A week passed since Cale had promised his sister that he would dine with the rest of the family for breakfast. He had kept his word and made sure to be on his best behavior. These were moments that he did not get to experience much in the past and he wanted to treasure them while he could. Not that he was planning on letting any of his precious family die this time around.
"Young Master," Beacrox greeted, bringing in a tray of snacks and tea. He then placed them beside Cale who was in his office sitting at his desk. The small office which was furnished with elegantly designed furniture and books placed on ornate shelves was a gift from his father and had gone unused for the past few years.
Cale was flipping through the files that Beacrox had given him on buildings for sale. His plan was to open his first information guild in Rain City. His next one will be in either the Stan Territory or the Capital. The Orsen Territory will come after that.
"Father will be returning later tonight," Beacrox informed him. The stern-faced chef was able to move around after they deemed Marcus safe enough to put to work. They had one of the newer, more capable deputy butlers keeping an eye on him–though he hadn't realized that he was being used as a watchdog yet.
"Mm."
Beacrox left the room after that.
Cale continued looking through building portfolios before settling on one that he liked the best. He'll send Ron out to purchase it once the old butler was back.
After the form was filled out and set to the side, he continued his research on legends from the ancient times. He had started out reading documents that recorded the history of back then but decided that legends and children stories may be of more help since they were easier to understand. He was also just tired of reading boring, unsubstantial drabble for the past two-and-a-half weeks.
Time ticked on, leaving Cale with two stacks of children's books. One stack for those he read and one for those he had not yet read– and a small stack of notes written in his elegant yet languid looking handwriting.
The door to his study opened and Cale paid it no mind, figuring that it was Beacrox coming to give him more snacks or to inform him that it was time for dinner.
"Dinner, Young Master." Cale looked up at the sound of the older voice. Ron was standing near the table in the small sitting area with a cart filled of scrumptious looking food. Cale had what some would call a sensitive palate but he was learning that Beacrox was turning into an amazing chef that was quickly adjusting his food to sate Cale's taste. It really wasn't a sensitive palate, he just preferred exquisite food made from the finest of ingredients.
"I assume everything turned out well?" Cale asked as he made his way over to where Ron was.
Ron placed a plate on the table and began placing food onto it. "His story checked out. I shall begin testing him tonight."
"Good," came Cale's immediate reply.
"Have you found any leads to any ancient powers, Young Master?"
Cale nodded his head as he readied his napkin. "I have. Unfortunately it seems someone found it before I was born, though I have a few ideas of who may be in possession of it." One of the children's stories depicted a powerful mage who had traveled with the Cobblestone Giant at one point. The powerful mage was said to have turned the sand pink on Forgonian Beach of the Whipper Kingdom. The sands of that beach haven't been pink since before Cale was born.
"I will be writing a letter for you to send out once I'm done. I hope to form a partnership with someone who might be able to narrow down my list." He planned on sending a letter to Glenn Poeff.
Glenn Poeff had been the Mercenary Guild's leader when Cale had first met him. Sometime in the near future, the current guild leader will be killed by White Star. That person was Bud Illis and he possessed an ancient power that let him 'smell' people. Basically, he could tell a person's demeanor or ability just by scent or sound, though Glenn didn't appear to be very proficient at using it when he was in possession of the power.
Why Cale was sending the letter to Glenn instead of Bud was simple; he knew Glenn. He knew enough to know that Glenn would do anything to save Bud. He also knew that Bud would do anything Glenn asked of him, even if he complained about it at first. Cale knew this because he had to listen to the drunken rant of a man who had inherited everything from his dead lover.
This was Cale's chance to help Glenn. It will also prove to be a beneficial move for him.
"Once Marcus passes your test, I have a test of my own for him." Cale planned on having the newly acquired assassin gather information on the Tolz family and their villa.
He had not seen it in person because he had been bed ridden after being beaten up by that punk bastard, but he had heard the stories and seen the aftermath. Around two weeks before the King's fiftieth birthday banquet, a mad dragon appeared around the Tolz' villa and rampaged, destroying the land. Cale had learned later on that the punk bastard was responsible for killing that dragon.
Years later, he had reluctantly heard the story from that bastard himself. According to the punk bastard, the dragon had only been one meter in length. Cale had never seen a dragon before but he was pretty sure that adult dragons were supposed to be around twenty meters in length. That meant that the dragon that had been killed had been a baby and one that had a huge grudge against the Tolz family.
Cale wasn't a gambler, but he had a feeling that the Tolz had somehow gotten their hands on a baby dragon or its egg. He wanted to help that dragon out because no matter what species it was, it was still a child and Cale was really tired of seeing children dying cruel deaths.
He may have Marcus check on the Stan family while he was at it. It may just be a gut feeling but Cale always trusted his gut. And his gut was telling him that the Tolz were not acting alone, especially since the Tolz' followed the Stans. Cale also just really hated the Stans, especially that poor excuse of a noble, Venion.
"Eat before the food becomes cold, Young Master," Ron told him with a benign smile, pulling Cale out of his thoughts.
. . . .
It was late when Cale finally left his office. He had Ron send the letter to Glenn Poef right after Cale finished dinner. He also picked the building he wanted and already signed the papers to purchase it which he handed to Beacrox.
It had come as a shock to Ron when Cale asked him if he could borrow the Molan name. Cale believed that getting the Molan name back out there would help the two Molans in getting back on their feet, reintroducing the Molan name, and getting their revenge.
Cale handed the document over to Beacrox who had come after finishing up everything in the kitchen. Beacrox looked down at the document and froze.
"Ho," Ron chuckled at his son's reaction. "Young Master asked if he could use our surname."
"This will allow for my anonymity and will help the two of you get back on your feet. I'm sure the two of you don't want to stay as servants forever."
Ron's benign smile fell away as he and his son shot a look tinged with viciousness at Cale. They both tsked but otherwise didn't say anything as they continued looking over the document since Cale had given them permission to do so.
"Is Beru a form of Beacrox?" Ron asked with a raised eyebrow as he took in the alias.
"No," came Cale's short and immediate reply. There was no way he was going to reveal the reasoning behind that name to those two. It wasn't that he didn't trust them with knowing that he had a male lover at one point, he just didn't want to be teased for being an idiotic romantic.
Cale felt a tug on his lips as he headed back to his room to change into his exercise clothes. He had taken it upon himself to retrain his body. He stuck to training at night so that no one would see him.
Sword practice had been grueling and he was only practicing swinging his sword. Cale was also working on building his muscle and stamina back up to what it had been before he had regressed. He wanted to be in shape for when the physical part of his plan officially started.
The door to his sister's room opened and Lily peeked her little head out at him. "Can you tell me another story, brother?" She asked with unconcealed excitement when she saw him.
"Of course," he chuckled. How had he forgotten how cute his adorable little sister could be? He was honestly a little sad to see this side of her disappear when she finally started her knight training.
He followed her back into the room and tucked her in bed. "What do you want to hear tonight?"
"Do you have any more stories about Dark Elves!" Cale chuckled at her unveiled enthusiasm but became quiet as he ran through his memories.
A shimmering black form shot past him. The double swords in the Dark Elf's hands glittered in the breaking dawn light. Three more Dark Elves joined the first one as they charged toward the large golem.
Cale was standing with the rest of his unit, fighting off the enemy soldiers that fought on the ground. His heartbeat pounded deafening in his ears and a cold sweat broke out on his skin. Golems were terrifying creations controlled by black mages.
Sometime during the war when dead mana was first introduced, Dark Elves started to come out of the woodwork to help in the fight. Their majestic figures were the only things that could get close to the dead mana that was destroying everything it touched.
Cale looked down into the eyes of his sister. "Over in another continent, hidden away, is an evil, selfish man that uses dead mana. There is a group of Dark Elves who fight against this man." They don't exist yet since they don't know about White Star, but his sister didn't need to know that little detail.
The door to her room cracked open and Cale saw Basen's eyes peeking in. He continued on with the story, waiting for his brother to come in but Basen never made the attempt and continued to stay out in the hall.
When Cale was finished, Lily was sound asleep. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead before getting up.
Basen wasn't out in the hallway but Cale heard the door to his room click shut. His siblings really were the cutest.