"I knew it! It's just as I thought. I knew you didn't die, you old bugger! You tricked me for three years!"
Gideon hadn't found a body in the grave, but he had expected as much. Titus had been an enigmatic figure who possessed extraordinary abilities. Why would someone like that abruptly claim to have come to his life's end and decide to bury himself? It was unthinkable.
Nevertheless, Gideon couldn't disobey Titus, his mentor, so he had to do as told and guard the grave for three years.
"If I don't get a treasure that's to my satisfaction, Titus, that means you wasted three years of my youth. I'll make you pay for that at some point," Gideon grumbled.
Alas, even after combing through the entire grave thoroughly, he found nothing other than a letter.
"You old con artist," Gideon ranted before opening the envelope with a scowl on his face. He found two pages of a letter.
After he read the first page, his scowl of dissatisfaction was replaced by a moved expression. According to the letter, Titus had asked him to stand guard at the grave for three years to help him mature and rein in his aggressive nature.
As the three years passed, even Gideon noticed that his present state of mind vastly differed from what it had been three years ago. He'd also honed his abilities and developed a stronger, sturdier foundation.
"Since you went through all that effort just for me, I'll forgive you this once," Gideon remarked with a smile before reading the next page.
Immediately, he started frowning. "You want me to head to Goldspire and marry Elara Seymour, the daughter of the Seymour family?"
In the letter, Titus stated that when he was young, he and Isaac Seymour were war buddies. He owed Isaac a favor, and to repay the debt, he insisted that Gideon marry Elara. Moreover, he even wrote that if Gideon refused to do it, there would be severe consequences.
Gideon was speechless. "You're the one who owes a favor, but you want me to marry Elara to repay it? How cunning!"
He was fairly reluctant to do it, but he had no choice. Titus was like a father figure to him. He owed Titus far too much. Besides, the threat of facing severe consequences made it impossible for him to do anything but comply.
"Ian, come here!"
A silhouette dashed up the mountain at top speed.
"Yes, sir?" Ian asked.
"Give the word for me. Tell everyone to gather here."
"I'm on it!" Ian replied before dashing off again.
Soon, all of the powerful figures in Oasis Vale were standing before Gideon in an orderly fashion.
Over the last few years, Gideon had captured quite a number of people, but he'd released many of them, too. And now, only 49 of them remained.
"Listen carefully now. I'm leaving Oasis Vale to settle some matters. While I'm away, you people had better continue to do as you're told and carry on with your farm work. I'm sure you all know very well what will happen to you if you try to escape or cause any kind of trouble."
The crowd shuddered. They wouldn't even dare to think of escaping.
"Rest assured, sir, for we will definitely fulfill our responsibilities and work hard until you return."
"Good," Gideon said with a nod.
Just then, an old man stepped forward with a ring and a letter in hand. He asked beseechingly, "Sir, since you're leaving Oasis Vale, I was wondering if you could help me with something on account of my dutiful performance the past two years."
He even got on his knees and looked at Gideon with a pleading expression.
The old man was Simon Avila, the richest man in all of Verdura.
Gideon still remembered how Simon ended up joining them here. Everyone else who had been captured and brought to Oasis Vale had committed crimes of varying degrees of severity. However, Simon had entered the group voluntarily.
As Simon also hadn't done anything wrong in the last two years, Gideon asked, "What is it?"
Overjoyed, Simon said, "Sir, please pay a visit to the Avilas of Goldspire. When you do, please pass this letter and ring to my granddaughter. When the time comes, you'll see why."
"Goldspire, you say?"
Gideon was heading there anyway, so he didn't refuse the request. After pocketing the letter and ring, he reminded the crowd not to cause any trouble before packing his things and setting off.
Soon, he arrived at the nearest city and headed for the airport. He'd only just taken a seat at the departure hall when he heard a sharp screech.
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