A Single Mother's Farm of the Gods
Chapter 210: The Duke of Blackwing

Chapter 210: The Duke of Blackwing

The night of the festival ended up gloomy. Although the stew was successful and the Harvest Festival somehow managed to pass through, the situation of the explosion is fresh from the memory of the people.

Elaina and Princess Margaux returned home with the stew inside a container for Julia to eat at home while Curaj returned to his apartment after sending both Elaina and Princess Margaux safely back home.

The situation that Elaina has learned is complicated and she doesn’t like where it is going. The one the Gods called the Ice Lord is one of the factors that Elaina does not like. Just hearing the ability of the Ice Lord and how devastating it is for everyday life is enough for her to understand the troubles and problems he can potentially cause if he is revived and fully functional once more.

But now, with the Snow Man’s appearance and attack, Elaina knows that something bad is brewing.

"I need to have Grandma and Grandpa know about this information. As the Gods have said, perhaps they can provide information regarding the Ice King and whether or not the enemy remained dead."

Elaina’s thoughts are suddenly disrupted when Arthur cries. She quickly scooped up Arthur from his crib held him in his arms and started to rock him around, allowing him to slowly stop crying. Elaina glanced at Adelaide and she sighed in relief that her girl was still fast asleep.

"I can’t afford to have the Ice Lord return. I will make sure that he will not be able to come back for the sake of the future of my children. A future where my children can live in peace and a bright tomorrow."

...

...

...

On the other hand, inside the mansion of someone with high status and one of the town’s important people, the maids and butlers are now scurrying here and there to prepare for the owner of the mansion’s arrival.

"I don’t really know who he is since the moment I started working in this mansion, I never have seen the Lord’s face, but is he really that hard to look at?" one of the newbie maids asked one of the old maids who is currently preparing the carpet in the entrance.

"Not really, but compared to the Crown Prince, he is like your average gruff man. He looks more aged than his age actually implies and he is more reclusive and would rather be out of town most of the time. You can say that without the emblem of his house, he would look like your typical adventurer for hire on the Adventurer’s Guild," the old maid answered.

"What the...why are you talking like that to our Lord? Isn’t that kind of insulting to him? Won’t you end up getting executed for that?" the newbie maid felt afraid of hearing the insulting words.

"Don’t worry. Compared to the other Lords who are cruel and pretty obnoxious, he is one nice guy. He declared before that he would rather treat us as subordinates rather than as mere servants for hire. He is also fine with us talking about his gruffness and his looks and we even made fun of him like this for we kept on saying that he should at least shave or make himself presentable for the crowd, but he preferred his looks. You will see. It’s better to be more casual than him than to make a rift for him."

Although the newbie maid did not understand what the maid had said, hearing stories about the guy who owns the mansion is seemingly kind of hard to believe.

For many people, no one knows him much due to the times that he is out of the kingdom due to the expeditions. Despite being considered one of the important people of the Darcero Kingdom, he is one of the rare faces to see in public and even at parties.

At the moment, the person they are talking about is currently reporting the information to the Adventurer’s Guild and is currently talking to Elaina’s grandparents.

"To think we would meet again like this. It seems that you are quite busy with the expeditions for quite a while and you have even neglected your face. You are more rougher than before. I don’t even think I have this kind of look back when I was still traveling around," Grandpa shook his head as he stared at the Young Duke who looked like a gruff man.

The Duke of Blackwing, also known by his name Darcy Blackwing. Many know him as the Gunslinger Duke due to his main weapon of choice. If other rulers used swords to fight, his main weapon of choice was guns of various kinds. He wears his casual red coat with a vest to holster both of his guns. It kind of looks like he is an outlaw from the Wild West with his attire, just lacking the hat to complete everything.

As for his looks, he is as described by many. Gruff looking. Despite his mature look on his face, he is younger than many thought but at first glance, anyone can say that he looks like a man around his 50s. He is still an attractive man, but he is not similar to many young men’s looks. His beauty is more similar to old men like Elaina’s Grandpa.

The grey color streaked through his hair, scars tracing stories on his face, and a beauty that belied his twenty-something years, making him look like a seasoned figure from his fifties. His presence was a blend of ruggedness and elegance as if time had sculpted him into a living testament of both hardship and grace. Due to his looks, even though he barely shows up, many women still do find him attractive, and even his way of being silent compared to many others adds up to more points to others.

"It’s been a while, Sir Rakkan, Saint Liliana. Didn’t think we would meet here in the Darcero Kingdom. Just heard the news back when I was still traveling back home but it seems that it is not just because you two are checking up on the Adventurer’s guild, yes? According to the reports, you two have been staying here for a few months now."

"Well, we do feel this place is a great place for vacation and we have an actual reason to stay here for a long while as well so it’s fine to say that we might meet more than you wish we would meet," Grandma smiled.

"Haha, I am more thrilled that the two former heroes are currently staying in my town and are guiding the young adventurers quite well. And for me, hearing your tales while I was still a kid and now, meeting and working with you from time to time is something of a dream come true."

"Haha, enough flattery, young man. I am quite sure you are just not here just to flatter us. Pretty sure the people in your mansion have been getting ready after hearing that you are coming back now."

"They can wait and I am not worried about them as they are more than capable of keeping the manor simple and clean. This matter is something more important though that I have to ensure I need to talk to you about it."

"Alright. What is it?"

"Have you two visited the place not too far from here called the Domain of the Sealed Frost?"

"Yes, we have visited it once in our travels as we are still learning the ropes of adventuring, you see. We have dispatched a few monsters here and there back then but nothing major," Grandpa explained as he recalled the times they visited there in the past.

"Right. However, it seems that place has changed for the worse."

"For the worst...don’t tell me..."

"Yes. At the end of the domain is one place where various chains have been currently placed on one big brick of ice, right? And inside is some sort of skeleton currently frozen solid. It’s quite a spectacle that there is no way we would miss it."

"Right. Even I have seen it as I have visited that place many times in the past even when I was still a kid. However, we received reports that some changes happened inside the place. After my latest expedition to the Dark Lands, I visited that place once more to review the reports and see with my own eyes the changes."

The two elderly heroes looked at the Duke seriously as they waited for him to talk.

"Like what the reports said, many changes have taken effect and I can say that those changes are not good. For once...we have seen a new monster species that we thought were new but after we checked the records, we soon realized that the monsters we fought there are one called to be already extinct during the Age of Gods. They are called the Snow Man."

"Snow Man? Like the ones kids make during winter?"Liliana frowned.

"Similar, but not quite. These are monsters that can fly and they eat people. They can produce ice and snow as part of their abilities. They swarm the cave like they have built the area of their home. Not only that, but the guards that are assigned to the post have been found dead as well. However, those are not the highlights of the trouble."

"Looks like there’s more," Grandpa frowned.

"Indeed. Remember the big ice with giant chains tied around it? Well, those chains have been broken and now, the big chunk of ice has melted. The skeleton is nowhere to be seen. And based on the clues we found upon our investigations, it seems that the one sealed there has returned from the dead."