Confronted with Deffa's question, Ravel began to hatch a little scheme in his mind:

That appears to be the medal of a fourth - rank mage. Her status is far higher than that of my father, and her power must be truly formidable. If she could help me escape from this place or defeat that despicable fellow, then I could be reunited with my parents and regain my freedom!

Having thought this through, he promptly squeezed out a few tears and said pitifully,

"Your Magical Excellency, I am the son of Lord Chanis. I was captured by that despicable commoner named Glen and forced into slavery here! Taking advantage of his strength, he not only uses me as a hostage to extort my family's wealth but also forces the poor Tia to serve his whims. And no matter how hard I work, he refuses to provide me with food! I implore Your Magical Excellency to save us! Waaah..."

Tia, standing beside him, widened her beautiful eyes in surprise. She was astonished at how adept her young master was at telling lies.

"Is that so?" Deffa's gaze was sharp, making Ravel feel a pang of guilt. "But I see a hint of naughtiness in your eyes. It's the look of a typical pampered young noble, a look I've seen countless times."

Ravel felt as if his throat was being choked. He opened his mouth to defend himself but found no words coming out.

"Oh! Goodness!" Tia's eyes were filled with shock and admiration. "Your Magical Excellency, you saw through Young Master Ravel's perfect disguise in an instant! Truly remarkable!"

Caught in the act, Ravel shot her a fierce glare.

This brainless maid!

Realizing her slip of the tongue, Tia quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late.

"Hahaha..." Deffa let out a charming laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. She pointed at Tia. "You're such an adorable girl. Perhaps I should consider taking you with me. You might make my research a little less boring."

Upon hearing the mage praise her for being adorable, Tia blushed. When she heard that Deffa wanted to take her along, she quickly waved her hands in fright and said,

"Your Magical Excellency, my lady instructed me to take care of the young master. I can't go with you. I'm truly sorry."

Seeing Tia's refusal, Ravel was not touched but rather thought the silly maid was lacking in discernment.

To be with a fourth - rank mage, whose status is probably even higher than that of his father, and yet she refused!

If it were him, he would surely seize this opportunity. He wouldn't even need to pursue becoming a knight, and he could still lead a decent life.

Deffa was not angered by the rejection. She couldn't resist gently tapping Tia on the nose and said softly, "You're such an obedient and good child. I hope you can maintain this innocence in the future."

After that, she turned her gaze back to Ravel and resumed the authoritative tone of a great mage. "This seems to be a feud between your family and him. I won't get involved. Now, I'm going back to the carriage to rest for a while. I'm still not used to staying here."

"He" naturally referred to Glen.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Tia and Ravel watched as Deffa left the house.

"Master, you'd better go and get to work quickly, or you won't have anything to eat again today," Tia sincerely advised.

"Hmph!" Ravel mustered his strength and let out a snort. Then he went out and headed towards the outskirts of the town.

...

At Mrs. Ryan's house.

Glen had just finished installing the new door. He turned to Mrs. Ryan, who had been helping him pass the tools, and said,

"There, it's all done. What do you think?"

Mrs. Ryan looked at the neatly installed wooden door, tried it out, and said with great satisfaction,

"Hmm, I'm very pleased. Thank you so much for your hard work."

"It's just my job. It's not really that hard," Glen replied as he picked up the tools on the ground. He casually asked, "Has Sheriff Dogli returned to the police station? His body shouldn't have fully recovered yet, right?"

"Yes, he said he doesn't have time to rest recently. I've tried to persuade him countless times, but he just won't listen. He's so stubborn," Mrs. Ryan said, looking rather helpless.

"Is it because of those child abductors?"

"Yes."

"Do they know where your house is?" Glen placed his tool bag in the corner and narrowed his eyes.

"Why do you ask? They probably don't know," Mrs. Ryan said, looking puzzled.

"I see..." Glen walked towards the stairs, his gaze fixed on the main door downstairs.

Suddenly, the door lock caved inwards and then tore apart. Glen clearly saw that the iron door lock was crushed by a single palm.

With a creaking sound, the door, now without a lock, slowly opened.

A figure wearing a black felt hat and a leather trench coat entered the room.

"What's going on?" Mrs. Ryan also heard the commotion downstairs. She came over to take a look and immediately frowned, shouting at the person who had entered, "Who are you?! This is trespassing! I don't welcome you here! Get out at once!"

The person who had entered paid no heed to the dissatisfaction of the house's owner. He walked over to one side on his own, picked up a half - finished glass of water, and drank it. Then, in a low voice, he chuckled and said,

"Mrs. Sheriff, since this is our first meeting, I won't bother with an introduction. It's unnecessary anyway."

He raised his head, allowing the two people upstairs to get a clear look at his appearance. He had a pair of sharp eyes that were deeply sunken in their sockets, a long - contoured face, and an overall aura that sent chills down one's spine.

Mrs. Ryan was somewhat intimidated by his imposing manner but did not show her fear. Instead, she continued to try to drive him out, saying,

"I don't care who you are! But since you know my husband is a sheriff, you should be aware of the crime of attacking a police officer's family! Get out now!"

The man pulled over a stool and sat down, crossing one leg over the other. Looking at Mrs. Ryan's face, he continued to smile and said,

"Originally, the boss told me to just capture you and take you back. Although your husband isn't much of a threat, he still has some abilities. To ensure that our future plans go smoothly, we need to keep him under control. Having you as a hostage would be ideal.

"But now... I'm quite taken with your fiery personality and charming looks, madam. Why don't you consider coming with me? That old sheriff probably can't satisfy you. I'm stronger than him and can guarantee that I'll make you feel like you're in seventh heaven."

As his words became increasingly offensive, Mrs. Ryan trembled with anger and felt a growing sense of fear in her heart.

She never expected that a criminal would actually have the audacity to cause trouble for a sheriff's family. Who on earth gave them the courage!

"Madam, there's no need to get angry with a man who's as good as dead. I'm actually quite skilled in combat. You don't need to worry about your safety," Glen interjected at this moment.

Mrs. Ryan was skeptical. "Really? Don't be too brave. This has nothing to do with you. You'd better leave quickly. He won't dare to do anything to me."

"Skilled in combat?! Hahaha..." Before Glen could reply, the man in the trench coat burst into laughter. "How skilled? Skilled enough to fight street thugs? Hahaha..."

As he laughed, he even pretended to mimic the gestures of a street thug.

"Don't worry, madam. I can deal with someone like him with just one hand," Glen said, ignoring the ridicule from below and continuing to reassure Mrs. Ryan.

Feeling ignored and that the other party didn't take him seriously at all, the man in the trench coat wiped the smile off his face. His eyes turned sinister as he stared at Glen and said coldly,

"Originally, I was going to chop off your head right away and let you die painlessly, but now I've changed my mind.

"I'm going to break every single bone in your body one by one, dig out your internal organs, and finally rip out your heart. I'll make you watch your own still - beating heart as you die."