CHAPTER 94: CHAPTER 94: WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?!

The sun had finally risen, and Axelius was now lying flat on the ground of the training area, drenched in sweat, chest rising and falling as he caught his breath. Across from him, the sword Owen used lay on the floor. Owen, still in his mimic form—slim, stretched, and looking like a stickman slime—stood beside it, arms crossed and clearly upset.

"Damn it!" Owen shouted, kicking the sword lightly with his slimy foot. "I lost again!"

Axelius laughed from the ground, not even trying to hide how proud he was. "Told you! You’ll never beat me."

He slowly sat up, stretching his back. Owen walked over and offered his hand. Axelius took it, letting him help pull him to his feet. Right at that moment, Millie arrived.

"Young Master, I’ve been looking for you," she said, a little out of breath.

"Yeah, yeah," Axelius replied, brushing off the dirt from his pants. "Just get my bath ready."

They started walking back toward his room. Millie followed quietly behind, nodding.

"By the way," Axelius said over his shoulder, "what happened to Elias?"

Millie answered, "Sir Elias had something to take care of. He said it was a family matter, so he’ll be gone for a while."

Axelius nodded, wiping his face with a cloth Millie handed him. Once back in his room, Millie quickly prepared his bath and set out breakfast, knowing Axelius preferred to eat alone rather than with the rest of the family.

After cleaning up and changing into fresh clothes, Axelius walked over to the window. As he looked down into the courtyard, he saw a carriage pulling up.

Owen, now in his round slime form, bounced up onto the windowsill beside him. "Oh-oh! Look who’s here!" he said in a teasing tone.

Axelius frowned and squinted. "Millie! Come here! Millie!"

Outside, a young lady stepped out of the carriage. She had flowing blonde hair and shining green eyes. She smiled politely, even thanking the coachman who helped her down.

Millie entered the room quickly. "Yes, Young Master?"

Axelius pointed straight at the girl. "What is she doing here?! What is Elena doing here?!"

Millie’s eyes widened in sudden panic. "Oh no, I-I forgot to tell you... A letter came late last night. It said Lady Elena would arrive this morning. I’m so sorry, Young Master, I forgot to mention it."

Axelius’s jaw dropped. "So?! Why is she here?!"

"She’s here because the engagement."

"WHAT engagement?!"

Millie stepped back a little. "After your trial, the news spread quickly. She heard about it and came to personally congratulate you And also to talk about the engagement."

Axelius blinked hard. "Wait... it’s not broken?"

Millie shook her head. "It was never officially broken in the first place."

Owen started laughing, rolling around on the windowsill. "You should’ve checked, idiot. Now your wifey decided to visit you!"

Axelius let out a long, annoyed sigh. "That old man... he really has no plans of letting me live peacefully, huh?! I’m only eleven! Let me enjoy my life first!"

Millie stood quietly, then asked, "What do you want me to do, Young Master?"

Axelius raised a hand, thinking. "Tell her... I’m sick. No—wait, tell her I’m not home. Or better—tell her I’m in a coma. Yeah. That should work. She’ll definitely leave if I’m in a coma."

Owen snorted. "What a lame excuse."

Axelius rolled his eyes. "Ugh. Fine. Just tell her to wait."

Millie nodded and bowed. "As you wish, Young Master." She stepped out and gently closed the door behind her.

The moment she was gone, Axelius rushed to the window again, looked around, and then jumped out, grabbing the nearby tree branch and swinging down silently. He landed smoothly on the grass, crouched low. Owen followed, bouncing after him like a little jelly ball.

They sneaked toward the back wall of the estate.

"And yeah..." Owen muttered, catching up beside him. "This is the best thing to do. Escape."

Axelius grinned. "Exactly."

He crouched near the stone wall, pulling back a bush to reveal a small hole big enough for him to squeeze through.

"Freedom," he whispered with a smile.

Outside the wall was a thick forest, the trees tall and wide, their leaves rustling softly with the early morning wind, and Axelius walked slowly through the grass, brushing branches aside as he muttered to himself,

"I’ll stay here until she leaves," not really caring how long it would take, as long as he didn’t have to face that blonde-haired, green-eyed girl right now.

He found a large tree with roots poking from the ground, wide enough to lean on, and as he stepped closer, ready to sit and rest his back, he paused when he saw something strange—there was a hole in the tree’s trunk, round and dark, like a small cave hidden inside the wood.

"Looks like something is living here," Owen said from beside him, bouncing.

Axelius crouched down to take a closer look, peering into the hole with a hand brushing aside a low branch.

"Probably just some small beast," he replied, not too worried, but still careful as he leaned a bit closer, just enough to see if anything shiny or glowing was in there.

Suddenly, something black and fast shot out of the hole—Axelius jumped back in an instant but there was nothing in front of him now.

"It went into the shadow," Owen said, his voice now a bit serious, his round body floating slightly above the ground as he pointed to the scattered shadow under the leaves nearby.

Axelius’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the shifting patch of darkness, the way it didn’t match the rest, like it moved differently from the sunlight around it.

"I don’t think there’s a beast with shadow affinity," he said slowly,

Owen beside him, now flipping took out a book and open it and scanning a few pages quickly. "Not a beast... but a monster could. Wait... I think I know a few monsters that can blend into shadow," he said, flipping faster, his little eyes squinting through his glasses.