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nZoemi thought in disbelief and tried to get the blanket away from his face, but to no avail – his body felt weaker than ever and there was no trace of even a drop of spiritual power within him.

nHis limbs were also weirdly short just as if…

n…he became a child around three years old…

n“Ludier. You are my closest friend and are soon to become a father too. You should already know how am I feeling. I will not change my child’s life when Espines are storming the mansion! They have twice as many soldiers as we do and Doregon and Misena are BOTH on the frontline! None of our people can win against two transcended magicians, especially as powerful as those two! I must join father and Learen so we at least have a chance. But I cannot risk Benevi’s life!”

nNeramis said in an urgent voice, causing both Ludier and Zoemi to flinch even though for two different reasons.

n|My father, mother, and even grandfather are all alive but…Espines are attacking Banemor territory…?! What the hell is going on in this world?!|

nThe boy thought, unable to shake off the shock.

n“My lord…! I…! I am a transcended ice magician! You and the people of the Banemor house are basically my families! Forget the Espines, I will challenge the royal family for you!”

nLudier declared in a feverish voice.

n“No. You and your wife are expecting a child, neither I nor Learen wish to drag the Galamroze house into this war. With you taking care of my son, I will be able to go all out and I’m sure that Vizta and Learen feel the same.”

n“…!”

nNeramis declared – at that exact moment Zoemi managed to deal with the blanket covering him.

nAs it turned out, he was already in Ludier Galamroze’s arms and Neramis, his father, was smirking devilishly at his best friend.

n“Benevi, you woke up…”

nNeramis raised his brows seeing his son’s stunned expression.

n“My son. Your father, mother, and grandfather must deal with some troublesome guests, uncle Ludier will take you for a little trip, okay?”

nThe honey-blond-haired young man who was only a year or two older than Zoemi was in the previous timeline when everything disappeared, smiled, and kissed his son’s forehead.

n“Don’t cause trouble for him and… be good, okay?”

n“…”

nNeramis, or rather Nathan Ramis asked, looking his son in the eyes, but the child was too stunned to be able to squeeze a word out of his clenched throat.

n“My lord…”

n“Ludier. Not in front of Benevi. Be on your way. Oh, and take young Mizoe with you. He is a good kid and went through enough after dropping out of the Aspakeony Academy. Help him enlist for the knights’ training or something – I’m sure he will become an asset to you.”

n“…!”

nLudier let out heartwrenching gaps, but Neramis cut him short, offhandedly dropping some information that caused Zoemi to jolt up in shock.

n“Lord Neramis.. no. Nera. Promise me that you will survive.”

nThe ice magician closed his eyes and breathed out before looking straight into Neramis’s face and demanding.

n“Hey, who do you think I am? Despite all that mana messing with my spiritual energy, I am still a void star level martial artist. Who knows, with the help of my wife and father-in-law we might turn this whole territorial dispute around and get rid of Espines altogether!”

nNeramis laughed and put his right fist to his heart.

n…but he didn’t make a promise that Ludier wanted him to…

n“…you’re a fool, Nera…”

n“You know me too well, Ludier.”

nThe ice magician gritted his teeth and Zoemi could feel him tremble, but Neramis merely shrugged his shoulders and turned around.

n“Young Mizoe is already waiting for you with the horses. Don’t make him wait, things will get messy soon.”

n“…”

nThe honey-blond-haired man stopped on his way towards one of the two doors leading out of the chamber they were in and advised – Ludier bit his lips and looked away with a pained expression.

nIt was more than obvious that Neramis had it all already planned.

nBanemors as they were today had no chance against the power of duke Espine.

n“I will keep Benevi safe.”

nLudier declared, also turning around and going for the door on the opposite side of the chamber.

n“I know you will but… it might be better to change his name just in case.”

nNeramis nodded, ready to leave with a clear conscience when…

n“Father…! Father don’t…!”

n“…!”

n“…!”

nZoemi climbed on Ludier just enough so that his head poked over the ice magician’s shoulder and called, reaching out his hand towards the honey-blond-haired man who flinched and turned around with a troubled expression.

nFor a moment it looked like Neramis’s resolve would falter, but only a moment later his face brightened up with a devilish smirk and he waved toward Zoemi.𝔬𝒱𝗅xt.𝔠𝑶𝓂

n“Grow up strong and grasp the happiness with your own hands, my son.”

nNeramis declared and left.

nWithout him, there was no reason for Ludier and Zoemi to stay in the chamber any longer, and so the ie magician left carrying the boy.

nThe night was dark – thick clouds and deep fog were covering the area making it hard to navigate even through the relatively small back courtyard of the Banemor mansion.

n“…lord Galamroze…! Here…!”

n“…!”

nThen the fog cleared out just a bit, revealing a much younger Mizoe than Zoemi ever remembered, beckoning them to approach while holding rains of a pair of black horses.

n“That fog is your doing?”

nLudier asked, raising his brow while hurriedly straddling the first horse.

n“Not all… I don’t have enough mana to pull something on that scale but… but because of it, I was able to secure a small opening in the encirclement of the Espine forces. The spell I used was too weak to pick their attention.”

nYoung Mizoe shook his head and explain, lowering his head in embarrassment despite clearly succeeding in what he wanted to accomplish.

n“Keep it up. If something goes wrong I will take care of it. Let’s go.”

nLudier nodded in understanding and lightly smacked the reins of his horse after making sure that Zoemi will not fall off.

nThe two horses trotted through the fog without making much noise, after a few minutes the fog cleared out and the tiro was out of immediate danger…

n*WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO*

nBefore either Ludier or young Mizoe was able to comment on the situation, a gigantic pillar of fire erupted far behind their back, chasing away the fog and clouds and basking the area in a few-mile vicinity in crimson light.

n“…firestorm… a ridiculous spell that duke Espine and his wife came up with when they were still students in the Aspakeony Academy…

nThe ice magician clenched his fists on the reins so hard that his knuckles turned white, making Zoemi look between them and the pillar of fire.

n“Lord Galarmoze, the Banemor house…!”

n“We have our instructions. Let’s move.”

nYoung Mizoe gulped down his saliva and muttered in a tense voice but Ludier merely shook his head and hastened his horse.

n…it was a new timeline, with new opportunities, but the noble family that Zoemi had been born in had already fallen, leaving him the only survivor before he was able to do anything about it…

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