Blood and Magic:The Oath of Master and Servant

The dawn broke through the dark night, and the light seemed like a gift from the gods, bringing vitality to the world. Everything seemed to resonate with it, pulsating with life, and the darkness had no choice but to retreat. The morning sunlight spilled onto the earth and also poured into the Amara Manor. If you stood at the entrance of the manor and looked inside, there was a long, straight, wide, and flat stone path. The greenery on both sides was clearly meticulously cared for. Even if you looked as far as your eyes could see, you could only see luxurious pavilions, while the other end of the manor remained hidden from sight. Perhaps this description was a bit exaggerated, but one thing was certain: this kind of manor was far beyond the reach of ordinary people. Without a doubt, it was the aspiration that many people dreamed of but could never attain. And it belonged to Lord Nirarim, the son-in-law of King Alexander. As the sun rose higher, the morning sunlight was warm and gentle. The gentle breeze blew over the tender branches and leaves, so beautiful that it made people full of longing. The servants, dressed neatly, were busy tidying up inside the manor. Sweat beaded on their foreheads as they focused intently on their work, being meticulous in every detail. Lord Nirarim watched all this with a faint smile on his lips, clearly in a very good mood. "Lord Duke, I pay my respects to you," the maid who was taking care of the plants was startled by the sudden appearance of the duke but didn't panic. Instead, she took a step back and curtsied. "Good morning to you too," Nirarim replied briefly and then walked past the maid. Lord Nirarim, who was over fifty years old, looked much younger than his actual age. His hairstyle was neat and tidy, and his two mustaches added to his dignity. Coupled with his tall and well-proportioned figure, he was quite charming at balls. Whether it was the young and beautiful daughters of noble families or the middle-aged noblewomen who were as thirsty for love as plants in a drought, they would all be charmed by his captivating eyes. The most pitiful were those sentimental and shy women, who would blush and rush to the dressing room just from one glance at the duke. By the gods, such situations were truly extremely impolite. Lord Duke was in an excellent mood today. The country was prosperous and the people were at peace, and there were no troubles from wars. If there were any concerns, there were only two things. First, he had his eye on a certain woman, but she was unwilling to submit to him and refused to moan softly under him, shedding tears of pain and pleasure. Second, it was his naughty son, Hovlf. For the goddess's sake, this child was really mischievous and didn't resemble his sister, who was both beautiful and intelligent at all. However, Hovlf had inherited his father's good traits. He was extraordinarily handsome. Of course, he was an extremely naughty child, keen on playing pranks. All day long, he led his servants to act recklessly, and wherever he went, there was always chaos. "Mr. Lane?" Thinking of his son, Lord Duke stopped and called out to his personal butler. "Yes, Lord Duke," Butler Lane bowed his head in response. "What is Hovlf doing at the moment?" Lord Duke asked. "According to the schedule, the honorable Lord Hovlf is practicing swordsmanship," Butler Lane looked up at the position of the sun and then replied. "Is he practicing swordsmanship with Mr. Hubert? Let's go and have a look," Lord Duke nodded and decided to go and check. "As you wish, Lord Duke." The two of them walked to the carriage. Butler Lane opened the exquisite carriage door and made a gesture of invitation. After Lord Duke got on the carriage, he drove the carriage towards the courtyard where Hovlf was practicing swordsmanship. Hubert was a swordsmanship master hired by Lord Duke at a high price. His swordsmanship was extraordinary. What was even more rare was that he was not only proficient in practical combat swordsmanship but also good at the gorgeous sword skills used for performances. Besides, his physical skills were also outstanding. To invite him to teach, both friendship and gold coins were indispensable. Hubert's courtyard was located directly east of Lord Duke's manor and was a gift from Lord Duke. There was a three-story villa in the courtyard, with a simple style and spotlessly clean. From the details, it could be seen that Hubert was a person who didn't seek worldly affairs. At this moment, he was standing on the open ground not far from outside the courtyard. He had transformed this place into a martial arts training ground, which had everything for fighting, weapons, bows and arrows, and crossbows. Hubert watched Hovlf practicing swordsmanship with the guards, sometimes nodding and sometimes shaking his head. He called for a stop and then walked forward, examining Hovlf. The young man in front of him was Lord Hovlf, the son of Lord Duke. He was nearly fifteen years old, nearly 1.7 meters tall, with blond hair, fair skin, and his handsome face matched his muscular body perfectly. Such a young man, although he had already mastered many advanced sword skills proficiently, always made mistakes in some simple details, which made Hubert suspect that he did it on purpose or was absent-minded. "Lord Hovlf, your thrust just now had no strength, and the position of your sword was too high. If you can't give a reasonable explanation, you will be punished," Hubert stared at Hovlf sternly, really a bit angry. "Yes, I'm sorry, teacher. I was distracted just now, and I was afraid of hurting the guards, so I made a mistake. But I didn't do it on purpose. I'm sorry," Hovlf apologized with guilt and reluctance in his voice, and his voice gradually lowered as he spoke. However, Hubert didn't notice that when Hovlf lowered his head, the corners of his mouth quietly turned up. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the slave Agas beside him, revealing a devilish profile. The slave Agas was only twelve years old. He used to be the son of a lord. However, on a certain night when he was six years old, his fate changed drastically. His mother put on the clothes of a commoner for him, and the guards carried him and fled in the night. Agas saw from a distance that the fire was burning brightly and his home had been reduced to ruins. The loyal guards took Agas far away from his hometown. A few months ago, the guards fell in the underground arena, and Agas finally became a slave. Another of Lord Hovlf's scapegoat slaves unfortunately died, and his butler, Mr. Todd, had to go to the slave market again. Mr. Todd looked at each slave carefully and finally chose Agas. His idea was simple. Just because Agas was good-looking, he might be able to survive for a longer time, so that he could come to this dirty and smelly place a few fewer times. Agas saw Hovlf's profile and was certain that he did it on purpose and also knew why he did so. Agas was now Hovlf's slave and scapegoat. Whenever Hovlf made a mistake, Agas would be punished on his behalf. Because Hovlf had a noble status and couldn't be damaged by punishment. And Agas had a humble status and should take the punishment for Hovlf. And Hovlf only needed to watch Agas's miserable situation and learn a lesson from it. It had to be admitted that this logic seemed absurd, but it was clearly shown on Hovlf's face. When the whip lashed Agas's back, Hovlf seemed on the verge of crying. "Made a mistake because you were afraid of hurting the guards? Lord Hovlf, you have to pay the price for your actions," Hubert frowned and said. "No! Please, teacher, I know I'm wrong. Please forgive me. I just made a careless mistake," Hovlf's voice was full of regret. "Making a mistake means being punished, Hovlf. This is practice. If it were on the battlefield, this could cost you your life. Twenty lashes," Hubert weighed it over and over again and thought that this number could make Hovlf remember the lesson. He wanted to use Hovlf's pity to teach him a lesson, and this was also the value of the scapegoat slave. The whip cracked as it hit Agas's back. He let out a painful whimper but didn't beg for mercy. He knew very well that Hovlf did it on purpose and must be secretly happy in his heart. When his skin was torn and bleeding, Hovlf must be feeling extremely satisfied. Therefore, he resolutely didn't beg for mercy, determined to add a bit of unhappiness to Hovlf's mental revelry. Just as Agas expected, Hovlf did it on purpose. Although there was regret on his face, his eyes betrayed his heart. His gaze was fixed on Agas, changing from sinister to smug, then to angry, and finally back to sinister. Hovlf didn't even know why he was so obsessed with abusing slaves. He only knew that he loved this feeling. And abusing Agas was especially interesting. He had many servants, all of whom were obedient, respectful, or afraid of him. Only Agas didn't take him seriously. When Hovlf first saw Agas, he decided to conquer this proud slave. And because of this, Agas suffered a lot of hardships. In front of others, Hovlf was extremely caring towards Agas, and everyone thought that Hovlf liked this young man. In fact, Hovlf just wanted to fool Agas. After the whipping, Agas's back was a bloody mess. Hovlf pretended to be remorseful and sad, and called the servants to help Agas up. Hovlf took the healing powder and sprinkled it on Agas's back wounds. "Agas, are you okay?" Hovlf put his hand on Agas's shoulder, his voice sincere and full of concern. Seeing this situation, Hubert nodded with satisfaction, believing that Hovlf would surely learn a lesson this time. However, Agas remained silent, quietly staring at Hovlf, letting the powder aggravate the pain of the wounds. Those black and white eyes made Hovlf puzzled and angry. "Good day, Mr. Hubert," Lord Duke's voice came from not far away. Everyone turned around and saw that it was Lord Duke. They quickly saluted and remained silent. Only Hovlf, seeing this, quickly abandoned Agas and walked quickly in small steps to stand behind Hubert. "Good day, Lord Duke. You still look as charming as ever," Hubert smiled and saluted. "I hope so, my friend, hahaha. Did I interrupt your teaching? Please continue and don't mind me. Hovlf, what happened over there? Did you make another mistake?" Lord Duke greeted Hubert and then asked about the situation he had just seen. "Today's class is over. Just now, Lord Hovlf was distracted during the practice, so he was punished," Hubert explained. "Hovlf, have you put all your thoughts on having fun?" Lord Duke frowned, quite angry. "Good day, Father. It was an accident. I didn't do it on purpose," Hovlf buried his head very low. It had to be admitted that he was extremely afraid of his father. "Lord Duke, Lord Hovlf has already been punished. I believe he has learned his lesson. In fact, Lord Hovlf has been working very hard, and he has already grasped many advanced sword skills," Hearing Hovlf's slightly panicked voice, Hubert thought to himself that he shouldn't scare him too much. Going too far would be counterproductive, so he quickly spoke up to plead for him. Hearing Hubert's words, Lord Duke didn't say much either. He felt helpless in his heart. He knew very well that the so-called distraction might be deliberately done by this naughty boy, just to tease his servants. "Since your teacher said so, don't let it happen again, Hovlf. You're not a child anymore. Learn more from your sister and don't always think about playing pranks," Lord Duke admonished his son a few words and then turned to Hubert and said, "My friend, since today's class is over, why don't we catch up on old times." "As you wish, Lord Duke. Lord Hovlf, remember to practice more after class. That's all for today. Don't be late for next class on Friday," Hubert gave a few reminders, made a gesture of invitation, and then turned around and left with Lord Duke. Lord Duke didn't say anything more to Hovlf. "Yes, teacher," Hovlf still had his head down when he spoke, but the word "sister" lingered in his mind. That affected little b***h. Whenever Hovlf thought of her, he gritted his teeth with hatred. Since childhood, that woman had suppressed Hovlf everywhere and was like a nightmare in his childhood. Seeing that his father and teacher had left with the guards, Hovlf straightened his body and quietly let out a sigh of relief. At this moment, only he and his servants were left here. The humility just now was gone, replaced by an unruly and arrogant look. This was the real him. Hovlf turned around, with something like a devil lurking in his eyes, and stared down at Agas. He was determined to toy with him. "By the goddess, you took the punishment for me again. This won't do. Carry him up and follow me back. I'll tend to his wounds myself," Hovlf snapped his fingers and signaled the servants to take Agas. After saying that, Hovlf got into the carriage and signaled the coachman to turn back. The weather was getting hotter, and he wanted to go back to take a bath and change clothes first, and also think about how to torture this stubborn little guy Agas. He was in a hurry and had the coolness of the carriage, not afraid of the heat. However, the servants behind him were suffering terribly. It was almost noon, the sun was high in the sky. Standing for a long time would make you sweat, let alone having to carry someone. So the servants carrying Agas grew to dislike Agas even more. Why could he win Lord Hovlf's favor while making them suffer like this? The servants half-carried and half-dragged Agas towards Hovlf's residence.