The residence of Sir Count Moranzo Hanning finally regained its calm and peacefulness after the party ended. In a small chamber somewhere in the huge residence, Oscar was about to start his first night as a free man, in the free world.
Apart from the occasional howls from the nocturnal animals, the night was unexceptionally quiet. It was a windy night. The window gauze seemed like they were going to fall off from the window frame any minute soon. Grey clouds that filled up the night sky were so thick that no stars nor the moon can be observed. Oscar predicted that a downpour would happen tomorrow.
Was this what it meant to be free? To make friends with people of noble family, to make acquaintances with beautiful women, to have the opportunity to experience rare delicacies…it seemed like something was missing from this privileged life, but he could not figure out what exactly that was missing.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Oscar noticed a letter being slipped in under the door. He got out of his bed to check on it. The letter was lightly fragranced with floral scent, and the girl's penmanship was as beautiful as herself.
"My dear father once mentioned to me about your ability to move swiftly through buildings and roofs. I want to know if he was being true. Come meet me at the furthest right chamber on the third floor. There is a pot of blooming narcissus placed on the balcony. Looking forward to meeting you. Rolanda Getha Hanning."
Oscar kissed the scented letter, adjusted his garments, and jumped out of his window in one swift move.
This little fatty was agile as a monkey. He could move around in the dark easily without anyone noticing. Soon enough, he saw the pot of blooming narcissus as mentioned in the letter.
The residence of Moranzo Hanning was built during the times of Alfa I. Hence even with its exquisite exterior outlook, the structure of the mansion was still in harmonious with each parts fit ting perfectly with another. There were three stories in the huge mansion, and the height distance between each stories was tall. But nothing could stop Oscar from climbing upwards to the room located on the furthest right on the top floor.
He held tight to the side of the wall before picking carefully which spot to place his feet on. Motivated with adrenaline and excitement, he quickly climbed up to the second floor. His face was dripped with sweat and it felt terrible. He took a small pause at the balcony of the second floor without making a sound as the room of which its balcony Oscar was hanging from was still brightly lit.
Oscar wanted to march right in to Rolanda Getha Hanning's chamber. On second thought, he dismissed that idea right away as it was not safe for either of them if her servants saw them together in her chamber in this godly hour. Aside from taking care of her daily life and coaching her social courtesies, these servants were also assigned by their master to protect Miss Hanning's chastity. They would never allow any man companion to be alone in the same chamber with the master's daughter. Hence it was impossible for him to enter to her chamber through the front door. The only option he had was through the window. This was also why most lords situated their daughters' chambers at the top floor of their residence.
Oscar was not a fool. After his short rest at the balcony he moved quickly and quietly to the chamber with "a pot of blooming narcissus".
"Rona! Rona!" Oscar was extremely nervous about his first rendezvous.
"Oh God can you get any louder! Aunt Sage has fallen asleep only a minute ago," Rolanda whispered from the window. "Come on in! Be as quiet as you can. Oh god I was so worried about you! What if you slipped and fell? I would blame myself forever!"
Oscar jumped into her room and landed softly. "Thanks for your concern, but don't you worry. I'm all good. Even if you live high up in the moon I would find my way to you," he said nonchalantly. He was secretly glad that the girl was worried about him.
Rolanda Getha Hanning was flattered about Oscar willing to risk his life just to see her again. But soon she realised she was in trouble. If her mother or Aunt Sage found out that she invited a man two years younger than her into her own room at the middle of the night, they would definitely kill her! She would be grounded in her own room to reflect on her mistakes. Her chance to further study in Dulin might be taken away too!
Oscar carefully examined the attractive girl standing in front of her. She has a pair of blue eyes as clear as the lake, a small nose, luscious lips, and beautiful thick golden locks. She was wearing a simple white sleeping gown. She appeared to be confident showing Oscar her comfortable self.
Rolanda was actually upset about her own behaviour last night. She travelled all the way to Damorel in the name of visiting her dear father but in reality she was looking forward to meeting this young lad that her father had been telling her about. Even though Oscar was not exactly like how she had imagined, she was still glad to had met him in person.
Things should not have been like that. She wanted to turn down Oscar's invitation for an evening walk, but she also could not bear to be apart from him only after a brief meeting. So she agreed and they went to the woods for a short walk. In the beginning they were just walking leisurely, keeping a safe distant between themselves. The next thing she knew she was having intimate contact with the young man. Rolanda did not think that she had let Oscar did what he had done solely because of the ring, but, oh god! How could she had let him done that? Oh god! In the woods!
Oscar could not figure out the reason for the cute blush on her face, but he knew that he had to do something to break the awkward silence.
"Um…can I have something to drink?" Oscar was so embarrassed at himself the moment he heard that coming from his mouth. What a stupid thing to say! He did not risk his life to come here for a drink.
"Oh! I…I think there is some fruit juice left on the table," Rolanda was not expecting him to request for a drink.
"It's alright then," he scratched his head carelessly. Things were getting even more awkward than the beginning.
"Um…do you want to take a seat?" It was obvious that Rolanda was nervous too. She had not have the experience of meeting a lover at the middle of the night. No one had taught her what to do during a rendezvous.
Oscar scratched his head again. He thought that the most comfortable place to rest himself now would be on that thick velvet bed on the huge pine wood bed frame. But he was afraid that Miss Hanning would think wrongly of his intention, so he settled on the small stool nearest to him.
On the other hand Rolanda was sitting on her soft and comfortable bed. Oscar looked at her with much admiration. He wished he was sitting right next to her.
"I hope I had not cause you any trouble by my sudden invitation. Honestly I did not know why I asked you to come but I just want to see your face again. Um…and to talk to you," Rolanda felt her face burned with embarrassment as she said the words.
"Oh dear Rona! Please don't say that. You could not even imagined how elated I was when I received your letter. To able to speak casually like this with you is already the best gift the God of Light could give me. Oh, and dear Rona, please call me Oscar, if you would. You don't have to speak so formally around me," Oscar noticed his wittiness coming back to him again.
"Alright, if you insist. Oscar, about last night…I received your gift, and you…you would not think that I am one of those girls that only care about power and fortune?" Rolanda asked nervously. She realised she cared very much about how Oscar think of her.
"My dear Rona! I owe you an apology about that! It was me who seduced you last night. You were such a pure and noble lady. I would never think of you that way. I wanted to give you a present, and that ring was the only precious thing I had with me last night. Coincidently it fits you perfectly so I don't see the reason why you shouldn't take it. You should have remembered I did it without any hesitation. Are you doubting my sincerity?"
"Definitely not! I swear by the God of Light. There was not one moment that I doubt your sincerity. Oh Oscar! You were totally wrong to think that way! I was afraid that you thought this whole meeting was because of that ring, but I can assured you it is not…not just about the ring…ah! I don't know what to say! You just have to know that I am not that kind of girl! Trust me!" Rolanda was sobbing now. She was trying so hard to explain herself because she was worried that Oscar would think wrongly of her.
Oscar was delighted. Whatever that Ricky the Liar had taught him in the past had proved itself to be effective. He knew that no woman like to be called vain, so he used another method to implant that idea into that poor girl's mind, knowing for sure that it would eventually allowed him to have the upper hand in the whole situation. He was pleased with Rolanda's reaction. He took the chance to sit next to her on the bed, holding the sobbing girl into his arms.
"Shh…It's okay. I know you're not like that. Please stop crying. The God of Light will punish me if he found out that I made his little angel sad. What about you return me the ring and we forget about whatever happened last night?" Oscar pretended to be a mischievous rascal.
"No way!" She finally stopped crying, and gave Oscar a hard stare. "I will not return it to you! You said the God of Light would notice the shine of the ring us and give us his blessings. It is the token of our love. Are you going to abandon me now?"
Oscar could not suppressed his laughter anymore. "Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha! Rona is a cute little fool! I was only teasing you! Ha ha ha ha!"
Rolando was late to realise that her little lover was only fooling with her. She gave out a frustrated cry and pushed Oscar on the bed with all her strength, "I am going to punish you! Liar!"
"Ah! I was only kidding! Ha ha ha…no not there…ha ha…so ticklish!" Oscar pulled Rona into his arms and rolled to the other side of the bed.
"No! I must punish you! Promise me you will not tease me again!" Rolanda shouted playfully. "Say it!"
"I promise! I promise!"
The two lovers were clutching each other, laughing madly like two little kids.
Sensing Rolanda had become tired and relaxed herself, Oscar suddenly rolled over and pinned her against the bed. Both of them stopped laughing. Rolanda was young and full of energy, she knew of what would happened if they remain in this position. Oscar had gone quiet too and was staring at her. It made her self-conscious, but she was unable to look away once their eyes had met. As for Oscar, he was fully bewitched by this beautiful creation of God he was looking at in front of her.
The collar of Rolanda's night dress was already half-opened from their playful teasing. Oscar had a clear view of the snowy white hills on the front of her chest. Her perfectly round breasts were rising up and down to the slow and steady rhythm of her breathing. As he placed his hands on hers, the soft touch immediately brought back the wonderful memories of last night. His stare had turned into something much more intense. He could not wait to cover her mouth with his with a hungry kiss.
Rolanda could not wait for what was going to happen. She closed her eyes while her heart beat with excitement. Suddenly, a rap at the door brought her back to the reality.
"Miss! Miss! Can I come in? I heard you screamed just now. Did something happened?"
"Oh god! It's Aunt Sage!" Rolanda quickly removed herself from Oscar's embrace.
In the twinkle of an eye, he dashed to the window and climbed outside. He moved is quickly that Rolanda thought she saw a lightning.
"Ha! So quick to run for your life, coward!" Rolanda teased the young man who was supporting his full weight by just at the side of the window.
"Yes my dear. I would have to before your father catch me and lock me in the prison again! I'm leaving now. Thank you for the amazing night!"
"Oscar! Wait!"
Just as Oscar turned at the sound of his name, he felt her full and luscious lips landing on his own.
"Miss! Are you alright? Can you please open the door and let me in?"
Rolanda unwillingly pulled herself away.
"I'm coming!" She made a funny face at him before closing the window, and rushed to the door.
Oscar unconsciously reached for his lips and could still feel her warmth on them. Just a moment ago, he was unsure of his feelings towards this girl. To be honest, initially he only saw the girl as one of his hunts. However, now he knew damn well how he felt towards her. He was hopelessly in love with the daughter of Lieutenant General Moranzo.
On the 10th day of the 4th month of the Light Calendar year 791, the sky was covered with massive thick grey clouds. The heavy rain that had started since early morning had the ground soaked wet.
Damorga in rain was particularly peaceful. There was no one on the road. Only an army of Imperial Guards can be seen patrolling near the muddy road.
Both Lieutenant General and O Neil Andrew Morissette were in the exquisite dining chamber. The night before, they had agreed to enjoy breakfast together on the next morning.
Even though Oscar did not really get some good sleep for the past couple of days, he still felt energetic and fresh. He did not cursed the shitty weather but fully enjoying his beautifully prepared breakfast instead.
"Oh god! Oscar, you should really control that huge appetite of yours," Lieutenant General did not want to be rude, but he had to say it as he watched Oscar happily eating after having gobbled down four slices of toasts, three fried eggs, and two full cups of milk.
"Thanks for your concern, my dearest Moranzo. But you really are getting older and nosier, aren't you? I am still young, and I need much more energy than usual to grow."
"I know. But you should be aware or at least try to have more self control. Mr Percy mentioned before that you had some problems with your digestive system, remember?" The Lieutenant General insisted.
"Okay, noted. Now would you please pass me another serving of fried egg? Ha! Great! It really is some amazing breakfast you serve here."
"Alright fatty! Let's change a topic. What's your plan for now? Aren't you supposed to leave for Dulin today?"
"Yes, but you know, some of the most important people of Dulin want to meet me. And about my plans for later, I have not think about it yet. Why the rush? I am only fifteen. What was your daughter doing when she was fifteen?" Oscar half-jokingly throw the question back to Moranzo.
"You are different from the rest of them, and I make sure you know that. Those young men from the so-called rich and powerful families are nothing compared to you. Oscar, you are meant to lead a special and unusual life."
"I know. But nothing is built in one day. I have to take things gradually as they come. I did not even know how the powerful men in Dulin are going to regard me. For all I know, they might be plotting plans to throw me back to the prison again."
"Sweet child, be optimistic. The reputation of your family is one of the most prestige ones in the history. You cannot compare now with that situation of ten years ago. If not why do you think His Emperor the Majesty would easily released you and return your freedom?"
"Can we not worry about this for the moment? Moranzo, you have retired. Go do some fishing or hunting during your leisure time. Oh wow! Even I would envy that kind of lifestyle."
"Ha ha! I have to thank you for this good life."
"No Moranzo. This is what you deserved. Like I said before, you will always have my utmost respect no matter what," Oscar wiped the corner of his mouth with the napkin, and gestured to the waiting orderly to remove his plates from the table.
"I have here with me two letters. The first one is for your daughter, Miss Rolanda Getha Hanning. Don't give me that look of disapproval. It's nothing more than just a letter to apologise for my leave without saying goodbye. The next letter is for my friend Mr Domingo. In the letter I mentioned my intention of official appointing him to take over my position to be the Head of Prisoner Self-Management Committee."
"Not a problem. So, this is it?" Moranzo was actually sad to see him leave.
"Yes. Right away, before anyone notice me leaving. But I can't do that to you. So here it is, my formal goodbye to you. I know I have said this countless times but I really can't thank you enough. I appreciate everything that you have done for me for the past ten years. If you ever have any trouble in the future, I promise, O Neil Andrew Morisette here will always lend you an helping hand without any hesitation," Oscar stood up and gave Sir Count a tight embrace.
Albeit the rain, the young man could see the prison when he stepped out of Sir Count's residence. He knew that his life in Damorga was officially over.
The line of carriages moved slowly but steadily in the rain. One of them from the Narcissus Knights was put in charge to guard the overall safety of the troops. Since they were not allowed to enter Damorga prison, they could only wait for their young master from the outside of the prison. In fact, guards troops who entered the prison without authorisation and permission from His Majesty the Emperor could be regarded as treason.
Each knight was equipped with their individual sword and spear, and also a heavy shield placed on the side of the saddle. The equipments assigned to them were nothing extravagant, but they were of great lethality. The troops were lined up around the carriages in a loose formation. This formation type not only permit their horses agility to move around quickly but also allow them to charge in full speed at a gallop.
All of them also wore a full black armour, pinned with a blooming white narcissus at the front of their chest. The flower was the totem of the Narcissus family. The narcissus from the Partans Province of Narcissus County was not only a symbolic representation of friendship and love, it also carried the meaning of loyalty and valiant.
The armours worn were not all of the same style, which was also one characteristic of the Narcissus Knights. Some armours had been made even before the birth of Titan Empire, and only the knights that had richer victory accomplishments were qualified to wear these armours. Their fighting equipment were passed down from the senior knights, even some of the armours. Generations after generations fought with their lives against the Persion Empire, not just for survival, but also to protect their honourable homeland from the invasion of enemies.
The Narcissus Knights that served to fight against the invasion by the Pagans for almost four hundred years always received the utmost respect from the commoners. Even the Imperial Guards addressed them as "The Tigers of Andrew". The religious organisation also called them "The Shielders of the God of Light". On their way to the periphery of Damorga they passed by numerous checkpoints, and at each checkpoint the soldiers would formed in lines to show their respect before sending them off.
Oscar did not had much interest towards these knights. To him they always seemed too serious and distant. As for Madame Antonia, she would never get used to the way they smelled of iron and sweat. But there was one thing that never failed to make Oscar gasp in admiration, which was the organising ability of Madame Antonia Horman. He could not fathom how Annie had managed to fill up eight carriages full of the things he owned for the past ten years. He felt pity to the horses that pulled those carts.
Annie had her grudges too. She blamed Oscar for having extorted the sofa covered with polar bear's fur from Moranzo. She complained that the sofa took up too much space of the carriages that she was forced to leave some her essentials behind.
Oscar pretended not to hear her protests.
The journey was a long and difficult one. The heavy downpour destroyed many walkways and the troops had no choice but to carry on with extra care. As a result, the moving speed of the troops had been slowed down.
In fact, Oscar did not really know many of the Narcissus Knights. Aside of them, one of the carriages was occupied by Miss Fenrar Donarte and the girl servants; Ricky the Liar, which went by Baron Erbe now, was riding the same carriage with Mr Percy, also named Parker; and on the other carriage carrying Oscar was led by General Wozakad. The latter had his appearance changed surgically by the doctor Mr Percy recently and could still felt his face burning with stingy sensation. He also did not had a good time being with his former enemy the Narcissus Knights. The leader of the knights, a young Colonel who had just passed his paladin examination had this strange feeling about his young master's wheeler. His gut feeling told him that he might be connected to their Persions enemies.
The Attorney General was riding in the same carriage as Oscar. The young master could not be bothered to talk with Marquis Van Earl. He did not even want to glance his way. The Attorney General seemed to have sensed something in the air too and threw Oscar a sly look.
Out in the rain someone knocked slightly on the door of Oscar's carriage. Oscar peeked through the tiny window and saw the soon to be paladin standing outside his carriage, drenched in rain.
"Young Master, we will soon arrive at our destination. Do you have any order?"
"Alright. Tell the knights to get into positions. Even though the weather is on our side we should still do things with extra care to avoid unnecessary incidents ."
"Yes Young Master!"
Oscar drew the tiny window and smiled towards Marquis Van Earl.
Sir Marquis immediately knew what was going to happen. "Ha ha! I would never have thought that the famous and honourable Narcissus Knights will do this dirty job! I thought that you would asked for help from your prisoner friends."
"Sir Marquis, do you think people would believe you if all the members of your inspection team die but you are the only one left, alive?" Oscar laughed.
"Kids will be kids. If I were you, I would never have talked to seniors so rudely. If I do not have a sure-fire plan myself, do you think I would agree to participate in your dirty game?" Sir Marquis was not inexperienced. He knew how thing works in the world of darkness.
"Let's not talk about this now. Honourable Attorney General, would you tell me who is your most trusted person? Oh let me guess! Your wife? The elegant duchess, am I right?"
"I would said so. However, there are some things that are better to be keep from her. She knew that but she still trust and love me with all her heart. What is the point of this? You better not involve her into this. You know that her father is a respected man of power and title."
"Oh no! I feel sorry for you Marquis Van Earl. I did not know you love your wife so much. But did it ever crossed your mind that if the attractive duchess has fallen in love with married man before, there could be possibility that she might fall in love with a wheeler, a groom, or even a liar."
The Marquis was enraged. No one could make fun of his beloved wife. "You must apologise, right away, Mr O Neil Andrew Morisette. What you have just said gravely offended me and my wife."
Oscar ignored the infuriated man. "I feel bad for you, Marquis. Your wife is going to marry another man soon. One of my man had proposed to her recently," Oscar said calmly. "Your beloved wife betrayed you. The letter of investigation you hid so secretly in the concealed cabinet of your study is now on my hand. Your sure-fire plan has turned into ashes."
"You are lying! It's not true!" The Marquis went shouting in hysterical. He could not believe what he heard. If what Oscar said was indeed true, everything that he had, everything, including his lovely wife, would not be his anymore. He rushed towards the young man to beat him up, but Oscar's fist was much faster. The Marquis felt a sudden shock at his chest. It was as if a strong bull just ran into him. Subconsciously, he heard Oscar's faint voice lingering in the air.
"I am sorry, but this is all real."
Not long after, Sir Marquis woke up in the cold. He stared blankly at his surrounding, unsure where he was and how he ended up there, until the excruciating pain in his chest brought him back to reality. That little devil was gone! He was alone in the carriage. Ouch! That fat rascal had probably broken one or two of his rib bones. He could not understand how a young boy like him could contain so much strength in him. It got him thinking again. He knew that rascal well enough to understand he would not just simply let him off the hook that easily. What was it that he wanted exactly?
The Marquis used all his remaining strength and tried to propped himself up, but even the tiniest movement triggered an agonising pain in his chest and made him spit out some blood. He looked out to the window. The rain was pouring heavily. Not far away about ten carriages could be seen parking at the side of the mountain. Oh god! Looking at the still carriages the Marquis finally fathomed the situation that the rascal had put him into. Those carriages belonged to his inspection team, which he guessed had already been killed by then. The Marquis cried in terror! He was devastated! Despite the piercing pain at his chest he struggled with all his strength to escape from the carriage.
A sudden roar resounded through the mountains. The horses scream desperately, trying to lose themselves free from the heavy carriages. The Marquis was stunned! Massive amount of earth and rocks slide down from the top of the mountain. Before he could figure out what to do, he heard the sound of his own carriage forcefully being torn apart.
At the bottom of a mountain far away from the scene of the landslide, Oscar and the Colonel nodded with satisfaction. Oscar was satisfied with how everything went accordingly with his carefully thought out plan, while the latter was happy with the new gunpowder that proved itself to be an effective lethal weapon.
"Young Master, shall we continue our journey?"
"Yes Colonel. Let's move along."
Oscar was feeling a little uneasy along the way to where they were heading. Even though he managed to overcome all the obstacles that were in his way before, he knew that there would be more challenges awaiting him when he begin his new life in Dulin.
Because of the heavy downpour the troops did not manage to reach their expected destination on time. Hence, they had to camp overnight in the open the the night fell. As the night grew darker, fortunately the rain became much smaller too.
The Narcissus Knights were skilled at pitching up tents. Oscar's was the first to be built. The knights carefully moved the Young Master's favourite deck chair into his tent. Instead of retrieving into the tent for a rest, Oscar left the campsite and went walking around within its periphery, while Antonia and the rest of the servant girls located themselves comfortably inside the massive tent.
"Good evening, Young Master."
"Good evening, Young Master."
Oscar was not used to the respect and courtesy coming from the Narcissus Knights. It was a little strange, indeed. As he had heard before, in order to earn the respect of Narcissus Knights one has to achieve two incredible things. The first thing was to be able to knock them down in a fair and just fight, the second was to successfully take down four hundred Persion heads on the battlefield. And Oscar was capable of neither.
The respect the knights had for Oscar was sincere and real. They were proud to have travelled miles to Damorga to protect their Young Master. When Oscar showed up, the knights immediately stopped whatever they were doing just so they could bow and him their respect. Oscar was delighted to be treated with such respect and admiration. He strutted around the campsite like a proud peacock showing off its feather.
When the knights were done putting everything into place, the rain had stopped too. The serious knights were delighted and satisfying smiles spread across their faces. However, they did not had any time to spare. They immediately went into their respective roles; they lighted fires, cooked, hunted, and patrolled around the periphery of the campsite.
In just a few moments, the campsite started to smell like a wonderful feast. Everyone gathered around the fire to eat and chat with other other.
Initially, the young Oscar was not accustomed to this kind of collective lifestyle. It was even a challenge for him to converse with the knights. But he adapted quick. He could even understand the conversations between those heavily accented knights now. It fell upon to him that he was born a Narcissus, after all.
Oscar was happily chatting with the knights. Out of the sudden he longed to be back to his homeland. A land that bloomed with narcissus throughout all four seasons, Narcissus county was said by many that it resembled heaven. Even though Oscar had long forgotten the details of his hometown, he could still vividly remember an image of him playing in a sea of Narcissus with the princess, his beautiful mother. The happiness in that image was so pure that Oscar often thought that was just some wonderful dreams he created in his own mind. Now, listening to the knights reminiscing about the beauty of the land, Oscar thought it might be possible that those were not just dreams, but real experiences of him when he was younger.
The soon-to-be Paladin Kamille Rayen was sitting right next to Oscar. The other knights formed a circle with both of them positioned in the middle. They were all enjoying the food and each other's company. They started filling their Young Master with their glorious history on the battlefield, and Oscar sat there listening, nodding at all appropriate times.
Oscar learned that Colonel Rayen was a great soldier. He was born into a military family. Each generation, his relatives fought and sacrificed in the battlefield. Without fail, the Rayen family produced at least one to two great Paladin each generation. It was his father and uncle before, now the heavy responsible fell upon Kamille Rayen's broad shoulder.
The Colonel was curious about the Young Master sitting beside him. He was not tall nor was he strong; in fact he was chubby to say at least. People like him were usually the first ones to die in the battlefield. However, he changed his mind about the young boy after examining the injury on Marquis Van Earl. His punch was sharp and powerful and hit on all the right places. From the outside, Sir Count's ribcage was totally indent. Anyone would have thought that this unlucky bastard had more than six of his ribs broken. However, the broken ribs put none of his internal organ into severe damage. The Colonel thought that if his Young Master had wanted, he could easily hit at all the crucial spots and kill a bull in one punch.
The other knights were also curious about their Young Master. He was infamous back in Narcissus County while he served his time in Damorga prison. Everyone heard rumours about his life in the prison. He must had become someone really tough, having spent his past ten years in the Damorga hell at such young age.
Even so the knights were only curious because of the rumours they heard back home. But back in Andrew Province, everyone heard of the big name of the Young Master O Neil Andrew Morisette. Everyone believed that the Young Master was innocent. That uncivilised bastard that harassed Miss Sasha should have been punished. Miss Sasha was only fourteen, but everyone that had seen her before that thought she was the God of Narcissus, the pride of Andrew.
So, the courageous Young Master O Neil Andrew Morisette that rescued Miss Sasha automatically became the hero in everyone's heart. Besides, the favourite tale to tell by the "Shielders of the God of Light" was the one about the five years old Young Master beating up a fifteen years old rascal until he begged for surrender. That was also how he got his nickname as "Crazy Tiger of Andrew".
Oscar had no idea he was famous back home. He was a little confused by the overwhelming enthusiasm of the knights, although not in a bad way. He retrieved to his own tent after having something light. Annie was already asleep on the soft mattress. He lovingly caressed her cheek and covered her with a thick blanket.
It was already late at night but Oscar found himself still wide awake. He was confused by his father's method of work. The Duke of Andrew seemed to be so distant even though Oscar could feel that he was always there to give a helping hand when he needed one.
He could not think anymore. He glanced at the flaming candle light, and then again at the sound asleep Annie. He stood up from his deck chair and carried his machete with him without making a sound.
The massive tent was suddenly filled with a strong murderous tension.