A carriage appeared from afar, drawn by two horses. They were being struck to run as fast as their hooves could carry them.

The first question Isidore had asked himself was about what a carriage from the main house is doing in the forest? In his memory, this unusual matter caused him to remember the youthful doll-like maid whom he sighted her wandering in this range, not long ago.

Moving ahead of the suspicious carriage, he chose a large tree trunk with a lot of snow around it, and he laid on his belly, so he wouldn't be discovered.

The carriage had gotten near his position in the blink of an eye, and despite its speed, Isidore was able to spot not just the servant who was leading the horses but also he gained glimpses at the person who was inside.

He was the hairy Chimera..., the renowned magus of this village.

After the carriage passed, Isidore stood confused, examining what he just perceived. The magus of the main house... The one who controls the farm, he seemed as if he was fleeing with his personal servants from something.

Things really became unpredictable after the Crocotta clan's arrival...

A little time has passed, where Isidore still laying on his belly, lost in a sea of wonder. Subsequently, a load of snow falls on his head, engulfing him. He cleaned his eyes and looked upward to find the albino doctor on one of the highest branches. The latter stirred the branch again with his foot before he jumped to the other branch.

A load of snow completely buried Isidore, and when he wiped his eyes free, he only got a glimpse of Rokah's shadow as he followed the same path that the horse carriage took.

Dragging the sentiment of confusion and bewildering behind his back, Isidore returned to his place. All the way, he was submerged in his thought, digging for an explanation for what he just witnessed. But every time, he derived the same conclusion. The doctor appeared to be in the pursuit of the main house magus carriage.

Isidore blinked four more times when he saw the cottage from this distance. He pondered again, agitated, why he could see the cottage from this angle, where are the black fluffy ball that obstructed his vision?

In a moment of frenzy, he could only detect upon the melting snow, a trace of paws, enormous paws. What's more, they were in the same direction as the carriage. On the spot, his panic multiplied, only thinking about what he was going to say to the Crocotta lady?

He looked at the direction of the trail on the snow, determined to follow it. An Amarok nearly as tall as a tree, there is nowhere he could hide. And once more, to his bad luck, he noticed that the traces on the melting snow were getting smaller before it completely disappeared near the base of some a tree trunk.

He bobbed his head to look upward; his eyes wide open, his face was expressionless. A clearer word managed to escape his throat. "He had us fulled."

However, Isidore's mind didn't stop merely at this conclusion. He asked himself about the point this Amarok is made by this pointless escape?

Weren’t all of them trapped inside the boundaries of the village, that Amarok will never get out. It was worthier for him to wait for the grace of the Crocotta.

Isidore walked back into his cottage, not angry, but troubled about how he was going to convince the young lady that he didn't have betrayed her. Obviously getting the passage permit, is his supreme priority.

Maybe he should inform her about the horse carriage and that Rokah was following it.

Wait a minute... A revelation...

Isn't Rokah serving the Crocotta?

Didn't the Crocotta come here to overcome the one who stole this farm from them?

Isn't that butler serving the Crocotta enemy? And Rokah is following him...

Isidore froze at the succession of these intertwined ideas that just popped into his head... Because they are leading to one concluding outcome. Did the Crocotta succeed in abolishing the barrier?

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Is that why the young lady was late? and the magus is fleeing...

***

In another hand, Lady Akila, as she was adding the final touches to dinner dishes, noticed the new unpleasant atmosphere between Savannah and Lord Shiva who looked like someone who has lost his fortune.

While she thought about it, another idea popped into her mind when she observed Kanari searching for plates, spoons, and eating tools. She asked disguising her true motive: "What are you doing?"

"Preparing the table for dinner."

"And what Savannah is doing?"

Kanari stopped her movement and revived the memory of Savannah running after Lord Shiva's back while kissing up to him and the latter was neglecting her coldly.

This scene was certainly not odd in Kanari's eyes, as she often witnessed her sister offending someone and after they get mad at her she tries to please them with sweet words. Thus, she didn't think much of it. She replied to her mother's inquiry brainlessly: "Nothing."

And it was Akila's time to strike, she said with a fake severe tone: "What, that lazy parasite, always finding a way to shun from kitchen work. Put down what's in your hands and make her prepare the dinner table by herself."

"Mum..." Kanari protested: "I hate waiting, doing nothing."

Akila smiled in deceit and said: "Well, then, you can go and invite Mr. Hendrickson and Lord Shiva to dinner, of course, don't forget our new distributor. It's not from politeness to eat and other watches."

Kanari's jaw dropped before she protested again: "Mother... I prefer setting the table."

" kanari!"

In the end, Kanari walked out of the kitchen dragging the disappointment with her, wondering how she was going to face those three men alone; one is perverted, one is devious and the last one she didn't know him.

But when she spotted Savannah, sitting on one chair and relaxing her legs on another, looking like she had surrendered on persuading Lord Shiva to whatever she had done or wanted from him.

An idea lighted the darkness in Kanari mind, she quickly ran to Savannah and briefed her after she kicked her legs away from the chair and proceeded to clean it: "Mum told me to tell you that you need to bring the dishes from the kitchen here, so I could prepare the table, and she also wanted you to invite the others for the dinner."

Savannah adjusted her position and laughed, her sister's schemes were always obvious, especially when she makes demands while avoiding eye contact: "Oh, please Kanari you are so bad at lying."

Kanari puffed her cheeks and took the permits of passage and fanned using them: "If you want those, you better do as I say."

Savannah stood up, hissing: "What are you doing?" hands interlaced in the air. "Quick, hide them, what if our mother will see them." Savannah failed to snatch them, thus she resigned and said: "Okay, Okay, You are so good at convincing people."

When Akila saw Savannah at the entrance of the kitchen, she smiled to herself thinking that her plan to make Kanari braver at making contact has succeeded.

After finishing the first task, Savannah walked to the main hall, where she had left Lord Shiva sulking. Before she notified him about the dinner, she had thought about another way to ease his exasperation. Therefore, she walked towards him, whereas, he pretended that he didn't see her.

She didn't get discouraged and said: "Well, I am going to escort Mr. Hendrickson to the dining room."

Shiva still acted like she didn't exist and tucked his head in the papers he was reading.

That also didn't discourage Savannah from continuing: "You didn't ask yourself why he didn't come to greet you."

"Because he didn't respect me?" Shiva, at last, talked, even if his tone was angry.

"No, I didn't mean it like that." Savannah snatched a deep breath while commenting in her heart, Ah, Shiva is completely worse than Kanari when he is sulking, he is extremely hard to please.

She forced a smile on her lips joked: "Ah, please, don't take it so personally, Hendrickson doesn't respect anybody except for those who know how to slap him."

Shiva finally smiled, he pointed at the papers in his hands and followed: "Slap him very hard like your mother." He paused for a few seconds, then he inquired: "Don't tell me he is blackmailing you too?"

Savannah was pleased with her success: "Yes, I initially wanted to meet him for revenge, but who thought that he was so pathetic to the point that it made me forget my revenge."

Lord Shiva made a puzzled face, wondering what could have happened to Hendrickson that he needed to be escorted to the dining room. For this, he forgot his anger in favor of his curiosity, and he decided to go with Savannah.

Without knocking, Savannah forced the door of Hendrickson's room open when she heard the noise of something falling.

Behind the table, he lifted his hand waving and said: "I am good, I just slipped."

Savannah watched while Nicolai struggled to get up on his feet and when she grew weary of his pretense of being ok and felt enough compassion to aid him. She approached and helped him up.

Lord Shiva was at the door, his bat wings stashed his body like a cloak. Being a witness to this rare spectacle, His heart was actually pleased and his curiosity to meet the one who caused Nicolai to suffer this much ate his heart entirely.

There was no greeting between the two - Shiva and Nicolai-, just making eye contact was extremely awkward.

Both Savannah and Shiva walked side by side behind Hendrickson, observing him limping and staggering. Every so often, they whispered into each other ears, theories about what could have happened to him.

When they get to the staircase, Savannah notified them:

"I will leave you now, gentlemen, there is a third person whom I need to invite for dinner."

Shiva watched Savannah back as she disappeared in the shadows of the next corridor before he moved his eyes toward Nicolai whom he started to descend the stairs. The latter appeared to be in much pain compared to when he was walking.

Shiva quickly caught up to him and extended his hand as he said: "Do you need some help?"