Seeing this, Rizaneth laughed as she increased her speed. A large number of curses followed afterwards from the shop. Reeve was shocked, as he wondered what might've gone wrong. He was about to turn back, but Riza held him, and dragged him away forcibly.
A few minutes later, a dishevelled and flustered Jaen came out of the shop. His eyes were red, as he stared in the direction that Rizaneth and Reeve had escaped to. "Rizaneth Wolfe, I'm going to kill you for this!" he shouted into the dimly lit streets.
"Was that necessary?" asked Reeve when they were a safe distance away.
Riza responded with a chuckle. She just couldn't help herself. When an opportunity presented itself, she always did it.
"Well … it was fun for me…" she replied after a long time.
"Hmm. Is that right?"
They kept walking until they reached the Wolfe mansion. The mansion was illuminated by lamps which were being held in place by metallic lamp posts. When they arrived, the door was opened by Gaur, who looked like he had a sour expression on his face.
"Good evening, Lady Riza … eh … Master Reeve", he spoke.
"Evening Gaur. Are mother and father back yet?"
"Yes, Master Wolfe is in his study. Lady Wolfe is sitting with Lady Hesreth in the dining hall."
"Oh, okay. Let me go talk to them then. It'd be best you wait here with Gaur, until I call you", she said, turning to Reeve.
"If you say so."
She left for the dining hall, and it didn't take minutes for sounds of glass breaking to echo through the house's hallways. There was also lots of shouting, followed by what seemed like furniture breaking. Reeve couldn't believe his ears.
He couldn't help but ask, "Does this always happen when she comes home?"
"Well, this is her first time coming home after four years, so … lady Wolfe must be very angry", replied Gaur.
"Are you sure she'll be okay living in this house?"
"I cannot say anything about that. Anyway, the decision of whether she stays or not will depend on Master Wolfe. By the way, I managed to find the information you asked me about."
"That fast?" Reeve was shocked. Back then, Gaur had said if he needed anything, then he'd only have to ask. When he did, he didn't expect Gaur to have found the information already. "So, what did you find out?"
"Well, the Seven Cardinal sins are a band of criminals whose operations range from assassinations, abductions, slave trade and so on. They don't use their real names, and most people don't really know what they look like. Well, with the exception of Avarice. Their leader is called Pride, or so I've heard. People say he's so scary, that his influence is equivalent to that of the King", Gaur paused.
He continued, "As for how to find them, no one knows, and as for their slave market, no one knows where it is located either. No one has seen Pride, except for the other sins. I'm curious though, why were you looking for this information?"
"When we were captured by robbers, a friend of mine was taken by Avarice. I need to get her back!"
"Is that so? Finding someone who would've been taken by the sins, is not that easy. You also have to be careful who you talk to about this matter", advised the old butler.
Before Reeve could respond, Rizaneth came into the hallway. Her expression was gloomy.
"Come with me", she said.
Reeve thanked Gaur, before following Rizaneth. When they arrived in the dining hall, the place was a mess. There were pieces of broken plates everywhere. It seemed as if someone had been throwing things.
"Mother, this is Reeve. He's the one I just told you about", said Rizaneth, as she pointed at Reeve.
Rizaneth's mother was a middle-aged lady, with red hair. She looked exactly like Rizaneth, except the way she dressed. Unlike Rizaneth, she looked more elegant. And also, she looked older.
"Hello …" She didn't finish her sentence. Hearing things and seeing things, are totally different. She had heard that he was 'different'. However, when she saw him, that seemed like an understatement.
"Good evening Lady Wolfe", Reeve replied, with a slight bow.
Hesreth, who was standing opposite Riza snorted coldly, before leaving the room. It seemed like she was angry about something.
"Evening … eh … Reeve. Welcome to our home. Please sit down, and have something to eat", she said, with a smile.
"Oh, thank you."
As the two sat, a middle-aged man came into the room. He had brown hair, a nicely shaven brown stubble, and his face was expressionless. He was wearing a neat suit.
"Oh dear, welcome back", said Lady Wolfe.
The maids brought in more food, and they hurriedly tried to clean the mess that was the dining hall.
"What are you doing here?" asked the middle-aged man, looking at Rizaneth.
"Hello father. How have you been doing? Are you well?"
"You've forgotten the shame you brought us? Don't pretend to be worried about my health!"
"I���m still your daughter, at least don't forget that", replied Rizaneth, softly. "I'm supposed to be worried about you!"
"Dear, please stop shouting. You know it's not good for your health. At least she's here. Besides, weren't you the one worried about her when you heard she'd been expelled from the military academy?" Riza's mother intervened.
A cold snort was her reply. Reeve shook his head, as he thought that something was wrong with this family. Well, the atmosphere in the house grew tense, and he could only let out a sigh. He had been caught in this situation which he'd been trying to avoid all this time.
"We gave you everything! What did you find lacking? Even when we asked you to come back, you still refused. Now you come back all of a sudden and you expect us to welcome you with open arms?" Riza's father snorted coldly.
"Father, I'm simply passing by. I wanted to come and apologize, before continuing with my journey. If you don't want me in the house, I will leave first thing tomorrow morning", replied Rizaneth, as she stood up.