Duke Decynus was surprised to see the Earl, but he should have expected him. He wanted to express his delight as he was reunited with his friend, but he needed to address a more pressing matter.

“Don’t address me like that, Gideon”, the Duke said.

The Earl apologized and as expected, went on to go about his business.

“Can we talk far from here?”, the Earl said.

The Earl requested that none of the guards follow them. The Duke did as the Earl told, so the guards reluctantly let the Duke walk away from them.

“Gideon, about your letter, is it true?”, the Duke asked, walking towards the Earl’s carriage.

“Yes”

The Earl continued explaining his situation. As the Duke was listening, he was once again filled with bewilderment.

‘What?’, the Duke thought, trying to make sense of what he was hearing.

Duke Decynus didn’t know what to do with what the Earl did. The details were said to him. The beige cloth behind the Earl’s carriage covers a tree, along with the child who was the Earl’s predicament. Further details were omitted, but the Duke had enough information to be utterly dumbfounded.

The Earl was a serious man. Doing something as insane as uprooting a tree could only mean that the Earl was so desperate. The situation looked serious, but humorous. The Duke was conflicted about what he should feel. He controlled himself, refusing to express what he felt at the time.

Duke Decynus could see the worry on the Earl’s face. He didn’t know where Earl Gideon got the child from, but it was evident to him that the child was important to the Earl.

However, he still couldn’t believe the Earl’s claim. A child was being crystallized from head to toe. More unbelievable was the claimed rate of crystallization. It was fast enough that the Earl needed immediate help. For comparison, his grandson, Lenan, had his right index finger crystallized at its tip, and that didn’t happen for a day. It took his grandson several years to have it, and even if Lenan wasn’t treated, he could still survive the crystallization for years to come.

So no one can blame the Duke to not believe the Earl’s claim as he just heard it. It was inconceivable. The only thing that the Earl could do to make his friend believe was to show Kael, the actual person suffering from the unbelievable disease.

And so, the Earl led Duke Decynus. The Duke was still skeptical while he was walking towards the Earl’s carriage.

Before the Duke could see Kael, he saw Elalios’s silhouette inside the carriage. Elalios was just sitting, looking down and was not moving much. The Duke pretended to not see him.

“Closer. No one should see him here but you”, the Earl said.

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Duke Decynus looked at the Earl. His friend lifted a small part of the cloth. He was led to take a peek. He looked inside, and his conflicted mind reunited into a single feeling.

‘I must be dreaming!’

The Duke almost screamed his thoughts. He saw the physical evidence, and his common sense was shattered. Inside the cloth was a child, laying near an unfamiliar tree. He saw multiple growth of mana crystals on the child’s entire body, and also on the surface of the tree. The amount of crystals he saw should only be present in his dreams. Anyone, even the richest of nobles would kill if they could acquire what he was seeing.

He looked at the Earl once again. His friend didn’t hide what he was feeling. His friend was filled with sorrow.

The Duke regretted ever doubting his friend. He should’ve known that it’s not within the Earl’s character to tell him an absurd lie.

“I’m..”

“I understand”, the Earl said before the Duke could apologize.

Seeing that the Earl trusted him that much, Duke Decynus was filled with conviction. He will help his friend to the best of his abilities.

He looked at Kael again, and as his bewilderment faded, he saw the true picture. Kael is a pitiful child, helpless and suffering. Even if the child was not closely tied to him, he could feel his heart being crushed. Yet another reason to help his unhappy friend.

“Go with me”, the Duke said without hesitation. “We’re going to Rezelus. The mages there will surely help if they saw the child”

“But, Kael..”

“You will have to sacrifice him. It’s for his own good”

The Duke tapped Earl Gideon on the shoulder. The Earl was still conflicted, but he had no choice.

“They will not let us enter”

“I’ll do something about that”, the Duke said.

When the Duke was about to return to his carriage, he saw his wife outside of it, looking at him. He told the Earl to follow his carriage, and then he hurried to his wife.

“Isn’t that Earl Gideon?”, the Duke’s wife said.

The Duke nodded. “He will follow us to Rezelus”

The carriage of the Earl stopped near them. Earl Gideon greeted the Duke’s wife.

The woman wanted to ask about the thing behind the Earl’s carriage, but she didn’t say anything. She was able to caught a glimpse inside the Earl’s carriage, then, she returned to their carriage immediately. The Duke wanted to say something to her, but he kept it to himself.

The Duke went inside his carriage and commanded his coachman. Their journey to Rezelus finally began.

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In the small state of Rezelus, the unnamed mages were preparing. The day of blessings is drawing near, the Divine Emperor will choose numerous children once again.

The unnamed mages will get favor when that day comes. Of course, it will depend on the number of gifted children they could get. One of such unnamed mages was tasked to heal Lenan.

The unnamed mage was joyful that he got a gifted child that showed strong mana affinity. He was sure that none of his equals acquired a better child, and thus, he was sure to get a greater blessing from the Divine Emperor. But, little did he know, he will get a child far greater than Lenan. He will soon witness an inconceivable case of mana crystallization, an experience he will regret.