Bede led her to a position where the guards stood outside the Temple. He took a quick look at his watch and nodded at her. "The Knights are rotating shifts currently, it won't take long until Sir Isac arrives." He smiled at her. "Will you be visiting again?"
She nodded. Definitely. "If I have time. I need to check up on Dad, of course, then I also want to see your sister. I want to see how much she's grown up since I last saw her." Her eyes lit up in fake thoughtfulness. "Oh, maybe I can write a letter to Sir Dain to see how he's holding up."
He rolled his eyes at her obvious attempt to ignore him. "Yeah, yeah. And I'll tell the Knights to redirect you to me upon sight."
She laughed at him. And she realised she hadn't laughed so often in a while. It made her heart clench. "Sure you will. See you later."
"Don't get into any trouble," he warned her as he started walking away.
She only waved at him.
In a few seconds, he was gone. And she was alone. But she wasn't upset about the silence. She was content with it. She saw so many people she wouldn't have seen if it weren't for Count Deruth. She made a mental reminder to thank him later. But it had been a bit too much all at once. So before she met Sir Isac, she simply basked in the silence. Well, it wasn't complete silence, the Capital was never silent. There were always people talking, people shuffling around and people walking. She heard all of these noises with her enhanced hearing. She was rarely ever in complete silence, though she wasn't sure what complete silence would be.
She heard a soft thump from a bit further from her.
She didn't freeze, but to say her heart didn't catch up in her throat by the suddenness of it would be a lie. She was rarely ever surprised by someone's arrival. She could hear footsteps and was able to memorise whose belonged to who. But this person didn't walk. They just dropped. Not from the roof, that would've made a noise.
She felt the residue of Mana Fluctuations and cursed herself for not sensing them earlier. For this person to just plop from the sky, they would have needed to be teleported. There's a Mage who specialises in teleportation magic, but I doubt he's here. I don't smell any blood.
She looked at the figure who was standing unnaturally still from the corner of her eye. They were dressed in a black outfit she recognised. Except this one was certainly less shabby than hers. They had a white star and five red stars on their chest. Oh, they didn't send one of the disposable ones. Do they think I won't kill this one? She sighed on the inside. Though I do have my daggers, I am in a public place. I guess they were right to send this one. She couldn't see their features clearly because of the hood the figure was wearing. But it certainly wasn't the motherfucker who would orchestrate the Terror Plaza Incident.
Just who is this person? she wondered. But she didn't speak. No, not until this person did. This strange person. Who was sent by the Secret Organisation. Why would they send one of their minions to meet me? She frowned on the inside. Cale said he had no idea what happens to me in the future. We've changed enough of the story that that future isn't available for me anymore. But that didn't mean she wasn't curious.
"Are you Adara Thornwin?" the person asked, the voice deep.
It's a guy then. "Sorry, sir, I think you have the wrong person."
He took a step towards her and she properly looked at him. Eyeing him, Adara didn't see any weapons on him. But he might be a mage. And I won't be able to use Dead Mana on him lest he use that as some sort of blackmail. I'll just do nothing, she decided. Unless he tries to kill me first, I won't lay a finger on him. And it's not like he can survive if he comes into direct contact with Dead Mana.
"Don't try to fool me," he said, irritation coming into his voice.
She shrugged. "I have no idea what you are talking about, sir. I don't even know an Adara— what was it?— Thrownwin?" She knew she had no chance of fooling him, she was the only Southerner-looking person with large scars on her face wearing such fancy clothes. But she still denied it, making a point to blink her eyes innocently at him.
He scoffed at her. "Stop bullshitting." He stared at her for another second, before his eyes narrowed, though she couldn't see the colour. He started grinning. Grinning in a rough and violent way. "You know, you caused us so much trouble."
She didn't say anything, inwardly she was frowning. What the fuck are they talking about? I never did anything to them that they would know about. Her heart skipped a beat. Did they find out about the dragon? No, they could never. We were careful.
"It's so annoying," he said, not wearing the grin on his face any longer, but instead a scowl that made her want to punch him. It was just about how his face was constructed and the tone he was talking it that made her want to hurt him so bad. "Watching all of them squirm and rush around in panic because of you."
What did I do to them? I'm sure this is the Secret Organisation Cale talked about. Why are they even aware of my existence? I'm just a Count's daughter, what is a terroristic Organisation like them doing accusing me of causing them trouble?
"You've delayed so many of our plans, it's not even funny." He was staring at her with an intense gaze, analysing every move of her face. There were none, simply her eyes blinking. "You did one simple move, and you delayed countless plans." He took another step towards her. "How dare you do that? We made every plan meticulous. So many relying on you. How dare you disrupt so many of our plans?"
Judging from his tone of voice, it wasn't a rhetorical question. But she didn't respond. His eyes darkened at her silence. He took another step towards her, grabbing her by the neck. She didn't make a move to stop him, simply lifted her chin up so she stared down at him. The grip on her neck tightened slightly and she grabbed his wrist. She might not be as strong as Choi Han but she knew exactly how to break someone's wrist. The grip on her neck lessened.
"You weren't supposed to be here," he said, his voice barely above a whisper and gravelly. He was close enough that his features were clear. There was nothing special about his face. It was so plain. She couldn't help but feel disappointed.
But she looked down at him, her mouth twisting in a cruel smile. "I'm truly sorry, sir. I really have no idea what you're talking about. As I said, I think you have the wrong person."
His face flashed in anger. He raised his fist. Before stopping as he saw her empty expression. Huh, he thought, dropping his fist. She didn't even flinch. I guess we can still make the plans work, with only slight detours. We'll just have to do without her for a while. He took his hand away from her neck.
She watched him take his hand away from her neck, make a small signal by tapping his pointer finger three times on his thigh then disappearing with crackles of red mana. Talk about anger issues. I hope he didn't leave any bruises. While her disguise covered up her skin colour, it did not cover up bruises. Her reasoning was that if something happened to her, something that definitely should have left a bruise, and no bruise appeared on her skin, it would be too suspicious to ignore. She sighed.
At that moment she heard footsteps approach her. She recognised them as Sir Isac's. He appeared in front of her, smiling as he always was. "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw you walking up to the Temple."
She smiled back at him, saying something to him. But her mind was on what the minion had said. I need to tell Cale as soon as we're alone. And I need to call Sadie. She groaned on the inside. So many things to do.
When she reached Cale, he and Choi Han were patiently waiting for her. She made eye contact with Cale and made a motion with her head and eyes that communicated the fact she'd explain everything later. He nodded at her.
The servant who had been waiting by the carriage opened the door for the three of them and they climbed inside. The carriage started with little difficulty, there was nothing uncomfortable about the ride, just that Choi Han was staring at them intently. Adara simply stared back. It seemed her gaze unnerved him to some degree because he turned to Cale.
Cale sighed. "For your reference, that Crazy Mage from the Blue Wolf Village will lead the incident that will happen at the Capital, along with a few others."
"Am I allowed to kill them if I see them?"
Adara raised an eyebrow at him. "Of course, you can. Please kill them in fact. Do whatever you want." The Crazy Mage is a high-level mage and a teleportation specialist. I doubt you will be able to kill him.
He nodded. "Yes. I will make sure to kill them."
And the conversation was left at that.
A pair of footsteps approached their room. Adara identified them as Ron's. As soon as she turned her head to the door, Cale did too, suddenly aware someone would be walking through the doors soon.
A knock sounded. "Young Master and Mistress."
Oh, Ron, he thought. "Ron."
Ron opened the door and approached them. Adara had her small box in her hands, about to open it to get her personal communication device to call Sadie with. She always carried it with her, though she never used it to call her father. He would not answer unless it was the Residential Mage bringing the communication device to her with it already connected. I guess I have to call her after whatever Ron has to say. She sighed. I am truly sorry Sadie, there are so many setbacks.
Ron offered them two teacups. She blinked at it.
"Lemon tea before bed?" Cale asked after a moment of hesitation.
"Yes, Young Master."
Cale didn't want to drink it, she could see that. But he still lifted the cup and took a sip from it.
Ron turned to her, smiling the same fake-nice smile. "Young Mistress, it is healthy."
She sighed, glaring at him. She took the teacup and downed it in a second, not even paying attention to the taste of the bitter tea. Ron was surprised for a fraction of a second, but then regained control over his expression and smiled at her.
"Young Master, may I make a request?"
Cale choked on his tea. Adara held in her laughter as she patted him on the back. Once he recovered, he asked. "What? A request?" He calmed down more. "Alright, what is it?"
She didn't need to hear Cale's thoughts to know he was thinking. She was thinking it too. Something was wrong. There was a strong sense of something ominous in the air surrounding Ron.
"May I have two days off?" he asked with no hesitation.
Cale gasped, almost subconsciously. Cale put his teacup down, standing up, grabbing Ron's hand, and started to speak rapidly. "Yes. Good idea. Ron, you've worked so hard for tens of years. You had to take care of this Trash of a Young Master. If you want a break, you can take off as long as you want. You are more than welcome to do that."
Adara sat back into her seat on the bed. It was amusing to see the two's conversation. She could see Cale's thought process loud as day, but she was watching Ron to try and see his. Cale— and Adara since she didn't like the bitter lemon tea— would enjoy it greatly if Ron took a very long break. But for their plan to work, Ron needed to return before the Plaza Terror Incident so he could leave with Choi Han. That was why it was perfect that he was only leaving for two days.
She watched as Ron looked at Cale, who was shaking his hand vigorously, with curiosity. Cale looked away from Ron to a dresser next to the bed. She knew what lay in that drawer, she knew what he would do. He got a pouch of money from the dresser. Cheques and large amounts of money were always kept in the Treasurey, but there was still enough money in the bag to be enough for Ron. Cale put the pouch into Ron's hand. "Here. It isn't much, but buy yourself some delicious food and enjoy your break."
We are children of wealthy families, what else do we give except money? she wondered, watching Ron stare at the pouch of money blankly. The bakers give bread, the jewellers some pretty jewells, the seamstresses give some nice clothes. What else can we have except money? I guess I could give them some poison. But Ron has no need for it.
Ron continued staring at the pouch of money. Buy myself delicious food and enjoy my break. He almost wanted to laugh. He thought back on the years he had been hiding. The years he had been taking care of the Trash in front of him. The Puppy Young Master. And when 4 years ago the Kitten Young Mistress came into the mix as well, struggling to walk as she mumbled excuses everytime she stumbled into him.
And now I am trying to step back out of hiding and restart my previous life. He sighed on the inside. There was a very good chance that his future would be chaotic. If those people really had crossed over to the Western Continent, then it will be worse than simply chaotic. He looked at the relaxed Young Master in front of him, the amused Young Mistress off to his side. Then I should leave my son here. "Young Master, will it really be okay?"
She could see Cale's excitement in the corners of his eyes as Cale answered. She bet he wanted Ron to enjoy himself so much he would desire to leave them for good. "Of course. Ron, you are qualified to enjoy a break."
"Defintely," she put in, wanting to see how what she said would change Ron's expression. "You have helped me get to my room multiple times when I could not even speak properly. I am sure that was not pleasant to deal with time and time again. You are definitely qualified to enjoy a break."
Qualification, he repeated. Ron's original plan was to quietly leave in a few days. Either alone or with Beacrox. However, this damn affection was the problem. It was why he mentioned a two-day break. He wanted to see how they would react. He was curious, more so about Cale's reaction.
They know what kind of person I am because of that punk. Ron's face still wore the gentle expression he had on previously but his gaze turned cold. Adara's eyes narrowed at that. "Young Master, this is too much money. What will you do if I take this and run away?" Or is it that you want me to run away since you heard I am a strong individual? His sharp eyes watched Cale's expression, while keeping an eye on Adara's.
Adara's mouth flashed into a smile but disappeared as if she was trying to contain her laughter.
Cale had snorted. "You think I don't know your personality, Ron? If you were going to run, you would have either left without saying anything or just flat-out said you were leaving. Am I wrong?"
It was how he left in the Novel. To the Count he said nothing, but whenever he needed to separate from Choi Han's party for a bit, he would discuss their contract before leaving.
Ron blinked. But then he smiled. "You are right. That is indeed correct." Now that I think about it, this Puppy Young Master has seen me more than my own son in the last tens of years. It was entirely possible for Cale to be the one who knows the current him the best.
I am very old now too. He accepted he was getting older, the effects of time could not avoid him forever. "I will be back to serve you both when you head to the Royal Palace."
Cale shrugged uninterestedly. "If you really want to."
Ron watched Cale as he put the pouch of money away. He couldn't allow Cale and Adara to go into the Palace looking worse than the Royal Family and the other Nobles. Ron did not want to see the Puppy Young Master and the Kitten Young Mistress he raised and helped respectively looked down upon by others. That would be his last duty before he left.
He nodded. "Then I will head out now."
"Sure, sure," Cale said, waving at Ron.
"Have a good break," Adara called out as he closed the door behind him.
Once the door closed, she put her thumb on the small box in her hands. It opened and she stuck her arm in it again. Her arm reached down to her elbow. She searched for something, pushing objects out of the way, until she found the magic communication device she was looking for.
She pulled it out, closing the box. She sat at the table, about to connect the communication device, when she noticed Cale was staring at her. "What?"
"Who are you going to call?"
She thought of a way to describe Sadie kindly. "My—," she paused. "A seed of mine that has grown to a flower, with roots stretching far."
He nodded, understanding the analogy. "Do you need me to leave?"
She made a face at him. "No. You can listen in if you want, it's not like it's confidential for you to know who's pulling the strings."
He smiled at that, the viscous sly one she knew she had on her face as well. "I truly wonder who is pulling the strings."
She shrugged, still smiling. "I guess we will never know."
A few seconds later Sadie's face appeared on the communication device. Her face was pale, freckled noticeably, her eyes a cornflower blue mixed in with a foggy grey, she had circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept well for a while. That seemed possible considering she was awake enough to answer her call. Her light brown hair was loose and reaching up to her shoulders. She was smiling. "Ah, Young Mistress Adara! I haven't heard from you since you left. When are you coming back from the Capital?" Her face turned into a pout. "It's lonely here without you. I miss you."
~~~