[Dunha's POV]
After deciding to meet the King and Queen at a later time, Blue and Dunha continued to walk through the first-floor hallway. As they walked, Dunha kept smiling as she looked at Blue from time to time.
"I can't express how happy I am to see Blue again!" Dunha shouted internally.
The last time Dunha saw Blue was during the Azidahakian invasion and just like her brother, he was never seen again and was presumed dead.
"I never found out the reason why he went missing..." Dunha thought. "The only information I had was that Blue was battling against one of the Azidahakian Great Generals and shortly after defeating him, he just disappeared."
Remembering his disappearance, it made Dunha sad as he was basically a second father to her after her real father's death.
"This time will be different... With my memories from the past, I might be able to change the future for the better..." Dunha mumbled.
"Oh, is that so? Care to tell me how you plan on changing the future for the better, little fortune-teller?" Blue asked playfully.
"Eek!" Dunha squeaked.
Dunha accidentally let out a small squeak after being startled by Blue. She then covered her mouth as she turned red out of embarrassment.
"Did you know that you talk to yourself when you think?" Blue asked as he laughed.
"Ah... I'll fix that someday," Dunha replied while looking up.
Dunha was astonished at seeing how tall Blue was.
"He has to be at least 7 feet tall!" she thought. "According to my father, the Sky family was always known for either their monstrous strength or their tall height. In Blue's case, he's known for having both of them. Pfft."
Dunha giggled as she pitied the people who'll have to fight him in the future.
"None of them will stand a chance against him..." she chuckled.
"Alright, I'll take your word for it, little one," said Blue.
After Dunha nodded, they continued to walk down the hallway and eventually reached the indoor training ground. This was where the guards would train and duel each other with wooden weapons from time to time.
"Hm... Empty," Blue commented.
There was currently nobody inside.
"I guess it's because every available guard is either outside searching the area for any remaining assassins or interrogating the remaining household servants," Dunha thought.
The servants who greeted Henry earlier were those who were confirmed to have nothing to do with the attack on the queen and princess.
"Ha... It's been a while since I last came here," Blue murmured.
"Yes, it's truly been a long time..." Dunha unknowingly replied.
"Hm? You're talking as if you haven't been here in years," said Blue as he laughed. "You probably learned that line from Charles, he always says something like that when he gets emotional."
Dunha simply nodded.
"There's no way that I could tell them about my first life yet," she thought. "He'll probably think that it's all a dream and won't believe me... For now at least."
After seeing Dunha nod, he then offered to teach her how to fight when she gets older.
"When the right time comes, I'll teach you a thing or two about how to defend yourself," said Blue. "If you want to."
"Hmm?" (Dunha)
Blue's offer surprised her.
"Wait a minute... This is strange," Dunha thought. "He's supposed to offer to train me once I turn 13, this is much sooner than I thought!"
She began to smile.
"It's better to train my body as soon as possible to get a head start," she thought.
Dunha then looked at Blue with excited eyes.
"Sure. Thank you," Dunha answered excitedly.
Blue nodded and grinned.
"Alright, I think we walked long enough. Let's head back to see your parents before we freeze in here," said Blue.
There were no heaters in the training room as people start to get hot during training, so the whole room was currently cold.
So after Dunha nodded again, the two of them walked back. In Dunha's opinion, the main point of this walk was for her to talk with Blue again.
🔸🔸🔸
30 minutes passed and Henry and Seo-Yeon finally left their room with a different set of clothes. Seo-Yeon changed her light green and pinkish-red dress to a yellow and purple one, while Henry wore a dark blue sleeveless surcoat over his shirt with a gold belt wrapped around his waist. The most eye-catching part of the surcoat was the large golden star symbol in the center of the chest.
The two of them held each other's arms as they walked down the stairs to see their daughter and Blue.
"Hm?" (Blue)
Blue looked at them and noticed a small hickey on Seo-Yeon's neck which nearly caused him to chuckle.
"Should I be expecting to see a new Star member in the next few months?" Blue asked jokingly.
"Hush," Seo-Yeon replied.
"Maybe. If that day comes, then it's another celebration!" said Henry as he laughed.
Henry's words made Dunha remember that she's going to see her brother again soon.
"He's not wrong about that... My brother will be born in the next few months but that's when our mother will also..." she thought. "No, no matter what, I'll have to prevent her death!"
Dunha was lost in thought and as a result, she did not notice her mother creeping up behind her.
"Aw~ Why is my cute little Dunha making such a serious face again~?" Seo-Yeon asked as she gave Dunha a big hug like the one she gave her this morning.
"Uwaa!" said a startled Dunha. "Hahaha!'"
Dunha was very ticklish, so this caused her to unknowingly laugh out loud as her mother wrapped her arms around her tummy. She tried to wiggle her out of her mother's arms but was unsuccessful.
"She really does looks like a small version of Seo-Yeon," Blue mumbled.
"Indeed," Henry replied as he approached Blue. "Do you have a minute?" he asked.
"Yea," said Blue.
The two of them walked up the stairs while leaving Dunha with her mother who was still cuddling her.
🔸🔸🔸
Henry and Blue entered one of the empty rooms on the second-floor before locking the doors behind them.
"Nobody can hear us here," said Henry.
"I'm assuming you're going to ask me about what happened with Mason?" Blue asked.
"Aye. What happened while I was away? Seo-Yeon told me that he was involved in the black market and also threatened Dunha before you arrested him. Is that all true?" Henry asked.
Blue reluctantly nodded.
"It is true," Blue answered. "He's being taken to Estrella, so it's only a matter of time before he confesses."
"Good. Remind her to squeeze out every piece of information out of him," said Henry "Did he do anything else?" he asked.
"He called Seo-Yeon a "foreign bitch" after he woke up and realized he was being arrested. He was being noisy so I knocked him out again," Blue answered.
Henry's calm expression quickly turned into anger when Blue told him what Mason called his wife.
"Good job. Encourage Estrella to not show any mercy on him," said Henry.
"Was there ever a time when she showed mercy to any of her toys?" Blue asked.
"I guess not," said Henry. "I think she's the most sadistic person out of all of us and I'm glad that she's not our enemy."
Blue agreed with Henry before asking him a question.
"Why did you even give Mason such a high position?" Blue asked. "He didn't look trustworthy, to begin with."
"His medical knowledge was decent and he was one of the few people who didn't commit any serious crimes during my father's rule. So I thought it was good enough to give him a second chance after demoting his noble status. It's like giving him a chance to atone," said Henry.
"I see. Well, he used your mercy to get involved in the black marke--" said Blue before Henry cut him off.
"I was wrong," said Henry. "At least, you got rid of him before he became more troublesome," he added.
Henry sighed.
"For now, let's worry about all of that later. Once Charles secures the entire area, let's all have a feast. It's been a while since the last huge feast, no?" Henry asked.
"Indeed it was," said Blue.
"Alright, let's head back for now," said Henry. "Since Mason is captured, we can take our time."
"His fate was sealed the moment he was taken to Estrella," said Blue.
The two of them headed back to Seo-Yeon who finally let go of Dunha.
(To be continued)
2020/04/22