This was the second time he was in front of Ariel's gate which still managed to amaze him every time he saw this mansion, considering that this kind of setting can only be found in TV dramas. As soon as he got off his motorbike and helped Ariel take off his helmet, a man with a cut scar extending from near his left eye to his left cheek walked over to greet Ariel while throwing a sharp glare at him which he ignored for the reason that he was busy looking around.
"Let me carry your bag, Young Lady," said the man.
"No need. You just bring my boyfriend's sports motorcycle inside our garage," Ariel turned to face him, giving off a different aura from the one he saw this morning. "Indra, give Darius the keys to your sports motorcycle. Let him take care of it."
"Oh okay."
Indra gave the keys to his sports motorcycle to a man named Darius who still did not seem to like him, then followed Ariel who had already walked into the house.
"Ariel?"
Ariel did not look at him.
"I want to ask you something. Could I take everything you said to him as real?"
"What ... what are you ..."
"Can I assume that now we are dating?"
"D-don't misunderstand! W-who would want to date someone like you?" Ariel half whispered as she said so that the men who had greeted her and Ariel at the door did not hear his words. "I am only doing this for making things easier."
"Yes, yes. I understand, Princess," Indra, who was now walking beside Ariel, took the time to fix Ariel's hair which was messy as a result of wearing a helmet. "Well, as you just said, it is much more convenient. Your father is at home, right?"
"Darius said earlier, that my dad is at home."
"Good, then."
They walked down the corridor of the mansion, which led to a living room that was much grander than the outside. His eyes were dazzling on the grounds of a large number of pieces of furniture that, from his appearance alone, he was sure that the price per item was over six digits. He walked rather carefully, so as not to bump into the furniture, following Ariel, who now seemed to be talking to a middle-aged man who still looked fit at the age of around sixty. The structure of the old man's face reminded him of Fernando and Ariel, so he was absolutely sure that this old man was the one he was looking for.
Roberto Valentine.
He quickly followed, standing next to Ariel.
"Good evening, Uncle," he said, extending his hand for a handshake, which the old man, unfortunately, ignored his warm intention. He smiled, responding to the man's unfriendly attitude, as he was trying not to be offended by the old man's attitude. "I am Indra Soedirjo. Nice to meet you, Sir."
The old man snorted, looking back at Ariel sharply. It was obvious that he did not like his presence.
"So this man is the reason you refuse to be escorted by my man to the car?"
Ariel pursed her lips as she folded her arms in front of her chest. "What?! I could not help it, Papa! Taking a limousine to go to school makes me stand out! Because of that, I was shunned by my friends."
"But I am doing this for your own safety! What if my precious baby daughter is kidnapped by someone with my knowledge?"
"I can take care of myself, Pa!"
"Yet, I could not help myself but feel worried over you, Ariel! Don't you know, it been really dangerous outside recently?"
"What danger are you talking about, Papa? Did you forget, I am a Taekwondo black belt holder?"
"How long has it been, Ariel? Now the situation is different."
Indra cleared his throat, stopping the father-daughter's quarrel before his existence began to vanish like an air completely because of their actions. "Excuse me. I am here because Fernando asked me to pay a visit to you."
The old man stopped nagging all of a sudden, turning his attention towards Indra, who immediately frightened him a little for the reason of the man's sinister aura. "Fernando? You see, so you are not my daughter's boyfriend?"
"To be precise, not yet," he replied, which was immediately greeted by the old man's sharp gaze.
"Not yet? If so, don't expect to be dating Ariel. Step over my corpse before going out with my daughter, Young Man!"
Even the answer is exactly the same as Fernando's, he mumbled to himself. "If you do not mind, I will do it gladly right here, right now."
"You!" The old man glared at him, then calmed himself so he would not explode in anger in front of his daughter. "Where is Fernando? Is he coming with you?"
"He is not coming. There are other businesses he needs to take care of."
"As per usual, that little jerk ... Well, let's just forget about that son of mine, then. Come with me to my room. Ariel, go to your room."
"Yes, Papa."
Ariel looked sluggish, walked up the stairs, and then her figure disappeared from his sight. Indra followed the old man who led him down the corridor, leading them to the old man's study. Then, after they entered the room, which successfully made him feel depressed as a result of the large collection of rare objects in the office space. He followed him to the desk where the old man was standing with his back to him, before returning to face him and sitting down in his black chair. "Any news about the organisation that is targeting Ariel?"
He sat on the chair in front of him after the old man allowed him to sit. "Fernando said Ariel is no longer safe here."
The old man hit the table, and the things that were on it jumped because of it. Some have even fallen to the floor. He jumped out of his chair in shock.
"So, anything else?"
"Two high school students have been found dead this week. Their bodies were floating on the river. From the estimated death, they died two days before. According to the source of information obtained by Fernando, it is highly likely that the two female disciples possess the same power as Ariel."
The man growled again. "Then? Does Fernando have a specific plan to deal with this problem?"
"Not yet. Still not yet. But he asked you to be careful, since he noticed there are some intruders who have infiltrated your place," Indra leaned closer to the man, whispering. "In this place,"
"Are you serious?" The man whispered in response to his words. "Can you tell me who?"
Indra closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember all the people he had met when he came to this house for the second time, looking for some people whose behaviour was a little suspicious. "Sorry if I was presumptuous. Judging from their patterns and body language, everything is still my deduction.
"Speak directly. Don't beat around the buss, Young Man."
The side that prefers to go straight to the point is also similar to Fernando, Indra muttered to himself before continuing his words. "There is an intruder that I feel suspicious of. A bald-headed man, but I do not know his name. His fear when he heard Ariel's threat was strange to me."
"What did my daughter say to him?"
"She said she will cut his head off if anyone tried to stop her from walking on feet instead of going to school with the limousine," Indra moved his body slightly away from the old man for dramatic effect, as Hercule Poirot did every time he delivered his analysis. "His fear was so unnatural, from what I saw at the moment. Supposedly, if he had known Ariel directly, he would have known that it was just a threat, not something that Ariel was going to do. As he was thinking of another threat he got from other parties."
"My daughter is the best," muttered the old man, who was busy praising his favourite daughter instead of being worried. He doubted whether the old man really paying attention to what he said earlier or not.
"So, because of that—"
His words stopped when the door to the room they were currently in was forced open by Darius. He turned his body slightly to look at the man. The man's breath hitched, and it took him a few seconds to catch his breath.
"What's with this fuss, Darius? I am in the middle of talking about a serious matter," Roberto looked impatiently waiting for Darius. "I will give you three seconds. Three-"
"Young Lady is attacked by someone in her room!"
"What!?" said Roberto and Indra, at the same time. Then the old man looked away when he saw him and was equally shocked, ran over to Darius and grabbed Darius' neck, who was shaking with fear. "What are you doing here!? Why don't you help my daughter!?"
"Yes, but Young Lady asked me to call you, Boss."
Roberto chuckled harshly at Darius' answer. "That child! Why does she always act recklessly!? She is much like his mother when she was alive. We are going there now!"
"I will come with you," Indra walked in, trying to appear calm even though he was as worried as Roberto.
"Suit yourself," Roberto rolled his eyes, and ran from the room to his daughter's room, followed by him and Darius who was still the same as before, throwing sharp glares at him.
***