A Walk with Eternity Chapter 7: A duke

The search went on for weeks. The nobleman, Samael, was getting impatient day by day.

But due to so sort of miracle... A strange mana wave hit them as they were trying to camp. Samael felt that and it was bone chilling. That was a crazy amount of mana.

He faced his n and ordered, "I changed my mind! We’re packing up! We need to find those kids! We’re near!"

The knights flinched at "Yes, sire!"

The search for the missing children was annoying as hell, but every ti Samael felt like giving up, he would be given a clue about where they are! This went on for weeks and it’s been making him pissed and frustrated as hell.

Samael hopped on his horse. "This will be the last ti and we’re heading ho after!"

The knight can easily tell that he’s annoyed by the tone of his voice. He’s been very frustrated lately. He misses his bed...

And her as well.

"LET’S GO!"

"AYE!"

Roughly thirty minutes and the knights have finally arrived by a camp site, which was occupied by children around eight to ten years old.

They were cautiously staring at the knights, but the knights imdiately recognized the children’s faces. Most specifically the human prince...

Samael was surprised as their eyes t. What was the Prince of the Slora Empire doing here?!

"Your Highness—"

"Who are you?" A powerful energy entered his radar, and a child appeared in front of them. He had black hair and fair skin. His jet eyes were staring at them. He was with another siren child; she ran to her friends.

"Are you okay? They didn’t try to hurt you, did they?" The siren child was heard asking her friends, but they simply hugged her, saying they were glad she was okay.

On the other hand, Samael couldn’t take his eyes off the young human among the group.

"Your Highness—"

"I said..."

Not only the knights, but the horses and their lord fell flat on the ground. It was too sudden, and they were surprised.

"—who are you?"

Samael forced his head to look up to the child who asked them again. The child was looking down on them with blank eyes. Just from his stare, they can feel chills running down their spine.

Aack! So heavy!

What the hell is this...?! The knights felt like they were trying to be forced down underground.

What is this magic...?! Gravity?! Samael thought to himself as he continued to struggle. He couldn’t even talk.

"Yves! Stop! They’re knights who serve the Empire! They’re not here to harm us!" The young human prince ran towards the other human boy. Just after that, the force vanished. The knights breathe heavily as their bodies are relieved of tension.

"They entered the site so suddenly, I thought they were here to harm you... I rushed here in worry," the boy nad Yves explained.

"I do think they’re here for us too, but not in a bad way..." the young prince says. As Samael finally had enough strength to stand up, Yves pulled the young prince behind his back.

"State the reason why you’ve co here," the young child, Yves, asked again.

Samael knew it from the way the children have positioned themselves... this Yves kid... was the one who severely injured Tuck and his n. He’s the one standing as their leader now.

Samael kneels, which shocked many knights, but they then followed.

"I am Samael Gristone, Head of the Gristone Duchy and Grand General of the Knight Royale. I ca from a monster subjugation, and on my way ho, I found the cri scene that you’ve left," Samael began, explaining as if he was reporting to a higher up. "The injured leader confessed to that you have escaped along with the other children, and we wanted to save those children..." Samael then glances behind Yves.

All he sees are familiar faces.

".... However, this turns out to be more serious than I initially thought."

Yves raised a brow at him, noticing his gaze on the children. He’s a duke... Does he know all of them...?

"Pardon for being ignorant, but please state the nas of these children," Yves asked, which surprised the children and confused the knights.

It seems he wasn’t aware... Samael thought.

"Milera Knightdale, only daughter of Marquis Knightdale. She has been reported missing for two months."

"Dolunay Roseblood, the youngest child of Count Roseblood. She has been reported missing for three months."

"Lysander Redridge, the heir of the Redridge Clan. He has been reported to run away from their house."

"Cimrian Cortland, the eldest son of Duke Cortland. He was reported to be kidnapped three months ago."

"Ezio Bane, the youngest son of Count Bane. He has been reported missing for four months."

"Darian Ravehill, the youngest Marquis of Ravenhill. He’s been kidnapped for almost three months."

"Nilsine Holloway, the young princess of Holloway Grand Duchy. She has been reported missing for three months."

"Rue Amadeus, the young Empress of the Amadeus Oceana. She has been missing since the fall of her Empire, roughly two months ago."

"And... Kian Slora, the only Prince of the Slora Empire. He’s been missing for almost four months."

Yves remained unfazed by the amount of information given to him, but he can tell that all his young companions began to feel guilty.

"...Are you here to take them back to their hos?" He asks the man.

"If possible, I would. Many have been worried about their disappearance."

Yves couldn’t help but sigh, looking away to calm his mind. He was more disappointed than shocked. I guess this is where the adventure ends, he thought to himself. He himself expected this day would co, but he didn’t expect it to be so soon. He faced the knights once again.

"The sun is setting. Please set up a camp here and stay for the night. My friends are too tired from training to travel now, and we were about to cook up so dinner," Yves says as he smiles at them. "Would you mind staying until tomorrow?"

The children fell completely silent at his words.

"No, it would be a pleasure," Samael replies with the sa respectful tone.

"While you set up, I’ll be having a chat with my friends. Please be mindful that this is a private conversation. I can feel if any of you are using magic or are nearby to eavesdrop," Yves remained smiling. "You wouldn’t want to have your limbs blown off like those bastards, would you?"

A single threat, but they all know it could happen. The silence was too loud, and that made Yves smile.

"Yves..." Kian called for him, but Yves simply bead them a gentle smile.

"Let’s all talk inside the tent."

The children then entered their tent, while the knights were left outside. Samael later stands up from kneeling and sighs.

"Commander... I understand the situation, but why did you have to kneel in respect?" one of the knights asked in complete confusion. Even the other knights were confused.

Samael was a strange man who bows to no one, not even to his Emperor. He was known to be the informal jerk of high society, an insolent dog. The emperor pays it no mind, in any case, he even enjoys it. He finds it amusing.

But he knelt to a re child?

"Fools, do you realize what you’re saying?" the duke glares at them in disbelief. "If he wanted to, that child would’ve easily killed Tuck, a notorious criminal who has never spent ti behind bars and a man known for his cruelty. He gave them pure agony in a span of minutes and didn’t even give them enough ti to fight back."

"That child also appeared right in front of us, which ans, that child is not a simple mage... he’s a gifted master in magic."

Teleportation is no simple magic on this Earth. He needs to be able to control more than five elents to control that.

"He could’ve killed us if we didn’t state our reason or if we attacked him," Samael continued with a grave tone, and then he sighs in disbelief.

Why did Isaac give the new knights, sigh... Samael thought to himself.

The knights then realized what he ant. They are new knights who excelled in their training, but they barely have knowledge when it cos to magic.

Samael then turned to the tent.

I wonder what they’re talking about now.