[56.6] Do Not Make an Owl Angry

….Four years later….

Syrus was outside in the garden, planting new flowers that Caldwell had brought back from the market. The back garden was starting to look like a jungle with the variety of plants and flowers that were growing.

Celane stood at the window watching him closely as if trying to memorize every movement and burn him into memory. She had been acting different the last few days, even refusing to get out of bed.

Caldwell appeared behind her, "Are you feeling better, Lady Celane?"

"Oh. Caldwell." She jumped from his sudden appearance, "I-I'm feeling fine this morning. Just a little nauseous."

"Then allow me to brew you some tea. I recently purchased a new tea leaf imported from a neighboring Kingdom. I hear the effects are very beneficial to health."

She pursed her lips, "Caldwell. You should drink it. You purchased it with the money you got from doing those clothing alterations on the side."

"It's not a bother, Lady Celane. I purchased it with you and my brother in mind."

She let out a sigh, "Then at least pour yourself a cup."

"Very well."

He brewed the tea and carried the cups to the window where he gave her hers. She continued to stare out of the window watching Syrus, "I still have a hard time understanding how Syrus doesn't have any affinity to magic. I would never believe he didn't have an attribute seeing as dedicated he is to that garden. I would have guessed he was a earth attribute."

Caldwell nodded, "My brother and I are from a village that isn't endowed with magic, unlike your Kingdom which is rich in magic. Before the war, my brother and I traveled and found a tribe that had never seen magic before and thought it didn't exsist."

She took a sip of her tea, "How interesting. I never would have thought such places exist. You know, sometimes I forget that you two travelled the world before you met me."

"It was always Syrus who wanted to see things. I just tagged along. If we stayed in one place for too long, he would always get restless. He was a wanderer at heart. If he didn't travel, his heart would-"

Caldwell forced himself to stop, realizing what he was saying. He looked at Celane anxiously to see a guilty and shameful expression on her face.

"Sometimes I feel as though I've ripped off his wings." Her eyes lowered, "...But I'm too selfish to let him go."

Her face suddenly tighetend in pain and she grabbed her chest. The cup fell from her hands, shattering on the ground. Caldwell panicked and reached out to her, "Are you alright?!"

She slapped away his hands, "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Caldwell flinched back, surprised by her uncharacteristic shout. Her eyes were bloodshot as she clutched her chest.

Syrus heard the commotion and sprinted inside, "What happened?!"

Caldwell shrugged in confusion and panic, "I-I don't know!"

Celane suddenly grabbed Syrus with madness in her eyes, "You… You can't leave me… You can't…"

Syrus looked at Caldwell quizzically who answered with a panicked expression showing he didn't know what had happened. In the end, Syrus brought her to her room and Caldwell left the house to give them privacy.

As he walked, he was suddenly handed a letter from another servant.

He checked out the envelope and recognized the Royal insignia.

Syrus and Celane were invited to the King's birthday ball.

Albert desperately wanted them to stay home and hide them to make others think they didn't exist, but the King had never forgotten them. Since the letter was delivered specifically to them, no one could prevent them from going.

However, Albert refused to buy them any suitable outfits.

Luckily for them, Caldwell was getting better at repurposing outfits and making them look expensive, so he quickly went to work. They only had a few days to prepare, but he worked tirelessly and when they entered the ball, all eyes were upon them. Since the invitation didn't include him, Caldwell was expected to wait at the rented carriage.

But how could Caldwell just let that happen?

As soon as he was alone, his eyes changed from brown to a vibrant yellow. A smoke billowed around him, covering him completely. Once it dissipated, only a white mouse remained. With a determined squeak, he scurried out of the carriage and after his brother. Once close enough, he jumped onto his pant leg and hid himself inside.

Syrus was so amazed by the Palace that he didn't even notice the unwelcomed rider.

Caldwell held on, completely unaware to what was happening on the outside. He could hear conversations, but it was very clear that no one had any intention of speaking to his brother and sister-in-law. As soon as Syrus walked by, conversations stopped. Only Celane and Syrus spoke to each other.

However, neither minded. To have good food and listen to beautiful music, they were beyond happy. They even started dancing at one point.

Caldwell only knew this because he soon grew nauseous from all the spinning and turning.

It seems his brother wasn't the best of dancers.

Caldwell decided to memorize the dances in the Kingdom so he could properly teach his brother for next time.

After they were both so exhausted from dancing, Syrus asked, "Would you like me to get you a glass of wine?"

"O-Oh. No, thank you. Water is fine."

"Alright~"

Syrus skipped off to get their drinks, causing Caldwell to get nauseous once more.

As he made his way over to the drink area, Albert and his "friends" were standing nearby.

One spoke up, "Isn't that the man who is married to that taint?"

Albert scoffed, "Don't even look at him. He might come over and stink everything up."

Syrus ignored him, focusing more on procuring the drinks for his woman. Seeing him not respond, Albert grew more frustrated.

His friend commented, "Oi, this prick. Duke Albert, how could you let this man into your family? Taint or not, he's still going to be the father of your sister's daughter."

Albert grinned viciously, "Who cares what man knocks her up? That woman's daughter will be raised by us in the end."

Syrus pursed his lips but didn't antagonize him. It wasn't in his nature to be aggressive or confrontational.

Albert leaned back smugly and chuckled, "Congratulations on the child, by the way. Now I get to finally plan her funeral. Although, I didn't think it would take this long. What exactly have you two been doing in that house for four years?"

Syrus suddenly grabbed him, "What are you talking about?"

Albert tossed off his hand in disgust, "How dare you touch me, you low life!?"

"Wait. What did you mean-"

"-Pah! Don't you dare look at me you filth! You and that taint need to be taught a lesson and be reminded of your place at the bottom of my feet."

Caldwell dug his nails into the clothing, fighting back the urge to pounce forward and rip that man into shreds.

As Albert turned with a scoff and walked away, Syrus raised his voice, "Don't call her that."

"...Excuse me?"

Caldwell froze in surprise at his brother's firm voice.

"Celane isn't a taint. In fact, she is what nobility should aspire to be. She's a kind woman who would put all others before herself. So don't you dare speak ill of my wife."

Caldwell felt his heart tremble. Pride swelled up within him and he wished he was in his human form so that way he could pat his brother on the back for his bravery.

"Heh… Hah. HAHAH!" Albert bursed into hideous laughter, "That's probably the funniest joke I've heard all night!"

He walked off, still mocking Syrus's bravery. Syrus didn't care that he was the one being made fun of and quickly tossed it out of his mind. After getting the drinks and walking back, he was surprised to find his wife elsewhere. Still anxious from the previous conversation, he walked down the empty halls quickly, searching everywhere for any sight of her.

As he searched, Caldwell suddenly felt like something was wrong.

Weren't there several pairs of footsteps following his brother?

Syrus seemed to notice as well and spun around, "Um… Sorry… Why do you lot have swords in your hands?"

Caldwell felt his blood chill and his body freeze.

Swords?!

The men ready to attack spoke, "You will pay with your life for disrespecting our Lord."

"Eh? You're sent here to kill me?"

"Don't even bother trying to run!"

The men launched forward to stab him fatally, and Syrus did not intend to move. He held his hands out to them as if trying to hug them, a sign to return hate with love.

Luckily for Syrus, Caldwell was incapable of this love.

He sprinted out of the pant leg and transformed into his demon form just in time for the short sword to go through his body. Caldwell grabbed the sword with his hands and let out an irritated huff.

Their attacker's faces all paled at his sight, "D-Demon! Someone quick, go call for-"

*BAM*

Caldwell grabbed the attacker's head and slammed it into the floor, knocking him unconscious. He then turned to the rest and slammed their heads together, causing blood to spray from their broken noses. Once they collapsed to the floor, Caldwell began to kick them to vent his anger, each blow directed towards their head.

He wasn't going to be a coward anymore.

"Caldwell stop!" Syrus ran forward and tried to pull him off, "You're going to kill them!!"

Caldwell's nostrils flared as he tried to keep kicking, "So?!"

"So?! Did you forget our village's promise?!"

Caldwell suddenly stopped his attacks, freezing midair.

Syrus reminded him quickly upon seeing his hesitation, "We must not kill humans or demons and give compassion to all life."

Caldwell stopped his attack, his eyes dulling. He pulled the sword out of his chest and tossed it to the side. His wound was already healing up and not a single drop of blood managed to rush out of the cut.

Caldwell then turned to his brother, his pupils retracting upon his sight. "Y-You're hurt!"

Caldwell grabbed Syrus's shirt and threw it open. A small cut bled through his clothes. Syrus averted his eyes awkwardly, "When the sword went through you, the tip seems to have plummeted a bit in me. I don't think it's fatal-"

"What is wrong with you?!" At Caldwell's shout, Syrus flinched. He spat out venomously, "Why don't you value your life?! Why don't you ever fight back!? They wanted to kill you!"

Syrus calmly pushed his hands away, "Brother. I value my life just as I value yours. I can't just hurt others because they want to hurt me. To change the world from violence to love, it starts with the individual-"

"-YOU COULD HAVE DIED!"

"I do not fear death." Syrus smiled helplessly, "I fear a world full of war and hate."

"You! You… You-" Caldwell took a deep breath and grabbed his hand, "We are going back to the carriage."

Syrus let him drag him, "First, can't you change back to a human? You look like a demon."

Caldwell's body suddenly transformed back into his twin human and kept pulling him. As they walked, a sudden shout came from behind him.

"Syrus?! Caldwell? What are you two doing!? Is that blood!?!"

Caldwell spun around and spat out, "You're stupid husband didn't even try to stop your brother Albert's assassins from trying to kill him."

Celane's face changed from blue to pale, "K-Kill?!"

Syrus smiled, "It's okay. No one died."

Caldwell clicked his tongue and brought him to the carriage where Celane followed and checked out his wound, "I-It doesn't look too deep. That's a relief."

Once they were stored in the carriage, Caldwell climbed into the driver's seat and made it go back home.

Syrus grabbed her hands, "Oh! Albert mentioned something about planning your funeral. Are you sick?!"

Her face turned red and she averted her eyes, "...Just pregnant."