It only took a few hours of planning before they came to an agreement. Mr. Carter had put all of his faith in him and he was determined to exceed his expectations. His head was clear and with the information that Mr. Carter provided about his enemies, he knew that the fight would end up in their victory. As soon as the clock struck midnight, Dio put on the hood of his black cloak and signaled Blur to follow him. “Now, let the hunt begin,” he mumbled as he stealthily walked towards the lord’s estate where Cairo Monde and his supporters were staying. “You are the only intruder who has the guts to enter from the front gates,” Blur sighed when they stopped at the gate. Dio smiled after he sensed the magic barrier at the gates. He was sure that an alarm would notify the residents as soon as the barrier was broken. He held out his hand and used nullification to deactivate the barrier. “Welcome to the lord’s manor,” Dio said as he climbed the gate an

Dio wasn’t fine. As Blur watched Dio writhe in pain, he wasn’t sure of what to do. Fortunately, an alpha canis helped him and brought them deep into the forest. As soon as Dio was laid under the winter tree, he saw the relief on Dio’s face. But the pain that the young man went through was too much that he fell into an unconscious state. “Will he be alright?” Blur asked the alpha canis as he watched Dio’s stabilized breathing. “Of course he will. He is beside the winter tree so everything would be fine.” The alpha canis answered. “How can you say that? Is the winter tree a healing tree or something?” Blur asked in a worried tone. “The crest on his back…” the alpha canis looked at Dio. “It was something connected on the winter tree. It reacted to the tree because Dio is going to become an adult soon.” “How did you know about that?” Dio opened his eyes and slowly sat and leaned his back on the trunk. “It’s been a while, child.” The canis

Dio prepared for his journey to the capital the next day. The night he spent crying and letting it all out made him feel lighter as if a heavy weight on his chest had been lifted. His puffy eyes made the others worry about him but as soon as he told them that it was because he visited his grandfather’s grave, no one tried to bother him about it anymore. The residents of the southern city had been considerate of him and he was happy that he chose to visit the place before he went to the capital.“Uncle? What are you doing here?” Dio asked when he saw the carriage with the Armani Merchant Guild Crest and Royce went out of it.“I came here to fetch you.”“Fetch me?” Dio chuckled. “I’m no longer a little kid. I could go to the capital on my own.”Royce smiled when he saw how Dio laughed. The young man looked brighter than he was when he left the northwest. He was happy for him because he seemed to fi

“Have you rested?” Royce asked as soon as Dio opened his eyes. It was already morning of the next day after they arrived in the capital.“Yes, Uncle.”Royce messed Dio’s hair. “You should get used to calling me father by now.” He put down the documents in Dio’s side table. “You’re officially an Armani starting today.”“Dio Armani, huh? I almost forgot that I was Dio when I was in the northwest.” Dio looked outside the window where the sun rose.“Would you like it if I included your first name?”“It’s fine. I realized that the name Arkin is a proof that I’m a Romanov. Though it was Gramps who gave it to me, it was necessary to hide it for now.” Dio smiled. “I couldn’t bring you more trouble, right?”“You’re not troublesome at all, son.” Royce patted Dio’s head before he left the room.

After they finished the snacks at the café, Mika once again led the way towards the central plaza. The stalls were brimming with foods from raw fruits to meat skewers. Dio went to the stall that sold chicken feet and bought two pieces.“You like this kind of food too?” Mika said with a smile as she took the chicken feet that Dio offered.“Yes. I prefer eating in a tavern or a roadside diner rather than inside a classy restaurant.” He said while munching on his food.“You’re similar with Kael in that manner.”Dio’s face crumpled when he heard Kael’s name. He was comfortable enough to even show his annoyance towards him.“Found you!”Mika heaved a sigh as she mumbled, “He would never allow people to talk behind his back.”Dio grinned when he caught Mika’s words. However, his expression changed once again when Kael wrapped his arms around his