When the night fell, Libitina went for a walk. She wanted to find a remote place to let Tudor and Willow roam about. Tudor helped her mask her aura, while Willow softened the earth beneath her feet, so that she could move silently out of the Shantire mansion.
However, when she reached the garden leading to the gate of the mansion, someone moved out of the corner of her eyes. She immediately hid behind a pillar to observe.
In the garden, the tall and muscular silhouette of a man was holding his hand up to the sky, a faded blue sparrow in his hand that glowed slightly in the night.
Libitina's eyes narrowed. 'A spy!'
In an instant, she reached out her hand and clawed it towards the direction of the silhouette, and the Melody immediately retracted into the talisman.
'Father always said to act first.'
But the man had noticed her. He turned his head around in shock but the ground beneath him rumbled, a trick from a wombat spirit, and he fell halfway in confusion. With a flick of Libitina's finger, countless roots curled up from the ground and encircled the man's body.
The man sneered and whipped out a blade from his back, snapping the roots into half by the dozens as he regained his balance.
"Who are you?!"
Another barrage of roots striked at the man from the opposite direction but met his sword. Fear and confusion flooded his eyes as he tried to stay calm.
'Leap, Tudor!' the young girl thought. In a second, the air condensed beneath her feet and threw her forward. The man instinctively pulled up a sword and they clashed, his metal against her skin covered by air pressure. They stared at each other for half a second, before both leaped away from the other.
Once her feet touched the ground, Libitina swiftly moved her arms and countless roots rose from the ground around the masked man, launching themselves in a torrent.
'Again, Willow!'
The man managed to fend off a few waves of attack, but numbers speak. Soon the unending torrent of thorns and veins became too much, and the figure in the centre of the chaos quietened amidst clouds of soil and dust.
Libitina panted as she wiped the sweat off her jaws. However, her eyes glistened as she stared at the massive pile of roots in front of her. This was the first time she used Willow and Tudor concurrently, and she was pleased with the results.
Her senses heightened for potential dangers in the surroundings and entered the isolation sphere that Tudor had formed around the man. Who is it who cared to spy on the Shantires? Was it Jeremiah Houston?
She slowly walked forward to look at her prey.
His mouth opened and Libitina could see his vocal cords straining as he struggled against his wooden prison.
"Ah," Libitina simpered breathlessly. "No one will hear you. Don't worry, scream as loud as you can."
The man glared at her in fury and fear. But when the moonlight shone on the face of the bounded man, Libitina felt a flutter of shock across her heart, and she stopped walking.
Ah.
'Tudor, let him speak, but isolate the surrounding area so that no one can see or hear us.'
The area that Libitina and Brian were in slowly faded away as the little saw whet owl distorted the air. It gave the girl a worried glance before it flew away to keep a lookout.
Libitina squatted in front of Brian, her thumb to her lips. Brian knew that she was Libitina Merveille, even with her new mask on.
Silently, she reached for the Melody talisman on the ground and activated its contents. It was the everyday information on the movements of Samantha and the other three. However, the information was not focused on Christopher Shantire, which made Libitina raise her eyebrow.
"Speak, who are you working for?"
The man struggled fiercely against the vines but refused to answer.
"Brian Romanov."
Brian froze and stared at Libitina in horror, before adjusting his facial expression.
"Brian Romanov." Libitina looked down at him expressionlessly. "Do you not go by that name now?"
"…Who the heck are you talking about?"
"Wrong answer."
Libitina slapped him. It was not a hard slap, but it was humiliating, and Brian scoffed in anger.
"Can I guess, Brian, who you are working for? Perhaps…the Graysons?" she watched him carefully. "The Nathans? The Fiera House?"
"…"
"First Prince Sulian?"
Brian twitched his lips. Libitina raised her eyebrow. Definitely not the First Prince, then.
"Well, I guess I better return you to the Houstons."
"No! …It's not Houston."
"Who is it then?"
"I'll be the idiot to tell you!" he spat at her. "The one I am working for will never let you go!" Huh, obviously he wanted her to believe he came from the First Prince, but who was he kidding? The familiar voice warmed Libitina's heart despite its vehemence.
"Who are you," the boy asked, "and why do you know magic?!"