CHAPTER 79: CHAPTER 79: FOUR YEARS

The butlers rushed forward, already sweating in panic. They quickly pulled away the pillow and the blanket. The moment they did, several centipedes crawled out, long and thin and fast. And worse... there were eggs.

Tiny, round, jelly-like eggs scattered under the sheets, stuck in the corners of the mattress.

The room froze.

That’s when the green eyed boy’s eyes rolled back and he fainted on the spot with a loud thud.

"Brother Vellan!" a voice shouted.

Elena had just entered the room and ran toward her green-eyed brother. She looked around in horror, then knelt by him. "Brother!... What are you looking at?! This is terrible! Someone call a physician, now!"

Her voice cracked with panic. That’s when another voice filled the room. Deeper. Stronger. Everyone stopped moving.

It was the Grand Duke.

He entered slowly, followed by two servants. His face was tight with anger. His gaze cold. Owen’s voice whispered from beside Axelius’s foot. "Oh no... I think you did too much, Axel."

Axelius leaned down slightly and whispered back, "Hey, I didn’t know those centipedes were pregnant, okay? Geez... Look at those eggs. He became a nest—pfffft—ahahaha."

Owen bounced against his leg. "Shhh! Don’t be obvious!"

Axelius nodded quickly and stood tall, pretending to be surprised like everyone else. But when the Duke’s sharp gaze landed on him, Axelius felt a drop of sweat run down the side of his face.

"Millie," he said, turning fast. "Let’s go. I’m hungry. I need breakfast right now."

He walked away, as fast as his short legs could carry him, dragging Millie with him. Behind him, the Duke sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose, massaging his temple in silence.

He turned to the butler. "Clean the room immediately. Remove every insect. And take one centipede alive. Boil it. We’ll make an antidote."

"Yes, Duke!" the servants shouted, already rushing around.

"And bring a physician to treat the boy," the Duke added, shaking his head again. "Before someone faints from panic."

As chaos slowly turned into order again, the Duke gave one last look toward the hall where Axelius had disappeared and sighed once more.

"What had gotten into you, Axelius." he muttered.

*****

Since that day, the green-eyed boy—Vellan, the son of the Chancellor—had a high fever for a whole week. He couldn’t sleep properly and would suddenly scream at night, saying he felt something crawling on him. After recovering, he developed a strong fear of long insects with many legs. Even a simple drawing of a centipede could make him cry or run away.

Because of that, his family never returned to the Grand Duke’s mansion, and Axelius was sure the engagement with Elena was cancelled. There were no more talks about it, and Elena never came back either, which made Axelius feel relaxed and free again.

"Good," Axelius said as he lay across a large pillow pile. "No more witch wife."

During the four years that passed, Axelius lived a peaceful and lazy life in the mansion. He liked sleeping in, eating a lot, and doing only what he wanted. He didn’t go to the academy, no matter how many times the Duke told him to. In the first year, the Duke tried many things.

He even brought personal tutors to teach Axelius noble studies, magic, swordplay, and manners, but one by one, they all quit. Some were scared because Axelius threatened them when they got too harsh or tried to look down on him. Others were just tired of his attitude, because no matter what they taught, Axelius always had a way to escape or annoy them.

Even so, the Duke didn’t give up completely. He kept sending new tutors, but after a while, even he stopped forcing too much. In truth, the Duke was tired of arguing. Axelius was clever, and he always found ways to avoid lessons without looking completely lazy.

In those four years, Axelius also trained a little, but in his own way. He worked on his body slowly—just enough to stay fit but not enough to tire himself but he wasn’t muscular either.

His body looked light and quick, and he was much faster than before. Sometimes, he trained his Primal Veil Core too, focusing on his mana flow while lying under trees or sitting quietly in the garden. He liked quiet places, especially near the forest or behind the tall stone walls.

He wasn’t allowed to go far from the mansion. Whenever he tried to sneak out of the region, the Duke somehow always knew and sent guards to stop him. But he could still go to the nearby town, where he walked around with a plain brown cloak and watched people or ate snacks.

He also visited the forest near the mansion, as long as it was safe. He knew which places were fine and which areas had dangerous creatures. Owen, the slime, always followed him and often reminded him not to go too far.

Axelius also spent a lot of time avoiding people. Especially Ellory. Over the years, the little girl grew more attached to him. She always looked for him, wanted to play, talk, or share tea with him in the garden.

But Axelius always escaped. He hid behind curtains, under tables, or even in the storage room when he saw her coming. Owen would sometimes scold him, but Axelius only shrugged and said, "Too much energy. I’m not built for this."

Books were another problem. Axelius hated reading, so Owen started reading out loud for him.

"No, shut up, I don’t wanna hear it," Axelius said, covering his ears.

Owen, sitting on the table, continued reading anyway. "You can cover your ears, but I know you can still hear me."

Even when Axelius covered his ears or rolled away on the floor, Owen just bounced beside him and kept reading. The words still entered Axelius’s mind, and over time, he learned many things—history, monsters, noble etiquette, even magic theory—without even wanting to.

So the days went on like that.

He slept, ate, trained a bit, avoided work, and sometimes snuck out.

He grew taller, his face sharper, his movements calmer, but his personality remained the same—lazy, clever, and a little mean when he wanted to be.

The Grand Duke sighed more often these days, and the maids learned not to expect much from the young lord But despite everything, Axelius was not useless. Something inside him was slowly getting stronger.

and for now, Axelius yawned, stretched across his favorite pillow, and reached for a plate of warm bread beside him.

"Life’s good," he mumbled.