City Lord Sutton and Madam Anna had stunned expressions on their faces upon hearing the exclamations of the three teenagers. This was the first time they had ever revealed such an expression since the informal meeting between the two groups began. Mane, Lam and Lily were too surprised by the person who had just come in that they failed to take note of the expressions of City Lord Sutton and Madam Anna. Mira dutifully stood aside when Ivor came in. Although she was surprised that Mane and the twins knew this man, she was more terrified of him than she was surprised by the revelation. If it wasn't because they had no choice than to ally themselves with Ivor, she would have wished that her parents didn't contact this dangerous man. His legends were extraordinary, but his callous heart which was hidden by the genial smile on his face was just as scary as his legends.
"You know Sir Ivor?" Madam Anna asked with a bit of reservation. She didn't look as comfortable as she did when the meeting began – and neither did her husband. Both heard the way Mane and the twins addressed Ivor. They didn't add any honorifics to his name, meaning that their relationship was an informal one. That meant that Mane, Lam and Lily shared a closer relationship to Ivor than they did. And that made them very wary. However, thinking about it, they realised that it made sense for Mane and the twins to know Ivor. Based on the talents of the three, there was no way they were ordinary. So it made sense that they were tied to someone as extraordinary as Ivor the Tattler.
Fortunately or unfortunately, they had no idea that it was only Lam and Lily who were close to Ivor. Mane didn't refer to him with an honorific because Ivor asked him not to. Other than that, it was more likely that Asher City's relationship with Ivor was better than Mane's relationship with him. Mane shared a rocky relationship with the man at best, and both were extremely wary of each other. Ivor had spent his time with them trying to undermine Mane to the twins, and Mane who was distrusting of him had kept secrets from the big man as well.
"Of course they know me. Who do you think brought them here?" Ivor answered the question in their steed. His words stunned City Lord Sutton, Madam Anna and Mira. Of all the possibilities they had considered, Ivor being the one to bring them to Asher City wasn't one of them. Even worse, two of these talents had joined their enemies. Was that also Ivor's doing, or did he allow them to make that choice themselves? City Lord Sutton really wanted to ask those questions and clear whatever doubts he had, but his wife gave him a sharp stare that said, 'Don't ask," and City Lord Sutton sighed submissively and said nothing in the end. His wife was right. They couldn't ask any questions because they didn't have the right to. Ivor's power and eccentric personality made him a ticking time bomb; one that they couldn't communicate freely with. But they had no other choice than to keep this time bomb on their side. If they wanted to survive, they had to please this time bomb so that he wouldn't abandon them.
"You've grown," Ivor looked at the twins with a stunned expression on his face. Once he got closer to them, he could feel the vibrant energy that filled their bodies. Their power couldn't be compared to his at all, but it was enough to place them at the peak of Asher City. He had left them as weaklings, and it had only been a few days since he last saw them. But in just those few days, they had grown so much stronger. He could feel the purity of their auras, and could tell that whatever method they used didn't harm their foundations. His eyes glowed with a bit of greed, but he quickly suppressed it. What kind of method was this? A method that could allow a weak person to gain so much power in such a short time was something that even his 'Leader' would want. Unfortunately, even his Leader wouldn't dare to touch the Prince and Princess, so there was no way they would get such a method.
"How?" Ivor asked. City Lord Sutton, Madam Anna, and Mira didn't know what Ivor was asking the twins for. But those in question knew exactly what Ivor wanted to know. Mane grew a bit tensed. Although he had faith that the twins wouldn't betray him, he couldn't help but wonder if they would. Would they remember what he told them? Would they honour their words? Or would they disregard the words of their mouths?
"We were lucky I guess," Lam shrugged and said. His words calmed Mane down by a lot. Hildegarde laughed seeing his silly expression and said, "You should have seen how you looked. You looked like a man suffering from constipation! Hahaha!"
Naturally, Mane was too relieved to pay any attention to the fairy who had become addicted to teasing him every chance she got.
"I see," Ivor furrowed his brows and said. He turned to look at Lily. But the Princess he knew just shrugged helplessly and echoed the word of her brother with a look that said, 'hasn't he already told you?" Ivor didn't think they would tell him anyway, but he was still a bit disappointed. However, he was no idiot. He could feel Mane's anxiety when he asked the twins about how they had grown so much stronger in such a short time. Mane had given himself away with his reaction. If he was still wearing his mask, Ivor wouldn't have noticed. Alas, he wasn't, and Ivor took note of that brief moment of stiffness Mane displayed in his expression. And from that he understood something. He understood that whatever means by which the twins had grown so powerful in such a short time, Mane was the answer to the riddle. Thinking about it, he felt that it made sense. The boy was so young yet so powerful. There was no way he wouldn't have any secrets. Besides, with how powerful and deep-rooted the Ancients were, it wouldn't surprise Ivor if they had such a method; a method for drastically increasing one's strength without any cost to the person.
"It seems that getting the secret from him should be my priority now. At least, before it's decided whether he should be killed or not. I'm sure Leader would agree with this course of action" Ivor thought to himself.
"If you were their ally, why did you want Mane to join the Orange Team?" Lily asked the question that the forgotten City Lord Sutton and Madam Anna would have liked to ask themselves. Their eyes lit up hearing Lily's words, and they understood that it was indeed Ivor who gave the Orange Team such great gifts.
"Well, the Head of The Citadel paid me handsomely to find a replacement for Orange Monk. So I did." Ivor shrugged nonchalantly and said. City Lord Sutton smiled bitterly hearing his reply, as it seemed very much like Ivor to do something like that. Madam Anna frowned in displeasure, but she quickly wiped that away before anyone noticed.
"What I didn't expect was that Lam joined in as well. You can imagine how surprised I was when I saw you walking onto the field yesterday." Ivor smiled and said.
"This man is someone who does everything for a profit. He helped his enemies because they paid him well? I wouldn't have believed it, but I can feel he isn't lying. In fact, there isn't a need for him to." Hildegarde commented from atop Mane's shoulder. Her words were vivid reflection of what Mane was thinking.
"That begs the question, what did City Lord Sutton offer such a greedy man that The Citadel wasn't able to give?" Hildegarde asked, and Mane narrowed his eyes in contemplation. Indeed, what did City Lord Sutton offer such a man for him to be on his side? It was what he was most curious about.
"Well, it was a last minute decision," Lam scratched his cheek in embarrassment and said. He could feel that something wasn't right between Mane and Ivor, so he refrained from saying that it was Mane's suggestion. Mane didn't give anything away this time, but he was grateful to Lam for his wisdom. He could tell that his friend was trying to protect him.
"Those Orange Team goons dare have you on their team without telling me? See how I would deal with them!" Ivor gritted his teeth and said. His reaction was very strong for such a trivial matter, and everyone here was taken aback by it.
"I think you are overreacting Ivor," Lily lightly pinched Ivor's arm and said.
"No I am not overreacting. I got paid a 100,000 gold coins for Mane's participation as a Predator. And Lam is also a Predator, yet they got to use him for free? That's another 100,000 gold coins. And it has been given away for free!" Ivor exclaimed miserably, and everyone here could feel their eyebrows twitching in annoyance. So that's what he was worried about? The money?
As for Mane, he was extremely vexed. Why?
"I can't believe he made so much money off you," Hildegarde almost choked when she heard how much Ivor earned from selling out Mane.
"I didn't even earn a single coin from that money!" Mane screamed internally as he felt out his empty pockets