Things were going well for Damian. He hoped to return to his headquarters, happy that everything happened as it was supposed to, but that wasn't the case.
Someone had seen him take the lives of those bandits near the road. It happened recently, but the authorities had found the bodies by that point, but the killer was still a mystery.
Damian wanted it to remain a mystery because he was the killer! Emma's servant could not make its way back to the mansion. He had to find and kill the person before it was too late.
He said goodbye to Emma, acting as generally as possible not to catch any attention. But how could Damian find the person?
The mansion had more than one entrance, and despite knowing the servant would arrive by nightfall, it was impossible to know which entry it would take and its appearance.
'I should watch the area from the sky. Yes, this is my best shot!'
Damian was carrying his spatial ring, and his invisibility cloak was inside. With it and his Telekinesis, it wouldn't be hard to watch the mansion's surrounding area without anyone seeing him. So that's what he did, flying up to the sky, gazing at the estate and the forest from there.
The ring which increased his senses — the one he got in the elven forest — proved valuable, as Damian could see everything clearly from the sky. It was not as good as being close, but it was enough to ensure no one would sneak inside the mansion without him noticing it.
Speaking of someone sneaking, Damian was almost sure the person who saw him would take the back entrance, not the front gate.
If it was terrified of being found by Damian, it would do everything to remain hidden and wouldn't trust anyone but Emma.
Damian wasn't sure, so he kept flying around the area, looking at all possible paths his target could take. The refreshing afternoon breeze hit his face, moving his hair, but it soon turned colder as night approached.
He had yet to see any strange movements, which made Damian anxious.
'Is there a way this person entered the mansion through other means? Or could Emma be lying about it?' Damian wondered.
Then he saw it! As Damian guessed, someone was stealthy walking through the forest in the back part of the mansion. He saw that the person wasn't skilled in stealth. Easy to spot.
Damian flew toward it before the person got too close to the mansion, as that could attract the attention of one of the guards or even Emma herself. That would only bring trouble, and Damian wasn't looking for it.
He got closer to that person, and it had yet to notice his presence. That was how weak the person was.
But Damian couldn't care less about that person's power. A voice echoed inside his mind, telling him one word: kill.
That was not the smartest thing to do, and that's why Damian fought against his desires! He grabbed his head using both hands, yelling, "No more killing, no."
"Who's there?" a soft female voice echoed inside the forest.
It was the person who had seen Damian kill all those bandits near the road, and once she realized it was the same man right in front of her, she could not believe it!
Her legs could barely move. Only after hitting herself in the face did she return to her senses, running away toward the mansion while Damian was lost in thoughts, screaming like a madman.
She ran and ran, looking behind her shoulders a few times, seeing Damian standing still with his hands on his head.
'Maybe this is my chance to escape! He isn't as scary as I thought,' she thought.
But despite having the time to get some distance away from Damian, it did not matter. She flew back with a single movement of his hand, floating before Damian.
"N-No, please! Don't kill me!"
"I will not kill you, only mess up with your mind. Now, where should I start?"
Damian placed his hands on her head, entering her mind. Her eyes turned white as they rolled backward, unable to utter a word or make a move.
The situation wasn't favorable for Damian. He couldn't just make her forget it because she had already sent Emma a letter about the situation.
Damian had two options: kill her or change her memories, finding someone else to blame.
The first option wasn't the best one. Emma had just spoken with him about her servant finding the killer, and the servant died right after. Damian was almost sure Emma shared the information with him alone.
'Perhaps she was trying to see if I am guilty or not. It is not easy to trust someone nowadays, so I can understand her,' Damian guessed.
But it wasn't easy. Damian did not have a lot of options. He barely knew the people who lived in Lemoria.
'Maybe Claridge? He knows my real identity, so he's a problem. I don't believe his friendship bullshit.'
The only one Damian found as a possible scapegoat was Claridge, and he did not regret doing it! Damian painted a clear picture of Claridge inside her mind as if it was him that she saw killing the bandits on the road.
Not only that, but Damian erased her memories about encountering him, allowing her to return to the mansion and warn Emma about Claridge! While that was happening, Damian did not stay there or lose any time. He returned to Lemoria and looked for Claridge!
Damian called Claridge to his shop during the night. Despite the meeting looking suspicious, Claridge told no one about it and met Damian.
For him, Damian was only a skillful enchanter and nothing more. It wasn't a meeting that would risk his life. Well, that was his mistake!
Claridge entered Damian's shop, closing the door afterward.
"Hello?" he said, looking around the shop, seeing nothing.
It was all dark; impossible to see a thing. A youth hid in the corner, staring at Claridge like a beast staring a prey.
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