite huffed, but was able to calm down enough to remove his hand and stop his mana from pouring into the makeshift attack. When the magic stopped the skin of his fist was red and visibly turning into a large rash. No doubt a side effect for letting his magic go uncontrolled, in fact, it was almost surprising that only a rash surfaced “we are leaving!” he begrudgingly commanded after shaking his hand to alleviate the pain.

“Have a pleasant rest of the day, brother,” Irwyn just shot him a smile before turning back towards the girls “we should go too, it will be dusk in less than an hour. We should return to our lodgings.”

“You said that your relationship with your brother was not great, but this…” Alice did not try to hide her shock.

“It’s nothing to worry about. His intellect and talent are nowhere near where they could even become a real threat. The most dangerous he will ever get is if he is manipulated by someone smarter, and I usually try to avoid making enemies out of smart people,” Irwyn maintained that smile, which was almost always plastered on his face.

“You are probably the only person who would think of him like that!” Alice was immediately outraged over his flawed logic “What if he really turns out to be dangerous? He seems to absolutely despise you.”

“Don’t think I am underestimating him. I am actually bribing one of his two personal maids to tell me if something worrisome comes up. Moreover, I am always preparing precautions to get rid of possible threats,” Irwyn let the implications of his last words unsaid, but Alice got slightly uncomfortable. She could’ve been at the receiving end of those plans not long ago, had she refused Irwyn’s generous offer.

“It will not be a waste either way,” Elizabeth just huffed, but it surprised both Alice and Irwyn. It was probably the first time she so straightforwardly wished someone harm.

“Are you alright?” Irwyn immediately asked her; he of all people did not want her to have sudden emotional shifts before her teen years even began.

“Their hands,” Elizabeth just exclaimed, not answering directly “they had bruises all over them. I couldn’t see their legs or torsos, but those were probably the same. He is definitely bullying and beating them,” a mix of pity and rage entered her eyes and voice as she spoke, “I can’t stand that.”

“I see,” Irwyn nodded. As someone who was in a similar situation for a significant part of her childhood Elizabeth naturally felt sympathy towards the maids and disgust towards their abuser “unfortunately there is not much we can currently do,” Irwyn pretended to sigh powerlessly “we can only hope that he will grow up from his violent temper. But enough of these depressing thoughts. Let’s head back.”

And so they headed back to the mansion occupied by the Blackburg entourage. Irwyn was assigned a huge personal room, while the girls were assigned a not too shabby shared room just next door. Alice raised some questions about perhaps standing guard for any other assassins, but Irwyn immediately dismissed the notion. They were currently officially on Blackburg soil. Any assassins would not reach even the main building, much less their quarters.

Despite those reassurances Alice had trouble sleeping through the night, the slight paranoia she developed while being unsure whether there were pursuers desiring her life did not help with that.

Like that the night passed silently. The first disturbance finally arrived on the brink of dawn.