Est and Ian stared at the beautiful woman in front of them as if they had met their nemesis.
Celine, William's Master, was lying on the couch in a lazy manner. Her dress, although conservative, wasn't able to hide the wonderful curves of her body. The two boys stared at them and felt their confidence suffer a major blow.
"So, you are William's new friends," Celine said in a teasing manner. "I'm surprised that my disciple managed to make friends and even brought them back here in Lont. Oh, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. I am William's master, you may call me Miss or Lady Celine."
When William arrived in Lont, Celine had watched him from afar using her crystal ball. She didn't come to see him right away because he was with guests. During the battle, Celine noticed right away that the red-headed boy was unable to use magic.
Since she was the one that taught William the forbidden spell, she was able to connect the dots easily. When William got injured, she almost used a long range curse to cripple the Kingsley boy for life.
However, she resisted the urge because she knew that Owen would be able to patch William up without any problems. After the Ainsworth family had dinner, she sent Oliver, the Parrot Monkey, to pass his message to William.
Her message was simple.
"Stupid Disciple, why didn't you visit your Master to announce your arrival? However, since I'm a kind and understanding lady, I will permit you to spend the night with your family. Even so, I expect you to visit me before noon tomorrow.
Ah, before I forget, make sure to bring your three little guests with you. I would like to have a long talk with them."
When William arrived the next day, Celine chased him away by ordering him to buy some ingredients for lunch. She wanted to know more about William's new friends and check if they had hidden agendas in their decision to visit Lont.
Celine always thought of William as an overly trusting person. So, she took it upon herself to check whether these people bore him ill will.
"It's an honor to meet you, Lady Celine," Est replied with a smile. "If possible, I would like to request that you free him from the slave collar on his neck."
"Oh?" Celine raised an eyebrow. "And why should I do that?"
"Because William is our benefactor and it is the right thing to do," Est replied. "Also, he doesn't deserve to be your slave."
"Est, right? I would like to remind you that whatever I do with my disciple is none of your business."
"A True Master would never enslave their own disciple."
The lady and the boy stared at each other. Neither of them were willing to back down. Even Ian, who was seated beside Est, also, joined his Young Master in glaring at the beautiful woman in front of him.
Est and Ian couldn't accept the fact that William was Celine's slave.
"That's too bad, because I can't remove the slave magic that was placed in the collar," Celine lied with a smile. "Of course, even though I can't remove the slave magic, I can pass it to others. So, who among the three of you would like William to become their exclusive slave?"
Est was taken aback by Celine's words. For a brief moment, he thought about William wearing a butler suit and hand feeding him a plate of grapes.
Ian, on the other hand, imagined that William was fanning him with a feathered fan, while he took his afternoon nap.
Est and Ian wavered, and Celine could easily guess that they didn't dislike the idea of William becoming their slave.
The only one who shook his head was Isaac. For him, William was a good person. He didn't want to treat him as a slave.
"How much?" Est asked. "How much will it take for you to pass the ownership of William's slave magic?"
Ian stared at Celine with a serious expression. His thoughts were quite simple, if William became Est's slave then that also meant that William would become his slave. Since that was the case, it would be best if his Young Master was able to buy William's slave contract from his current Master, Celine.
Celine covered her lips and chuckled. "I was just joking with you. How can I possibly relinquish ownership of a handsome Half-Elf? Also, he is my disciple. How can I possibly surrender him to two boys who still haven't grown their hair? Boys who couldn't even beat a Cyclops on their own."
Est's face reddened and Ian scowled. Both of them were thinking of the same thing.
'I hate this woman.'
While the two boys glared at Celine, the door opened and William entered with a smile on his face. Ella followed behind him like a tail. She was William's personal mother and bodyguard in one whole package.
"Master, I bought everything," William announced. "Should I start to cook lunch?"
"Mmm, take the meat of the Golden Scaled Crocodile and make a stew," Celine ordered. "Make sure to put your heart into your cooking. Let your guest have a taste of your culinary skills."
"Understood," William replied. He then glanced at his three friends and gave them a wink. "I don't want to brag, but I'm a good cook. Expect to eat something delicious for lunch."
"I look forward to the dish that you will cook." Est smiled. "I'm very hard to please, so make sure to do our best."
"I'm not picky with food," Isaac commented. "I will eat anything."
"I don't have many expectations, but I'll force myself to eat your cooking," Ian replied. "Just make sure to not add anything funny to the dish or I'll break your bones."
"Hmp! If you were a girl, I'm sure that you would fall head over heels for me after you taste my cooking!" William glared at the irritating boy before he went to the kitchen.
Celine watched this exchange with amusement. The reactions of Est and Ian were clear for her eyes to see. 'These two boys are interesting.'
While Celine was deep in her thoughts, Est decided to ask her another question.
"Why did you teach William Dark Magic?" Est asked. "Do you know that it's the one magic that was banned in the Southern Continent? If people were to see him use it, his life would become miserable."
Celine rolled her eyes at the naive boy who didn't understand what he was talking about. Instead of answering Est's question, she shot back a question of her own.
"Do you know that the first founder of the Hellan Kingdom was a Sovereign of Darkness?" Celine sneered. "If not for Dark Magic then this kingdom would have never come to existence."
"So? What of it?" Est countered. "What happened in the past belongs to the past. Now, Dark Magic is banned from the Southern Continent. Anyone who was caught using it could be sent to prison. Do you want William to suffer such a fate?"
"You don't have to worry about William," Celine replied in a lazy manner. "He won't be staying in the Southern Continent. I will send him to the Central Continent once he comes of age."
"Y-You can't do that!" Est raised his voice. "Why should he leave the Southern Continent?!"
"And why should he stay here?" Celine narrowed her gaze. "You already know that those who practice Dark Magic are not welcome here in the Hellan Kingdom. Since that is the case, the Central Continent is the only place for him to go."
Est felt at a loss, but still decided to refute Celine's words. "He still has Ice Magic. As long as he only uses Ice Magic then no one will know that he also has an affinity for Dark Magic."
Celine had confirmed that Est had really taken a liking to William. Even so, William's journey to the Central Continent was inevitable. Just like the sun would rise from the East, the red-headed boy was bound to go to where the major powers of the world diverged.
The corner of the beautiful woman's lips lifted into a smirk. "Why are you acting like you are his wife? I'm very sure that William is a straight person. He only likes girls."
"I don't see anything wrong with William liking girls," Est stated.
Celine tilted her head as she eyed the handsome boy in front of her. 'Perhaps I'm overthinking things.'
The beautiful lady could tell that Est had a good relationship with William. However, she kept on thinking that something was off. In the end, she decided to ask for Est's opinion about William's fiance, Rebecca.
"Have you seen William's fiance?" Celine inquired. "I've heard that she was a born genius. She must be very pretty, no?"
"She's just so~so," Est replied with a pout.
Est felt uncomfortable whenever he remembered the genius girl that was forced to become William's fiance. Although he could tell that William wasn't interested in Rebecca, the fact still remained that James and Lawrence recognized their arranged marriage.
As long as the 7 year duel agreement existed, the chances of the two of them to really become a couple remained a possibility.
