The dinner was delicious. We had fried lobsters with boiled corn on the side. Mom had deshelled the lobster after seeing I was struggling in deshelling it myself. I don't know why, but mom's way of deshelling a lobster was so perfect and smooth. The lobster was so crunchy on the outside and soft on the outside. I'm not going to lie. I didn't really like the corn, but I shoved it down my throat, ignoring the taste. I even gave some to Ari, but after tasting it, she spat it out. I had to share some of my lobster to her, so she doesn't get hungry. I don't know how tiring it is to break an egg to get out finely, but I would be hungry. I finished my dinner pretty quickly.
"Alex, I was pretty surprised when you used fire magic. Why didn't you tell us about it?" Dad was staring at me for an answer.
"I wanted to surprise you. I knew we might spar one day. I thought it would be better to show you than tell you." Dad let out a small laugh.
"You are definitely my son." He shook his head at his own outburst while smiling. I got up and picked up Ari. "The food was delicious. I loved it a lot. Today was a tiring day, so I am going to sleep a bit early."
"I didn't know what you would like, so I told the main chef to make his best dish. I'm glad you enjoyed it." Mom gave me a small good-bye smile. Ari let out a small yawn and climbed all the way to the top of my head. "Make sure to walk around for fifteen minutes before you sleep. It will help you digest faster."
I did not even know that. Well, you learn something new every day. I took mom's advice and started my fifteen-minute walk. I went outside where Arthur and I fought. I was so tired since I went through a lot. I left my four-year friendship and my seven-year relationships to finally come back. I let out a sigh as I wonder how they were doing. Ari's growl disrupted my thoughts.
'What is it, Ari?'
'Baba, I smell an intruder coming this way through the back, but it's not a person.' Not a person? Could it be a mana beast?
'Take me to it.' Ari jumped off and started to run off to the right towards a house entrance. Ari kept a pace, so I could effortlessly follow her. We went inside and past the dining room. I think we were going towards the garden. 'Ari, do not let it notice us, okay?'
'Okay.' Ari slowed down a bit when we approached the door to the garden. The door was wide open. 'Baba, I smell a human.'
I think I know who it is. I went inside. Ari followed close behind. Whenever I stopped, she stopped. I peeked out to see a silhouette of a person and a bird—a messenger.
So there was a spy in the house. I kneeled on one leg and put a palm on the floor. I sent a lightning spell through the floor all the way to the intruder. I saw the person freezing up then collapsed onto the floor. Lightning spells is very hard to control, so I was surprised when I hit him on my first try. I misjudged one thing. The bird was not on the man, but as the man collapsed, the bird flew away. I ran to the direction the bird flew and took aim with my finger. I formed multiple ice crystal and shot it at the bird. Two of them actually hit the target. I shaped the two ice crystals so that it would trap its wings.
'Ari, go get dad.' I looked back to see Ari running back through the door. I hurried up and caught the bird before it hit the ground. I took a closer look at the bird, a falcon. It was a type of messenger bird, and they were usually loyal, so they cost a lot. I wonder who sent him. I melted the ice and turned it into water. I used water to bind its wings, feet, and beak. I took the piece of paper from its claws and unraveled it.
(Ready for Assassination of CPH)
I guess the assassination attempts haven't stopped. I wonder who CPH was. It must be someone from my family, but no one had those initials. Was it a code?
'Baba, I brought papa.'
"What is going on?" That was definitely dad's voice. He came quicker than I thought he would. While I ran up to him, I took a quick peek at the man. It was the same man that irritated me the moment I came in, the captain. Did that CPH mean me? The captain was pretty rude to me.
"The man on the ground was sending out a messenger bird when I got here. Ari started growling to warn me about him. I think he was a spy." I handed him the little piece of paper. "I found this on the bird when I captured him." He looked worried.
"Let me see the bird." I walked him to the bird and undid the water spell before we got there. Dad order someone to bind the bird before it flew away. One of the soldiers dad brought did a binding water spell like I did. "This is a falcon! Someone who bought this must be very powerful." Dad turned to me and smiled. "You can go to sleep now and thank you."
I did want to find out more about what was happening, but dad said it pretty sternly, even though he was smiling. I decided that should be it for today. I let out a yawn and went inside the mansion. Well, I did say I was going to get rid of him, but not like this. I needed to ask questions tomorrow.