After traveling for two and a half days, Ian finally arrived at his dukedom. This time, he was faster than before.
It would have been even faster if he had run alone since he was already at the High Knight Realm, but that was simply unnecessary.
Once he returned, he didn't immediately go back to the Academy but headed toward his mansion. The continuous travel for a whole week had worn him out physically and mentally.
Although he wasn't covered in sweat and dirt from traveling, as he had showered in a river along the way, a proper long bath was all he wanted now.
However, it seemed his companion was out of breath, as evidenced by its lifeless eyes and heavy breathing from running non-stop.
"Welcome, young master!"
Just as he entered his mansion, the maids politely bowed to him.
"Um... ask someone to take care of the horse. It seems quite tired from traveling; tell them to give it some rest time."
Ian wasn't so heartless, after all.
"Okay, young master," the maid bowed and then asked again,
"Young master, Lord, and Madam are here. Do you want me to notify them?"
"Oh? Did they ask for me?"
Ian asked while taking off his coat. As for the honey-soaked garment, he had already thrown it away after coming out of the forbidden area.
"Yes, young master. Lord said to notify him when you arrived."
"Okay, you can notify them. I'll come to the hall after I take a shower. Is the bathwater ready?"
"Yes, young master."
Although the fantasy land sounded awesome, it could be quite inconvenient in some ways, especially if you didn't have suitable power in your hands.
Sure, as Ian was a High Knight, he could vaporize the sweat and sweep away all the dirt just by using his life energy, but he found it wasn't enough.
Fortunately, he was a duke's son, and the maids in the mansion would prepare the bath for him whether he was there or not.
After ordering the maid, he quickly went to take a bath. If his guess was correct, his father had come to the mansion to discuss the upcoming expedition.
He came at the right time, as he also had something to ask him this time.
Once Ian took a bath and refreshed himself, he put on a new set of clothes and walked toward the hall to meet his parents.
By the time he arrived, his father, Eldric, and his mother, Elara, were already sitting and sipping tea while talking to each other.
"Dad, are you not busy anymore? How come you have time to see your son now?"
Ian also sat down and lightly joked to liven up the atmosphere.
"Heh, you don't know how busy I am, especially since the expedition date is approaching. It's not easy being a duke."
Eldric was rather in a serious mood and wasn't inclined to joke with him. Instead, he looked at him gravely and asked,
"You, kid. I heard you went east, all the way toward the Ashen Spires. Why did you go there?"
"You didn't enter the forbidden area, right?"
His mother, Elara, was also full of concern, and Ian saw rare anger in his father's eyes.
As a duke, how could he not know about his son's whereabouts, even when Ian left without notifying anyone?
When he first heard that Ian had gone east and crossed the border toward the Ashen Spires, he was so anxious that he wanted to lead troops to find him.
Fortunately, Ian returned only after a day and reappeared on his radar.
'Oops!'
Looking at his concerned mother and angry father, Ian felt he had made a big mistake. How could he forget that his dad was paying attention to his movements?
Fortunately, he didn't seem to know that Ian had entered the Ashen Spires—only his general direction. So, there was still room for maneuvering.
"Dad, what are you thinking? How could I enter a forbidden zone? I just went to the forest outside to get something important. I wasn't even near the forbidden zone. Do you think I'm stupid?"
Ian rolled his eyes and, in turn, sniped at his father. The more you acted normal in such a situation, the less his parents would be concerned.
Sure enough, after hearing his words, Eldric's and Elara's faces visibly relaxed.
"That's good! That's good!"
After heaving a sigh of relief, Eldric suddenly recalled his words and asked,
"What was so important that you had to run all the way east without notifying anyone?"
Hearing his sharp question, Ian was already prepared. So, he suddenly smiled, came closer to them, and whispered as if someone might overhear.
"I found a map of a treasure somewhere that can help me reach the High Knight Realm in one fell swoop. Since the situation was urgent, and I was afraid that the news would be leaked, I ran all the way alone without notifying anyone."
Ian described his experience vividly but didn't say where he got the news or reveal what kind of treasure it was.
When Eldric heard his son's words, he looked at him suspiciously, as if he was a fool and didn't believe a word.
"Heh... I know my territory better than you. How can a treasure appear out of nowhere, and of all people, you get the news? You brat, do you think you can lie to me with your eyes open?"
'Cough… cough…'
Hearing his words, Ian almost choked on his tea. He couldn't help but twitch his mouth. Although he thought they wouldn't believe him easily, he didn't expect them to look at him like a fool.
'What do they think of me?'
Of course, he was also too lazy to come up with a plausible reason. As long as they found out that he was fine, they wouldn't care what secret he had.
Ian smiled bitterly and suddenly released the aura of the High Knight Realm to convince his parents, who were looking at him suspiciously.
Suddenly, a strange pressure briefly enveloped the entire hall before disappearing shortly after. Since his mother was only in the Tertiary Knight Realm, he didn't want to hurt her unintentionally.
However, his inadvertent aura shocked his parents so much that Eldric dropped the teacup in his hand and suddenly stood up from his seat, his face full of surprise.
"What! Did you break through to the High Knight Realm? How is that possible?"