Swapping Roles

To be honest, Helon didn't want to waste such a good opportunity on that prodigal son of his, but he was in a bit of an awkward position at the moment.

If the news about Yufu is true, then this move could help tide off his advancements for the time being while he figured things out.

Meanwhile, if it was fake, Helon still didn't lose anything, after all, Yolan was still his son at the end of the day, so if he could really learn something from Lefron Academy, then it would only be good for him.

Of course, in Helon's mind, there was still a third possibility, and that was that Yufu would try and kill him before Yolan was sent off.

Which meant now was the time to raise his guard to its limit because these next few days may be the most dangerous in his life.

Meanwhile, while Yufu was in his carriage heading back home, he didn't notice a pair of abyss-like black eyes staring into his window from a restaurant across the road.

"What are you looking at dad?" Rinka asked.

"Nothing, just thought I saw someone familiar." Minos smiled.

Having confirmed everything was going in the right direction, Minos spent the rest of the day carefree with his family.

They were only planning on staying a few more days before heading back, so Minos naturally wanted to give them the best experience possible.

…

The next few days passed by in a flash and while Minos spent the days with his family, he spent the nights scouting for information, eventually stumbling upon another interesting fact.

'Helon is going to send Yolan to Lefron Academy? Interesting…' Minos said, his grim smile masked by the darkness of the night.

With this information in mind, the next day, Minos called Rubella to his office privately, deciding to make use of this opportunity.

"Rubella, have you ever heard of Lefron Academy?"

"Lefron Academy? The one in Lefron Kingdom? I've heard that it's a place for the elites, but that's about it." Rubella said honestly.

"Well what would you think of going there?"

"Going there? Are you kidding? While Lefron Academy is no Aleph Institute, it's still not an easy place to get into."

"That may have been the case in the past, but a recent spot has opened up, so what do you think?" 

"Well if there really is a chance, then how could I refuse?"

"Good, then remember everything on this paper and then burn it." Minos said, while sliding a sheet across the table towards Rubella.

"Yolan? What is this?" Rubella asked curiously.

"While I said you could go, I never said you could go as yourself." Minos said with a laugh, causing Rubella's face to go slightly dark.

"So who is this Yolan fellow?" She kept asking.

"That's the City Lord's son, and from what I've heard, he's going to head off to Lefron Academy three days from now, so in that time, you'd best learn how to mimic him." Minos explained.

"Can I still refuse?" Rubella asked, her desire to go no longer as strong as before.

"Of course not? Who else would make better use of this opportunity than my own genius disciple?" Minos smiled, causing Rubella to go slightly red from the compliment.

"Fine! But if I slip up and someone finds out my identity, it's your fault. And also, while I can mimic his personality, what about his voice and appearance?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, I've already got it sorted." Minos smiled, still having the Blood Masquerade Mask that he had never given back to Venix.

Originally, he was just going to use the mask to kill the Helon or Yufu and replace them with one of his men, but he realized that was far too risky, so he decided against it.

But suddenly, an even better opportunity had revealed itself, and since Yolan was heading off to Lefron Academy where no one knew him, Rubella wouldn't have to worry much about revealing herself.

And the final cherry on top is that once 'Yolan' came back, even if he was completely different from before, everyone would just assume it was because his experience at Lefron Academy changed him.

If all things went as planned, Rubella would leave as a foreigner, but come back as 'Yolan' in the flesh, no one doubting her again.

But before any of that, Minos still had to deal with Yufu, but this whole situation with Yolan had actually given him a whole new idea.

While he could just kill Yufu or Helon and blame it on the others, that would leave Underwood City in turmoil, which actually wouldn't be good for him.

But with this new plan, not only would there be no storms, but he and Trin's Abode would come out even stronger.

"One more thing before you go." Minos suddenly said as Rubella was about to leave the room.

"Hmm?"

"That sheet I gave you contains Yolan's schedule. As you can see, he usually meets up with his grandfather every week or so, during that time, I want you to memorize what I wrote on the other side and say it to him." Minos said.

Hearing Minos's words, Rubella flipped over the sheet, revealing a script that Minos had already prepared.

"You want me as 'Yolan' to try and deal with Trin's Abode by myself? But Yolan is a waste, why would he ever volunteer to do something so difficult?" Rubella questioned.

"Hey, everyone can have a change in character." Minos laughed.

"What if Yufu gets suspicious?"

"Let him, it doesn't matter, after all, Yolan will be heading to Lefron Academy soon anyways, so regardless of his suspicions, he won't do much." Minos said before continuing.

"Besides, 'Yolan' will be away at Lefron Academy for four years, so as long as you can convince Yufu to leave us alone for that time, we'll have plenty of time to figure out a better solution."

"But that's a talk for another time, for now, you focus on getting into your role." Minos finished.

"Okay, but remember, if I get caught and killed, it's your fault." Rubella said, sticking her tongue out before leaving.

Smiling, Minos focused back on his work before calling in one of his men to get Beetus for him.

Soon enough, Beetus entered the room, and after giving him a few commands, he sent him off as well.

With Beetus off to finish Minos's task, Minos took Rinka and Tinka out for another day of fun, which also happened to be their last one.

"Dad, do we really have to leave today?" Rinka asked, having already gotten used to the excitement of Underwood City.

"Your father still has work to finish back at the tribe, but I'm sure we can head out like this again in the future." Tinka said, speaking for her husband.

"What your mom said is right, besides, it's also about time you began cultivating, and this isn't a good place for it."

"Cultivating, really! No lies!" Rinka said with excitement.

"No lies, though this isn't really cultivation, but more like preparation for cultivation." Minos said, making Rinka's excitement rapidly fizzle away.

"What do you mean preparation?"

"You're still too young to cultivate for real, but this is a perfect chance to temper your physique so that your future is much smoother, not like your old man." Minos explained.

"So when can I really start to cultivate?" Rinka asked.

"When you're ten, then we'll start for real."

"Hmph, fine! But can you atleast teach me how to fight first? I want to beat up those annoying kids at the tribe." Rinka said, while swinging her fist around as if imagining the fight already.

"I don't think that would be a good idea." Tinka couldn't help but say, already imagining all the trouble their girl would get into if she could really fight.

"Hahaha, what's wrong with learning a little self defense? But remember, never hit first, and if I find out you abuse the things I teach you, then forget learning anything else." Minos admonished.

"Don't worry pops, I'll only beat up the bad kids, not the good ones!" Rinka assured, patting her chest confidently.

Seeing her appearance, Rinka and Minos couldn't help but laugh, slightly annoying the thin-skinned little girl.

After another meal out at a fancy restaurant, the family headed back to the mansion for the last time, Minos sending Rinka and Tinka to gather their belongings while he went to meet up with Beetus.

"Here you go boss, everything you asked for is in the spatial ring like you said." Beetus said, handing the ring back to Minos.

"Good job, and remember, if you run into any trouble, activate the signal talisman." Minos said.

"No worries boss, I'll be sure to call you first thing."

"Good, then I'll leave the rest in your care. Tell the others I said goodbye." Minos said, exiting the mansion with Tinka and Rinka and heading off into the dense streets.