This chapter is brought to you by Trouble by The American Love Story.

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Part II

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Vesna was a city hidden in the mountains of the Tiber Empire.

The city lord was Lord Eartha, the younger brother of the Emperor, and the people he ruled over were mercenaries contracted to the Imperial Family.

House Calypto and House Monttevi were the two largest and most powerful families in Vesna.

But they hated each other with a burning passion.

Their rivalry had spanned several generations. It was the burden of the city lord to keep the families in check. If members weren't being sent out into the field, then they were brawling and killing each other in the streets of Vesna.

Eartha stood in front of the balcony overseeing the returning procession of Valerius, his wife, and his men.

It would seem the mission had gone successful.

"My lord," an attendant called out.

"What is it?"

"Lord Calypto seeks an audience."

"Tell him to debrief in the morning."

"It is urgent, my lord. He seeks an audience now."

Eartha turned to the attendant with a raised brow.

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"Have you heard?"

"Heard what?"

"Lord Calypto brought back a nephew."

"Really?"

"Truly."

"What will happen to the Lady Jovette?"

"Replaced, perhaps?"

"Perhaps."

"Now won't that be a disaster?"

Vesna's taverns were filled with gossip. The appearance of Lord Calypto's long-lost nephew has remained the topic of interest for a week now, but no one has seen this so-called nephew outside the Calypto headquarters.

Who was Tobus Arcadia?

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Twelve-year-old Belwyn Monttevi knew he was screwed the moment he lost Rowan in the crowd. His baby cousin was somewhere... he just didn't know where.

That tiny little fucker.

Vesna was safe, but not safe enough for a four-year-old to be running around. There was a reason most children remained within the safety of the Monttevi compound until they were ready to be out and about on their own.

Bel cried a river in his mind.

His uncle was going to have his head, especially after he swore he would look after Rowan.

The promise of sweets was not worth this venture.

Bel gave up on looking through the crowd. He entered an alley and climbed up onto the roof of a building. Searching from above might prove to be faster. A little boy in wandering about within the mass of adults and mercenaries should be easy to spot.

Only, it seemed there were somehow more children than usual in the streets today.

And was that a little girl wandering around with a fat cat? The cat was very fat, almost as large as her.

Bel spotted a group of boys ranging between what he assumed was around his age, perhaps a few years younger, and they acted like... children.

Not like the ones of Vesna-make. Not like Bel and his cousins, or all the other little heirs from different houses.

They were honest-to-god children, with childish sparks in their eyes and rambunctious laughter.

And in the very center of it all was an older boy with two cats lounging beside him. He was sitting on the edge of the fountain in the city square, watching with half-lidded eyes as the children around him ran around, shouting and giggling.

On his lap was a little boy with ash-blond hair, trying to pet the cats--

That tiny little fucker!

Bel was scrambling down the rooftop, his mind imagining all the violent things he would do to Rowan once he got his hands on him.

"Rowan!" Bel shouted, ready to put the fear of gods into his cousin.

His little cousin froze, and then slowly, ever so slowly, he turned his head to meet Bel's gaze.

"Um--"

"Where have you been?! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

There was silence.

Not a hush in the busy crowd, but the little children all stopped and stared at him, and the boy with his cousin on his lap stood up.

He carried Rowan with enviable grace as he approached Bel, the cats following him like loyal retainers.

At this distance, Bel noticed the boy was shorter than him, but the way he held himself was like a hardened mercenary. His limbs were loose and relaxed by his side, and his posture was rigid like steel. The boy looked like he was ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Then the boy blinked at him, and the sun hit him just right, and Bel really, really, took in his appearance for the first time.

He saw those deep green eyes and copper skin contrast with the red coat he wore. His brown hair was long, tied into a tail down his back, and Bel stared and stared and felt something flutter in his chest.

The boy was so pretty.

Then his brain rebooted and realization dawned upon him.

Red coat.

Calypto red coat.

Oh.

Oh.

"He's yours?" the boy asked, and Bel's brain stuttered once more.

Before he could answer, Rowan, that little fucker, screamed.

"No! I don't know him! Go away! Wahhhhh!"

Bel was going to murder him.

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Nine hadn't meant to bring the little boy with him, but what was he supposed to do when the child shouted "kitty" and lunged at Hungry like a puppy?

The child had no guardian, which wasn't great. Nine didn't mind caring for the boy for a few hours (or days).

His daily exploration of Vesna with the children took them to a fountain in the city square.

The children had never seen a fountain before.

The structure was extravagant and large and made with white stones, and the water spouted like miniature waterfalls.

Nine had never seen a fountain before, either.

He sat at the edge with the little boy curled up on his lap, Dog and Cow beside him, all the while the kids played in the city square.

Hungry looked after Duri as she walked around.

The girl had a penchant for trouble, and Hungry liked her enough to protect her.

It took a week for the children to settle in.

During that week, Lord Uncle submitted the necessary paperwork to get him formally adopted into House Calypto.

While Nine stubbornly refused to part with the Arcadia name, he knew it would take little time before the people of Vesna found out who he was.

There was also the matter of his and the children's wardrobes.

Houses in Vesna tended to wear their House colors to identify themselves. In the case of Calypto, it was a blood vermillion red.

In the Arena, Nine wore the executioner uniform, which was all-black. He only owned an all-black wardrobe.

It seemed his Lady Aunt didn't like that, because all the clothes they brought with them, as meager and ragged as they were, were thrown out post-haste and replaced with new ones.

All were red and embroidered with gold.

Nine thought his eyes would go blind at the sight of expensive silk and brocade. Didn't they know the children would grow out of them in a year's time?

And then he remembered the cloak made from a beast pelt...

Nine proceeded to request even more clothes for the children, with varying shades of red and other colors (accented with red).

Lord Uncle could afford it, after all.

Speaking of Lord Uncle, Nine touched the twin daggers at his hip, hidden under the coat.

Calypto mercenaries were skilled in assassinations and stealth. The Calypto Twin Daggers were their signature weapons, and mastering the skills meant rising in the ranks.

Nine had never used daggers before.

In the Special Forces, he used ray guns and sabers, and in the Arena, he had a knife.

Daggers, though...

Lord Uncle expected him to become "The Distinguished Protector of the House Heir."

"You want me to be a bodyguard," Nine stated.

"The Distinguished Protector of the House Heir," Lord Uncle corrected.

"That's a bodyguard."

"The Distinguished Protector of the House Heir."

"That's--"

"That's the actual job title. Stop arguing. I didn't choose it."

A hard-fought position that men older than his body couldn't even achieve.

Nine had only seen his younger cousin from a distance. She was tiny, like Ten, and attached at the hip to her nursemaid.

She wore red shoes decorated with ruby gemstones and golden beads.

His little cousin, Jovette, the female lead of Poison-Laced Dagger, was a baby.

And if the story remained the same, she would die in the future, just as the story intended.

Nine had only known her for a day and he was ready to kill every adult in the room if anything happened to her.

He spent what little free time he had during that week of integration in the dueling yard, and then spent yesterday being lectured by Lord Uncle for sending half of his men to the infirmary.

Excuse him, but how else was Nine supposed to become "The Distinguished Protector of the House Heir"?

"Rowan!" an angry shout came from a boy with ash-blond hair similar to the little boy on his lap.

The little boy, Rowan, jolted on his lap.

It seemed his guardian had found him.

"Where have you been?! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Nine saw the other boy marching over, relief and panic clear in his eyes.

He stood up with Rowan in his arms and made his over to meet the other.

"He's yours?" Nine asked.

Rowan's guardian stared at his face as if he hadn't heard the question.

Um...

But then, Rowan started screaming.

Loudly.

Into his ears.

"No! I don't know him! Go away, Bel! Wahhhhh!"

Nine exchanged looks with the other boy, Bel, and saw death in his eyes.

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"Wahhhhh!"

His baby cousin was throwing a full-on tantrum in the middle of the city square and everyone was watching.

The little fucker rolled around, threw his arms out, and wailed like he was dying.

Bel closed his eyes in frustration, and when he opened them, he was facing the pretty boy.

"Tobus Arcadia," the boy introduced himself without batting an eye.

The screaming suddenly stopped and Bel saw that a large cat somehow bigger than Rowan had sat down on him.

Rowan made a muffled noise and the cat mewled.

"Dog, get off."

The cat made another noise but refused.

The boy, Tobus, sighed.

"Toby! Toby!" the children Bel saw earlier surrounded them all of a sudden.

He noticed they all wore red.

Gods, his uncle was going to kill him.

"Belwyn Monttevi," he weakly introduced himself.

"Oh."

A strange expression crossed Tobus' delicate, doll-like features, and his green eyes shuddered into something morose and unsettling.

The fluttering in Bel's chest stopped. He felt himself growing cold as Tobus observed his sapphire blue shirt.

"You're an enemy of my house."

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[.................. Belwyn Monttevi : Rowan's cousin and supporting character of Poison-Laced Daggers. A man Toby Calypto tried and failed to seduce ..................]

[.................. Rowan Monttevi : Heir of House Monettevi and male lead of Poison-Laced Daggers. A man Toby Calypto hated and tried to kill ..................]

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The author has something to say:

Part II consists of introducing the characters of Poison-Lace Daggers. Can you guess who Belwyn and Rowan are in Rumeo and Joliet? Also, what the heck, Bel?! You were supposed to hate him! And Rowan, you weren't supposed to show up (╥﹏╥).