Hey guys.

This chapter is kinda like a trial. i changed my writing style from omniscient narration to one where you can somehow hear Wesley's thoughts.

Honestly, i favor the omniscient approach since i don't have to spoon feed you information and you can make connections and inferences on your own, but some of you have pointed out that this causes you to become distanced from the MC.

And since this is for you guys, your preferences supersedes mine, so tell me which you prefer more.

peace and enjoy

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The five children upon hearing immediately jumped back and stared at Wesley with angry but fearful eyes.

'Haha, these kids are great. Their eyes show strong will and their reaction was not bad. Impressive, really impressive.'

Wesley in his heart was really impressed. These five children whose oldest was not even seven showed an impressive amount of willpower lacking in even most adults. Also the fact that they reacted so well to Wesley's scream was a complete surprise to him. Of course he didn’t show his excitement, and just stared at the children while releasing intense amounts of killing intent. Wesley then slowly pulled out his sword. He really wanted to see how capable these five children truly are.

"Why are you in my house?"

Wesley's voice boomed loudly, he also started walking towards the children with his sword drawn. This would have terrified most adults, but aside from turning pale and showing fearful expressions, these children didn’t resign themselves to death. The oldest boy who was around Wesley's height only a little shorter walked forward with a small dagger in his right hand. The other three immediately spread out to the sides of the first kid, while the youngest girl was furthest towards the back.

'ah, a formation of sorts. It seems they really want to live.'

The oldest child who was directly in front of Wesley spoke. His voice was weak but determined:

"We apologize. This house used to belong to our family so we didn’t know where else to go. Please let us leave, we won't return."

'Such coolheadedness, I wonder what they would do if I pushed them a little more.'

Wesley was extremely interested in these children. Even though they are weak, their willpower, determination and calm is many years beyond their age. What do mere children have to go through to turn this way. He truly was interested.

"Why should I let you go. Perhaps I should just kill you all now."

Hearing Wesley's words, the oldest kid's face turned ugly. He knew he couldn’t face Wesley so he was counting on him just letting them scurry away, but it seems that won't be happening now.

"We haven't done anything to you. Please let us leave."

The kid's voice was a pitch higher showing his frustration and fear. Wesley, however, was not going to let these little enigma's just leave.

"And if I said no."

"Then we will have to fight you. We can't just die yet."

'oho, it seems these little kids have something they must accomplish. This explains their determination. I wonder what it might be'

"Is that so. Tell me, why can't you die just yet? if I like your answer you might just live, if not, then you'll have no other option than to die"

The oldest Kid's face showed a small sign of relief. It seemed like he has found a way for them to escape this predicament with their lives intact. He hesitated slightly, then spoke in a calm voice:

"We are from the Black family that used to own this Manor. Our family were one of two minor noble families that reside in the seventh district. Our family never bothered with politics but we were, for some reason, perceived as threats by the other noble family, the Shorn Family. So one night a few years ago, they attacked us, killed most of our family members and looted out belongings. The five of us survived after being hidden away by our parents. Since then our only goal in life is to make the Shorn family pay for what they did, so we can't die just yet."

Wesley felt a tinge of pity for these children. It seems that the only people who suffer at the hands of nobles were not just commoners. Wesley already made up his mind the first time he saw the fire in these five children's eyes, but after hearing their story, he was even more certain of his decision.

"After hearing your story, I will give you two choices. You can freely decide which suits you better."

Hearing Wesley's words the children were delighted, only the oldest showed a hint of worry. He really is smarter than he looks. He instantly realized that these choices would most likely be an ultimatum, only he didn’t know what Wesley would demand of them.

"The choices are simple. You either swear fealty and eternal loyalty to me, or you die."

The initially delighted faces of the children instantly turned dark. Swearing fealty would make them his servants. How could they who were nobles become servants. However, before they could even complain, Wesley spoke again:

"If you swear fealty to me, then I will wipe out that Shorn Family that you so hate. What do you say."

The oldest kid had a thoughtful look on his face. He really wanted the Shorn Family to pay, but he wasn't sure if Wesley, who looked not that much older than him, could do it. He felt that this might be a ruse to get them to serve him. So he looked directly at Wesley and spoke:

"We will swear fealty to you. But there is only one condition."

'Haha. This kid keeps surprising me. He not only knows when to give up, he also makes sure that he is not swindled.'

"Speak."

"You have to wipe out the Shorn Family within a month. If not, then we will be absolved of our duty to serve you, and we'll leave. If this is not acceptable, then we refuse your offer."

'haha, this child is truly one of a kind. Not only does he know when to give up, he also knows when to stand his ground.'

"Those terms are acceptable. Now, all of kneel and swear fealty to me." Wesley spoke as he sheathed his sword.

The oldest kid sighed inwardly, then he signaled to the other four who approached him with hesitant steps. The oldest then immediately kneeled followed by the other four, he then spoke in a strong voice:

"I, as the current head of the Black Family, now swear fealty to you. We are bound by our honor to serve you with the utmost loyalty until eternity."

The other four immediately repeated after him, but their voices were not as strong. Wesley just stood there unmoving as he nodded in approvement. He then tossed the house key to the oldest kid and spoke to them, this time, in a kind and friendly voice:

"Good. You guys go inside the house. I will be back shortly."

"Yes Master." They all spoke at the same time.

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An hour later, Wesley returned to the Manor with some food and clothes for the children. He was in no rush to go anywhere because he wasn’t expected at the academy for a few more days, and the matter with the Shorn Family will have to wait until he has more information. For now, all he wanted is to get to know those little treasures he came upon.

After going inside the Manor, Wesley was surprised to find all five children sleeping in the main hall.

'These children are always sleeping, they must be quiet tired.'

Wesley just let them sleep and after setting the food down, he started exploring the Manor. The Manor was not too big, however, compared to most houses in Blackreach City, it was quite big. It has two floors. The moment one walks into the house they would see two sets of giant stairs leading to the second floor. The first floor had the main hall, the kitchen and around four servant's quarters tucked neatly behind the kitchen, some bathrooms, a storage room and a study.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The second floor had around five rooms, each was a decent size and with a couple of windows, cupboard and a personal bathroom. There was also the master bedroom which was twice the size of the other rooms with a giant bathroom and cupboards. Aside from these rooms, there was nothing else upstairs, so Wesley came down stairs.

The moment he was downstairs, Wesley immediately went to the study to see what was there. The study was even bigger than the master bedroom. It had tall shelves on all four walls, each of them around ten feet tall. What surprised Wesley, however, was that all the shelves were stocked to the brim with books. In fact it seemed that the looters completely ignored this study, and the housing department didn't even bother coming to check the house since it was in the Seventh District so the study remained virtually untouched.

'haha, who would've thought I would find a treasure trove. All the books in this room combined were worth more than the price of the entire Manor'

Wesley then left the study with a happy look on his face, then he walked towards the back of the house. The description of the house indicated that the Manor had a basement, so Wesley naturally wanted to check it out. The door that leads to the basement was inconspicuously placed at the kitchen. It looked like a simple storage room so it was easy to overlook.

Wesley immediately descended into the darkness of the basement with a makeshift torch in his right hand. The moment Wesley reached the bottom of the stairs he was immediately startled. The basement spanned the entire length and width of the house including the courtyard and the backyard. Furthermore, it was completely empty, not even a scrap of metal was to be seen anywhere inside.

'This place must've been a weapons or treasure storage for it to be so thoroughly cleaned out.'

Wesley walked around the basement for sometime, then after not finding anything noteworthy, he immediately headed up. But before leaving the room, Wesley locked the basement door from the inside, then used his Dark Warp to appear outside the room.

'haha, this basement is perfect for refining as well as training. I'll have to do something about the entrance.'

Wesley then headed back towards the main hall was those kids were sleeping. A faint smile was plastered on his face because this house was truly worth his money. After reaching the main hall, Wesley Found that the four children were awake and busy eating the food he brought.

'It seems that they were really hungry. I wonder what these children had to go through in these last few years'

Wesley truly felt his heart ache at the thought. While he was leisurely enjoying his life at the Royal palace, these kids were starving on the streets, and there was no doubt in his mind that hundred if not millions of other children suffered like them all over the world.

'What a world we live in. The wicked enjoy life, and the kind suffer'

After the children noticed Wesley, they all looked up with gratitude visible on their eyes, and grease all over their mouths. They were skeptical of this new master of theirs but their hunger that was now gone set their hearts at ease. The oldest kid instantly stood up, and bowed towards Wesley, then he spoke in an apologetic and somewhat embarrassed voice:

"Master, We ........"

Wesley interrupted him before he could even finish his sentence, and spoke with laughter:

"haha, don't worry. Eat first and we'll talk when you're done."

Wesley just sat down on one of the chairs and pulled out a book from his satchel and started reading.

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After around thirty minutes of eating, the five children seemed to have been satisfied, so they cleaned themselves and then looked towards Wesley with some embarrassment and reverence, but they were still scared of him, after all, he was about to kill them not so long ago. The oldest kid stood up, then turned to Wesley and spoke In a low voice:

"Master."

Wesley immediately looked up, and then seeing that they were done, closed his book and said:

"I see you're done. Good. Now introduce yourselves."

"Yes Master. I am the oldest of us siblings, my name is Lane."

Lane then looked at the other four who all stood up immediately and started introducing themselves from oldest to youngest.

"Master, My name is Stein."

"Master, My name is Wannel."

"Master, My name is Lavar."

Wesley memorized these names instantly. It seemed like these kids were all well educated since they all spoke in a respectful and dignified manner. Then the youngest of the five, was a little girl, stepped up and said:

"I am Sala."

Her tone of speech made the other four glare at her, but Wesley just laughed out loud and spoke:

"Haha, Sala. Good, Good. My Name is Wesley. Now let's get to work."

Wesley stared at each of the children separately, everyone, except for Sala who was looking around like a child, was standing as if in attention.

'These children really are something else. They are inside the house where their family was killed and their pain started, but none of them seems to be wavering.'

These kids whose oldest was barely seven showed the altitude of an adult far older than them. This impressed Wesley who always prided himself as being wiser than those snot nosed kids his age.

"First of all, those clothes are for you guys so change out of those rags. Then go pick your rooms upstairs and sleep. Lane, you stay."

The four kids took their clothes, then after bowing to Wesley, left the room. Only Lane was left standing there.

"Lane, tell me about the Shorn Family."

"Yes master. The Shorn Family are one of the two minor noble houses of the Seventh District. However, because our Black Family never meddled in politics, they were recognized as lords of this district only they don't do much for the district. They collect heavy taxes from the residents and businesses here, and hardly ever show themselves in the area, in fact, they spend most of their time in the inner districts."

'hmm, it seems that this Shorn Family are typical nobles who leech of their people and give nothing in return.'

"I see. Tell me Lane, how many people does the Shorn Family have."

"The shorn Family is a relatively small family. With the lord and his wife and their two sons."

'Sons. I would very much like to not kill children.'

"And how old are these sons."

"The oldest son is around forty while the younger is in his thirties. Master, the two of them were part of the group who attacked our family." Lane realizing why Wesley asked that question, added a little more information than was asked of him.

"I see. Good. That's all lane. You go and get some rest tonight, the master bedroom is yours since you're the family head. We'll talk some more tomorrow."

"Yes Master. Thank you"

'haha, this Lane is smarter than I thought him to be. To see the meaning behind my question so well is no small feat.'

Wesley, decided to go to get some sleep as well, this has been a long day.