Chapter 568: The Oathkeeper’s Return [Part 1]

Published Mar 14, 2026, 09:24 AM

Chapter 568: The Oathkeeper’s Return [Part 1] "It feels like I was here just yesterday," Alex muttered as soon as he disembarked from the airship. "I won’t mind living in a place like this once I retire from all my travels." Lavinia smiled faintly, happy to hear the words of her lover. "Then I guess we better start looking for a piece of land where we can build our home," Lavinia commented. "It must be big enough to fit our family inside." "Sounds like a plan," Alex replied. "Well then, shall we go?" The young man held Lavinia’s hand firmly before walking toward the village gate. The villagers recognized their princess, as well as their Oathkeeper, right away. Lavinia’s personal maid, Roselia, also stood by the gate, watching the young couple take all the time in the world to walk, just like tourists on a sight-seeing trip. "Good afternoon, Young Miss, Sir Alex," Roselia said respectfully before bowing. "I’m glad you have arrived safely. Welcome back to Etherion Village." "Thank you, Roselia," Lavinia replied. "Thanks, Roselia." Alex smiled. The maid moved to the side and gestured for the two teenagers to enter the gate. "The Master has been waiting for your arrival," Roselia said. "I’m sure he had already seen the airship descend and must be expecting the two of you to head to the Hartwell Residence as soon as possible." Alex and Lavinia exchanged a glance and nodded at the same time. They had originally planned to take a stroll in the village and watch the sunset together first. But since Ramza and probably Lavinia’s parents were waiting for them, they decided to not take any detours for the time being. The villagers bowed respectfully the moment Lavinia and Alex walked past them. This had happened in the past, so Alex was already used to it. Lavinia might look like an ordinary Catkin to some people, but within the domain of the Etherion Village, she was akin to royalty. Suddenly, two young Catkins, both around three to five years of age, ran up to Alex and looked up to him with curiosity. "Mister, are you the Oathkeeper?" the little boy asked. "My father said that our Oathkeeper is strong. Are you strong?" Alex crouched down and met the young Catkin’s gaze. "Not as strong as my Master," Alex replied. "His name is Cairo, and he will be the Heaven’s Sword in the future" "Wow!" the Catkin exclaimed as he tightened his grip around his sister’s hand. "I also want to become a Heaven’s Sword!" "Of course, you can be one too," Alex replied before patting the boy’s head. "Train hard and become strong enough to protect your sister." "Un!" The boy nodded happily. The villagers had wanted to stop the boy earlier from approaching Alex, but they had also wanted to know how their Oathkeeper would react to curious children. The little girl, who seemed envious of her brother getting patted on the head, mustered up the courage to talk to Alex. "Me too?" she asked shyly. "Of course," Alex replied and also patted the girl’s head a few times before finally standing up. For a brief moment, he thought of Dim Dim. If the little bun had been here, it would have given these two kids some dim sum and played with them for a while. After that short encounter, Alex and Lavinia resumed their stroll. The people of the village gave Alex a smile as he passed by them. Some of them had heard the stories of how he fought to save the children inside the Etherion Dungeon. Others had been told of his heroism during the Siege of the City of Thaloria. The Oathkeeper was a special existence in the hierarchy of the Clawford Tribe. Regardless of whether Alex was strong or not, all he needed to do was say the word, and the villagers would take up arms and fight by his side. Lavinia had already told him about this and warned him to be careful, for his words would be taken seriously by her people. As they walked the street leading to the Hartwell Residence, Lavinia saw a few young ladies blushing as they looked at Alex. Some of them were close to Lavinia’s age, and she could tell that their gaze was that of a lady looking at a prospective marriage partner. If not for the fact that they were walking hand in hand together, some of these girls might have already taken the initiative to approach the handsome young man and flirted with him in the open. Catkins were a brave and bold race. If Alex had been an ordinary human, none of the Catkins would have paid attention to him. But he wasn’t an ordinary human. He was their Oathkeeper, so having him as a mate was considered the greatest honor among them. Roselia couldn’t help but smile faintly. Who could’ve known that the young man, whom Cairo had brought to their village, would become someone larger than life. A living legend who would be protected by everyone in the Clawford Tribe down to their last breath. ’What? Is this brat someone important in this village?’ Diona thought while observing Alex from a distance. ’And Lavinia is considered a princess here? Just what in the world is going on?’ She had come to Etherion Village with a mission. And for that mission to succeed, she needed to do a bit of research. Rash as she was, she knew it was foolish to do anything in a foreign environment without doing basic research. But first, she needed to know where Alex and Lavinia would be staying. This was why she followed them at a safe distance. Still, getting too close could blow her cover. In the end, she decided to go to an inn to book a room for two days. She would also ask the locals more about Alex and Lavinia. In the meantime, the Black Wolf Spider would follow her targets by jumping from one roof to the next. A few minutes later, the two teenagers finally arrived at the stairs leading to the Hartwell Residence. Alex looked at these stairs fondly. These had given him a lot of bonus stat points in the past. Those points had greatly boosted his physical prowess, allowing him to survive inside the Etherion Dungeon during its early days. Lavinia glanced at the young man beside her before looking at the stairs in front of her. She could still remember the first time she had met Alex. Back then, she had looked down on him. Remembering those memories, she couldn’t help but blush in embarrassment. As if reading her mind, Alex gave her hand a light squeeze and grinned at her. "When we first met here, you acted like the classic noble lady, looking down on a commoner," Alex teased. "Please forgive me already," Lavinia replied, fully knowing that she was the one at fault back then. "Let’s hurry up. Grandfather is waiting." Alex chuckled as he allowed himself to be dragged by his girlfriend up the stairs to meet her family. He no longer received any notifications about any stat boosts since the Stairs of Trial was a one time thing. However, there was another trial waiting for him, and this trial was something that he had to pass no matter what. The young man was feeling hopeful that the Hartwell Family would give them their blessings, unaware that Diona had sneaked inside the village, hoping to get an opportunity to end his life.

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