Warning

This assassin was for backup in case Shane and his group couldn't take care of the siblings. Even though he was raised by the Wright family, he was made to be so cold-blooded that he didn't interfere in the fight between Sia and Shane, even after Shane lost. While this might result in disciplinary action being taken against him, he didn't care about anything but completing his mission.

While these were only kids, he made sure to seal their movements to prevent them from calling for help or doing anything that could stop him from completing his mission. With his sword poised to remove their heads from their bodies, he swung his blade and blood splashed onto the ground.

"Gh!"

However, the blood came not from the siblings, but the stub that remained of the assassin's arm.

"You can scream as loud as you want, you know. It's not like anyone'll hear you."

Out of nowhere, a young gentleman, who seemed more interested in history and the arts than fighting, appeared and somehow cut off his sword-wielding hand. The one interaction they had told the assassin that he was no match for this frightening personage but retreat wasn't an option either. Without a second thought, he activated the artifact that was implanted in his teeth and a vast amount of nature energy built up inside him in an instant, and quickly reached the limit.

The assassin exploded, and yet, there was no wildfire or painful screams.

"Woah, that was sudden. You would think he would at least struggle or something."

Right before he exploded, Shui captured him in a barrier that caged the blast. It was normally impossible to use the barrier spell on another person unless they had a much lower cultivation or didn't put up any resistance, so Shui shouldn't have been able to do it to someone in the same realm. However, Shui didn't use the barrier spell. While he could use it after seeing it be performed so many times, 'Protect' was a much better option for him. By using 'Protect' and 'Trap', Shui made the assassin's efforts useless.

After taking care of that, Shui turned to the three behind him and opened his arms.

"You okay?"

"Shui!"

All of them, including Sia, wrapped their arms around Shui. Ross and Josh made it kind of stuffy but Shui accepted this embrace. He told them to bring talismans to help protect them, but he also attached a faint soul imprint on one of each of their talismans so he could tell when they were in danger.

He had already given a warning but the fact that the Wrights dared not to listen wasn't surprising to him. He obviously didn't implant enough fear.

"Okay okay, you still have class."

They didn't want to let go but Shui had somehow escaped their grasps. Remembering what she just did, Sia's face turned bright red but she still knew what she had to say.

"Thank you."

Seeing as Sia was the first one to thank him, Shui patted her head with a gentle smile.

"I said it would be okay didn't I."

If this was the same Sia from the day before, she would have slapped away his hand, but this time she accepted it with a reddened face.

"You can leave. I'll clean up here."

"Are you sure?" Ross asked.

"Yeah, a student's job is to study. Let the adults take care of this."

All three siblings wanted to say that Shui wasn't much older than them, but fourteen was considered old enough to marry and own real estate so there was no point to their complaint. Before they left, Shui gave the three of them healing potions he had bought before coming here. They were reluctant at first, but Shui reminded them that it was his duty as the adult to take care of them.

"Now then,"

With the siblings gone, Shui looked down on the bodies that were sprawled out on the ground. The assassin's body was completely annihilated so that wasn't a concern, but Shui had to be cautious in how he chose to settle this situation.

When school was over for the ordinary students and some of the core students decided to leave as well, Shane was in a carriage headed to his home. The land of the Wright estate was impressive but it wasn't anything unusual to him. This was where he lived for all his life, where he gained the belief that his entire life should be lived in luxury.

"Young Master, welcome home."

The servants that lined his path as he entered the mansion were like pebbles, people he could step on and kick as he pleased. He walked right past them as he went up the stairs to his mother's office. She didn't leave the house very often, but like the rest of the family, she was a proficient merchant and so would help with the management of the Wright family's businesses.

"Mother, I'm home."

"Oh, welcome. Have a seat Shane, I'll talk to you in a second."

Shane did as she said and sat on a cushioned chair in front of her desk. Even though she was obviously busy, with papers covering the top of her desk like paint, Kia would never ignore her child. In fact, she even quickened her pace so that she could focus her attention on him.

"So, how did it go?"

With a smile that didn't match the topic, Kia asked her son about what happened to the siblings she told him to get rid of. She would receive a report about it later in the day, but she wanted to hear the good news from him first. On one hand, she was a caring mother who wanted to praise her son for doing a good job, on the other hand, she told her son to kill other children and asked him how it went with a smile. Putting aside how other people would view it, the two of them were fond of this sort of relationship.

"Oh, it failed. Those siblings are pretty strong after all. They managed to beat the other kids by themselves."

"Wait, huh-" 'Shane's' words raised Kia's suspicion, but before she could voice her confusion he continued with his report.

"And then that assassin almost killed them, but I stepped in and stopped him. You'll have to apologize to his family or whatever because there's no trace of him left."

"You!"

Kia quickly reached into the bag at her side for a weapon but before she knew it, Shui had grabbed her wrist.

"Let's not cause too much of a commotion, okay."

While still in the form of Shane, Shui looked down at her horrified face. He wasn't using much force, but Kia couldn't bring herself to reach for her weapon. The child before her not only had the same aura as Shane, she could also feel the connection between them.

"Wh, what have you done with my son?"

"Don't worry. This is still your son's body. When I've finished what I have to say I'll give it back to him."

She had no idea how he was controlling Shane, so she stopped reaching for her space expansion bag, and looked at him with a grave expression.

"What do you want?"

"You already know the answer, don't you?"

"..." Kia stared at him and used her spiritual sense but still couldn't see through this person. Based on the circumstances she easily guessed who was controlling her son's body and why he was threatening her.

"I'm not the only one." Kia said

"I know. Once I take care of you I'm sure there'll be others who want to try. But I won't be as merciful on them so I suggest you warn them as well."

"What are you planning?"

"Well if you think I want them to take over the family, then you're wrong. But, I don't really care if you believe me or not."

She had no choice, she knew it. She couldn't risk her son and she didn't want those variables to stay on the playing field, but the knight that was protecting them was too much for her.

"Fine. I'll stop targeting them."

"Good. I won't ask for an oath, but you know what'll happen if you betray me, right?"

"..."

Shui accepted her silence as confirmation and closed his eyes. When those eyes opened again, Kia sensed a change in her son.

"Mother...? Why am I..."

"Shane!"

She wrapped her arms around him and lifted him. Shane didn't know why his mother was crying or why he was suddenly in her office so he was thoroughly confused.

'What...happened?'