A woman who was out picking flowers saw Cygnus's form sleeping on the bench. She wondered who could it be since almost no one comes to the rose garden, even his son was not a frequent visitor. With the basket of flowers in her hands, she approached the sleeping man.
She stood at the entrance of the gazebo and wasn't sure how to proceed so she could only stand there and watch the young man as he slept. Not long after she finally left and let him be.
Cygnus opened his eyes after the woman left and sat up to watch as the woman's back disappeared into the manor. He returned to sleeping until Nina found him and called him for dinner. Everyone was present and even the woman who had been staring at Cygnus while he slept. Turned out that she was Linette Ginehart.
After a brief introduction, they started with dinner and ate in silence. It was not the usual dinner and the servants were actually happy to see that the dining table had people dining on it. Ever since the incident of that other mansion, the manor became solemn and the masters always had an awkward dinner with each other.
The dinner was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone before they left for their rooms and Linius went to his father's study. It was about time they talked about the plan in Linius's mind.
He knocked three times on the door before he entered and found his father standing before the window of his study. He did not look back even though he knew that his has come. Both of them remained silent for a while before Ulysses finally decided to face his first born.
"I've heard of what happened to Alfonso," he started. He walked to the lounge area of his study and gestured for his son to go and join him. "A dragon appearing in that area is very unusual."
"Yes, for a dragon to suddenly appear is unusual but according to witnesses, it was summoned by the culprit behind the human sacrifices," Linius added. He looked at his father who was now in full business mood.
"So what happened to the man?" Ulysses asked.
When he received the report, he was surprised that a dragon could appear in that kind of place. Although dragons do exist, they're not easy to find and would rather hide themselves from humans.
"He died summoning the dragon," was Linius's answer. He gave nothing away because he knew that his father would be able to figure it out.
"Have you seen the culprit's body? What was its status? I need to know every detail that is not written on that piece of paper." His eyes were focused on the major, ready to observe and determine if his son would be leaving some details out.
Linius knew that he was being scrutinized but he did not change his expression and proceeded to tell his father what had happened. "Yes we found the body. It was emancipated, with almost no flesh which according to the mages is a consequence of using dark magic for a long time. His mana core was also corrupted and it was also destroyed. Based on an ancient book, human sacrifices are needed in order to call out a dragon. We tried to salvage remains from the dragon but it's body dispersed into tiny particles."
Ulysses had knowledge about dragons as he had seen one during his younger days. They were so vicious and powerful that they could destroy an entire country if they wanted so. Thus he could understand Alfonso's destruction. To be able to summon a dragon, that man must have sacrificed a lot of people.
"The dragon was charcoal black, its wings and scales had some gold specks to it. The eyes were golden with a glint of something red within it. Do you know of this dragon father?" Linius added after a brief silence.
The duke narrowed his eyes after he heard his son's description of the dragon. Black and gold, a distinct characteristic that was exclusive to only one species of dragon. Hero slayer, they were dragons who killed heroes and absorbed their power to increase their own. They are the worst match for heroes because they have the ability to negate a holy power.
"Those kinds of dragons are rare, very much so. They were hunted by mages and warriors back in the day. If any of their kind survived, they must be in hiding. To be able to summon a black dragon of that caliber, that culprit must have a secret. I don't believe that your culprit could summon that kind of dragon, no matter how many lives he sacrificed and no matter if he exhausted his mana and destroyed his mana core." Ulysses was not convinced and seeing that his son was not even surprised, he must have known something.
"If that's the case then we will never know. We only found the culprit and found no other clues if he really had a partner that helped him. There was no indication that he was working with someone." Linius remained firm and continued to feign ignorance. His father would not ask but his eyes would always stay with you.
"Alright, if you say so," he sighed and leaned back on the seat. "So about this plan of yours, why are you doing this in the first place?"
"It's to finally put an end to this farce of power struggle. I intend to draw out all of those who are not loyal to Ginehart and eliminate them all at once," Linius answered with much conviction.
The duke looked at his son and saw that he was not going to back down no matter what his father said. Linius has been stubborn since he was young and when he set his mind on doing something, no one would be able to stop him.
"Are you sure about this? You'll have the blood of those family members if you continue," Ulysses's voice softened. His second son's death was truly devastating to all of them, especially to his wife and first born.
They all loved that delicate child whose eyes would always lit up whenever they visited him. His favorite was his big brother and wouldn't let him go until the last moment, and now that child is gone. He knew that deep inside Linius, he was blaming himself for his brother's death.
"Yes and besides, I never considered them family. I am already tired of their greed so I am going to teach them a lesson. Its time to show them that they can't just go ahead and do whatever they liked just because we are family." Linius glared as his fists clenched tightly. His jaws were locked tightly as the anger he was holding back rose from the depths of his being.
The hatred and anger from his son was as clear as day. He may have tolerated them for far too long now that it had built up. If they had stayed within their own domains and hadn't done what they did, then their lives would have been peaceful.
"And Rigel agreed to this plan?" Now he was curious as to the man who accepted such a plan.
Linius took several deep breaths to calm himself before he answered, "Yes. I've talked with him already and he agreed."
"What would he get out of this deal? What kind of deal did you make with him?" Ulysses frowned.
He knew that his son was a cautious man and he would not make a deal if he was at a disadvantage but the question was the other person. From what he heard, Rigel will pose as the youngest son of Ulysses Ginehart which will benefit the Gineharts but what would Rigel get in return.
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