"Tonight is a full moon. Are you thinking about Devin?" Barca asked while eyeing the old man with caution.The old man nodded. "I had an unexpected encounter tonight."
Barca looked at the man who smiled before continuing, "The spirited creature looks too similar to Devin, it even bears the same mark."
"So, you met Jadon"s latest follower?" Barca answered in a cheeky voice which quickly turned into a curious one. "Grandfather, is the cat...?"
The old man looked at the evening sky before nodding. "I"ve heard that the cat even rode on Nightmare on the way here." As if reminded of something, the old man looked at Barca and asked in a serious voice, "Have you tried talking to Boss?"
Barca gave the man a confused look and the old man added, "The cat."
"Boss? The cat is really called Boss?" Barca asked in a surprised voice before throwing the old man a disconcerted stare as if he was deciding whether to come clean about something or not. In a split second, the look vanished and the young man"s expression quickly changed to an amused one.
"Boss is an odd name."
"Yes, it is," the old man replied while studying Barca. "It"s late. You should rest."
After bidding his grandfather a good night, Barca left. But the old man"s gaze remained in the doorway even after the young man disappeared. Shortly after, another figure emerged from the shadows. The old man nodded to acknowledge the newcomer.
"Jadon, you are here."
"Grandfather," Jadon replied while stepping into the room. "I thought it was Devin at first. The cat also delivered this."
Jadon reached into his pocket and handed a piece of paper to the old man. After giving the older man enough time to decipher the contents of the letter, he added. "We had to escort Prince Roupen and Princess Nairi to the emperor"s residence."
Jadon stood in a relaxed stance while the old man shared his thoughts.
"Covin has always been a peaceful place. The new emperor is a just man. It would be foolish to go against him." The old man"s expression slowly changed. His jaw moved forward and he spoke again, this time in a tone filled with bitterness.
"That man plans to use the princess to cause problems in the empire. I have never expected Barca"s father to pose as the King of Covin or to act as the Governor after the invasion. He is no longer the man I knew." The old man focused on the scenery outside as if dousing his anger with the cold evening air. In a controlled voice, he asked, "How is the princess?"
"She is well. Her heart is set on Prince Roupen but the emperor will never approve of this marriage."
"Do not allow her to marry the King of Dinhi," the old man warned sternly before adding" or the Emperor. If needed, convince the emperor to honor an old betrothal agreement."
Jadon gave the old man an intrigued look.
"Princess Nairi has been betrothed to Barca since they were young," he added reluctantly.
"I will not bring up this betrothal unless it"s absolutely necessary," Jadon rea.s.sured him. The old man relaxed as if satisfied with his answer. "The princess is one of the greatest threats to this world. Keep a close eye on her," he cautioned the young man in front of him.
"Grandfather, when should we tell Barca about his father?"
The old man pondered and looked down on an old tree from the window. Among all the trees in the manor, it was the only one devoid of trees. Everything else thrived.
"When it"s time," he said in a somber voice, "or until we hear from the Network."
***
After leaving the starry-eyed Tarou who couldn"t stop talking about how awesome his human is, Mina slipped inside the house to look for the general. When he saw the man"s familiar silhouette heading towards the room, she couldn"t help but tag along happily while meowing with excitement.
"Can you hear me?"
"Nod if you hear me."
When the man continued to walk inside the room as if she was not there. Mina had to run quickly so she could enter the room. She couldn"t help but feel annoyed at how this man treated her.
"Is this person ignoring me for real?"
When Mina saw the general lie down after she continued asking him if she could understand her, she became so enraged she unsheathed her claws. She was about to jump on the man in her annoyance but the man got up from the bed and headed for the door.
"Come back! Come baaaaaaaaackkk!" Mina couldn"t help but meow. She had to know if he could actually hear her. She jumped off the bed to chase him but the door slammed shut in front of her.
"You...you people always walk out!"
"I need answers!"
Her meows grew louder.
"Human! I deserve answers!"
"Heeey!"
A series of loud meows resounded in the manor at the dead of the night. The drawn-out cries sounded like a distressed child abandoned by its parent. Even Tarou, who was busy transferring his pile of grains inside the tree root, could hear Boss from outside. He couldn"t help but give himself a pat on the back. Choosing to live outdoors was a stroke of genius. He didn"t want to be around when Boss was in a sour mood - the cat had the tendency to unleash its claws which scared him witless.
True enough, Mina bared her claws and the door became her target. As her cries subsided, she unleashed her anger repeatedly on the poor piece of wood. She was so furious that she didn"t even notice when the door started to move until it almost touched her nose.
"He"s back!"
Mina went on to face the man but before she could claw him, he placed a ball in front of her. Curious, she approached the ball. One thread fell off when she tugged it. She bit the edge and unraveled a longer strand. The entire thing was so exciting, she couldn"t help but be engrossed with it. It was only when the ecstatic feeling subsided that she found the time to jump back on the bed to observe her human. From his even breathing, she could tell that the general was asleep.
"A ball of thread, that"s all I needed to get sidetracked," Mina whined. "This human knows how to distract a cat!"
"Fine! Maybe you"re too tired. Tomorrow, I need to test you out again tomorrow," Mina finally relented, allowing the man to have some peace and quiet as she played with her new toy.