For the next three days, Linius and his men started to prepare for their journey. Supplies and weapons were loaded. The general did not even forget to bring his Magic Brigade with him. It was to prepare for the worst-case scenario that may happen while they were enroute to their destination.
Linius looked at the master who was currently lounging in the gazebo ant the garden behind the manor. He had his eyes closed but Linius knew that he was awake. He took the empty seat on the left side of the gazebo and sat there without speaking.
"Do you have anything to say, general?" Cygnus asked after a while because the man only sat there without speaking which was a bit uncharacteristic of him.
"I will not be the only person who will be in danger. Once I leave the capital, eyes would surely fall on you. The wolves and hounds will surely come after you." He started to speak without even giving a glance to the man.
He knew that it was meaningless to tell him all those things but it already became his habit and the man had been part of Ginehart for so long now. Along the way, he already thought of him as a brother even though he was clearly older than him by a hundred years. The master might not appreciate it but he would continue to treat him as a part of his family.
"You don't have to worry about those lowly animals. Did you already forget? I have a dragon and a serpent. I can always let them feast on those who will try to devour me," Cygnus answered.
It was not a secret that almost all nobles in the kingdom were eyeing the Ginehart and every opportunity they could find to bring them down would be a welcome chance for them. Cygnus opened his eyes and shifted his head to the side where he openly stared at the general. The man's thoughts were a bit foreign to the master, he understood it and yet at the same time he did not.
"You have some funny thoughts in there," he commented. The concept was lost to him as he had to grow up without his family.
"You don't have to understand them though," the man stood up, "I'm just reminding you to be careful because anything might happen."
He gave the master one last glance before he waved his hands and bid him goodbye. Cygnus did not go back to his nap and instead he remained silent on his seat for a while. He was looking at the scenery beyond the blooming flower garden. Family, a word so foreign and yet so familiar to him.
The rumbling of the ground as several horses and carriage left the Ginehart manor caught the attention of everyone. They marched bearing the flag of the kingdom and the Gineharts. It was like a majestic parade that everyone would usually witness when there were grand occasions. The people remained solemn though because they knew that the soldiers were going to battle.
It was a fascinating scene. Cygnus was flying above the parade and at that moment, he suddenly snapped his fingers and several magic circles were drawn above the street where the soldiers were walking. Once the circles were complete, several petals of multicolored flowers fell down as it showered the soldiers with its unique fragrance.
The people who were watching on the side were in awe and when they looked up, all the circles disappeared. There was no trace of the person who did it. Linius had no idea who it was but he appreciated the gesture. He would return from the south victoriously.
Just a few days after their departure, the Ginehart manor already experienced several break ins. There were no casualties but there was a lot of destruction. These acts were only used to test the waters and to see how the people inside the manor would react.
These kinds of taunts were not going to work against Cygnus though. He acted scared and worried that he would bring with him several guards whenever he left the manor. The guards in the manor were also doubled to address the issue. The wolves watched this reaction but they were not fazed as they moved on to the next step in their plans.
"They are starting to move," Ignius spoke after he came out from a gate. He sat on the couch and crossed his feet with his arms spread wide open against the couch.
"That's good, we can welcome them all with open arms," Cygnus laughed. He wasn't doing anything and yet his enemies were delivering themselves to him.
At first there were only light knocks but as the days progressed it also escalated. His bakery was boycotted as there were rumors destroying his business's reputation. Apparently, his products were subpar and the worst one was that a client of theirs apparently fell ill after prolonged intake of the pastries that were being sold at the bakery.
This was one of the reasons why authorities raided the bakery but at the end of the day, they found nothing. Even though the matter was cleared, the shop's reputation already suffered a blow. His time spent on the Hero Association also dwindled which gave the crown prince the chance to wiggle his way towards the heart of the group.
Things only got worse when no news from the southern border regarding the general's arrival did not come. The manor turned bleak because of what they heard and yet that was not the end. The Ginehart duchy was put in a difficult situation just because of a deal they made in one of the kingdoms they were dealing with.
With all these combined problems, the people's opinion towards the family became a bit on the negative side. Even the hero association that had been backing him suddenly had a change of mind. it became more and more difficult to meet the hero and the president, as if they were avoiding him.
Since he was still acting naïve, he would show his vulnerable expression to attract more customers but it was not happening now. This was the first time that his shop hadn't been full. Even his shop's earnings plummeted down because of what was happening.
After all of that, the assassinations came like a wave. At first, they would send a group of three people to stab or even burn him but their plans were already known to the master, so he managed to evade all of those attempts in his life. While he was busy evading their attacks against him, something good reached him.
"Three of the people in the list are confirmed. What shall I do with them now? Kill them or eat them?" Ignius who came to report was getting excited at the possibility of him getting back to flying and scaring people.
"That's good to know. Have they joined the chaos?" Cygnus asked after a while. It would be better if they joined the chaos that way all the characters in his play would be completed.
"Two of them are, because they are supporting two different noble families," Ignius answered while he was relaxing on the couch.
"Good," Cygnus grinned. The first plot of his play was about to happen and he would let the people know terror.
While he was celebrating, Ari's voice echoed in the silent room. She had been silent for the past few days because like the butler she underwent a system update. After hearing the plan and the explanation from the master, he became curious.
They were still enjoying their lives when an unknown error occurred at the folder where the master's memories were stored. Although Ari underwent an update, something like this still happened and with that simple crack on the file, hell slowly but surely descended in the capital.
These events would still take place in the near future, for now the kingdom's peace was about to be broken. The king knew what was happening but he chose not to interfere. This was something the nobles started without consulting him, so they would need to bear the consequences of their actions.
The attacks did not stop and yet Cygnus already knew who these people were. He had a list of their names floating in the air as he then pointed at a particular name. That night the master called forth his dragon as he pointed at the list. Ignius looked at it and he noticed that one name was highlighted.
"What do you want me to do, master?" Ignius had a grin on his face as he asked that question even though he already knew what the master was about to say.
"Destroy them, eat them, I don't care. Just do it silently and I will send you some replacements that you can use," the master simply answered. His eyes were narrowed as they stared at the list of names.
"I understand, master. Please look forward to a good result," the dragon answered. He even bowed his head with his eyes glowing gold in the dark.
