I didn't an that to be so dramatic, but it was made so by the uneasy silence that settled onto the room shortly after. My guest stared at quite inquisitively, and then snorted, which popped the tense atmosphere like a balloon.
"Yes. Let's do that." Saying so, Sir Percival made himself comfortable by leaning back on the couch, and for a mont I was worried he would put his feet onto the coffee table. Nothing of the sort happened, thankfully (otherwise I would've been forced to throw him out, calming ditative circulation or not), and he began to talk in a leisurely tone. "I've been in contact with both Penelope and Roland over the past couple of days, and I think I'm already familiar with the broad outlines of the current situation. So of these developnts are… troubling, to say the least, but I have to give it to you; as unorthodox as your thods were, you have accomplished quite a feat here."
"I'll take that as a complint," I stated flatly, which earned a chuckle.
"It was. Honestly, just the fact that you made them believe you defeated a Chira would've been amazing, but doing everything else on top of that… you must have worked hard."
"I did, and I did kill a Chira."
Technically, it was more than one, though I wasn't sure the remote-controlled corpse counted.
"Did you?"
Sir Percival sounded eminently skeptical, and after taking a deep breath to rein in the impulse to jump over the table between us and sock him in the jaw, I slowly exhaled and told him, "I've got lucky."
"Hah! You, and luck! Who are you trying to trick here? Knowing you, I'd bet my beard that you set up a trap or two to exploit its weakness, created an opening, had soone else do the heavy lifting, and then stole the show at the very end."
It took a lot of effort to still my facial muscles, and I could feel a chill run down my spine. This cheeky old man knew way too well, and he wasn't the least bit shy about it. This… might get troubleso.
"Let's ignore that whole Chira business for now. You can tell the details later," Sir Percival told with an amused smile and circled his left wrist. "If you really have lost your mories, then I presu you don't rember why you ca to Critias either, right?" He didn't even let respond before continuing his previous thought, though this ti accompanied by him repeatedly snapping his fingers. "Argh… What was the na of the boy? It's on the tip of my tongue."
"… Joshua?"
"Right! Joshua Bernstein!" he exclaid with an extra-loud snap and pointed a finger at . "He was the one the little missy of the Dracis had the hots for, wasn't he? Do you know how many favors I had to cash in just to find that out, only for you to co in and seduce her first? This outco isn't half-bad either, but seriously, Leonard? Seriously?"
"Things just kind of ended up this way," I told him with a shrug, if only to hide how hard the gears in my head were spinning to keep up with the conversation. "I guess the original plan was to let Joshua and Elly beco a couple, and then…"
"And then induct the boy into the Brotherhood, make him a squire, and use him to infiltrate the family. It was a bold plan, and it was yours."
"Really?" I asked back in reflex, and I might've sounded insincere, as the old man on the couch narrowed his eyes and suddenly pointed a finger at .
"The jade rabbit of the moon."
What followed after this was several seconds of so of the most awkward silence I've ever experienced, and it lasted exactly until Sir Percival clicked his tongue.
"Well, I'll be damned. I thought the third ti would be the charm, but you really can't rember anything, can you?"
"I think we were already over this."
"You can't bla a man for trying," he responded flippantly and rested his arms on the back of the couch. "It's just a little vexing, but don't mind . Where were we?"
"The plan to use Joshua as a sleeper agent." My flat response made him nod and level a stare at as if expecting to continue. "So… Did I bring Cal with to test him?"
"Hm? Nah. I've checked; the boy didn't have any prominent bloodlines. There was no chance in hell that Caledfwlch would choose soone like him… but then again, I never would've expected that you would get a second chance, let alone be chosen. It absolutely boggles the mind."
"The world works in mysterious ways."
Sir Percival frowned at my filler response and shook his head.
"I see you don't want to talk about how you did it, but you don't have to be that blatant about it." I had no idea what he was on about, but then he let out a pent-up breath and mused, "In retrospect, the plan was dood to failure from the beginning. Who would've thought that the boy was actually so hidden Old Blooded off-shoot?" Suddenly pausing, his eyes narrowed into suspicious squints and he asked, "Wait a mont. Did you change your plan and seduce the Dracis girl before or after you realized that he was a Draconian?"
"Does it matter?"
"… No. You're right, it doesn't," he relented, but his eyes remained intensely locked onto . "But if we're at that, is the rumor true?"
"Which one?"
"The one that says you have two fiancées," he stated bluntly, and when I still didn't react (I was using the ditative circulation non-stop), he stifled a groan and stopped beating around the bush. "Listen, Leonard. I understand that the mission went off the rails. I understand that you seduced the Dracis girl, and it was a good call; it made manipulating the Draconians much easier, and you probably couldn't achieve half of what you did without it. But what's the point of the other girl? As far as I know, she's just a mundane human without any remarkable assets or connections. She's useless."
This ti, it took several seconds to sohow stuff the slowly rising sense of scorching fury back into the pit of my stomach. It was hard, but once I was sure my emotions were in check, I slowly exhaled and forced myself to stay as diplomatic as possible.
"Judy is the asset. She had been a huge help to , so I would advise you to think twice before you call her 'useless' in front of ."
"Oh? Did I touch a nerve?" Seeing my glare, the old man offered an olive branch. "I'm just kidding, of course. If you say she's useful, I'm not going to question your judgnt. But to make her your second fiancée…" Sir Percival stroked his beard, deep in thought, and before I could get a word in to forestall any misunderstandings, he snapped his finger again and pointed a finger-gun at . "I'm sure you wedged her into the family for a reason. Was it to infiltrate the household? If my mory serves right, the old steward of the family is unusually influential, and he's rumored to give preferential treatnt to young girls. You used her to get in his good graces and ease your entry into the family, huh?"
This ti, he was quite off the mark, but there was no reason to correct him.
"In a manner of speaking."
"Calculating, as always," he responded with a satisfied grin, and then fell into deep contemplation. "If you still keep her around even after she served her purpose, I guess she must be really resourceful. Maybe I'll have a talk with her; she could be a good addition to our ranks."
"By being my girlfriend, she's already pretty high in the ranks of the Draconic Federation and the Ordo Draconis," I pointed out, and the old man looked at like I just said sothing weird.
"That's not what I ant by… Oh, right. Amnesia." His eyes lit up with realization, followed by a series of stifled chuckles. "No, I wasn't talking about that, but since you've brought it up, we might as well talk about this 'Ordo Draconis' of yours. As far as I've gathered, it is a progeny organization of the Brotherhood of the Most Heroic Bloodlines."
"That's the gist of it," I confird, and since he looked expectant, I figured I might as well put so effort into this talk. "Using the authority of the King, I dissolved the Brotherhood and reford it into a new organization focused on regulating the Draconian clans and families from the inside. Arnwald ca up with the na."
"It does bear his fingerprints. That said, I have my misgivings about this developnt."
To say I wasn't surprised at the least would've been an understatent. Now, he just had to pick what he was more outraged about; the fact I reford a centuries-old organization without his input, the fact I didn't contact him about it, or that we now allowed Draconians in the ranks. I was prepared for any and all of those, so naturally, as per the rules of drama, he hit with a curve ball.
"I have a suspicion that your mory loss was taken advantage of by a third party."
"Excuse ?"
"I don't bla you," he cut off before I could say anything else and let out a deep sigh. "You did your best with the hand you were dealt, but after listening to Roland's explanation of the events, I'm almost sure your blind spot was exploited by the Abyssals."
"… The Abyssals," I repeated after him, my voice simultaneously flatter than a pancake and more skeptical than an economist at a multi-level marketing demonstration.
"I've already heard about this new nace called 'Bel of the Abyss'," Sir Percival launched into his explanation, his tone suddenly gaining a grave undertone. "According to what I know, this Abyssal was instruntal in serving as a catalyst for the formation of this Draconian Alliance of yours."
"Federation, but do go on."
He grunted, displeased by my interruption, but continued anyway.
"Let us look at the bigger picture. The number of Abyssals capable of returning to the surface is small, and they invariably keep a low profile to avoid capture. Yet, the head of Inanna not only ca to Critias and operated in the open, he even caused a huge incident. That is not the usual modus operandi of the Abyssals, so the only explanation is that there's sothing on this island that was worth exposing themselves for and risking their connections to the surface. Then, not long after that, a powerful new Abyssal appeared, completely unknown to the world, and while looking for so kind of artifact, the power he demonstrated led to the forming of a new, potent organization that threatens to overthrow the balance of power on the surface. Only a blind man living under a rock wouldn't find this situation extrely suspicious."
"To be fair, your summary was rudintary at best," I offered my five cents, and got summarily ignored.
"It is often in the broad strokes where you can find the patterns lost in the details. If my conjecture is on the mark, you might have inadvertently beco a pawn in the greatest conspiracy of the century."
He… wasn't completely wrong on that, but as much as I resented that 'pawn' remark, I remained tight-lipped, which my guest mistook for rapt attention.
"The fact that the Inannas operated in the open tells us that there is so kind of sche in motion, and the fact that they did not co after your life in revenge after you foiled their initial plans ans there is so kind of larger design in play that forced them to stay their hands. Then, this Bel of the Abyss expertly manipulated the forces on the island, including you and the rest, to form this Draconic Federation of yours. But for what purpose? If you ask , a rising power like that would naturally earn the suspicion and ire of the Magi, and disputes over authority and jurisdiction would inevitably sour relations even further. United, the Draconians possess the economic and military strength to rival the Magi, and with a few well-tid false-flag operations, it wouldn't be hard to cause the two factions to descend into total war."
"That's a pretty pessimistic prediction," I noted, and Sir Percival all but scoffed at .
"Optimism is for children and fools. I thought I'd taught you that."
"It wasn't disagreent, just observation," I answered, earning another grunt from the old man.
"In any case, no matter who erges victorious from such a conflict, it would leave them exhausted and weakened, ripe for the taking."
"So your theory is that the Abyssals manipulated everyone on the island to create an opponent for the Assembly, then they'll spark a war, and once the dust settles, they would invade realspace."
"When you put it that way, it is a ploy strangely elegant in its simplicity, isn't it?"
The old man smiled, as if expecting to congratulate him, but instead I asked the first question that ca to mind.
"Aren't you missing one piece of this puzzle? What about the Celestials?"
"They definitely aren't the mastermind behind this plot. If anything, they're also suffering its consequences." Before I could ask him to elaborate, Sir Percival dismissively waved his hand and told , "It's pointless to go into details now; you'll see it for yourself soon. More importantly, now that you know that, what do you plan to do about the Abyssal girl?"
"Snowy?"
"Yes, the Inanna girl," he emphasized, then after glancing up the stairs, he lowered his voice and leaned closer to whisper, "I know you took her in to use her as leverage against her true family, but in light of everything I've just explained to you, it's just as likely she's also part of the conspiracy and she's keeping you under surveillance. I recomnd cutting her off as soon as possible, preferably permanently."
This ti, it took even longer to keep my flaring temper under control, and even then, the best I could do was to squeeze out, "There's no need for that. It's better the devil you know than the devil you don't."
"That is… a fair point, actually. By keeping a close eye on her, we might actually catch the tail of the conspiracy through her." Pausing again, he peeked upstairs for the second ti and then lowered his voice even more. "I knew you have been living together with her for months now, but you must always rember that she's an Abyssal. She's not like us, and does not deserve our sympathy or rcy. I hope you'll keep this in mind."
"I'll… certainly rember your words in the future."
We locked eyes for a while, and soon enough, the old man's lips parted in a wide smile and he leaned back on the couch again.
"I'm relieved. I was afraid that you would grow soft after pretending to be a common man for so long, but I'm glad to see you're the sa as always. mories or not, I guess blood will always be thicker than blood."
"We aren't related by blood though," I pointed out, but that only earned another chuckle.
"Does it really matter? You and I are kindred, and I knew it the mont we first locked eyes with each other in St. Haerviu's."
That was the na of the orphanage where Penny and I grew up, but putting my background minutia aside, the affectionate way he was looking at was making my blood boil, it was getting increasingly harder to keep my temper under control when this man's words and actions kept making my indignation less and less inexplicable by the second. Thankfully, it was at this mont that a door upstairs was thrown open and Penny dashed down into the living room, cutting our conversation short.
"I'm done!" she declared and imdiately sat next to the old man, and by then, he already switched back into his jolly old grandpa act. "What were you talking about? Did I miss anything?"
Instead of answering right away, I glanced at the second girl coming down the stairs, and when our eyes t, she hastily told , "It's the first day after winter break, so we didn't have a lot of howork."
"Fair enough," I muttered and turned back to pair on the couch, where Sir Percival was already in the process of explaining what 'we were talking about'.
"… and since Leonard forgot everything, I guess I have no choice but to resu my duty as the Keeper of the Bloodlines, at least until he recovers his mories. Isn't that right?"
That question was aid at , and after a beat, I nodded.
"That was a short retirent," he lanted with an overdramatic flair, causing Penny to giggle uncontrollably. In the anti, Snowy reached the couch and was unsure where to sit. Out of the blue, Sir Percival patted the cushions by his side and exclaid, "Don't just stand around, girlie! Co, join us!"
My Abyssal sister sent an uncertain glance at , but before I could respond, Penny butted into the conversation while repeatedly gesticulating her way.
"Don't be shy!" the old man followed her up with a disarming smile, leaving her without a way out and she ultimately took a seat next to him.
"In that case… please excuse ."
"Hah! There's no need to be so reserved! Leonard is like a son to , and you're his sister now, so we're practically family!"
"Yes! One big family!" Penny followed him up with sparkling eyes, and it only made Snowy more uncomfortable.
"So, girls? My collection of equipnt is still shipping, but I've brought the helts with in the big bag. How about we make sothing of them?"
"Ah? Like the mantelpiece back in Manchester?"
"Precisely!" the old man responded with a toothy grin and made finger-guns at Penny. In the anti, Snowy kept looking at , and while I felt conflicted about leaving her side, with my other sister around, I was sure the old man wouldn't try to pull anything.
Making sure that Sir Percival's attention was still on my knightly sister, I gestured for Snowy to pay closer attention, and slowly mouthed the words, 'Hold the fort. Don't let your guard down. I'll be right back.' without a sound. I thought I would have to repeat it a few more tis, but contrary to my expectations, she firmly nodded and mouthed back 'I'll be vigilant.'
I flashed a reassuring smile at her and then cleared my throat to gain everyone's attention.
"You do that, but in moderation. Now, if you excuse , I have to take care of sothing. I'll be right back."
"What? Why?" Penny complained and waved for to wait. "Brother, we'll need you to move the furniture!"
"I just told you to do things in moderation," I snapped back, but once I realized that I let my temper slip, I cleared my throat again and added, in a more neutral tone, "On second thought, I'll leave things in your hands. I'm sure Uncle Percy will be happy to help with any heavy lifting."
"Aaah… You see, my back's not what it used to be…" the bearded knight complained while massaging his lower back and doing his whole 'charming old codger' act.
"I'm sure you'll manage," I told him with a reassuring smile and turned on my heel before he could object.
"We have been abandoned!" Sir Percival cried with the flair of a community theater actor, but then he froze mid-shaking-fist-against-the-heavens pose and shrugged. "Oh well, let's work with what we have. Girlie? Could you please open up that bag and bring so helts over here?"
"Y-Yes, sir."
"Oh, don't be like that!" he moaned, followed by a hearty chuckle. "I just told you, we're family! You can call Uncle Percy, like the Beansprout over here."
That faux-affable comnt nearly made turn back on my way up the stairs and kick the old bastard so hard, all his descendants would be born with foot-shaped birthmarks until the end of eternity, but I sohow managed to restrain the urge and head into my room. It also took way too much effort not to slam the door behind , but once I was out of sight, I finally let all the pent-up anger show on my face, and I was really glad there was no mirror nearby, as I was sure I wouldn't have recognized myself.
"{I must admit, young knight, I'm rather bemused by this situation.}"
Cal's voice ca just the right ti, and for once, it actually served to calm my nerves a bit. I took several deep breaths, and while I still wasn't in perfect condition, I was good enough for now. Without further ado, I hung the sword from my belt, and after telling them to keep up the circulation for a while longer, I reached for my phone on the nightstand.
"Hi, Chief."
Judy picked it up right away, and her voice was like salve to my soul, and hearing it finally let calm down to the point I was no longer afraid my facial muscles would start cramping.
"Ergency eting."
"Where?" she responded without batting an eye.
"Your room. I'll pick up Elly on the way there."
"I'll tell mom you'll co over. The ti?"
"Don't know yet. It could be late. I have to wait until my guest goes to bed."
"Do you an Sir Percival?"
That threw on a loop for a second, but then I connected the dots.
"Penny told you."
"Yes."
"Figures."
"Is he troubleso?"
"Worse," I uttered with undisguised distaste. "I'll explain the detail in person."
"All right. I'll be waiting. Love you."
"Not as much as I love you," I responded on a whim and got a huff in return.
"Was that a challenge?"
"No."
"You know I'm still going to prove you wrong, right?"
"I'm looking forward to it."
Judy let out another playful huff, and after saying our goodbyes, I cut the line. In retrospect, I really needed that. After bottling up all my various colorful emotions while listening to Sir Percival, I felt like a water boiler with its safeties removed, ready to blow everything up. After my talk with Judy, I was closer to a soda bottle that spent ten minutes on a rodeo machine. Still explosive, but at least there was so progress.
"{What now?}" Cal inquired in an unusually low voice, and after so thinking, I shook my head.
"It's too early to say. First, I'll go take a cold shower, and then we go down and mark our very own Knight of Cerebus."
"{I'm… afraid I'm not familiar with the term. Who is Cerebus?}"
Chuckling softly, I shook my head and answered in a low voice that sounded sinister even to myself.
"It ans soone whose appearance causes everything to beco darker and bleaker. Whether he does that by his own actions, or by causing to break my no-killing rule… well, that's still up in the air."
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