"Who sent you to my family, Mr. Spy?"
This sentence would have caught any other person off guard, which, along with the pressure being emitted by the old man, was enough to make one panic.
But Anom just stared at the old man for a few seconds before he started chuckling. "And here I thought this family didn't have someone with some brains. This should have been the first thing they should have asked, but seriously, this just makes them look like a bunch of adorable fools." He gave the old man a look as he took a sip of the delicious drink. "But this trait of theirs could also become the cause of their doom."
Loreana would have frozen stiff in fear if she heard what Anom was saying and the way he was speaking with the most respected person in her family.
But the old man didn't show any anger and just contemplated what Anom had said. He sighed and shook his head. "Yeah. They are good kids, but they are sometimes too naïve… Maybe I should have used some methods similar to the Handlers. Then they could have been managing everything better and this situation wouldn't have occurred… *sigh* only if Bolance…" His voice trailed off as he didn't continue.
Anom realized from the way the old man spoke that he already knew something about the Second Head betraying the family.
The old man saw Anom's look and guessed what he was thinking.
"Rudard always acted outside of everyone's predictions… It has been his dream since his childhood to become someone powerful, someone who stood at the top of this city… And we never forced him to participate in any of the family matters, just letting him train and providing him with all the necessary resources." The old man spoke as his eyes looked cloudy as if he was reliving the past. He continued, "I couldn't have thought that he would resort to such methods against his own family. I know for a fact that Bolance would never have refused if Rudard had asked him directly, even though he was the one with the least interest in such things."
The old man's expressions went through many changes as he reminisced about the childhood of Rudard and the current head of the Safaira family, Bolance.
Anom remained silent and only spoke when he saw the old man's eyes regaining focus.
"You still haven't told me why you trust me… that I'm not a spy sent by the Handler family or any other force." He was curious as the only thing he could think of was that they still have some kind of backup trump card that might help them deal with any unexpected development.
The wrinkles on his face stretched as the old man smiled. It wasn't very pretty to look at, but his smile gave a feeling of familial warmth.
"Luna." The old man spoke one word as he looked towards the door, as if he could sense her standing outside.
At first he thought that the old man wanted to meet Luna. But Anom soon realised that it was the answer to his question.
He rubbed his forehead while muttering inwardly, "So that was the special energy Della felt before."
"How?" Anom knew about Luna being special in some way and he was even more sure of it now.
"I was the one who found her during one of my travels and brought her here. She was around three years old when I found her but didn't have any memory of who her parents were or where she used to live. The only thing she remembered was her name – Luna." The old man's expression softened as he still remembered the time when he brought back the cute little doll.
"I decided to take her with me as I was about to return from my journey. But soon I found something special about her, more precisely, about her aura. Her aura is like a defence mechanism which allows her to judge someone's intentions towards her. It must have been my desire to protect an abandoned child that made her feel comfortable around me."
He paused and his expression turned serious and regretful.
"It was quite a coincidence actually. I had just returned from my trip when all the kids in the family came to greet me at the gate. Even Bolance had come but Rudard wasn't there… I just assumed he must be practising or something. So I decided to visit him as I wanted to give him some nourishing herbs I had found on my journey.
I went to his place and found him training just like I had thought. We sat down for some idle talk… At that time, Little Luna was used to being around me, so I had to take her with me everywhere. I didn't notice it at first, but whenever I talked about Bolance and things related to the management of the family, Luna's aura fluctuated in a similar manner when she detected any hostile intentions.
I had to leave as soon as she started crying, but she stopped just when I left Rudard's place… This matter has always bothered me as I have already checked Luna's ability many times after that. And even though Rudard's hatred wasn't aimed at her, the hostility he emitted, which even I couldn't detect, made her uneasy. She always became timid whenever Rudard was around, even though he treated her kindly. Maybe she herself didn't understand the reason… Only if I had realized it sooner." The old man sighed.
"Maybe you already had but just didn't want to accept it… Just like them." Anom said with a smile.
The old man also chuckled, "Maybe you're right, kid. It seems like this unconditional trust is hereditary. Looks like I am indeed the reason for the situation we are stuck in at present."
"…Or maybe it could be the thing that might help your family pass through these troubling tests and would make them even more united." Anom proposed a different perspective.
"Hmm… Yeah… Hah! You're good, kid." He paused as his eyes turned fierce. "…And you'll make a perfect husband for my little Crystal if you also have the power to match this confident bearing of yours."
As soon the old man finished speaking, he vanished from where he was sitting.
Anom felt his senses over-loading as he detected a powerful force approaching him. And although the aura was powerful, it was being controlled skilfully, making it even more dangerous.
But Anom wouldn't get intimidated by something like that. Acting quickly, he dodged at a speed similar to his assailant.
Anom turned around and found the old man back in his place, sipping his tea leisurely, looking as if he hadn't moved at all.
Anom walked towards the chair he was sitting on and found a cut on the back pillows. He just saw the old man just passing by and he didn't even raise his hand. But his body emitted a slight energy which turned into a solid blade, existing only for a moment and vanishing after making this cut.
Although he had seen Loreana use the energy outside her body, what the old man did was something else entirely. The main reason being…
'The energy flowed from the outside, instead of flowing out from within him.' This display by the old man made him realize his lack of strength.
But Anom wasn't someone to get discouraged as he was already anticipating for the moment when he could utilize external energies in the same manner.
The old man saw Anom's eyes blazing with excitement as he couldn't help but chuckle, "You're quite the curious one, aren't you? Little Loreana has already told me everything about you and I appreciate that you want to help our family… Well, I wouldn't have agreed if it was any other time, but I think we could really use your help right now. Though I won't let you suffer a loss. You can state your demands and let me know if you want anything."
'Little Loreana?' Anom chuckled as he spoke, "I wanted access to your library, which I have already acquired." He paused before finally saying what he wanted "…If you really want to reward me, then allow Loreana to come with me and Crystal."
He wasn't sure if it was the right thing to ask, but he had to fulfil his bet with Loreana as it was hard to find such amusing situations. But little did he know about the unpredictable results of this mischievous bet.
The surprising thing was, Crystal's Second Grandfather didn't get angry. He thought for a while before nodding. "Maybe it's time to free her of her responsibilities towards my family."
His expression was complicated as he sighed while patting Anom's shoulder.
"Take good care of them." His voice was serious as he seemed to be passing a heavy responsibility to Anom.
This made Anom confused, as it was only natural for him to take care of Crystal and her mother if they stayed with him.
Anom felt the mood turning low-spirited while he was getting more confused by the second. So he decided to move on with their conversation.
"Shall we discuss what we should do now?" he asked.
"What's there to discuss? I just have to smack that brat's ass and make him realize about the place where he belongs." The old head spoke angrily while emitting a fierce aura.
But Anom rejected the idea as he thought that they should analyse the situation first. Doing anything hastily might result in them alerting their main enemy, the Handler family.
Another thing was…
"So you aren't going to punish him severely?"
"…I know what you mean and a strict punishment is necessary to make an example out of him. But I can't afford to do that right now…"
'Can't afford it?' Anom wanted to ask why but he decided not to interfere any more than he had already done. But he still had to suggest…
"It would be better if you could make him realize his mistakes and erase any hostility he has against his own family… Otherwise it will just prove to be a slumbering danger that might engulf your family in the future."
Anom's words seemed to make sense. "Do you… perhaps have an idea about what we could do?" asked the Old Head, as he decided that it was better to know the point of view of an outsider than allowing his personal feelings to hinder his rational decisions.
"No idea…" Anom rejected flatly and was about to brush it off by declaring himself as an outsider, but he paused as he thought of something.
The old man heard his reply and already knew what he was going to say. He even prepared the perfect reply by proclaiming Anom as his Grandson-in-law. But then he saw him stop…
The Old Head turned silent as they both tried to think of a better solution.
Suddenly, Anom raised his head as his eyes glinted and his thieving instincts kicked in.
The old man felt a slight jolt. It seemed to come from his very soul itself as Anom emitted a mysterious aura.
This unconscious emission only lasted for a short moment before Anom started speaking.
"What do you think could have made him resent his loving and supporting family?" this was an important question as it could decide the way they should proceed.
"…Is it not him wanting to gain the position of the head?" Old Head replied, but he himself was not sure, as it seemed confusing because Rudard had never shown any interest in managing family matters before.
"It's only a guess but… maybe he doesn't want to gain control just for his selfish aims… Maybe he knows some things which made him decide to take the matters into his own hands." This was the most likely reason he could think of, considering the fact how Rudard grew a sudden interest in taking over as the family head.
"Then why didn't he tell us before?" Rudard should have told them if there was anything bothering him. Anything significant enough to worry him, should be something that the whole family must face together.
Anom didn't answer right away as he pondered about the issue.
"Maybe he really has some resentment towards all of you… or maybe some of you."
"That's not possible." Old Head refused any such possibilities as no in the family had ever mistreated Rudard. Even his elder brother, Bolance, always respected his choices.
"It doesn't have to be something you did intentionally… Maybe there was no reason for Rudard to resent any of you, but it might be different from his point of view… it might be something that someone else made him believe…"
Before the Old Head could pose another question, Anom asked first, "When did the Handler family begin showing signs of hostility?" It was another crucial question, as he still didn't know about the cause of the conflict between the two merchant families.
The Old Head sighed and began narrating the reason for the feud.