This chapter is brought to you by Muse by E'LAST.

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Part IV

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There was a sort of tension that rose between Belwyn Monttevi and Tobus Arcadia after the fateful mission-that-was-almost-a-failure-due-to-some-unforseen-circumstances.

No one knew what had caused the two boys to... well, not turn on each other, per se, but rather, they were not as amicable as they used to be.

Throughout the years, it became somewhat of a familiar sight to see Lord Arcadia and his gaggle of followers and cats turn away at the mere sight of Lord Belwyn and his own entourage.

Neither Heir Protectors explained their sudden distaste for one another, but the men and women of both their Houses figured it had to do with that terrible mission that got Uranus Stella kicked out of Vesna.

The feud between the Calyptos and Monttevis was once again ignited, brawls becoming more common in the streets and in the alleyways.

It was unacceptable.

Eartha griped with this fact and glared at his most promising heir, who had chosen to silently side with the Monttevis.

Mercury had been fond of Lord Belwyn, and while he didn't partake in any brawls, it was obvious he favored his friend's House.

And now, at the age of eighteen, he was to begin his first mission as an agent.

Eartha closed his eyes and willed himself not to throw a candleholder against the wall.

Lord Arcadia had proven his capabilities over the years and had become one of the best agents among the ranks. He would keep his nephew safe, regardless of the mission outcome.

The only issue with sending Mercury with Lord Arcadia was Lord Belwyn. For some gods-awful reason, the man had stubbornly remained under Lord Arcadia's leadership. Despite his qualification to lead his own unit, he clung to Lord Arcadia and fiercely fought against any agent looking to replace him.

And they were supposed to be rivals.

Eartha had to concede despite him being Cat and Peacemaker's superior.

At the very least, Cat's unit was efficient.

Poppy Field and Hydrangea had already left to lead their own unit, but their position was quickly filled by Otto, one of Cat's followers, and now Mercury, his most promising nephew-and-heir-who-sided-with-the-Monttevis-but-was-thankfully-neutral-in-his-actions-or-else-he-would-soon-end-up-like-Uranus.

Otto, codename Siamese, was one of the many "kittens" Cat had raised. The name really spoke for itself, now that Eartha thought about it. It was no wonder the Calyptos smirked and giggled in their sly little ways when asking Cat about the children under his care.

Well, Eartha thought, looking at the group before him.

They weren't quite children anymore.

"Lord Arcadia, what is the meaning of this?"

The young man in question had his daggers unsheathed and was staring at him with the familiar disinterest that Eartha had come to be familiar with.

A man dressed in Monttevi blue was lying on the ground. He groaned in pain.

To punctuate his ire, Lord Arcadia gave him a warning stomp square in the chest, cutting off whatever it was the man was trying to say.

Eartha pinched the bridge of his nose.

He had rushed to the site of a brawl once news traveled of another quarrel between House Monttevi and House Calypto. It wasn't that he feared the buildings would collapse like the time Lord Calypto and Lord Monttevi met for the first time, but rather, to stop this scene of carnage in front of him.

He believed Lord Arcadia was someone who didn't bother with the rivalry between his house and that of the Monttevis, and while that seemed somewhat true, it has become common for any brawls to be put down with vindictive violence by the hands of Lord Arcadia, himself.

Any brawling man or woman dressed in red and blue was knocked out and beaten black and blue without prejudice, and Eartha, while grateful for the end of the skirmish, still would have preferred if his soldiers did not have to visit the healers right after.

"Tobus!"

Eartha's eyes turned to the sky.

Gods be willing.

Another troublesome figure in all of this was Lord Belwyn, who was truly living up to his codename.

"You could have settled this peacefully!"

Lord Arcadia didn't bother to answer him.

He started to collect the bodies of the Calyptos off the ground like dropped groceries, hauling them by the back of their shirts one by one.

It was a comical sight.

The picture of a lithe young man dragging the weight of eight others, tugging them by the metaphorical scruff, could not be unseen.

"Wait, Cat," Eartha called out.

The young man stopped and turned back. His head cocked to the side.

Eartha threw him a scroll, which he caught with ease.

"Report to the Tower in two hours."

Lord Arcadia bowed his head and continued walking whilst dragging his followers back to the Calypto Estate.

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"He's impossible to reason with!" Bel complained.

His cousin often did that. Complain about Tobus.

Rowan toyed with the golden trinket in his hand as he half-heartedly listened to Bel once again bemoan how terrible his coworker was.

Listen, Rowan had nothing against the whole house rivalry thing, but he really only cared about the cats. Tobus had an army of them, and he wasn't about to let petty brawls take away his access.

"I don't see the problem. Tobus is... keeping the peace."

Bel shot him a glare. "By beating our men?"

"Well, he's also beating his own--"

"The more violence he uses to diffuse these brawls, the more he turns into nothing but a mindless weapon!"

Rowan rolled his eyes because, of course, it was always about Tobus being a mindless weapon.

He didn't know why Bel was so hung up about Tobus being a tool for the Calyptos.

There was this one time he forced himself to listen to his cousin's conspiracy theory about Tobus' collar and how the Calyptos were controlling him.

"..."

Listen, Rowan was only twelve, but he wasn't stupid.

He had been to way too many Calypto birthday balls in his life, and for a random long-lost nephew, Lord Calypto spent a lot on making Tobus' birthday as extravagant as Lady Jovette's.

Not to mention the fact that Tobus' coats cost enough to feed a starving village--Rowan had stolen one of Tobus' buttons during a game near the fountains and was told to keep it, only to later find out the button could buy him a large storefront at the market.

So mindless weapon?

It looked as if Lord Calypto would have preferred if his nephew stayed in the city more often.

Eventually, Bel worked himself into a fit of worry, and then a fit of depression when he realized there was nothing to be done, and then promptly collapsed onto Rowan's bed.

His eyes darted to the trinket in his hand.

"Who gave you that?"

Rowan answered without shame, "Tobus."

"..."

"..."

"You're disowned."

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Otto wasn't sure what to make of the fact that Toby had beaten up Sept, Juno, and Quinn during the brawl. Admittedly, they shouldn't have participated, but according to Quinn, one of the Monttevis had called Toby a "son of a whore with a face like one, too," so perhaps their actions were somewhat justified.

He made sure to help Toby in icing their bruises.

Toby was less than happy to see that they involved themselves in the Calypto's dispute, but they weren't children anymore.

"Kittens," Toby said, his tone veering toward disappointment.

The other five Calypto men involved in the brawl were promptly dismissed and their punishment was doled out by Raven and Robin, but Sept, Juno, and Quinn remained Toby's responsibility.

None of the boys could look at Toby.

He was, after all, the one person they all looked up to.

They wanted to defend his honor, but Otto knew they went about it the wrong way.

There was silence. No one answered Toby. He continued to look at the three of them with his piercing gaze.

Otto wanted to melt into the walls because he knew his brothers in all but blood had fucked up.

"We get it," Juno said, his voice small with hurt. "You don't want us to get involved."

Quinn and Sept stared at the floor.

Toby looked at them, his lips thinned with something unspeakable.

Otto wondered what he was thinking.

As they had gotten older, it seemed the age gap between them wasn't as large as they once assumed it to be.

Toby was always the one taking care of them. He was practically their parent, their own memories of their mamas and papas long faded with time. There was ever only Toby the one they went to, the one who cared the most and made sure they were fed and cleaned.

He had sacrificed everything so that they could have anything.

What was so wrong in repaying him? This one insult was worth every injury, even the ones Toby had given them.

Otto could see the three of them making up such reasons.

And he felt for them. He, too, would have done the same if he had been there.

"Your first mistake was getting caught."

The unexpected words rang in their ears, and they all turned to Toby with wide eyes.

A small smirk formed on his lips and he crossed his arms.

"Be careful next time. If you want to prove your strength, you do it on the dueling field. If you want to cause mischief, you do it in secret."

Toby leaned down and checked their wounds, clicking his tongue in disapproval, as if he wasn't the one who gave them some of those bruises.

He made a gesture toward Otto for more ice.

Otto wrapped ice into cotton cloths and brought them over.

Sept, Quinn, and Juno hissed when their injuries were touched, but Toby didn't let up on putting pressure.

If they could take a beating, they could take being iced.

"Don't be foolish next time. Kittens are still kittens."

Otto met green eyes, and he realized Toby was now talking to all four of them.

They all instinctively whined in embarrassment, but Toby merely smiled with that soft look in his eyes.

The door of The Sun Room slammed open and the rest of their siblings entered, led by Toby's cousin.

"What is this about a brawl?" Vetty demanded.

Otto watched as Toby and the others looked away.

"Toby, you can't just go around beating everyone. By the gods, is that a black eye?! Why does Sept have a black eye?! Did you give him a black eye?!"

"N-no! Vetty, that was a Monttevi! A Monttevi!" Sept quickly cleared the misunderstanding faster than anything Otto had ever seen him do.

"You're all lucky Rasa isn't here! She would skin all of you alive!"

Oh Vetty, where did the sweet little girl who called out "kitty" all the time, go? She probably died when she realized her cousin went around breaking up brawls by beating up all the perpetrators.

It was only last year when she realized what exactly Toby did when he wasn't off on a mission or playing with them.

Otto picked up Hungry and nuzzled against the long soft fur. He relaxed against one of the thick plush beast pelts as he watched Toby get chewed out by Vetty.

---

[Six Years Ago]

The body was now fifteen years old.

He had grown significantly taller in the last two years, though he noticed he wasn't as robust as all the other men. His Lady Aunt claimed the father of his body was about the same, his figure slight and agile, rather than broad-shouldered and heavily muscled.

Nine's old body was a soldier's one, designed to be used for war.

Back then, he was less fragile, even when he was of a similar age. The bones were lighter, and that may also be due to the fact that there were no alloys mixed into his bones--another genetic modification of the Interstellar Era--but the weight adjustment and natural development of his body hindered his ability to take on certain missions.

And with his selection of missions restricted until he was properly grown, it meant more time in Vesna.

While he did love spending time with the children, he did not like the constant staring. Eyes were always on him no matter where he went, and it made him deeply uncomfortable.

Also, the Monttevi puppies were a headache to deal with. Not Rowan and Bel, but those other boys and girls who had joined the Monttevi mercenaries were constantly challenging him to duels for some reason.

Then there was Mercury Stella, who thankfully stopped crying, but still tried to get him to solve some kind of riddle? Nine could barely understand him half the time, but he knew there was something about cats and battle of wit in those nonsensical sentences Mercury spouted.

Sigh.

How was it that taking a break was more tiring than taking a mission?

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The author has something to say:

Part IV will have several major time skips. By the time we get to the main storyline of Poison Laced Dagger, which is the next part, Nine will be 26. Yayy.