This chapter is brought to you by Pirate by Xdinary Heros.

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Her Lady had summoned Ophelia in the middle of the night to remove a trespasser from the Calypto Estate.

When she entered her bedroom, she saw the young man lying on the ground and was unimpressed by her lady.

"Is that the Monttevi Heir?"

Her Lady gave her a beatific smile. "Let's pretend it was a midnight tryst."

"Why is he on the floor?"

"I had mother's incense burning in the room."

"..."

Ophelia expressionlessly nudged the body.

At least he was breathing.

"Your father will not approve."

The answer she received was an unladylike snort.

"Oh please, father will have to if he doesn't want to get on Toby's bad side."

It... really should be the other way around, seeing as Lord Calypto was Toby's uncle and benefactor--if the stories were true--, but strength and skill were what the Calyptos valued.

Ophelia had a sneaking suspicion the reason why Toby became her Lady's Protector was to prevent a succession war.

Her Lady was a prodigy in her own right, but compared to Toby, she was not his competition.

"What if Toby says no?"

"..."

Her Lady went quiet for a moment.

Ophelia sighed.

"Listen, my Lady--"

"No way. He practically babysatted Rowan since Rowan was four! It's not like he'll kill him if I said I liked him. It'll be fine."

Um...

"If you say so, my Lady."

Ophelia lifted the Monttevi Heir up by his armpits and proceeded to drag him out the door.

Where in the world was she meant to leave him?

She supposed putting him in the alleyway near the estate would be alright--

"Ophelia."

When she heard her name being called, she turned and saw Robin appearing from behind a pillar.

He pointed at the Monttevi Heir.

"I can take that for you."

"Oh. Okay, thanks."

"You're very welcome."

Robin lifted the Monttevi Heir and carried him like a sack of potatoes toward an open window.

He climbed out and disappeared into the night.

---

"Why the fuck were you doing at the Clayptos Estate last night?!"

"That should be my question! What were you doing in their garden?!"

"I was meeting someone!"

"Well, I was trying to return Fish!"

The two cousins have been screaming at each other all morning.

Servants and mercenaries of House Monttevi dutifully avoided their wing of the compound as they went about their day.

It was difficult to tell if the Heir and his Protector loved or hated each other sometimes.

"Who the hell is Fish?!"

"The cat! And where did you find that one?!"

Rowan pointed at the ash-brown kitten with emerald green eyes snuggled up in Bel's arm.

Despite their screaming, it had managed to fall asleep.

"None of your business. I'm taking care of it for Tobus."

"Oh, so you were meeting Tobus."

Bel scowled. "That's none of your business, brat. You were lucky no one killed you. The fact that you even made it into the estate meant their patrol didn't think you were a big enough threat to detain."

"I'm telling Tobus you're being mean!"

"What are you? Six?"

"Tobyyyyy!!!"

Rowan jumped out of his window and raced across the courtyard.

Bel rolled his eyes and left through the door.

If only Rowan knew that Tobus had been there when his body had been unceremoniously dropped on him.

---

[Last Night]

Bel needed to leave, as reluctant as he was to do so.

Cuddling with Tobus beneath a tree was nice.

He almost thought Tobus had fallen asleep until he suddenly stood and looked up.

A second later, a body was tossed on top of Bel.

"Ugh!" he groaned.

What the hell--

The body on top of him made a sound.

"Hey, Cat!" Someone standing on the highest branch of the tree waved at them. "I hate to interrupt--real sweet, by the way--but he snuck into her ladyship's room."

"What."

Bel scrambled out from underneath the body and saw--

"Rowan?"

When he looked over and met Tobus' gaze, he paused.

"..."

Bel glowered down at his cousin's unconscious form.

And just when he was assuring Tobus of Rowan's incompetence in seduction...

"I think we're all tired for the night," Bel announced, standing up.

He hauled Rowan over his shoulder and smiled tightly.

Tobus stared at him.

"I'll... see you tomorrow?" Bel asked, unsure.

A second passed, and then another. Finally, Tobus nodded.

"... Good night."

"Night."

---

Did Rowan actually think crying to Tobus would work?

After pulling that stunt last night?

What a delusional brat. Bel was ashamed of being related to him.

Tobus was going to stab him on sight. He hadn't looked happy with Rowan last night, so if Rowan came barreling into his space after all that, expecting him to call him "puppy" and throw a cat at him to cuddle... oh, his cousin would be sorely disappointed.

What did he think was going to happen after climbing into Jovette's balcony?

Yeah, Bel had to hear about that from Robin while he was dragging Rowan's stupid unconscious ass out of the Calypto Estate.

Dumbass.

Bel quickly pulled on the blue coat that signified he was the Heir Protector of one Rowan Monttevi and trudged out of the room with a metaphorical depression cloud hanging over his head.

There was a murder he needed to stop, and it wasn't Tobus'.

Gods, the irony was not lost on him.

---

Puck hadn't been looking for trouble. He knew to stay out of trouble when wandering through Vesna's alleys. The shady dealings were numerous, and the black market was infested with illegal goods.

There were still laws in this supposedly lawless city. Human trafficking, beast trafficking, and slavery were not allowed.

Vesna had some standards, after all.

Puck wasn't meant for this life.

And by that, he didn't mean he despised this city or the role he played by being here in Vesna. Rather, if Toby had not saved him from the trafficking ring, his future would have been bleak.

He felt it, the string of fate rippling, the moment he saw Tobus.

The cogs of destiny were turning...

"Hey! Puck!" Finch, one of the new recruits, caught him to him while he was leaving the sparring ring.

Puck stopped.

"What?" he asked.

Finch looked at him starry-eyed and revealed a smile full of pearly-white teeth. "Is it true that Lord Arcadia has taken you on as his protege?"

The mention of Toby made Puck twitch. He warily observed Finch and his posture.

"I am."

"That's so amazing!" Finch gushed, getting right into his face as he flailed with clear hero worship for Toby. "Lord Arcadia is the strongest person in all of Vesna! Is it true he's killed a thousand people? It also says in the records that he has one of the longest-ever mission success streak in both the Calypto and Vesna ranks. I read about it in the library the other day. That mission to capture those terrorists near the Kyivan Empire had prevented war..."

Puck... didn't know what to do about Finch's enthusiasm.

He was a Toby fanatic, and by the looks they were getting, it seemed everyone in the training ground knew, judging by their exasperating expressions.

"You joined the Calypto Guild for... Lord Arcadia?" Puck cringed.

The formal address of his pseudo-brother's name always felt weird to say.

Finch's eyes turned wide with excitement. "Of course! He's a legend!"

Puck nodded.

He felt the same way about Toby.

The sound of running made everyone in the training ground pause.

Their instincts were honed to sense these things, and by the frantic footsteps, they all deduced that something interesting was about to occur.

Eagle burst into the training ground, clearly out of breath and struggling.

"Lord Arcadia..." he breathed.

Everyone's ears perked up with interest.

Puck felt a twang in his chest.

Another ripple.

"Lord Arcadia--he--he challenged Rowan Monttevi to a duel!"

Oh shit.

---

Let it be known that Rowan did not expect to be held at dagger-point the moment he approached Toby in the city square, but at the same time, considering that he did accidentally climb into Jovette's bedroom, he wasn't surprised by the fact that Toby was holding him at dagger-point.

"It was a misunderstanding!" he wailed.

To the onlookers, he must have looked weak, pathetic, and childish, but the killing intent Toby was directing at him with a single look had reduced him to a state of blubbering like he was four years old, again.

Listen, this was the man who had to deal with all his temper tantrums whenever he got frustrated with Bel.

He was about seventy-five percent sure Toby wouldn't kill him for sneaking into the Calypto Estate to return a cat he stole and then encountering Jovette while she was getting for bed.

Fainting like an idiot was just the icing on the cake.

Rowan powered up his puppy-dog eyes and met those intimidating green eyes with his own.

He even teared up a little.

Toby's expression remained unreadable.

Rowan swallowed nervously.

Those daggers look really sharp...

"Come on, Toby! You know how stupid I am! I just wanted to return Fish and then Lady Jovette tried to kill me, too, but then she pushed me against the wall and I got nervous and then I fainted and I'm sorry please don't be mad at me anymore!"

Rowan sniffled.

He'd been spoiled. A little conflict and misunderstanding drove him to tears in the middle of the city square.

But he might have been the first one in the whole of Vesna to make Toby so angry to the point where he would demand a duel.

The next second, Rowan's face was being patted down with a handkerchief that smelled really nice. The scent reminded him of the incense he noticed burning in Jovette's room.

"... Don't cry," Toby said.

Rowan saw that his features had softened, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Mercury was right. Toby was weak to tears.

He let Toby wipe his face clean.

"Thank the gods, you're not dead," Mercury breathed. He had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

He turned to Tobus. "What were you thinking attacking Rowan like that?"

"It was a duel."

"Rowan can't duel himself out of a paper bag--"

"Hey!"

"--and you expect to duel you?" Mercury raised an eyebrow.

Tobus cocked his head. "Would you have taken his place?"

Mercury gaped. "Huh?"

Tobus blinked, and then asked again, "Would you have taken his place instead? For a duel?"

Mercury stared at him for a long moment, and then he laughed like Tobus had told him the funniest joke in the world.

"I would duel you for him if he gave me the Monttevi Compound. What am I? Crazy? Hahahaha...!"

Rowan now knew where he stood in Mercury's cold black heart.

Tobus watched as Mercury laughed at his face for nearly three minutes, nearly falling into the fountain in the process.

"Wait! Tobus! Don't kill him!"

Bel crashed into Mercury like a meteorite and they both fell into the fountain.

Rowan crossed his arms and tried not to sulk as both men proceeded to strangle each other in the water.

He spotted the Heir Protector coat Bel wore, a stark contrast to the Heir Protector coat that Tobus was currently wearing, and wondered why Jovette had such a capable protector and Rowan had... that.

Not to mention, he was in love with Tobus...

(Rowan had no problem with that, actually. His cousin has, at the very least, excellent taste. The Calyptos were very attractive people. Look at Jovette, for example. Dreamy Jovette who could sweep him off his feet. Would he be a disappointment to his father by having these thoughts? Yes. But his opinions hadn't mattered in a long time.)

Eventually, Tobus had to break Mercury and Bel apart before either of the two could break each other's necks.

Vesna's finest, everyone.

Lord Eartha's pride and joy.

"I brought Luna, by the way," Mercury said after he finally got out of the water. "I left her with Cow."

"You brought the Chimera?!" Bel screeched.

Tobus ignored them, playing with an ash-brown kitten on his lap while he calmly sat by the fountain edge.

There were several Calypto mercenaries surrounding him, chatting amongst themselves and leaving him in peace.

If there was a constant in his life, then it was this.

No feuds, no violence, and no brawls.

Just... cats and Tobus.

Rowan felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned around to see a girl dressed in Calypto red staring him down with an unimpressed expression.

"Um..."

"Here." She shoved a folded piece of paper into his hand.

Before Rowan could ask her what it was for, she turned around and left, leaving him with more questions than answers.

When he looked down at the piece of paper, he noticed a name signed at the bottom.

Jovette.

Rowan paused.

Oh.

Oh.

---

The author has something to say:

You know that scene where Romeo and Juliet get married and then Romeo is high on life and walking through Verona all happy and stuff? Then he sees Tybalt and greets him like an in-law? Even though Tybalt has no idea Romeo married his cousin? And then challenges Romeo to a duel for sneaking into the Capulet banquet the night before? Yeah, that's what inspired this scene...