The great hall was filled with chaos when the Chieftana came, followed by her two daughters, Princess Tang and w.a.n.g. The three saw how Enoch walked back and forth in front of the Chieftain"s seat as his face flushed a worried look while the council scattered before him. "Mother Chieftana!" Enoch ran to his stepmother and sisters to find some comfort. "Have you heard what happened?"
The Chieftana did not answered but walked straight into the Chieftain"s seat and sat as if it was meant for her. Even though Enoch already came home, the Chieftana continued to sit on the Chieftain"s seat whenever there were gatherings in the great hall to show everyone that she has power over Enoch and that the boy doesn"t mind giving her the seat. As soon as she has settled, she raised her fingers and pressed her head delicately as if she was having a severe headache.
"Enoch how could make this happen my boy?" She blamed the boy but her words were gentle so not to offend him and yet she was obviously pointing out that he was very incapable. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
"Mother I apologize but even I was—"
"You are the chieftain"s heir. Everything in the Chieftain"s household depends on you but you had failed us with this" The Chieftana wailed in the great hall and it made Enoch guiltier.
"Chieftain"s heir, Chieftana and Princesses, please do not worry anymore. We had sent Guntas to look for him" The Highest Gunta a.s.sured them. He was having hard time figuring out what could have happened to the Chieftain. He was ill this entire time and so it was impossible for him to leave the palace alone. However, the Manggan Tribe do not have enemies in the Manggan Island so he couldn"t figure out who kidnapped him in case he was taken forcefully.
"But how could this happen? The Chieftain was sick and so he could have not possibly left alone by himself" One of the Baruks hollered worriedly. "Someone must have taken him!"
"That"s impossible unless…." The little Baruk intervened as he thought of something.
"Unless what?"
"Unless the Devil"s child took him" The little boy continued and his words brought chills to everyone. Their worried faces turned horror instantly.
"The Highest G.o.d can"t be that cruel to us!" Someone cried from the crowd as fear drowned everyone.
"It"s not the red moon yet. The bar is sealed until the next red moon!" Someone refused to believe.
"Enough!" Enoch exclaimed to prevent more chaos and panic that arose from the crowd. The villagers, children and adults alike, feared the Devil"s child and mentioning the name was like igniting an endless fire so Enoch stopped the panic before it can escalate further. "We should not think of negative things rather focus on means to find my Father…."
"…where is the boy you were referring to?" Enoch turned to one side of the hall where the Kitchen"s cook was standing. Before his mother Chieftana came, they were already discussing the matter yet it halted when the former entered with the two princess.
"I shall fetch for him chieftain"s heir" The household cook bowed and leave with Enoch"s permission. When the news about the missing Chieftain reached the kitchens, an errand boy approached him earlier saying he had seen someone suspicious person roaming around.
Soon, a young boy came in being escorted by Baruk Tsu and Professor Owens. The young boy was Bitbit. His hands were shaking when he came in but he had maintained his composure like he was a big adult. Professor Owens came with him too as he was the guardian of the boy.
"Aki!" Enoch was glad to see the Professor. For a year and half, he had been so occupied with all the palace tasks that he kind of forget about his father"s previous companions and visitors. For the last months, his constant advisers and helpers were people from the Nan people which the Chieftana strongly recommended to him.
"I am glad to see you well our heir," Professor Owens greeted. He knew very well how the Chieftana had made sure Enoch had no time to think about anything else but palace affairs and surrounded him with people that isolated the heir from whatever was outside the palace walls.
"I am glad you came to visit me at this hard times," Enoch said gratefully but their reunion was interrupted when the Chieftana spoke impatiently.
"Enoch I"m afraid we don"t have time for more pleasantries. Please be responsible this time and searched for you father" She reminded him as she didn"t like the view that was transpiring. She had spent much effort to isolate the boy from the roux bloods and yet the latter was able to find ways to approach. Before everyone can raise a suspicion, she greeted the professor politely too. "Aki it is nice to see you. I"m sorry I had to cut your conversation short, but, what is the purpose of your visit?"
"I am not here for a visit Chieftana. I"m here to accompany my errand boy who happens to work in the household"s kitchen too in his spare time" Professor Owens explained and presented Bitbit to the crowd "This is Bitbit, the boy you were all looking for"
Enoch did not waste time, he immediately asked Bitbit about what he saw. "Would you mind telling me whom you saw yesterday afternoon?"
"An old man approached me as I was about to leave the kitchen. He looked weird and kind of suspicious to me as he was acting like a crazy man" Bitbit narrated.
Everyone frowned at Bitbit"s words yet Enoch continued questioning him "Mind to tell me how that old man looked like?"
"He had the longest hair and beard I had ever seen. Much longer than elder Nan" the boy recalled. "Yet unlike elder Nan, the tip of his beard were braided neatly,"
"No doubt it"s the chieftain!" One of the Baruk hollered.
"Quiet!" The Chieftana exclaimed as she too was listening with the boy"s narration. "How can it be the Chieftain when we all knew he was very ill. At his state, it was rather impossible for him to walk to the kitchen"s place"
"Boy are you certain about this?" Enoch confirmed as he was already intrigued "You told me he approached you, what did he ask from you then?"
"He asked where I get the strawberries" Bitbit answered innocently and his answer sent horrors to the Chieftana"s face.
"What strawberries?" The latter inquired shaking at the chieftain"s seat before she broke lose. "No one grows strawberries anymore! What strawberries are you talking about!"
The Chieftana shouted angrily and that surprised everyone. Like the Chieftana, the adults except from professor Owens wondered about the strawberries too, as it had been decades when the fruit disappeared from the market. To add to their astonishment and confusion, all of them cannot comprehend where the Chieftana"s fury was coming from—was it because of the strawberries or with the fact that the Chieftain was gone?
If it was about the former, then why in the world would the Chieftana be mad about a mere fruit?