Cale woke up early in the morning on his second day back. He prepared his own bath and just soaked in the tub for a few long minutes before getting out. He walked out of his bathroom, tugging his robe close to him. . .and stopped.
Ron was standing in his room, holding a glass of what was presumed to be lemon tea. An overly benign smile was plastered on his face while his eyes were stiff.
"Prepare a carriage," Cale said before Ron could say anything to him. He had relearned yesterday just how seriously Ron took his duties and didn't want to listen to the old man scold him for doing a simple task such as bathing without help. "I want to head to Harris Village to get the rest of my mother's ancient power."
Ron sat the cup down on the nightstand and went over to the armoire to quickly pull out an outfit for Cale. "Do you plan on going alone?" Ron's voice contradicted his soft smile.
Cale paused. Harris Village was where that punk bastard lived. "No. I definitely don't want to go alone."
The benign smile on Ron's face grew. "I'll have a carriage prepared and I'll let Beacrox know that we will be heading out."
Cale nodded his head. "Thank you."
Ron paused on his way out the door. "You have definitely changed since coming back, Young Master."
"I know, and I try."
Once Ron was gone, Cale put on the outfit that the butler had picked out. Oh how Cale missed these luxurious clothes and the expensive accessories. Even though he only started purchasing these to help ruin his reputation to help out his new family, he had grown to miss the fine material and just simply dressing up. Extravagant tastes were a thing of luxury that he could not afford in the future.
He sat down on his couch once he was dressed and pulled out one of the books that Beacrox had brought him yesterday. Right now, he will only be able to gather wood attributed ancient powers or elementalless powers. He really didn't want to read through old texts but he absolutely needed to find a power that would allow him to hold multiple powers with different elemental attributes. He would also prefer to find one that could make one's plate stronger. It was unfortunate that he had a small, glass-like plate.
Before long, Ron rolled in with a cart filled with a scrumptious looking breakfast. "The carriage will be ready to depart once you are finished eating," Ron informed him before leaving.
Cale ate the food in peaceful silence. Even though he ate Beacrox's cooking yesterday, he still couldn't get over the fact that this wasn't a dream. A house, money, fine clothes, fine food, and people he cared about by his side. It really did feel like a dream.
After he was finished with breakfast, he called for Ron–who had been standing outside his door–to take the dirty dishes away. He then picked a few changes of clothes, and books and packed them into his spatial pouch. Looking at his nightstand, he decided to break into his hidden bank.
He took the key to the lock drawer of his nightstand from the unlocked top drawer. Shoving the key into the lock of the bottom drawer, he turned it to the left instead of the right. This was the nightstand that he personally had made on his fifteenth birthday to keep the funds he received from his father. He wanted to look like trash so he had to hide his money away while pretending to spend it frivolously.
A small wave of magic pulsed through the air, originating from the drawer. He opened it to reveal stacks upon stacks of gold and silver coins, the gold outnumbering the silver. He grabbed a handful of each and tucked it into his spatial pouch-it barely left a dent in his savings.
After shutting and relocking the drawer, he stood up and left his bedroom.
The hallways were relatively quiet as the servants worked. Some bowed and greeted him as he passed by while others stayed quiet and pretended not to see him. After acting like trash for approximately four months, this type of attitude was bound to happen. A smile plastered itself onto his lips, one that seemed extremely flippant.
The best part of the walk down to the carriage was that he didn't pass his father or stepmother. He didn't even see his younger brother, Basen. He had seen Lily though.
The little girl–he believed she was around five–looked up at him with wide eyes. He had not been close to her in the past. He believed it was his way of keeping her safe. He ruffled her head playfully as he walked by, a soft smile on his lips. He then made a gesture of silence and winked at her, trying to insinuate that this was their little secret. Even though she was a little girl, he knew she would figure out what he meant, she was smart after all.
It wasn't as if he did not want to see his family, he just didn't think he could handle it emotionally. Seeing Lily hadn't hurt as much as he thought it would, but that was only because she was young when she had died and he hadn't interacted with her a whole lot when she had been alive.
He arrived outside of the house to find an awaiting carriage. Ron and Beacrox were there waiting for him. They really did make convincing servants even if they were technically nobility of the underworld kind.
Normally, he would be furious about their true identities. Cale Henituse was not a big fan of gangsters, scammers, or people associated with the underworld, but those unfortunately were the kind of people who were able to survive under White Stars terror, they were also the ones who were able to fight back.
It was also the kind of person he settled on becoming this time around–though he was still going to keep some of his morals. And those morals were why he admired Ron Molan instead of hating him. He was a person with a strong conviction. He was able to shed his former self and pretend to be a weak old butler just to protect his son.
Cale was not going to hate or dismiss someone who was willing to face any situation head on or change who they were just to protect the people they cared about. Cale also really wanted to use Ron's specialty. He knew that doing things the just-way would not win them the war. He would need someone to be his dagger to get rid of those who were true trash.
Beacrox helped him into the carriage before jumping up into the driver's seat with his father. Cale settled into the cushioned seat and pulled out the book he had been reading earlier along with a pen and a piece of paper to jot down anything of significance that might be a clue, or lead to a clue, that will hopefully lead to an ancient power.