Graven arrived at one of his headquarters in South Pond Town.
Horace was sitting on the chair, looking at the papers at some documents, when Graven arrived at the two-story brick house structure designed as their headquarter in the city, he looked at his master. "Good afternoon, my lord! It's nice to see you again!" he said.
"How's South Pond Town nowadays?" Graven asked.
"Quiet and peaceful, my lord," Horace replied.
"And our men?"
"They're in their designated post, performing their job well..."
"Everything is good in the coal sites?" Graven inquired.
"Yes, my lord! All your businesses and that of your family is running well," Horace responded.
"Good job, Horace. Keep it up. You know the drill already, we talk about it in the past..." Graven said.
Horace looked at his master in the eyes. "You will still go ahead with your plan in rescuing our men from the King's clutches?" he asked.
"Yes... I already made up my mind!" Graven spoke in a determined voice.
"You don't have to! Calder and I are willing to rescue our men, my lord! Please allow us!" Horace insisted.
Graven sighed heavily and shook his head. "No. No one can do it, only me. You have to understand that once you and Calder are taken underneath the castle, your powers are nonexistent. The King can easily squeeze the life out of you. Such a waste of life. You will only add up to the number of casualties. Let me do it... 'coz this time I have a better chance of surviving with the help of the Goddess Elva," he replied.
"B-but...my lord, please reconsider your decision!" Horace begged again.
Graven sighed. "Horace, my decision is final! Just in case I can't get out of the castle alive, you have to provide financial assistance to Grandpa Terros, and remit all my income of my businesses to my wife and provide them assistance anytime. Take care of South Pond Town for me and continue helping my brother Cooper when it comes to managing the family businesses so that he can learn to stand on his own when I'm no longer there to manage everything. And lastly, find yourself a wife so that there's someone who can take care of you. We already discussed these things a few days ago. I hope you remember and abide by everything that I instructed you with. That's all. If nothing else... I'll go now and visit Grandpa in the forest," he said.
Horace released a deep sigh. "Rest assured that I'll take care of everything, my lord!" he replied.
"Good! I'm counting on you, don't let me down. I don't want you, Calder, and our men to go to the castle. It's between me and Grandpa Terros alone, no one must come to the castle on the day we will bring an end to it. Did you understand, Horace?" Graven said.
"Loud and clear, my lord!" Horace said.
Graven looked at Horace and smiled before leaving the headquarter. He knows he can trust Horace with everything.
A minute later.
He appeared in the forest, at Terros's place.
Good timing because Grandpa was relaxing on the balcony, sipping his coffee.
Graven smiled and climbed the wooden stairs, he joined the old man on the balcony.
"Do you want coffee, son? I will make you one in the kitchen," Terros offered.
Graven shook his head. "Not today, Grandpa. So, how are you?"
Terros smiled. "I'm fine. I'm currently on my coffee break. My formation is about to be completed tonight. One more spell needed and I'm done," he replied.
"Fantastic!" Graven roared. "I can't wait to go back to the castle and rescue my men and my brother's spirit!" Graven said excitedly.
Terros took a sip of his coffee and looked at Graven. "Son, I have something to ask you. It's rather personal. May I?" he asked permission first.
"Sure, bring it on! What is it?" Graven said.
Terros put the mug down then scratches his head. "Um... did the deity asked you something? You know, like a payment for her services or some kind of favor before she decided to help you? If yes... what it is?" he asked curiously.
"Yes, she does... she did ask me a favor before helping her and I agreed to it," Graven replied casually.
Terros's eyes bulged. "W-what? Did you agree to her request right away? You didn't say no?" he asked in disbelief.
Graven's brows furrowed. "Yup! And why would I say no to her request?" he asked in confusion.
Terros cleared his throat. "Tell me, what kind of favor she asked from you that you agreed so easily?"
Graven smiled. "She asked something from me, and it's very simple... she wants my child with Laura and her child to be friends. She wants the two children to develop friendships between them and meet each other regularly. That is her simple request and I agreed to it. She told me that she doesn't want her child to grow lonely in the Windless Mountain without a friend," he explained.
Terros grinned and slapped his forehead. "Oh my, me and my pervert mind!" he said scolding himself loudly.
Graven's eyes widened in shock due to Grandpa's claimed. "Oh no! You're thinking of something else!" he said and chuckled.
Terros laughed to cover his shame. "Anyways, it's a good thing because the deity's child will grow up alone in the mountain without a friend. I understand Elva's sentiment of finding a friend for her baby in advance," he finally said.
Then Graven's face turned somber. "If I can't come out alive from the castle...then... you will be the one to honor the deity's request. When the children are old enough, you have to bring them together so that they can be friends with each other. Can you do that for me, Grandpa?"
Terros released a deep sigh. "Please don't say that, son! Nothing bad will happen to you as long you will follow the deity's instruction," he said.
Graven shook his head. "Grandpa, in every plan and mission, there are only three outcomes. First, it's going to be a success, second, it's a failure and third is the combination of first and second. Which is which, let's hope for the best and prepare for the worst," he spoke mildly, wearing a subdued expression on his face.
Terros nods his head. "Alright, I'll honor your pact with the deity. I'll make sure that the two children will meet each other in the future. I hope my oath makes you feel better now," he said.
Graven sighed. "And please lend your support to Laura as well. Explain everything to her. She will be devastated after I can no longer return to her side one of these days," he said sadly.
"Okay, I'll do everything you ask me to do," Terros assured him.
"Thank you, Grandpa!" Graven said feeling much better after the old man made his oath.
Terros took a deep breath. "Son, can you at least try to stay alive? Preserve your life no matter what," he begged.
Graven sighed. "Grandpa, I don't want to die yet. I'm excited to see my first child born into this world. But sometimes even if we are very careful and plan everything perfectly well, some things can still go wrong. We have to keep in mind that the King is not stupid! Even if I will follow Elva's plan from A to Z... but if the King will react differently, then things can still go wrong. It's not about me, it's how the King will react after the plan is already in motion. But let's just hope that he will act or move according to our expectations. But if he will act differently then that would be a game-changer," he explained.
Terros agreed. "You have a valid point, son. If everything falls into place then it will be a smooth sailing rescue. However, the King might act differently and it will change everything..."
"Yeah, but even if we have Plan B in place, things can still go wrong. Anyways, let's stop talking about it," Graven said. "I will return to my manor now and spend time with my wife so that you can continue working on the completion of the spell formation," he said.
"Okay, go now and give my regards to Laura," Terros said and rose to his feet.
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom Graven looked at Grandpa. "I will sleep here tomorrow night. We will put our plan in motion after lunch. Goddess Elva and Veronica will join us, right?" he asked.
"Yes! They will be on standby, to lend us support just in case something goes wrong," Terros replied.
"Great!" Graven said. "I'll take my leave now. Bye, Grandpa!"
"Bye, son!" Terros replied.
Graven vanished from the place in the blink of an eye.
Terros went back to his room to complete the spell formation.
Graven returned to the manor at 5:00, before the evening comes after touring the entire South Pond Town. He landed in the bedroom to Laura's big surprise.
"Oh, I thought that you won't eat dinner here tonight? Did you finished your business outside?" she asked and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Yep! First, I went to my headquarter and talk with Horace, then went to the forest to visit Grandpa," he replied.
"How is Grandpa nowadays?" Laura asked.
"He's doing fine," Graven responded.
"Hmm... you know what? Why don't you offer Grandpa to stay here? He can live here with us. This way, there's always someone who can check on his condition. It's hard for an old man to stay alone in the forest without a companion. Here... he can talk to my parents every day and his food will be taken care of on time. Servants are always ready to serve him and take care of his needs," Laura offered.
Graven smiled after hearing his wife's suggestion. "Your intention is good, wife. I like it! Okay, I'll try to convince Grandpa Terros to stay here with us. That would be nice. Thank you for suggesting," he said and kissed her lips.
"I'm going to the garden to do my afternoon exercise which is kind of late already," she said.
"Alright, I'll go with you," he spoke. "By the way, tomorrow morning, I'll go to South Pond Town and visit my father and my brother," he said.
Laura smiled. "Okay," she said. "Um...I wonder when are we going to tell your family that we're already married?" she asked.
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