"Halt, identify yourself!"
'Ah, not again,' Ken thought to himself when he was stopped again at the entrance to the inner territory.
"I'm Ken Sue, grandson of Dominic Sue," Ken answered indifferently.
"Oh, it's you, Forb- Young Master Ken. I've seen you in the arena two years ago. Welcome back, Young Master."
One of the guards cupped her fist and let him pass. Her comrades didn't insist either after the woman recognized the comer.
'My nickname is what she remembers, huh.'
Ken sighed and entered the inner sect. He still had to go through one more round of guards before he finally gets home; the guards that watched over the entrance to his family's territory within the inner sect.
Fortunately, those recognized his red eyes easily and let him pass. He didn't miss that some of them went to report his arrival to whomever they were loyal to.
He headed to his previous house and found it standing empty without any guards or attention. It seemed that nobody got it yet since he left.
Entering the house, Ken was surprised by the comfy atmosphere he found inside as if someone lived there. He was not surprised by the lack of dust as there were simple first-rank formations in every house in the sect to prevent dirt from accumulating, but there was a cup with leftovers of tea on the table and a butt print on the couch.
"Who is here?" Ken asked in a loud voice.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't do anything wrong! I promise, please don't hurt me- Young Master, is that you?"
A familiar feminine voice soon begged for mercy, but it stopped when its owner suddenly noticed the newcomer. Soleil looked at him in surprise.
"What have you done?" Ken asked curiously. His maid was scared like a cat that was caught stealing meat from someone's home.
"…Nothing, Young Master. Welcome back home!"
------------
Ken interrogated the young woman for a while. He found out the maid was quite daring; she operated a nearly year-long scam in his absence.
Soleil went to the resources distribution center of the clan and took some resources that only the direct descendants of the clan were eligible to receive every month, including pills and Qi Stones.
Apparently, she was forgotten when Ken was gone, maybe because of the large events that took place at the time like the department of the young generation to the Divine Sword Sect and the death of Norman and Krone.
Soleil, with admirable courage, took advantage of the situation and just remained in Ken's apartment. With a straight face, she continued to take food and resources for Ken from the clan and used them for her own cultivation.
It was not without results; the formerly second-stage maid was now at the peak of the third stage, ready to break through and form her core after mastering a few techniques she got from the sect's treasury.
"So that's the story. I must say, I'm impressed."
"Young Master, I've been so faithful to you and waited here for your return, unwilling to serve under anyone else. You won't be heartless and punish me, will you?" Soleil bootlicked Ken shamelessly, coloring her words with flattery.
"That's an interesting way to put it. Sure, I don't care enough to report you," Ken shrugged. His free resources were released by Dominic after Norman and Krone's death, so he got resources even after he lost the rights to the site that he had earned in the competition a few years back.
While it was true his family took a small loss from Soleil's fraud, she was mainly harmless and the resources missing could barely count as a minor mistake while rounding the numbers in the books.
"Thank you, Young Master! Would you like me to cook something for you?" Soleil answered cheerfully after gaining Ken's promise.
*Knock Knock*
"Young Master Ken, the patriarch wishes to speak with you."
A guard's voice resounded from outside, stopping Ken's conversation with his maid. He gestured to Soleil that he is going, and she can wait there. He left the apartment to follow the guard to the main mansion.
"Welcome back to the clan, Young Master. The patriarch was thrilled to hear of your return, he has been grieving ever since the other disciples came back without you."
"I've missed my grandfather greatly," Ken offered a few words, fully aware the guard was reciting the words his grandfather instructed him to say.
"Patriarch, Young Master Ken has arrived."
"Let him in."
The guard opened the door to let Ken in and retreated to his guarding position outside the mansion.
"Ken Sue greets the patriarch," Ken cupped his fist and bowed respectfully to his grandfather.
"Nonsense, I'm your grandfather, you don't need to be so formal when we are alone. How was your trip to the central zone?"
Dominic smiled amiably to his grandson, showing no ill intentions.
"It has been great. I've even managed to get some riches during my trip there. Maybe Grandfather has called me to ask for some of them?"
Ken asked shrewdly, showing his childish innocence as if he spoke his mind directly.
"Of course not, what you've gained is your own fortune. I've summoned you here to see whether you were all right; I was worried for you after hearing you didn't come back with everyone else. What happened?" Dominic was used to Ken's antics by now and knew better than to attribute everything to the innocence of a child.
"I have entered a conflict with someone from the Divine Sword Sect, and I had to run away from their sect. I decided to escape when the war was over and we were allowed to leave, and I managed to subdue a fourth-rank bird on my trip and ride the way here."
Ken made up a reasonable story to satiate Dominic's curiosity. After explaining to his grandfather all the details of the story, his grandfather returned to the issue of Ken's gains.
"Don't forget, if there's something that can be shared, as knowledge, I hope you will not keep it to yourself."
"I did find something I can share."
Read lat𝙚st chapters at fre(𝒆)webnovel.com Only