Reborn into Beast Tamer Clan with Monsters-Only Affinity-Chapter 67: Not gonna happen

The sun was already high when Axelius finally dragged himself out of bed, yawning loudly as he stumbled down the hallway, still feeling sore from the whole adventure underground. The night before, he had come back with Seraphina, completely knocked out.

He didn’t even remember reaching his room. Apparently, he had fallen asleep so deeply on the way back that he hadn’t heard a single thing, not even when they passed the gate or when someone changed his clothes. He only woke up because his butler Elias knocked on his door over and over, saying the duke wanted to see him now.

So here he was, in the duke’s office, arms crossed in front of him as he listened to the duke’s angry voice echoing through the large, quiet room. The duke sat behind his large desk, frowning and looking as serious as ever. Axelius knew he was in trouble the moment he saw that look.

"Your gone for a two days, and no one knew where you went," the duke said firmly, his tone cold and heavy. "You didn’t report to anyone, you left no message, and when we were all in panic, trying to find you, you just strolled back in with fruit in your hands like it was a picnic."

Axelius sighed and looked off to the side. "I left a letter," he muttered, not too loudly.

The duke frowned harder. "What letter?"

"The one I left on the table," Axelius tried to say calmly, "It said I was going with Seraphina. That I’ll be back."

The duke slammed his hand down on the table—not too hard, "There was no letter. No one saw any letter, and Seraphina didn’t say anything until she came back last night. Do you think this is a joke?"

Axelius didn’t stay quiet after that, and even though he knew the duke was serious, he felt his chest tighten with frustration because, in his mind, he really believed he had done nothing wrong. He stepped forward a little, arms still crossed, and frowned right back at the duke.

"I said I left a letter," Axelius spoke, sharper this time. "It’s not my fault if no one saw it. And I didn’t go out to play or cause trouble and I even came back in one piece. What’s the problem?"

The duke slowly stood up from his chair, his eyes narrowing. "The problem,"

he said, voice quieter but more dangerous now, "is that you think running off without clear permission is acceptable. You don’t understand what kind of trouble this could’ve caused—not just for the family’s name, but for you. Do you think I don’t know what kind of dangers are in that forest?"

"I survived, didn’t I?" Axelius shot back with a shrug, trying to sound cool but only making the situation worse. "I even brought back food. And treasure. And—"

"Enough," the duke snapped, cutting him off with a hand. "You were missing for almost two days, and not even Seraphina left a proper report until you returned. You think being alive means there’s no consequence?"

Axelius opened his mouth to argue again, but the duke’s voice got louder.

"You’re grounded," the duke declared, walking around his desk. "One week. You’ll stay in your room. No leaving, no visitors unless I allow it. Maybe then you’ll think twice before going off without proper communication."

Axelius’s eyes widened. "What?! One week? That’s so dumb! I didn’t do anything wrong! You’re acting like I went to rob someone!"

"You disappeared without word," the duke repeated calmly but firmly, standing in front of him now. "That is enough."

"But I’m not a prisoner here!" Axelius raised his voice, taking a step back. "I wasn’t even supposed to be locked up like some kid—"

"You are still young, Axelius," the duke said, cutting him off once again. "And until you learn to take responsibility, I’ll treat you as such."

Axelius clenched his jaw, clearly annoyed now, but he didn’t shout back anymore. Instead, he just grumbled under his breath, turned around, and stomped out of the office with heavy steps. As he walked past the guards outside the door, he muttered something like "unfair" and "total overreaction," but he knew the punishment was final.

By the time he reached his room, a servant was already standing at the door, bowing slightly and saying, "Young master, I’ve been instructed to make sure you remain in your quarters for the next seven days. Meals will be delivered. Please let me know if you need anything."

Axelius just groaned, walked inside, and dropped himself face-first on the bed.

"A week of doing nothing," he muttered into his pillow. "All because of one stupid letter."

Axelius stared at the ceiling and sighed "This sucks."

As Axelius lay on the bed with his arms stretched out and his mouth still pouting from the morning scolding. freёnovelkiss.com

"Looks who’s gonna behave for a whole week," Owen said as he bounced again on the bed then landed beside Axelius with a grin on his round, slime-like face.

Axelius quickly sat up, his eyes narrowing, and pointed an accusing finger at Owen. "You said you left a letter, right?! You told me you left it on the table!"

Owen pulled out a slightly crumpled piece of folded paper. He floated it over to Axelius and said with a sigh, "Yeah, well... turns out it flew into the tree outside, We left the window open."

Axelius grabbed the letter and looked at it in disbelief, then groaned loudly and rubbed his hands down his face. "Are you kidding me?! Because of this—this floating letter—he grounded me like I’m some baby chick that just ran out of the coop!"

He stood up suddenly, shaking his head and muttering under his breath, "Who does he think he is to ground me? Hah! That’s no way gonna happen. Not to me."

With a mischievous glint in his eye, he turned toward the tall window in his room, walking over to it in long, confident steps. He grabbed the frame and gave it a little push. To his delight, it creaked open slowly with no resistance.

He looked back at Owen with a smirk and whispered, "It’s not my fault they didn’t lock the window. Hey, Owen—let’s go."

Before Owen could protest, he bounced at Axelius head,. "Are you seriously escaping already? Don’t you want to stay inside for a while"

Axelius only grinned wider as he stepped onto the windowsill with practiced ease. Outside the window was a thick tree branch stretching close to the wall, covered in green leaves that danced gently in the wind. He looked down first, calculating the distance to the ground—too high for a direct jump, but just right for a climb.

He bent his knees slightly, then jumped off the ledge, grabbing the edge of the window above to swing himself toward the tree. His feet landed softly on the nearest branch. It wobbled slightly, but he kept his balance easily, crouching low like a trained scout.

Then he stood and took a running step, launching himself to the next branch below with a roll, hanging by his knees for a second before swinging down. His hand caught the thick vine wrapped around the trunk, and he spun once, then let go and landed on a wide, lower branch with grace.

Axelius used the trunk for support and half-slid, half-jumped his way downward, using the small side branches as stepping stones. His body moved like he’d done this many times, each motion smooth and fast, until his boots finally touched the grassy ground with a soft thud.

Owen bounce down beside him. "What a huge tree, wait you’re just small." teasing.

"Shut up, Owen. You’re also small"

Axelius just stood up proudly, brushing a few leaves off his shoulders, then turned to the tree and waved up at his window. "Grounded, huh? Yeah, right."

With a confident laugh, he looked at Owen. "Come on, let’s go before someone realizes I’m not in the room."