Revelations

Luckily, it was his room. As he approached the room, Marcus, who had been standing guard at the door, bowed and opened the doors for him. As Jophiel entered, he heard Marcus's voice.

"Young master is there anything you need."

"No" Jophiel took a step forward before remembering an important matter. He then stopped and called on Marcus, "wait!"

Marcus, who was in the process of shutting the door, halted his actions.

Jophiel continued, "Apart from the servants, my father and I, who are the other occupants of this manor?"

Jophiel knew this would cause suspicion, but he had no other choice. He had to find out who wanted him dead as soon as possible.

As expected, Marcus looked at him strangely, thinking, 'Is Young Master really alright? Did something terrible happen in the time that he was missing?' This time he was careful to keep his thoughts in his head.

"Of course, none other than your uncle and cousin live here. Why? Did young master spot an intruder?"

Jophiel hastily replied, "No, no, I just heard their voice in the hallway and couldn't recognise it straight away."

"Okay, I understand."

"Oh, and also, I wish to exercise a bit. Do you know a place fit for running and various exercises in private?"

"Yes, the woods that you and your cousin frequent."

"Woods? You mean forest?"

"You guys did go to the forest last time before you ran away, but it's too dangerous for you."

"Is it too dangerous, or are you scared I'm going to run away again?"

"Both, Young Master."

"Then why did you let me go last time?"

"I wish I could stop or accompany Young Master. But you made it clear multiple times that you'd rather train and explore with your cousin alone." he stated exasperatedly. "If I were there, I would never have let you run away." he muttered under his breath.

Jophiel pretended to have not heard the last part and simply replied, "hmmm."

He then began walking into his room when but surprisingly, Marcus followed.

"Do you need something?" He asked bewildered

"I must pick out your training clothes?"

"Oh."

Marcus walked to the door leading to the room containing Jophiel's clothes. He then pulled out a skirted coat and high boots to protect the legs and clothes with trim, and tailoring that would not hamper riding and manoeuvring through rough terrain.

After doing all this, he turned to Jophiel and asked

"Should I report to your cousin that you're going out, or are you planning to surprise him later?"

Report?! Surprise?! Jophiel did not have a death wish. After all, he had heard, it had become crystal clear that his uncle and nephew were trying to kill him to obtain his inheritance.

'Hold on', Jophiel suddenly reached an epiphany. His father already mentioned that if anything happened to me, my cousin and uncle obtain my inheritance. Moreover, I woke with a herb knife and no luggage when I woke up. It would have been possible for my bag to be lost in the struggle against the bird when it was about to capture him. However, when he woke up, his clothes were intact and clean, and his trousers had no cuts from branches if he had been running away from them through the forest. In essence, not only was the story that he ran away falsified, but that bird had also directly charged at him while on the outskirts of the forest. After all, that's where most herbs are. That bird was powerful and an inner forest dweller. Therefore, for it to attack him and only him directly, he must have been set up!

All these thoughts should have come to his head once his father mentioned his cousin and him running away. However, for some reason, they didn't. Worst of all, his father had mentioned that his cousin and uncle were vying for his inheritance. Yet, when he heard a father and son in a room in the manor having their plot to kill him fail, it didn't occur to him that the father and son pair were his dear uncle and cousin.

Had he gone dumb? It was like he lacked any perception whatsoever. At this thought, he immediately gasped. He now understood the effects of the system's deduction of his perception.

Shocked by his outburst, Marcus moved to check on him "Young Master, what's wrong?" He asked, sincerely concerned.

After all, Jophiel had just stayed in place for a long while before his sudden outburst.

At Marcus's enquiry, Jophiel shook his head and replied calmly,

"I'm fine, there is no need to report to my cousin, neither will I be surprising my cousin."

"But Young Master..."

"However, you, Marcus, shall accompany me this time." He paused and continued, "Any complaints?"

After a moment passed and he failed to receive a reply, he turned his gaze towards Marcus and saw bewilderment. Marcus looked so extremely confused that Jophiel almost broke into a fit of laughter.

It became clear that the old Jophiel must have been a total douche to Marcus and that their relationship was simply Master and servant. There was no friendship whatsoever.

He decided to wait for Marcus to come along, and after a short moment, he did.

He replied, "No young master, I would be pleased to escort you." After which, he bowed and took his leave. Most probably to change to a more suitable attire.

After taking his leave, although he did not report to Jophiel's cousin, he reported to the guards so that they could get clearance from the king to allow Jophiel out of the manor. He did not forget to mention to them that he would be the one escorting Jophiel this time. The count received the news from the guards and gave the clear as he was more at ease with Marcus being the escort. At first, the king thought that the Father-Son pair had planned something evil to get rid of his son. However, even after dragging out the conversation for a long while. He did not report being plotted against. The Count now hoped that Jophiel had really not been plotted against because if he had, it would be direr if he was too scared to expose his cousin and uncle or even worse if Jophiel was unaware of the fact that he had been plotted against. After all, it was well known that Jophiel couldn't cultivate; in the face of his cousin who had begun cultivation, he always cowered and followed his wishes. These thoughts brought a solemn sigh to the Count's lips.

On the other side of the manor, Marcus had received the all-clear. Hence he went back to Jophiel's chamber. Once inside, Marcus saw Jophiel fully dressed. However, Jophiel looked drained. Marcus wondered if he was so eager to exercise that he already exerted himself in his room.

Noting that Jophiel had not yet noticed his presence, he called out to him. "Young Master". At the sound of his voice, Jophiel turned to face him. He continued, "We may take our leave". He watched as Jophiel stood up, and their journey out of the manor began just like that.