Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Even if her magic skills were terrible, she would know that there were plenty of angles to use to warn or cut obstacles, and there was no need to use it on herself, an innocent victim.

Tsk tsk, interesting...

The white-haired, caring older sister stroked her chin, looking with interest at the Star Sword Master and the Britannian Witch standing side by side by the fire, her eyes darting around.

At that moment, Samael and Morgan, by the light of the fire, were able to see the faces of the two hiders.

This is a young couple, around 20 years old, dressed in shabby clothes.

The man had short brown hair, a strong physique, and large joints, bearing the marks of heavy labor. His masculine features exuded a rugged charm, but unfortunately, a scar on his left eyebrow added a touch of ferocity.

The woman was petite, and although she wore a coarse cloth dress, she still looked quite pretty and delicate.

"My lord, the southern border is in chaos. The village has been hit by disaster. My wife and I were just passing through while fleeing. We really meant no harm."

As Morgan approached, the brown-haired man instinctively shielded the girl beside him behind him, gritted his teeth, and withstood the pressure that felt like facing a dragon. He composed himself and offered a sincere explanation.

The witch frowned and sneered, "Just passing by? Why are you sneaking around hiding from us? We're not magical beasts."

The brown-haired youth paused, then gave a wry smile: "These days, sometimes people are more dangerous than monsters..."

Morgan moved his lips, but ultimately fell silent.

"Gulu..."

A sudden rumbling in the stomach broke the slightly tense atmosphere.

"My lord, I...I didn't mean to..."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the girl hiding behind the brown-haired man turned pale and trembled as she tried to explain herself. Her face was pale and fearful, like a quail that would cower in its nest at the slightest sound of the wind.

"I'm sorry, it's easy to be a little sensitive when you're out and about. I may have startled you."

The ancient serpent chuckled, slightly concealing its aura, casually sheathing its sword. Its icy expression melted away, and it extended an invitation.

"Well then, it's lunchtime now, so to express my apologies, if you don't mind, let's sit down and have a meal together? Anyway, I've prepared quite a lot."

The young woman looked at her husband. The brown-haired man pondered for a moment, touched his stomach, and nodded through gritted teeth.

"Thank you... thank you..."

As the young couple sat down, Samael readily handed the two dishes to the strangers before him.

The flatbread smells delicious! And there's meat in it!

With real food to fill their stomachs right in front of them, the fleeing young men and women hesitated only briefly before eagerly wolfing it down.

In a whirlwind of activity, the two men shaved the meat off the bones, leaving nothing behind, and greedily licked the bits of dough off their clothes.

Clearly, the man and woman who were fleeing were truly starving.

Even so, the brown-haired man didn't forget to grope on the ground for stones, crack open the shiny bones, and suck out the marrow and oil with his wife to replenish their strength for the journey.

Morgan paused slightly upon seeing this, then felt an inexplicable urge to act, and casually handed two baked flatbreads to the still-wanting girl.

"Take it..."

However, the girl shook her head firmly, her eyes filled with gratitude.

"No, we have already received your kindness, and we cannot be greedy and cause you to go without a hot meal."

The brown-haired man shared the same attitude and resolutely refused to accept it.

Left with no other option, Morgan had to give up.

There's no need to give away the baked food, but having some soup to help with digestion is always a good idea.

Samael, who had taken a liking to the couple, found some edible plant stems and added a little dried meat, then served the hungry couple a full bowl.

After a heartfelt thank you, the two of them, no longer refusing, enjoyed a delicious and satisfying meal. An unprecedented sense of happiness filled their hearts, and their tense bodies relaxed as a result.

After the meal, the young couple diligently cleaned up the dishes and took care of the chores to repay Samael and his companions for their charity.

This grateful attitude even made the lazy Mary more easygoing towards them.

"Britain is plagued by disasters everywhere, where are you planning to go next?"

"The Holy City of Camelot, I've heard, is the safest place there. Besides, we've never seen that king before, and we really want to see what he looks like."

The two looked at each other, their eyes filled with longing. In addition to being relaxed, they also revealed a bit more genuine emotion.

“Okay, good idea. It’s just that the road is not easy to travel. I’ll give you a map later. Try to follow the route on it to avoid some dangers.”

Samael chuckled in response, then paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over the backs of their necks, his tone meaningful.

"However, as a friendly reminder, before you set off, you should try to get rid of the slave marks on your bodies first."

"...!!"

In an instant, the young men and women by the fire froze, their faces filled with terror.

Chapter Twenty-One: The Right of the First Night

Samael and his two companions were not surprised by the true identities of the man and woman they were facing.

On the one hand, the slave mark was still firmly imprinted on the two of them. Although it was dark all around, Samael and the others were not blind. On the contrary, they all had almost abnormal vision and perception.

On the other hand, they came all the way from Cornwall, and there were indeed refugees among them.

But in this era, the wilderness was fraught with danger, not to mention the spread of insect and beast plagues. Fleeers would often consider choosing the nearest fortress along the route to save their lives and wait for the storm to pass before making further plans.

Moreover, for safety reasons, they will often travel with acquaintances, seeking refuge on the safer main roads.

But the two of them were determined to go straight to the holy city of Camelot and venture into the even more dangerous wilderness.

It is obvious that for them:

Homeland is more terrifying than distant travel, and people are more dangerous than monsters.

By combining their clothing, speech, and behavior, it is not difficult to determine their origins.

These things were not hard for Mary and Morgan, who were standing nearby, to see.

After all, the wise man who guides the monarch and the witch who overthrows the throne are both incredibly clever.

Seeing that the two were on high alert, Samael raised his hand slightly and smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry, we mean no harm."

However, since their lives and property were at stake, the man and woman, who were used to seeing the ugliness of human nature and had been avoiding strangers for days, were still somewhat skeptical.

Morgan looked displeased, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Hmph, if we were to plot against you, do you think you would have any chance to resist?"

"...You mean...Please forgive our offense..."

The brown-haired man was slightly taken aback, his face full of embarrassment. He then dejectedly lowered his guarded arms and, like a docile lamb, obediently sat with his wife by the fire.

The words were direct and harsh, but undeniable.

His level of self-defense skills were barely enough to deal with ordinary city guards, and he would have to avoid larger wild animals, let alone these superhumans who had received special protection.

"I heard there's a reward for reporting runaway slaves and helping their masters recover their property?"

Just as the young couple on the run were secretly rejoicing that they had met good people and their minds were calming down, a pleasant, curious question from the side made their hearts tighten and their faces freeze.

"They won't report you, I didn't say that."

In the corner, Merry smiled and raised her hand to reiterate.

That bright smile, in the eyes of the couple, was like a demon with its gaping maw. This sudden change made them feel as if they had fallen into an ice cave once again.

"unless……"

The white-haired magician stroked his smooth chin, his voice drawn out, his dreamy purple eyes gleaming in the darkness as he intently watched the slightest change in the micro-expressions on the faces of the man and woman.

"Tell me your stories..."

The two, whose hearts were pounding like a rollercoaster, were overjoyed. They nodded repeatedly like chicks pecking at each other, their hands clasped tightly together. The relief of surviving such a disaster made them so excited that they almost cried.

"Come, come, big sister, I have wine, tell me quickly."

Mei Li smiled and moved closer to the couple, sitting down next to them. She urged them on with great enthusiasm, and then added a sentence at the end, still not quite finished.

"It has to be fun, or I might change my mind!"

"..."

Like puppets whose emotions were manipulated, the two revealed smiles that were more like cries, and nodded blankly.

Tsk, that's the flaw of people who just want to have fun; they're always full of wicked humor.

Samael shook his head inwardly, but did not stop Melly from flirting with the man and woman in front of him.

Previously, when they lacked food, they hid in the bushes to spy out others. Who knows if it was just pure fear and goodwill?

As this fleeing man said: "Humans can sometimes be more terrifying than wild beasts."

At this moment, under the repeated urging of professional gossip enthusiasts, the two men, their faces showing signs of being thoroughly amused, recounted their experiences without reservation.

Actually, this is a very cliché story.

The man's name was "Nock," and he was a slave in a remote knight's fief in Cornwall, responsible for mining deposits of things like magic steel and mithril.

Not only him, but many of his colleagues, even his father and grandfather, have this name.

"Nok" means "striker," and it is the name of the goblins who live in the Cornish mines. They belong to the Earth Clan, one of the six goblin clans.

It is said that these fairies are the transformed souls of people who died in the mines. They got their name because they often knocked on the mine walls to warn the miners of the location of dangerous veins.

These mine spirits often cooperate with humans, acting as their helpers in mining. In return, they are paid 10% of the mined ore as payment.

According to some records, if someone attempted to supply a mine with counterfeit ore, the vein would be depleted as punishment.

Furthermore, if you whistle or curse in a tunnel inhabited by a mine spirit and frighten it, you will suffer severe retaliation.

However, when the name of a little fairy is used to refer to a person, it is often not a compliment, but rather a condescending term used by the master to refer to the slaves who are his property.

Similarly, the girl was also born into slavery and grew up with Nok from a young age.

Because of the heavy labor and the occasional mining disasters, the older generation in the town rarely lived long lives. The two who lost their parents in a mining accident relied on each other and naturally fell in love when they grew up.

Next, it's nothing more than getting married, having children, mining, dying in the mine, turning into a mine spirit, and continuing to mine...

The similar fate of slaves continued generation after generation.

However, in chaotic times, even crawling obediently can sometimes become a luxury.

Their lord had taken a liking to Nok's wife and wanted to exercise his "right of the first night," which meant that on the first night of their marriage, he would have the right to use his slave and control his property.

As the property of their owner, the man and woman had no right to negotiate.

Therefore, Nock had no choice but to fight back desperately, using a mine tunnel he accidentally dug to take his wife and escape that territory, trying to find a new life in a new place.

However, with nothing to their name and having ventured into a dangerous wilderness with little survival skills or abilities, the two quickly found themselves nearing their doom.

If they hadn't met Samael and his two companions, they would have either starved to death on the road, been captured and resold, or become food for wild animals and been buried in the wilderness.

After a long talk, the man and woman, who had suffered so much, nestled together by the fire, their fingers intertwined, their eyes showing no regret or wavering.

For them, dying on the run was better than living a life of suffering.

After hearing this old-fashioned yet heartwarming story, Mary was quite satisfied with this interesting experience. She casually pulled the couple aside for drinks and conversation, which eased the somewhat oppressive atmosphere.

Having lived as a god for so long, standing atop the clouds, Samael couldn't help but feel a little wistful as he rarely experienced reality.

"This outdated custom actually exists..."

Chapter Twenty-Two: A Brave Heart

"The Holy Capital does not support this power, nor does that king..."

Morgan paused for a moment, then spoke in a low voice.

In fact, after the Twelve Dynastic Wars, Britain reorganized its knightly class and aristocratic system, which inadvertently changed many outdated customs.

One of the tenets advocated by the Knights of the Round Table was respect for women of purity.

Therefore, this "right of the first night," as a conventional custom, has not been recognized by most of the knightly class and nobles today.

However, this power is actually linked to the lord's authority in his fiefdom, and it is impossible to completely eradicate it.

When subjects who are free men encounter this situation, in order to prevent their lord from taking their wives' virginity, they often marry in secret or flee to other territories.