Adara sat at the table, rolling the golden plaque between her fingers. They were to leave the next day, and she felt much better. She still wished she could have been there for Priest Charlie when he died, and she wished the Organisation had never involved him, but she knew what was done was done. And he was now peacefully resting under the ground, where the sun burned away his secrets.
She did not regret beating Sam to death.
The broken skin on her knuckles that mixed her blood with Sam's already healed; no trace of the crime was left on her hands.
She was now sure she would try to kill every Secret Organisation member she came across unless she had better plans for them. Because, however, accepting she might now be at the fact Priest Charlie died and she would never see him again, she still felt the anger swell up inside her at the thought it was not a peaceful death.
When she got her reward from the Crown Prince, she had been too busy to realise just how generous he had been. He had gifted her a golden plaque.
Now that she could think, no unnecessary thoughts in her mind, she could not believe he had given her a golden plaque. And she had used it up the second she got it.
With a golden plaque, you could buy something twice. Anything. No budget, except maybe the Kingdom's Treasury.
She used up the first opportunity to buy the Quillen Family and the second to buy Odeus Flynn, Billos's uncle.
Now, she wasn't so sure she should have done that.
She let the golden plaque spin on its side on the table. It was not hers; it was Cale's reward, but she had been playing with it for a while.
Cale sat next to her, staring at the spinning coin. "What's on your mind?"
She looked up at him as the golden plaque fell on its side. She sighed. "I'm debating if I should have spent my golden plaque so readily."
Cale did not expect that. She had told him what happened as she washed her hands, getting Sam's blood off her knuckles. He thought she might have been thinking about what it meant that Sam had been there, what it meant that they tried to poison her adoptive father and ended up killing him.
If it had been him, he would have been worried they would poison everyone he knew, everyone around him. But Adara wasn't him. And Adara had the habit of pushing stuff out of the way and burying herself in work and technical stuff.
"Why shouldn't you have?" Cale asked her, deciding to indulge her. He wasn't going to bring up Priest Charlie because she seemed calm for the first time in a while. And he didn't want to ruin that so fast.
She shrugged, spinning the coin again. "I could have paid for it myself. It really wasn't that much. But I spent the golden plaque in one day when I could have used it for more useful things."
Cale blinked at her. "More useful? If you think about it, you bought your head from them. I'd say that's something useful to buy. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if your head is no longer on display, then no more assassins come after you."
Adara nodded. "That is correct, unless whoever wants me dead, most likely Countess Louise, decides to pay an assassin to go after me privately. But then she needs to visit the Finance Department, which is a whole other story."
Cale made a hand motion. "See? It's a very good thing you have your head back."
She shook her head, watching the golden plaque fall on the other side. "But I could have paid for it myself. That's the thing. I didn't need to use the golden plaque. It was a waste to use it on something so useless."
Cale paused when he heard her speak those words. He hadn't realised what she fully meant. She thought her life was useless, not worth putting any effort into protecting. "You used the golden plaque to ensure your life. Sure, you might have been able to pay for it yourself. But you didn't because it would have been suspicious. Imagine what the Finance Department would think if, as a receipt, you told them you used it to pay a few people with heavy influences in the Underworld to get your head off? Out of everything you could have done, it was safest to use the Golden Plaque."
Adara stayed still, not picking up the coin to spin it again.
Cale continued, "And the Crown Prince likely understood what you were planning to do." Adara looked up at him, and he explained, "You were talking about dealing with your head when you asked him for your reward. He probably figured you were either going to buy your head off the Underworld or pay someone else to. And, of course, he didn't know how much money you were going to give out, so he gave you a golden plaque."
Adara thought about that, leaning into her chair. "That's possible. But why did he give you a golden plaque then?"
She can't remember when he gave Cale the golden plaque, but she has a vague memory that he did.
Cale smiled his classic smile, picking up the golden plaque and spinning it. "I'm sure the Crown Prince was wondering how much I can truly spend with a golden plaque."
Adara chuckled. "Or maybe he was wondering how much alcohol you could manage to buy with it."
Cale smiled. He hasn't seen Adara laugh or chuckle in a while. "Too bad he was wrong. There are a lot of things we can buy in the world, as long as you don't limit yourself to the possibilities."
Adara looked around, disappointed. "I wish we had some wine; I feel like we need to cheer right now."
Cale thought maybe it was a good thing they didn't have any wine in their vicinity.
But, at that moment, a specific breeze of wind flew in. Adara stood up straight, sensing mana fluctuations.
'Weak Human, Weak Half-Not-Human! I'm back!' the Black Dragon's voice came through in their heads.
Adara leaned into her seat, relaxed. "Good to have you back," she said graciously.
Cale looked at her, surprised. Ah, he thought. That's what the letter she sent was about. He wondered what letter she had sent to Rosalyn, Choi Han and Lock, who had been hosting the kittens and the Black Dragon since the night Adara had a breakdown, and the Black Dragon witnessed it. He wondered what it said about her that she thought he should come back.
"It's good to see you," he said. "Are the kittens with you?"
The Black Dragon denied the statement. 'They will arrive later today. They wanted to test out a method of killing Lock again.'
Cale shivered.
She heard footsteps come a bit too close to the door. Turning her head to stare at it, Cale followed her gaze. He knew by now that when Adara turned to stare at a door, it meant someone would come in.
True enough, Bonnie walked in. She still looked the same as the last time she saw her, the morning of the Plaza Terror Incident, with her young appearance and short brown hair.
Bonnie, similarly looked at the Adara. She looks much more alive now, she thought.
In the week that Adara has been back in the Henituse residence, she looked like she was dead and acted like she was a ghost. She didn't look like she slept well, and she had a vacant look in her eyes whenever Bonnie saw her. Bonnie can't remember hearing her speak, and Bonnie wasn't so sure she ever heard her speak.
Bonnie has been coming into their room every morning and every evening, asking if they wanted breakfast and dinner. Anne usually asked about lunch. And every time, it was Cale who answered. She wasn't even sure Adara heard her speak, as she had been either staring at the ceiling or at the same page of the same book.
But now, she was sitting at the table with a gold coin in her hand and not a book. She still had the dark circles under her eyes; they couldn't disappear in a moment, but she seemed to have a light in her eyes. And they no longer looked vacant. Instead, they acknowledged Bonnie's presence by looking at her.
"Would you like dinner, Young Master and Mistress?"
Adara nodded, not realising that Bonnie was hoping she would be answering. "We do, but I am feeling rather hungry, so if you could bring a dinner for three people, it would be appreciated."
Bonnie almost beamed. She has eaten very little in the past week, no wonder she is hungry. I'll tell the Cook to make a dinner for four. "Of course! Is there anything specific you want, Young Mistress? And Young Master?"
Adara and Cale shared a glance. "Not particularly," Adara said, turning back to look at Bonnie. "Oh, wait, if we could get a dish of a steak with cherry tomatoes?"
Bonnie nodded, almost bowing. "Of course, Young Mistress! I will be back with the food!"
Adara barely had any time to dismiss her when Bonnie left, a smile on her face. But the smile dropped as soon as Bonnie left the room. Oh no, I need to ask that scary cook of theirs to help. An image flashed of the brown-haired chef with his dark eyes holding the sharp knife in his hand as he spoke. She shivered. She would do it for the Young Mistress.
Adara thought Bonnie had acted weirdly, she seemed awfully enthusiastic to serve her dinner, but she pushed the thought away.
"I told Billos to join us after dinner," Cale mentioned, "so we have that to look forward to."
Adara thought she sensed slight mana fluctuations on the table in front of her, and her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the golden plaque get picked up and start spinning on its own. She started petting what she found to be the Black Dragon's head. "Billos?"
Cale looked at her. Does she not remember? he wondered. "Yes. Since I got the golden plaque, I've already decided what to buy."
She frowned. "Why did you not tell me before?"
"I did," Cale responded softly.
She didn't answer.
She didn't speak until dinner arrived when she thanked Bonnie for bringing it faster than usual.
Adara immediately handed the— one of many— plate of steak with cherry tomatoes in front of where she guessed the dragon was.
She took a dish of chicken for herself, but her attention was taken by Cale, who set three items on the table. She frowned. She didn't recognise these either.
"What is this for?" the Black Dragon asked, taking his attention off his delicious steak.
Adara's eyes widened as she realised what they were. "Oh." It was the compressed mana from the magic bombs that they disabled. They talked about this. Or, Cale told her about this. But what did he want to use it for? She can't remember.
She hated not remembering.
She hated a lot of things.
"We're going to use one of these to destroy a whirlpool," Cale answered the dragon, keeping Adara in the corner of his eye.
Of fucking course, she thought, feeling angry at herself. The Ubarr Territory. The whirlpools. The Ancient Power we can hopefully both get. Neither the mermaids nor the Whale Tribe should be there right now; it's the whole reason we're going to the Ubarr Territory in the first place.
She remembered what Cale had said now, vaguely, but at least she remembered.
He had said he changed their original plan. He said something about previously wanting to use the Indestructible Shield and the Vitality of the Heart to get the Ancient power, but that now they had the Black Dragon.
She still couldn't remember when he said all this.
Dinner was gathered, and she refused dessert. She didn't have an appetite anymore.
Billos came in after a few minutes to let them rest. He had a bottle of Henituse Wine in his hands. Still standing in the doorway, he spoke with a beaming face. "I do not know what you two stole, but you certainly did something big."
Cale chuckled. "I guess we are a bit famous these days."
Adara beckoned him over. "What are you doing standing over there? Come closer and pour us all a glass."
Billos shook his head as he sat down at the table. They did not seem injured at all. Adara seemed slightly tired, but she looked healthy otherwise. "You two are indeed famous. I cannot go an hour by without hearing someone sing your praises. But will it be okay for both of you to drink? I heard you are still recovering."
Adara raised her eyebrow, watching Billos hesitate to pour her a glass. "Even if it wasn't okay, would you refuse us?"
Billos took her words into consideration. "Well, if it was about your health, then I guess I might have to. Even when it comes to alcohol."
Adara chuckled, deflecting his words as a joke. He's only saying that since we can't give him money if we're dead. "I'm sure you will."
Cale sighed, seeing on Billos's face that he truly could not tell if they were allowed to have alcohol or not. "We wouldn't lie to you; we are allowed to drink."
Billos nodded at Cale, pouring both of them a glass.
Adara took her glass from Billos, already filled to the brim, as Billos set the magic box on the table. "Here are your requested items," Billos said. "Thank you for returning the items from last time."
She took a sip from her wine glass, ignoring how she couldn't remember when they returned them. She watched as Cale opened the magic box filled with new items. She recognised most of the items. Oh, she thought. But then Cale closed the magic box.
"Billos," she brought up, taking another sip from her wine glass.
Billos looked at her, taking his eyes off of the magic box. "Yes, ma'am?"
"We have a very serious question," she said.
Billos smiled, trying to hide his slight nervousness at her harsh, dark eyes staring at him. "Go ahead."
Cale spoke up. "Do you deal in properties?"
Billos was taken aback by the simple question. "I don't," he responded. "But I do know about what is going on lately."
Merchants always receive information quickly, Adara thought. Wish I had informants like that.
"The Western continent is on the verge of blowing up," Billos continued. "And that is a great time for merchants like myself to make money."
Adara chuckled, the wine glass at her lips. "Merchants sprint towards anything that might earn them a profit, no matter how dangerous."
"You might get killed," Cale continued, "but that doesn't matter, does it? If there is a possibility of making a profit, the stakes can continue to rise, but you wouldn't notice."
Billos chuckled with her despite their rude words. "Ah, Young Master Cale and Young Mistress Adara, you two truly understand merchants."
Adara leaned towards him, her wine glass momentarily discarded. "The Whipper Kingdom will 'blow up' soon. I'm sure you've already gotten information on it?"
He also liked that both Cale and Adara didn't beat around the bush when it was serious.
Billos nodded. Of course, he knew about the civil war in the Whipper Kingdom. The non-mages and mages could no longer live peacefully, and war would break out. "That is why I am trying to figure out what I can use to make money in that chaos. Young Mistress Adara, Young Master Cale, what do you think will be the most profitable investment there?"
Cale answered simply. "People."
They knew how the war was going to end. The mages would lose, and the Magic Tower would be destroyed. However, not all of the mages in the Whipper Kingdom were going to die by the end of the Civil War. Some would survive. Some always survived, Adara knew.
All the kingdoms had something they sold, something useful to the Kingdoms around them. The Whipper Kingdom had magic devices. They had the highest quality supply of magic devices on the Western continent. But the trade was so closely linked to power and politics that some mages strayed far away from the Magic Tower. Those mages would have nowhere to go after the Civil War.
In the Novel Kim Rok Soo read, Crown Prince Alberu decided to tackle the issue of the mages. Meanwhile, Rosalyn created a new Magic Tower in another location after the destruction of the Magic Tower.
Billos was smart. He knew what they meant. "You're thinking that the mages will look for a new home."
Adara knew she could not answer him plainly. She also knew that the mages needed to lose the Civil War. They would lose, Cale had read it, but there were a few other reasons they needed to lose.
For one, the Whipper Kingdom as a whole would be better with the most political and scheming mages dead without so much as a grave. But that didn't directly influence her.
What did directly influence her, however, was the fact that the Whipper Kingdom was the Western Continent's biggest supplier of magic devices— of all grades, but most of all of the highest grades. After the Civil War, if— when the mages lost, everything that was left over would be theirs.
"Immediately let me know once the Magic Tower is destroyed," Cale added.
Billos hesitantly refilled the glass that Adara had already emptied. "May I ask why?"
Adara took her glass back, now filled to the brim, and she gave him her usual viciously sly smile. "I'm sure you're patient, man, Billos; you'll just have to wait to find out."
She knew what Cale was planning to buy next. They had talked about it and planned on making a joint account to fund it, but they didn't need to anymore.
The Magic Tower.
Cale was planning on buying that with his golden plaque.
In the Magic Tower were a bunch of magic devices that would belong to them if they bought the whole thing. It would be expensive, but it wasn't like it was their money.
Billos, seeing the mirroring smiles on both of their faces, smiled a softer one at them. "Then, I will contact you when it happens."
Cale nodded in a way that ended the conversation. "Okay. We look forward to it."
Billos excused himself, leaving the wine bottle behind.
After a few minutes, with Adara being pretty much the only one drinking, On and Hong arrived through the open window.
On jumped into Adara's arms, while Hong jumped into Cale's.
She petted On, putting her wine glass on the table. "You missed dinner," she informed her.
On rubbed her head against Adara's palm. She simply meowed. Adara sighed, continuing to pet the silver cat.
The Black Dragon was also glad to see his siblings, though they saw each other not even a few hours ago. But Adara felt a creeping chill climb up her spine; a sudden feeling made her look towards the open window.
Something rushed in.
"What is this?" Cale asked quite calmly after he settled from the initial shock.
Both On and Hong jumped a metre in the air at the sight. It was a clay doll. It was small, barely the size of her palm, and it looked terrifying.
'I feel the power of a God,' the Black Dragon spoke.
I thought so, Adara thought, cursing. The God of Death.
Cale had a similar revelation. "Oh."
Adara knew what the clay doll was. Once you said the name of the person it belonged to, it would start speaking. These clay dolls were usually used to communicate.
"Cage," she spoke out.
The Crazy Priesstess.
That's who this clay doll belonged to.
The clay doll that did not have any features on its empty face suddenly sprouted a mouth to speak. Adara remembered when Bede would send one up to her room to inform her dinner was to be served to practice. It would always melt before it got two words out.
Bede...
She refused to think about him.
The clay doll started talking. "I knew you two would recognise me, Young Master Cale and Young Mistress Adara. This doll is connected to me; it is a single-use item that can only listen and talk." The gross mouth paused before it started talking again. "We are leaving the Capital today. I'm sure Young Master Cale especially does not like us contacting you two like this."
Cale opened his mouth, possibly about to vehemently agree with her words, but the clay doll continued talking.
"However, Taylor said he had something he wanted to tell you.
'Young Master Cale and Young Mistress Adara, when I go take back my position— no— when I am one level higher than my original position, I will return to pay you back for your help'
Is what he wanted me to tell you."
Adara and Cale shared a telling look. They knew the clay doll could not see them.
"There was no need to tell us," Cale spoke up.
The clay doll responded fairly simply. "I know."
Adara observed the ugly clay doll. She couldn't help but think of Bede. His first clay doll had been pretty. He put effort into it to look good. But it was single-use, and over time, it got uglier and uglier, to the point he didn't even bother to make eye sockets for eyes that would never appear.
Cage still made empty eye sockets, but Adara wasn't sure if it made the clay doll any less ugly.
"Even still," the clay doll continued, "Taylor and I both need somewhere to share the news when we get what we desire."
Adara let out a laugh. "If you succeed, I'm sure you will be compensated with bragging rights."
Cale responded less heartily. "Do whatever you want."
The clay doll and its ugly mouth smiled at the two sentences, which sounded so much like the two who spoke them. "Then please be healthy, Young Master Cale, Young Mistress Adara."
And then it started to melt. On tried to hide into Adara's clothes to avoid seeing the ugly doll melt. The clay doll didn't leave a single trace after it melted. Adara was used to it, but she could remember how worried she had been the first time Bede practised with it. She had not been looking forward to cleaning up a wet pile of clay.
Stop thinking about him, she thought to herself, harshness in every word she thought.
Instead, she redirected her attention to the Black Dragon, who was staring at the empty spot where the clay doll had once stood. He turned his attention to the both of them.
"Then is that when I can get my revenge?"
Adara nodded at him. "Certainly. You may do whatever you want when the time arrives."
"Great," the dragon spoke.
Adara remembered the dragon asking about the Stan Family's situation. She could at least remember that. She also remembered hearing the Black Dragon mutter to itself, trying out different methods of destroying Marquis Stan and his son, Venion.
The Black Dragon flapped its wings happily, likely reviewing the options.
What she did not enjoy as much was that the Black Dragon had been muttering his revenge plan as she tried to sleep. She tried to think of it as a harmless and slightly creepy lullaby, but his vicious words had influenced her nightmares, and she did not sleep well, her thoughts in a constant loop.
Cale had thought for a moment, for a small moment, that perhaps Adara really was fine. Seeing her laugh and chuckle, pet the kittens with a smile on her face, he was slowly getting convinced she had accepted his death.
But that night, he was awoken by quiet sniffling and muffled sobs. And she had woken up before the sun again.
The next morning, Cale and Adara stood in front of the carriage.
Rosalyn, Choi Han, and Lock were seeing them off. But Adara did not think she enjoyed this seeing off.
Lock was surrounded by all 10 of his younger siblings, all of whom had thanked her for the pastries she had bought when she visited them.
"I will definitely get stronger and come back!" Lock exclaimed. "So make sure you listen to the Young Master and Young Mistress while I am gone. Think seriously about the thing I told all of you last time. It is for your future. We all need to get stronger now."
Rosalyn was inside their carriage, whispering to the Black Dragon so softly that even Adara could not hear.
"Dragon-nim, this is the textbook on the Roan Kingdom's alphabet, and this is the one for the continent's common language," Rosalyn whispered, handing the dragon two books.
The dragon took the books she had gifted him. "Thank you, Human. I am great and mighty so I will learn it quickly."
He had often expressed a curiosity about what books she had been reading while he stayed with her, and she did not have the time to teach him how to read. He also expressed a desire for a name for himself.
Rosalyn smiled at the small dragon. "Absolutely. Dragon-nim is great and mighty. I pray that you come up with a cool name for yourself."
The Black Dragon shook his head. "I will ask for them to come up with a name for me."
Rosalyn looked out the window to look at the handsome Young Master with his bright red hair and the beautiful Young Mistress with her hypnotisingly lovely eyes. She smiled even wider. "I'm sure Cale-nim and Adara-nim will find you a fitting name." There was no mistake as to who 'them' were.
Adara smiled at Rosalyn, who was staring at her from inside the carriage, before she focused on what Choi Han was saying.
Choi Han had been spewing vicious survival hacks since he saw them. He was likely worried something would happen while he was in the Breck Kingdom. He kept going on about what to do without him there.
"Cale-nim, Adara-nim," he started, full seriousness. "If you think you see that mage bastard, please tell the dragon to kill him right away. All you have to tell him is to blow his head up, unlike how I only cut off one arm."
"Choi Han," she interrupted, a hand waving away his tips. "I already told you, you did a very good thing chopping off one of his hands. He's going to have a lot of difficulty using mana from now on. And who cares that you didn't kill him immediately? You weakened him, so it's easier for weak fry like us to kill him."
But Choi Han seemingly didn't hear her. "And Adara-nim! I know you're fast, but you need to get stronger! You can't kill people only with speed; you also need to have enough strength to cut off their heads. And in a closed environment, your fighting technique doesn't work well. When I get back—."
Adara watched him for a few moments. He was not paying attention to anything. She doubted he even acknowledged the fact she had spoken.
"Cale-nim, Adara-nim!" Choi Han continued. "Your rates of survival go up if you blast anything away in one hit and then run away. Also—."
Cale interrupted this time, his voice more stoic than Adara's had been. "Enough with the nonsense."
Choi Han immediately shut up.
Cale looked at Choi Han with a pressing stare. "Just make sure you don't get hurt."
"What use is it to protect us if you won't protect yourself?" Adara added. "We would like you back in one piece."
Choi Han blinked a few times before he smiled. "Yes," he agreed, much calmer now. "I will make sure to do that."
Adara and Cale turned away from Choi Han's innocent smile and got on the carriage. Rosalyn got off as soon as they got on; she, too, bade them farewell.
Adara held Hong in her arms, feeling half of the Black Dragon's weight on her lap. Cale held On in his arms, the other half of the Black Dragon on his lap.
Cale, who was closest to the window, looked towards Hans. "Let's go."
For some reason, the staff of the Henituse Resident were all outside, seeing them off as well. Cale and Adara could not quite understand why the staff members would take time out of their day to bid them farewell, but she noticed Bonnie, Anne, and Hilda, the Housekeeper among them.
She leaned into Cale, whispering in a quiet voice, "I half expect the Crown Prince to show up and see us off."
Cale chuckled.
The staff members started to do the actual 'bidding them farewell' part of the whole seeing-off the ordeal.
"Young Master-nim, Young Mistress-nim, please return home safely!"
"It was our joy to serve you, Young Master-nim, Young Mistress-nim!"
"We look forward to seeing you again in the future!"
"What terrible nonsense," Cale muttered.
Adara laughed at his words. "Not as bad as what Hilsman called me earlier today. He called me Young Mistress Silver Light. What's that about?"
Cale flinched. She had forgotten that, too. "When we were on our way to the Ceremony, everyone was calling us Young Master and Young Mistress Silver Light. And Young Master and Young Mistress Shield."
Adara started to frown, but she quickly put the mask up again. It was another thing she forgot. She started to wave at the staff and at Lock, Rosalyn and Choi Han. She wasn't planning to come to the Capital ever again.
Too many things had happened.
Cale closed the curtains, indicating he was ready to go. They were heading to the North-East now. But they wouldn't be going home. Not to the Henituse nor the Thornwin Territory.
The Ubarr Territory.
They were going to the sea that was plagued by whirlpools for hundred of years.