Chapter 16 - Atrocities Part 2

After a few hours of sleep, Wesley woke up around four in the morning. He wore a light green robe since he was starting to run out of his favorite dark clothes. He immediately warped out of the room and reappeared in the basement, where he released his Dark Globe and began refining.

After five hours of refining, Wesley noticed that the activity outside had increased tremendously, with pounding and shouting.

‘It seems the renovations started again. I should go see how things are.’

Wesley walked toward the basement door. He didn’t want to warp since that could lead to someone seeing him reappear, so he opted for the simple exit instead.

The moment Wesley stepped out, he was surprised to find that there were even more people running around the Manor than yesterday. Some were painting the walls, others were fixing fixtures and doors, and some were replacing broken tiles on the floor and roof. It was truly a hotbed of activity.

Wesley immediately headed to the main hall to look for Lane. Lane was guiding two men who were positioning furniture in the hall, ensuring everything was placed in the right spots. He was also holding some sheets in his hand, glancing at them occasionally.

‘This Lane seems to be working hard again.’

"Lane, you should really take a break."

Lane jerked his head toward Wesley with a surprised look. When he saw Wesley, his face lit up, and he smiled as he spoke.

"Master, when did you come down? I told Lavar to tell me when you woke up."

"Well, don’t mind that. Tell me, how are things going with the renovations?"

Lane noticed that Wesley avoided answering his question, so he didn’t pursue it any further. He spoke while looking at the sheets in his hand.

"Well, Master, the roof, the inside walls, and the inside floors have already been renovated since they had minimal damage. However, the foundation of the outer wall has been neglected for far too long, so it’ll take a few more days to restore it. The walls themselves will be reinforced and heightened, which should take a few more days at most."

"I see. How about funds? Do you need more?"

Wesley had just come into a substantial amount of wealth, so he wasn’t too worried about money.

"No, Master. I’ve barely spent three-fourths of the gold you gave me yesterday. The rest should be enough to finish the current projects."

"Good, good. Well, it seems you have everything under control. I’ll go to the study and read. Come see me if you need anything."

"Yes, Master."

Wesley immediately turned around and headed toward the study. As he walked past the workers, a conversation between two maids, who were supposed to be mopping the floors, caught his attention.

"Did you hear about what happened last night?"

"You mean how the Shorn Family was eradicated?"

"Yeah. They say their eyes were gouged out and their hearts were missing."

"I also heard their flesh was gone and only bones remained. They must’ve been killed by a devil."

"That must be..."

The maid stopped talking when she saw Wesley near them. Rumors had already spread among the workers that the true master of the Manor wasn’t Lane, but the mysterious Wesley.

Wesley, overhearing the maids’ conversation, was on the verge of laughing out loud.

‘Their flesh gone? How the hell do these kinds of rumors spread? Either way, now that news of the Shorn Family's demise has spread, I wonder who will take control of the Seventh District. I really hope they aren't like the Shorns, but if they are...’

Wesley walked into the study. He was surprised to find Sala sitting in one of the seats, attempting to read a book. She was holding the book upside down, staring blankly at the pages. Wesley, amused, spoke in a kind voice with a hint of laughter.

"Little Sala, what are you reading?"

"Oh, Master Wes. I wanted to read this book, but it is too hard."

Wesley was extremely surprised at her calling him "Master Wes." He didn’t mind it, in fact, he liked it a little. He laughed.

"Haha, Sala, have you ever been taught how to read?"

"No. Big Brother Lane said he would when I grew older."

‘Ah, she was too young when their family was killed; otherwise, her education would have started right about now.’

"How about this, little Sala? I will teach you how to read and write from now on."

"Really, Master Wes?"

"Yes. But I will be very strict and give you a ton of things to do. Do you still want to learn?"

"Yes, definitely."

"Good, let’s start then."

Wesley walked around the study to look for a suitable book. Luckily, the study had a lot of different books, so it wasn’t too hard to find one that could be used to teach reading. It was a small book with less than fifty pages titled *[Traditional Fables of the Four Kingdoms]*.

"Good, this book should be good enough."

Wesley handed the book to Sala and sat next to her as she eyed the words on the page. He began pointing at words and speaking them out loud for Sala to repeat after him.

An hour later, Sala was starting to get bored, so Wesley decided to stop the lesson. It wouldn’t be good to make her resistant to learning by forcing it on her.

"This is enough for today, little Sala. Go out and play. Also, remember to come here every day for your lessons."

"Yes, Master Wes. Thank you." She spoke as she ran out of the study.

'Haha, she must have been really bored to bolt out of here so fast.'

Wesley started looking through the books in the study for something interesting to read for the remainder of the day. He had nothing urgent to do until tomorrow, when he'd have to go to the Academy.