"...ge!...udge!...Judge!...Judge!" Judge could hear someone calling him frantically. It was a female voice, but it was not his mother, not Clio either.
He slowly opened his eyes. They felt heavy, as if he had not slept for ages, but he still felt refreshed after he completely opened them. He did not want to go back to sleep and was itching to release this pent-up energy somewhere.
He looked at whoever was calling his name. It was his sister, Amber. Oh! Didn't she leave? Or was it today? He thought about it immediately. If she had not yet left, then it must mean that it's still not noon.
He looked outside, the sun was looming over the horizon, waiting to be set to rest after a long day of shiny work.
"It's evening." He calmly said to his sister, he knew most other forms of talk would only get her mad, his best option was to act defenseless.
After hearing her brother speak, Amber's whole worry and anger melted. She could only look at his current state in awe. He feels so... Defenseless. She covered her mouth with both her hands.
"Why are you looking at me like I am a terminally ill patient about to die?"
Ok! I take that back, he never feels so defenseless. She went in and gave him a hug, much to Judge's discomfort, he tried to push her away, but she held on.
"Let him go Amber you are not giving him space to breathe." Liam materialized behind her, and she jumped in surprise. Thank you, Liam. You are the big brother I need. Judge silently thanked his brother.
"Don't do that!" Amber shouted.
"For god's... for someone's sake, make some noise when you walk! You are as silent as a wraith, and wraiths are scary." The entire family of Drakonis were too prideful to bow to the gods.
Liam laughed, and seeing him, Judge also laughed. Amber, seeing as two of her younger siblings were making fun of her, pursed her lips and went out the door. And that was when Judge noticed that he was in his room, lying in his bed.
Liam wiped a tear off after laughing enough and sat in the empty chair beside Judge's bed that Amber had sat on before she left.
"Don't hate her because she's clingy," He gave Judge a bright and enthusiastic smile, which was as unsettling as Clio's smile. "I hate her being clingy, but I don't hate her as a person, And I love her deeply as a sibling."
Why are you telling me this? Judge wanted to ask, but what came out of his mouth was a "Hmmm" with a light nod.
"So the thing is," his brother continued.
"The thing is that... Oh, shoot I forgot what I was about to say."
"Are you an idiot on purpose?" Amber came in through the white double door, pushing a tray cart that was almost as tall as her. It was Judge's food, and Lediya came in behind her and bowed at them from the door.
"I will explain because this idiot of a wraith called 'Liam', seems to be quite forgetful." She seemed to be unnecessarily proud after she just said that. "I postponed my trip until two days later because you and Mother would not wake up. It was Grandpa's idea though."
"Mhm," Judge nodded but he was more interested in the food, "Is it Worrak?" He could not hide his excitement.
"No, it's roasted mutton with side salad," Lediya answered, and seeing his face going from excitement to uninterested, she quickly told him the reason why there was no steak today. "Worrak that was to be killed today suddenly died of unknown causes."
"Unkown causes huh." Judge got down from his bed in his plain navy pajamas and got to the table, he usually ate while on the sofa, but today he felt like eating from where he was supposed to eat.
Liam and Amber both went around him and got seated right beside his chair, and Lediya served food for all three of them, which amazed Judge since he ate alone when he was in his room, and talking was not allowed when they were eating together.
Judge laughed without care together with his siblings for the first time in both his life, it was a wonderful experience that his past self had longed for, to be able to spend time with people whom he could trust enough to turn his back on in a fight.
A shadowy figure was watching them all eat, he smiled at how his children laughed together. It was a wonderful feeling he had ever longed for, to see his young copies laugh together.
Noel was surveying the gigantic mansion, it was still morning so he did not dare to get inside or act suspicious. This was the house of the strongest noble family of the wyverns, the Drakonis family, and his job was to execute the young mistress named Amber Drakonis who had just turned turn a few months back.
He knew that when children turned ten, they would head to any of the schools. But it would only make his target hard to kill.
From the escort to even the dorms, the security was strong and immaculate, and he was not confident in a direct confrontation. So his best bet was to kill her while she was still inside the house.
Today, he was surveying the outer area of the castle walls, taking mental notes of the guards stationed, to everyone watching, he looked like a tourist.
He observed a half of the wall before heading to a restaurant to grab some food, he had checked when their shift was for the past week, and the timings were also done seriously, new shifts would arrive at the designated time and take over the post. It was just like the guards stationed around the city walls and the port. No other place, except the capital, had this much tight of a security.
Makes you wonder what kind of secrets are held within the house of the famous wyverns. Noel thought calmly.
All the guard towers had bells and a roof above to protect them from direct sunlight and rain.
After making sure the time was enough for the shift to change, he slowly finished his meals, paid a couple of Nens extra as a tip, and headed back out to finish his survey of the rest of the castle walls.
Surveying the castle walls might seem unnecessary, but he was more careful if anything. After all, he did not live this long without being careful.