Saya and Musa are waiting for Yana’s arrival. The former is particularly nervous on what may happen against Musa

“Don’t worry about me.”, said Musa

Just as the two were staring at each other, there was a loud knock on the door. To prepare for this, Yuuno and the other servants secretly armed themselves with weapons, ready to deal with thugs that may be sent by the Alaborn Family

When Yuuno opened the door, he was angered at the sight. It was the Alabron family, led by Guanyo.

“Have you seen my son, Falio? He told me that he is going to visit Saya at this castle. Where is he!”, shouted Guanyo

Of course he’s here, asshole. You sent him here., thought Yuuno

“Is he here, are you hiding him!.” Shouted Guanyo

“He’s here alright.”, said a voice.

Guanyo looked at scene and saw someone approaching him. It was Saya.

“Lady Saya, glad you could join us. Now, where is my son?”, said Guanyo

“Your son tried to kidnap me and take me away from this castle.”, said Saya

“Those are heavy accusations, Saya. If what you said is true, then how come he never went home? Falio is a talented swordsman. If he wanted to get you, then he can simply get you. No offense to your servants, but I believe my son is stronger than them.”, said Guanyo

I know what you are planning Guanyo. But I will not let you have the upper hand.

“Sooo… Where is he! If he is here, show him to me!”, shouted Guanyo

“My servants took care of him.”, said Saya

“Then pay up. Do you think you can get away with harming my beautiful son? My sweet innocent Falio.”, said Guanyo.

“Of course I can. Falio is the aggressor here, not me or my servants.”, said Saya

“Where’s your proof then? The only way Falio can fall is thru ungentlemanly tactics or if someone ambushed him. If you, a noble, used a dirty tactic, wouldn’t that soil your good name?”

“I may be a noble, but your son is the dishonorable one.”

“You piece of shit! No one calls my son dishonorable!”, said Guanyo

Guanyo then drew his broadsword, and dashed towards Saya, when suddenly a runeblade blocked his attack

“Do not harm her.”, said Musa

“Who are you? Are you a servant of Saya?”, asked Guanyo

“No. I am her friend and protector.”, said Musa

“Hahahahahaha. So you’re the one who took out my son. You know the price of attacking a noble, commoner?”

“Of course, I do. I simply don’t care.”, replied Musa

“Guards take him.”, ordered Guanyo

Musa with his blade in hand, went to a defensive position, ready to defend himself from any attacks by Guanyo or his men. One by one, the guards attacked Musa, who quickly sliced them down with his blade.

“Not even a single scratch, are these your finest man?”, taunted Musa.

“I do not come unprepared, commoner!” shouted Guanyo

With a snap of his fingers, Guanyo summoned even more men by his side. Intending to give a lesson to the bladesman, Guanyo ordered his men to capture or kill the bladesman.

“Come at me.”, declared a confident Musa.

But before any attack could commence, Yana arrived at the scene. With her is an old sorcerer wearing a symbol of an old tree.

“Stop the fighting, will you, Guanyo.”, said the old man

“Merlock… What are you doing here?”, said Guanyo

“I’m here simply to use my authority to render judgement in this place.”, said Merlock

Turning his attention to Musa, Merlock asked him,

“So young man, did you attack a noble?”

“Yes I did.”

“Are you aware of the consequences of your action?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Henceforth, I shall declare…”

Anticipating the worst, Musa simply resigned to his fate. He is hoping that Saya would take care of his brother.

“What’s your name, young man?”

“Musa, sir.”

“I shall declare Musa innocent of any wrongdoing.”

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

“What”, shouted Guanyo.

“You heard me correctly. Young Musa here is innocent of any wrongdoing.”

“You can’t do this Merlock. My precious son was attacked by this commoner. Do you seriously want me to cut off funds for your so-called Alliance.”

“Try it Guanyo, and see if you can defend yourself against rogue sorcerers, bandits and other renegade guilds.”

Guanyo simply grumbled at Merlock’s statement.

“Furthermore, my agents have told me that you are extorting other people, and trying to capture certain women to be brides for your kids. Is there anything you can say to defend yourself?”

“Why am I the one being interrogated here?”, shouted Guanyo

“Because I have the authority to arrest anyone who tries to disturb peace in the region. That includes noblemen such as you.”, Merlock said with a glare towards Guanyo.

“Do you have any evidence for that?”, said Guanyo

Just then, two children ran towards Merlock

“We can provide proof.”, said Yuulah and Moto

“Mr. Falio tried to take Ms. Saya away, against her wishes.”, said Moto

“They keep trying to harass Ms. Saya by forcing her to marry one of his sons.”, added Yuulah.

“That’s pretty damming evidence, don’t you think, Guanyo?”, said Merlock

“Those are brats. They don’t even know what is right from wrong.”, said Guanyo

“Well, neither do you.”, retorted Merlock

“Words are nothing Merlock, that is not enough to prove my alleged crimes against Saya.”, taunted Guanyo

“Yeah, I know, simply believing words is not enough. And that is why I have an agent in the mix.”, said Merlock

“Agent?”, asked Guanyo

Merlock simply clapped his hands, and one of Guanyo’s servants came to him. The servant handed over a piece of paper to Merlock.

Guanyo glared at the man. He made precautions to ensure that no one would try to get in his inner circle, but somehow, this spy of Merlock managed to not only bypass his security, but would blend enough in such a way that he was brought into Merlock’s inner circle.

“I can finally get rid of this disguise.”, said the spy

Clapping his hands together, the spy said,

TRANSFORM: RETURN

With this spell, the spy went from looking like an older man into someone younger than even Saya.

“Welcome back, Regar.”

“Nice to see you again, Master Merlock. I took me a while to get my disguise’s mannerisms and behavior, but I managed to fool them that I was simply a servant of the Alaborn family.”

“You did well Regar.”, said Merlock.

“Yes, Master.”

Merlock looked at the paper provided by Regar and found every violation, every unethical behavior and every abhorrent activities committed by the Alaborn family.

“So you were saying that your family is not guilty of any acts that disturb the peace in these lands?”, said Merlock

“You will not take me alive!”, shouted Guanyo

“Do I always have to do this?”, Merlock wondered to himself.

He simply clapped his arms, and then, giant hands emerged from the earth. Each of the hands had grabbed Guanyo and his entourage.

“Let me go! I am a noble man. You cannot do this to a man like me!”, protested Guanyo

“Oh, but I just did.”, said Merlock

Another hand emerged from the earth. This time, the hand appears to be grabbing Falio

“With the authority vested in me, I am hereby arresting Guanyo, Falio and Hulio of the Alaborn house for attempting to kidnap Lady Saya and for extorting and plundering the resources of this land.”

“Regar, escort these men to the Alliance prison. Make sure that they feel like nobles on their journey to the prison.”

“I will, Master. But where are you going? Aren't you the one who usually transports criminals?”

“My granddaughter needs me. I sense that she is currently in danger.”

“Morgana is a reckless one, isn’t she Master?”

“I know.”

Merlock then dashed towards the direction of Colbarde, intent on rescuing his granddaughter.

Meanwhile, Regar bid farewell to Saya. He then prostrated before Saya and apologized on behalf of the Wizard Alliance.

“I’m sorry Lady Saya. I need to ensure that these bozos go to jail.”

“No issues, Mr. Regar, you had to do your job.”

“Thank you Lady Saya.”

“Oh and before I can forget.”

EARTH ARMS

Two giant hands grabbed the still unconscious bodies of Grizelda and Hito. As rogue sorcerers, they are simply tolerated by the Alliance. An attack against a civilian however, is enough justification to put a rogue sorcerer into prison.

Regar then disappeared through the night, taking Grizelda, Hito and the entire Alaborn family with him. Later, Saya, Yuuno, Yana, Yuulah, Musa and Moto cleaned the castle of debris and ate dinner, courtesy of Yana.

At nighttime, Saya went to the balcony, gazing at the stars. While staring at them, she was joined by someone familiar.

“Stars, usually, the give you the proper direction, whenever you are lost.”, said Musa.

“I know. Stars are wonderful, aren’t they.”, said Saya

Saya and Musa simply looked at each other silently

“You know, Musa, you can always stay with us. We can help your brother in finding a stable home.”

“You know, I want to, but…”

“But what?”

“But I am a rune wielder, and a hunter. I came here to hunt my prey. Staying here could lead my prey away from me.”

Looking at his eyes, Saya saw a degree of hesitation.

“Is that what you truly want?”

Musa is simply silent. He is unsure on what he truly wants right now. Saya then approached Musa and kissed him. In turn, Musa kissed back. With a loving embrace, the two of them wanted this moment to last forever, but just like everything else, nothing lasts forever. Saya then pulled away, went to the entrance of the balcony and looked at Musa.

“The door is always open, if you do decide to leave.”, said Saya

Saya then left the balcony and went to her room.

I thought he is going to stay here with me. Maybe that’s too selfish. I shouldn’t be a burden for him

Saya then went to a deep sleep.

On the next day, Saya woke up, dressed herself and proceeded into the dining hall. With a welcome surprise, she saw Musa there, still seated at the table. Awkwardly, the two of them ate their breakfast. Neither of them wants to make the other sad or lonely. After finishing their meals, Saya silently went back to her room.

“Aren’t you going to bid him farewell?”, asked Yana.

“I don’t know. I might stop him, but if I do, I might give him regrets. After all, he is a hunter.”

“I understand. It would be awkward if you two see each other at this state. Who knows, maybe he’ll come back.”

Staring at the window, Saya saw Musa leaving the premises. When he left, Saya closed her windows and covered them with curtains. Although, she believes that letting him go is the right thing to do, Saya still cried. While she was crying, she was comforted by Yana, who simply hugged her and patted her back silently.

Later that day, a knock was heard in the castle. Fearing the worst, Yuuno opened the doors, but was ready to strike whoever decides to attack them again. But when he saw the person behind the door, his eyes widened. He instructed the servants to fetch Saya.

One of the servants eventually reached Saya’s room.

“Lady Saya, you won’t believe who came to see you.”

Sighing, Saya dressed plainly, with her hair still unkept. She slowly went to the doors of the castle. But when she saw the person outside the door, she dashed towards him.

It was Musa

“I thought you are leaving?”

“Who said that I’m leaving. I was just getting supplies and food for us.”

Saya is simply puzzled and shocked by the information.

“I’ve decided to stay here with you. After all, me and my brother needs a home.”

Saya simply embraced Musa and hugged him tightly.

“Please don’t leave me.”

“I promise. I won’t leave you. I also promise that no harm will ever go to you.”

“I promise that I won’t be reckless, and that I won’t make you or everyone be worried by my actions.”

And so, Musa and Saya kept promising multiple things to each other during that day. But their most important promise came during their wedding 4 months later.

“I promise that I would forever cherish and protect you, Saya.”

“And I promise that I will forever be with you, Musa.”