Chapter 44: Something Doesn’t Add Up
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Arvell was quite confused with these developments.
'Why is Zen's mom referring to herself as my mother?'
'You're his sworn brother now, so doesn't that make his mom your mom too?' Lykos teased.
Arvell understood the concept in theory, but… He just met the woman today!
How was he supposed to call someone he just met 'mother'?
It seemed his performance was a little too believable…
Well, what happened, happened.
He needed to deal with the consequences.
"HMMPH!" Arvell struggled.
'I can't breathe!'
It seemed the consequences for his actions were life threatening…
Lienna seemed oblivious to Arvell's plight as she continued to smother him with her chest.
He continued to struggle, but Lienna didn't seem to notice it.
She was too caught up with her own emotions.
However, lucky for Arvell, Zen came to the rescue.
"Mother, you're suffocating him!"
Lienna snapped out of her daze and saw Arvell flailing around.
She immediately released Arvell and apologized.
"I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me!"
Arvell smiled awkwardly and shook his head.
"It's okay, I could see that you weren't doing anything to harm me on purpose."
He needed to keep their affinity with him high.
After all, he needed a backer if he wanted to stay safe in the country.
Naturally, this meant he needed to bear this with a smile.
"I'm sorry for my wife's actions, she can get caught up in her emotions sometimes." Wilfried also apologized.
Feeling the awkward mood in the room, Arvell decided to address the elephant in the room.
He sat back down onto the cushioned sofa.
"Why don't we discuss what happened with Zen?"
Wilfried and Lienna also sat down in their respective seats and nodded.
"If you don't mind would you tell us what happened?"
Arvell and Zenos recounted their tale of how Arvell killed the bandits kidnapping Zenos, how they travelled to the Algreppa mountain range, the secret tunnel, and finally how they found Rupert and the others.
After hearing this, Wilfried banged his fist onto the table, carving a sizeable fist-shaped indent into the ebony wood.
"THOSE BASTARDS! THEY KIDNAPPED MY SON AND TRIED TO SELL HIM OFF AS A SLAVE? WHO DO THEY THINK I AM?"
Wilfried was enraged at this revelation.
Since Angela had no desire to become his successor, the next person in line to inherit his territory was Zenos.
He had lost his eldest son in the war, leaving Zenos and Angela as his only two remaining children.
Now someone tried to take another one of his precious children away from him?
His successor no less?
Lienna put a hand on top of her husband's in an attempt to soothe his anger.
However, this didn't mean she was any better.
In fact, her eyes were ablaze with rage.
If Arvell hadn't already killed Zenos's kidnappers, she might have left right then and there to go finish the job herself.
Angela was in no better condition herself.
She had lost her elder brother, and now her younger one was being turned into a slave for foreign nobles?
There was no way she could tolerate this!
While the Silvercolt family was seething with rage, Rupert suddenly spoke.
"My lord, I feel like this entire scenario seems fishy."
Wilfried looked at Rupert with a confused look.
"What do you mean, Rupert?"
"If the bandits were a group of second and third circle mages who could be taken out by a thirteen-year-old with poison, how could they have managed to attack the young lord's entourage and kidnap him? The young lord was kidnapped on the way back from visiting his fiance, but how come are the 4th circle knights accompanying him were taken out so easily?"
Wilfried nodded his head.
"That is indeed suspicious."
Arvell also agreed with this.
After all, Zenos getting captured by a group of bandits despite being a duke's son seemed quite confusing to him.
Lienna leaned in and whispered something into Wilfried's ears.
Arvell with her supernatural hearing still couldn't hear her whisper.
'They are using wind magic to create an area where sound can't travel through.' Lykos explained.
'I see, I guess since they are Zen's parents, they must also have access to wind magic, just like him.'
After lienna finished her message, Wilfried's eyes opened wide in shock.
He looked disbelievingly at his wife.
"Are you sure? You of all people know you can't say stuff like that lightly!"
Lienna shook her head.
"I am not sure, but it has the highest probability. Think of what would happen if Zenos were to permanently 'go missing'? Wouldn't that benefit that person the most?"
Wilfried looked downwards and sighed.
"Still… while I don't want to think that is the case after Zenos was kidnapped, I can't take this lightly anymore."
While Arvell was curious as to what they were discussing, it was too much of an unneeded hassle to worry about their problems.
He had enough of his own.
Wilfried looked at Arvell and bowed his head.
"Thank you for saving my son. You have my eternal gratitude."
Lienna, Angela and Zenos followed suit.
"Thank you very much."
"It's fine… Leaving him to die would have gone against my morals." Arvell replied with a charming smile.
'He's learning,' Lykos smiled.
Even though Arvell only raided the bandits for tuition money, he managed to make the entire ordeal look as if it was out of his goodwill.
"I think it's about time we all went to bed. Our family hasn't been able to sleep properly ever since Zenos went missing, so perhaps tonight we can finally get a good night's worth of sleep."
Deciding that it was getting quite late, Wilfried decided that it was time to let everyone go to sleep.
Furthermore Zen and Arvell were visibly exhausted after their travels.
Everyone agreed, and they all left the study.
After they exited the study, Wilfried called over a nearby palace maid to lead Arvell to a vacant room.
Arvell had high expectations for his room, considering this was the mansion of a duke.
The room didn't disappoint.
It was elegant, to say the least, with silver-white wallpaper that matched Arvell's hair colour, to the silver griffin insignia sewn onto the curtains.
It was beautiful.
Even if the colour silver was overused quite a bit.
"Sir Arvell, I will excuse myself for now, but if you need anything, just call. Someone will assist you shortly."
"Mmm, thank you"
The maid bowed and exited the room, leaving Arvell on his own.
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Arvell was quite confused with these developments.
'Why is Zen's mom referring to herself as my mother?'
'You're his sworn brother now, so doesn't that make his mom your mom too?' Lykos teased.
Arvell understood the concept in theory, but… He just met the woman today!
How was he supposed to call someone he just met 'mother'?
It seemed his performance was a little too believable…
Well, what happened, happened.
He needed to deal with the consequences.
"HMMPH!" Arvell struggled.
'I can't breathe!'
It seemed the consequences for his actions were life threatening…
Lienna seemed oblivious to Arvell's plight as she continued to smother him with her chest.
He continued to struggle, but Lienna didn't seem to notice it.
She was too caught up with her own emotions.
However, lucky for Arvell, Zen came to the rescue.
"Mother, you're suffocating him!"
Lienna snapped out of her daze and saw Arvell flailing around.
She immediately released Arvell and apologized.
"I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me!"
Arvell smiled awkwardly and shook his head.
"It's okay, I could see that you weren't doing anything to harm me on purpose."
He needed to keep their affinity with him high.
After all, he needed a backer if he wanted to stay safe in the country.
Naturally, this meant he needed to bear this with a smile.
"I'm sorry for my wife's actions, she can get caught up in her emotions sometimes." Wilfried also apologized.
Feeling the awkward mood in the room, Arvell decided to address the elephant in the room.
He sat back down onto the cushioned sofa.
"Why don't we discuss what happened with Zen?"
Wilfried and Lienna also sat down in their respective seats and nodded.
"If you don't mind would you tell us what happened?"
Arvell and Zenos recounted their tale of how Arvell killed the bandits kidnapping Zenos, how they travelled to the Algreppa mountain range, the secret tunnel, and finally how they found Rupert and the others.
After hearing this, Wilfried banged his fist onto the table, carving a sizeable fist-shaped indent into the ebony wood.
"THOSE BASTARDS! THEY KIDNAPPED MY SON AND TRIED TO SELL HIM OFF AS A SLAVE? WHO DO THEY THINK I AM?"
Wilfried was enraged at this revelation.
Since Angela had no desire to become his successor, the next person in line to inherit his territory was Zenos.
He had lost his eldest son in the war, leaving Zenos and Angela as his only two remaining children.
Now someone tried to take another one of his precious children away from him?
His successor no less?
Lienna put a hand on top of her husband's in an attempt to soothe his anger.
However, this didn't mean she was any better.
In fact, her eyes were ablaze with rage.
If Arvell hadn't already killed Zenos's kidnappers, she might have left right then and there to go finish the job herself.
Angela was in no better condition herself.
She had lost her elder brother, and now her younger one was being turned into a slave for foreign nobles?
There was no way she could tolerate this!
While the Silvercolt family was seething with rage, Rupert suddenly spoke.
"My lord, I feel like this entire scenario seems fishy."
Wilfried looked at Rupert with a confused look.
"What do you mean, Rupert?"
"If the bandits were a group of second and third circle mages who could be taken out by a thirteen-year-old with poison, how could they have managed to attack the young lord's entourage and kidnap him? The young lord was kidnapped on the way back from visiting his fiance, but how come are the 4th circle knights accompanying him were taken out so easily?"
Wilfried nodded his head.
"That is indeed suspicious."
Arvell also agreed with this.
After all, Zenos getting captured by a group of bandits despite being a duke's son seemed quite confusing to him.
Lienna leaned in and whispered something into Wilfried's ears.
Arvell with her supernatural hearing still couldn't hear her whisper.
'They are using wind magic to create an area where sound can't travel through.' Lykos explained.
'I see, I guess since they are Zen's parents, they must also have access to wind magic, just like him.'
After lienna finished her message, Wilfried's eyes opened wide in shock.
He looked disbelievingly at his wife.
"Are you sure? You of all people know you can't say stuff like that lightly!"
Lienna shook her head.
"I am not sure, but it has the highest probability. Think of what would happen if Zenos were to permanently 'go missing'? Wouldn't that benefit that person the most?"
Wilfried looked downwards and sighed.
"Still… while I don't want to think that is the case after Zenos was kidnapped, I can't take this lightly anymore."
While Arvell was curious as to what they were discussing, it was too much of an unneeded hassle to worry about their problems.
He had enough of his own.
Wilfried looked at Arvell and bowed his head.
"Thank you for saving my son. You have my eternal gratitude."
Lienna, Angela and Zenos followed suit.
"Thank you very much."
"It's fine… Leaving him to die would have gone against my morals." Arvell replied with a charming smile.
'He's learning,' Lykos smiled.
Even though Arvell only raided the bandits for tuition money, he managed to make the entire ordeal look as if it was out of his goodwill.
"I think it's about time we all went to bed. Our family hasn't been able to sleep properly ever since Zenos went missing, so perhaps tonight we can finally get a good night's worth of sleep."
Deciding that it was getting quite late, Wilfried decided that it was time to let everyone go to sleep.
Furthermore Zen and Arvell were visibly exhausted after their travels.
Everyone agreed, and they all left the study.
After they exited the study, Wilfried called over a nearby palace maid to lead Arvell to a vacant room.
Arvell had high expectations for his room, considering this was the mansion of a duke.
The room didn't disappoint.
It was elegant, to say the least, with silver-white wallpaper that matched Arvell's hair colour, to the silver griffin insignia sewn onto the curtains.
It was beautiful.
Even if the colour silver was overused quite a bit.
"Sir Arvell, I will excuse myself for now, but if you need anything, just call. Someone will assist you shortly."
"Mmm, thank you"
The maid bowed and exited the room, leaving Arvell on his own.
Arvell was quite confused with these developments.'Why is Zen's mom referring to herself as my mother?''You're his sworn brother now, so doesn't that make his mom your mom too?' Lykos teased.Arvell understood the concept in theory, but He just met the woman today!How was he supposed to call someone he just met 'mother'?It seemed his performance was a little too believableWell, what happened, happened.He needed to deal with the consequences."HMMPH!" Arvell struggled.'I can't breathe!'It seemed the consequences for his actions were life threateningLienna seemed oblivious to Arvell's plight as she continued to smother him with her chest.He continued to struggle, but Lienna didn't seem to notice it.She was too caught up with her own emotions.However, lucky for Arvell, Zen came to the rescue."Mother, you're suffocating him!"Lienna snapped out of her daze and saw Arvell flailing around.She immediately released Arvell and apologized."I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me!"Arvell smiled awkwardly and shook his head."It's okay, I could see that you weren't doing anything to harm me on purpose."He needed to keep their affinity with him high.After all, he needed a backer if he wanted to stay safe in the country.Naturally, this meant he needed to bear this with a smile."I'm sorry for my wife's actions, she can get caught up in her emotions sometimes." Wilfried also apologized.Feeling the awkward mood in the room, Arvell decided to address the elephant in the room.He sat back down onto the cushioned sofa."Why don't we discuss what happened with Zen?"Wilfried and Lienna also sat down in their respective seats and nodded."If you don't mind would you tell us what happened?"Arvell and Zenos recounted their tale of how Arvell killed the bandits kidnapping Zenos, how they travelled to the Algreppa mountain range, the secret tunnel, and finally how they found Rupert and the others.After hearing this, Wilfried banged his fist onto the table, carving a sizeable fist-shaped indent into the ebony wood."THOSE BASTARDS! THEY KIDNAPPED MY SON AND TRIED TO SELL HIM OFF AS A SLAVE? WHO DO THEY THINK I AM?"Wilfried was enraged at this revelation.Since Angela had no desire to become his successor, the next person in line to inherit his territory was Zenos.He had lost his eldest son in the war, leaving Zenos and Angela as his only two remaining children.Now someone tried to take another one of his precious children away from him?His successor no less?Lienna put a hand on top of her husband's in an attempt to soothe his anger.However, this didn't mean she was any better.In fact, her eyes were ablaze with rage.If Arvell hadn't already killed Zenos's kidnappers, she might have left right then and there to go finish the job herself.Angela was in no better condition herself.She had lost her elder brother, and now her younger one was being turned into a slave for foreign nobles?There was no way she could tolerate this!While the Silvercolt family was seething with rage, Rupert suddenly spoke."My lord, I feel like this entire scenario seems fishy."Wilfried looked at Rupert with a confused look."What do you mean, Rupert?""If the bandits were a group of second and third circle mages who could be taken out by a thirteen-year-old with poison, how could they have managed to attack the young lord's entourage and kidnap him? The young lord was kidnapped on the way back from visiting his fiance, but how come are the 4th circle knights accompanying him were taken out so easily?"Wilfried nodded his head."That is indeed suspicious."Arvell also agreed with this.After all, Zenos getting captured by a group of bandits despite being a duke's son seemed quite confusing to him.Lienna leaned in and whispered something into Wilfried's ears.Arvell with her supernatural hearing still couldn't hear her whisper.'They are using wind magic to create an area where sound can't travel through.' Lykos explained.'I see, I guess since they are Zen's parents, they must also have access to wind magic, just like him.'After lienna finished her message, Wilfried's eyes opened wide in shock.He looked disbelievingly at his wife."Are you sure? You of all people know you can't say stuff like that lightly!"Lienna shook her head."I am not sure, but it has the highest probability. Think of what would happen if Zenos were to permanently 'go missing'? Wouldn't that benefit that person the most?"Wilfried looked downwards and sighed."Still while I don't want to think that is the case after Zenos was kidnapped, I can't take this lightly anymore."While Arvell was curious as to what they were discussing, it was too much of an unneeded hassle to worry about their problems.He had enough of his own.Wilfried looked at Arvell and bowed his head."Thank you for saving my son. You have my eternal gratitude."Lienna, Angela and Zenos followed suit."Thank you very much.""It's fine Leaving him to die would have gone against my morals." Arvell replied with a charming smile.'He's learning,' Lykos smiled.Even though Arvell only raided the bandits for tuition money, he managed to make the entire ordeal look as if it was out of his goodwill."I think it's about time we all went to bed. Our family hasn't been able to sleep properly ever since Zenos went missing, so perhaps tonight we can finally get a good night's worth of sleep."Deciding that it was getting quite late, Wilfried decided that it was time to let everyone go to sleep.Furthermore Zen and Arvell were visibly exhausted after their travels.Everyone agreed, and they all left the study.After they exited the study, Wilfried called over a nearby palace maid to lead Arvell to a vacant room.Arvell had high expectations for his room, considering this was the mansion of a duke.The room didn't disappoint.It was elegant, to say the least, with silver-white wallpaper that matched Arvell's hair colour, to the silver griffin insignia sewn onto the curtains.It was beautiful.Even if the colour silver was overused quite a bit."Sir Arvell, I will excuse myself for now, but if you need anything, just call. Someone will assist you shortly.""Mmm, thank you"The maid bowed and exited the room, leaving Arvell on his own.
