"You're getting better, Anwir," Dixon said as he extended his hand to help the Tigerkin stand up. "You've improved a lot since I left to do the scouting mission that your father asked of me."
A smile appeared on Anwir's face after hearing Dixon's praise.
He had been training very hard every day for his goal—to be recognized by his Stepfather, as well as the men under his command.
Now that he was the only "son" in the family, it was only natural for him to inherit everything that the Evander Family had.
Of course, this might change if his Stepmother, Briella, ever gave birth to another son, but Anwir wasn't worried.
Briella could no longer bear any children after going through hard labor to bring Percival into the world.
Rafiki, as well as the other Shamans in the Sumatran Kingdom, had confirmed that it was no longer possible for her to have another child.
Also, he didn't hide his interest in his Stepsister, Cleo, whom he wanted to marry in the future.
All that was left for him to do was get his adopted parent's blessings. Once he achieved that, everything he worked hard for would finally be in his hands.
"How is your relationship with Lady Briella?" Dixon asked. "Is she still not talking to you?"
"Mother is still giving me the cold shoulder," Anwir replied in a sad tone. "I just don't know why she suddenly distanced herself from me."
Dixon patted the young man's shoulder and gave him some words of encouragement. "Don't worry. I'm sure she is just worried about Percival. We have sent search parties everywhere, but we are still unable to find him.
"Your father had asked me to check the Barbarian Lands for his whereabouts, but after infiltrating two cities, we still haven't found any traces of him. It is quite unfortunate that we were forced to withdraw due to the incident. I should have killed that Drow instead of trying to capture her alive."
Anwir patted Dixon's waist as if telling the older man that he didn't have to feel guilty that he was forced to return early.
In fact, he was happy that things ended up that way.
If the Scouting Party did manage to find Percival, things would get messy. In order to keep his current standing in the family, he needed to make sure that his "little brother" would never again appear in their lives.
'Maybe I should have killed him so that I wouldn't have to continually walk on eggshells ,' Anwir thought.
However, when that thought crossed his mind, he knew that he was unable to do it.
He didn't hate Percival. In fact, he truly treated him as a little brother.
But this all changed when the younger boy suddenly showed great potential that would surpass Anwir's talents after a few years.
Anwir had thought that he would become the next head of the family, but Percival's sudden growth spurt worried him.
The little brother he doted on suddenly became a threat in his eyes. And anything that would threaten his position must be eliminated to ensure that he would become the heir of the General's family.
This incident also made him remember the original goal he had set for himself when he accepted General Stark's proposal for him to become his adopted son.
So after steeling himself, he decided to lure his brother away from the safety of their residence, planning to have him killed by the Barbarians during one of their raids.
Since he didn't have the heart to kill Percival, he decided to use the hands of others to do it. Unfortunately for him, the Barbarians' goal wasn't to kill people but to capture them to be sold as slaves to the Slave Master, who would pay a good price for them.
After bidding goodbye to Dixon, Anwir returned to his room to take a bath.
Just as he was about to take off his clothes, he noticed that there was a letter on top of the table, which made him frown.
His room was locked, and the only way to enter it was through his window, which he had left open before he left to train.
Left with no choice, he picked up the letter and read its contents.
Meet me tonight on the Training Grounds when everyone in the residence is asleep. If you don't come, I will tell your adopted parents about your little expedition with Percival near the border of the Sumatran Kingdom.
After reading the letter, Anwir's face immediately turned pale.
He read the letter three times to ensure that he didn't misread anything. He even tried to analyze the handwriting to know the identity of the person who wrote it.
But after confirming that the latter wasn't written by his Adoptive Parents, Cleo, Dixon, or Rafiki, he understood that this was written by someone outside of their family.
Suddenly, the face of the seven-year-old appeared inside his head, but he dismissed this idea at once.
For all of the days that Zion had been in the residence, he would often stay inside his room or be dragged around by his Stepmother to tour the residence or the marketplace.
'But if it's not him, then who?' Anwir thought for a while before deciding to burn the letter to ensure that no traces would be left behind. 'I guess that I have no choice but to meet that person later.'
No matter what, he would not allow anyone to disrupt the plans that he had worked hard to achieve.
The Tigerkin wasn't aware that outside of his window, perched on top of a tree branch, a Pocopoco was paying close attention to what was happening inside the room.
After seeing Anwir burn the letter, a disdainful expression briefly crossed the dumb-looking bird's face before it flapped its wings to fly away.
Inside Thirteen's Room…
The sound of chirping reached Thirteen's ears, making him smile.
'Now, the real fun starts,' Thirteen thought as he rested his head over the backs of his intertwined hands. 'No matter where you run, no matter where you hide, I will make sure that you dance on the palm of my hands, my future Villain.'
Although he felt a little sorry for Anwir, the seven-year-old still decided to push through with his plan, which would drive his target into a corner.
He couldn't care less about the family drama that was happening in the Evander Residence.
However, the upcoming war didn't give Thirteen a lot of time to stay in the Sumatran Kingdom.
He knew that the moment the war began, he would no longer be able to leave safely. This was why he decided to act after laying down his trap for Anwir, whom he would drag to reunite with his little brother, Percival.
'I'm such a good person,' Thirteen smiled. 'Taiga seems lonely, so having his brother around will certainly make him happy.'
The young boy couldn't help but chuckle evilly because he could already see the Hero's reaction after being able to see the brother who betrayed him.
But Thirteen didn't care.
In order to raise both the Hero and the Villain, he needed the two of them on the same team, allowing him to keep them both within arms' reach.
This method would ensure that the two of them would work hard for his sake until he finished all of the Trials that the System God had shackled him with.