This chapter is brought to you by Demons by Alec Benjamin. 

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When Rasa heard what about during her cousin's first officially sanctioned mission and saw the two new kiddies following after him like lost kittens, she burst out laughing on the spot and wouldn't stop.

Tobus stared at her with a gloomy frown, but she couldn't help herself.

The first serious mission he took as a Vesna agent and he came back with two more children. It was hilarious! 

Rasa's initiation into the Saintly Sisters happened a year ago, and while she was technically also considered a Vesna agent, she was not approved for imperial-sanctioned missions, yet. 

"Hey, where are you going?" Rasa asked, catching up to Tobus and his hoard of kiddies and cats. 

"Out. Kittens wanted to play."

She noticed the little boy he brought back, Puck, in his arms, and standing beside him, her other cousin, Jovette, was pouting. 

Tobus might have noticed her frustration because he also picked her up and let her ride on his back. 

Ophelia was a year older than Jovette and seemed to have integrated herself nicely with Duri and Tess. She didn't seem to be bothered by the new environment, Rasa observed, which was good.

It seemed Jovette's true rival was Puck. 

Rasa followed the group out, teasing Tobus the entire way to the city square. 

"Kitty!" a shout rang out. 

In sync, they turned they turned their heads and saw Rowan Monttevi running toward them. 

Behind him, Rasa noticed Belwyn Monttevi chasing his cousin furiously, expression set with deadly focus, and behind him, was Mercury Stella, skipping after him with a grin. 

Oh, dear. 

"Puppies," she heard Tobus say. 

The Monttevi Heir answered with another loud "Kitty!"

He pounced on the swarm of cats and was soon smothered underneath fluff. 

Rasa crossed her arms and shook her head. 

It seemed no one had told the brat about keeping distance. She and Tobus had already killed, and therefore, were considered full-fledged adults, in the eyes of the city. 

The rivalry of their house now rested on their shoulders, or more specifically, rested on Tobus'. 

If the honor of House Calypto was ever challenged or questioned, he would be the first to fight. 

Not that she had seen him in action, yet. 

Tobus had been running back-to-back missions for the last two years in order to get that fancy new coat of his that indicated he was "The Distinguished Protector of the House Heir."

Well now...

Rasa saw a familiar coat in Monttevi blue resting on Belwyn's shoulder. The claymore on his back seemed even more prominent, now. 

Did Tobus even realize this?

By the blank look in those eyes, as Belwyn approached, it didn't seem like he cared. 

The crowded streets of the city square seemed to have gone quiet as people started to take notice of two Heir Protectors facing one another. 

---

Bel hadn't seen Tobus Arcadia in a long while. 

He heard a lot of praise for the boy and his streak of mission successes from the mouth of the Monttevi mercenaries. 

The fact that the Calyptos have only sent him on solo and lone missions was unbelievable. Most people their age wouldn't be trusted with missions like those. Solo kills and lone missions were dangerous, and usually required the skill levels of full-grown adults.

Was Tobus some sort of prodigy? Or was he simply good at killing?

Bel shuddered.

Those hands looked fragile and smooth, and it was clear how much he adored the children who surrounded him.

Yet, he was also a killer.

Bel knew that House Calypto was unlike House Monttevi in many ways. 

The Monttevis took care of military-related issues. They did well in groups and aided in wars. 

The Calyptos were assassins and spies. They killed in shadows and mostly worked alone unless otherwise stated. 

Of course, both their families have killed. They were mercenaries, after all. But there was a big difference in their problem-solving skills, hence why his uncle and Lord Calypto butted heads so often during Chambers. 

The Calyptos believed if one death wasn't enough, another should solve it. 

The Monttevis preferred to minimize death, having been on the battlefield and seen the miseries of war. He valued life a little more than Lord Calypto. 

Speaking of valuing life, where was Rowan?

He needed to teach that brat the meaning of life and why he should appreciate it. 

Spotting his cousin's blue coat under a hideously large pile of cats, he told himself he would not beat the tiny little fucker, today. He had a streak going on for the last three weeks, and he was trying to prove Mercury wrong. 

"Puppy," he heard Tobus say, and then he met wide emerald green eyes staring into his own. 

Bel sucked in a breath. 

Oh no.

Oh no no no no no...

His hair was longer, tied up into a horsetail. His skin was still copper, if not a little darker from how often he left the safety of the city. His eyes were still the same blank and uncaring of the going-on around him. 

And he was carrying the heir of House Calypto on his back while holding another little boy in his arms.

He was wearing the coat of an Heir Protector. 

Tobus handed the boy to one of his other children and put his cousin down. 

Bel took a breath and he started to make his way over. 

Was it his imagination, or did it look like the crowd was parting for them?

Then, he noticed Mercury at caught up and was now pointing at Tobus with a smirk on his face. 

"Why if it isn't the Prince of Cats? Haven't seen you in a while. I heard from Uncle you've been out prowling."

Oh, by the gods.

Dammit, Mercury.

---

Mercury was ecstatic about encountering Tobus Arcadia again. It had been two years since he last saw the boy wandering around the city center. 

It was time to show him how much he improved since their last epic battle.

Mercury was confident in himself. His ability to make anyone lose their cool had been honed to a fine art. Even his uncle got red in the face whenever Mercury opened his mouth. 

He kept the Prince of Cats bit. It wasn't like Tobus was hiding it. He called his group kittens and a large group of cats always followed him everywhere.

He also learned from some of the rumors that he used to be a mouser before coming to the city. Mouser! A rat catcher! The city hadn't seen rats in a long time, and it clearly had something to do with Tobus. 

Mercury was still pointing at him, boisterously puffing his chest out dramatically as he faced his arch-nemesis. 

But then, he noticed the coat.

The matching coat with Bel, but in Claypto red and gold. 

No. 

No. No. No. 

Absolutely not!

Mercury's smile faded from his face when he saw the symbolic coat of an Heir Protector over Tobus' shoulder. 

But... they were supposed to be rivals! 

Not him and Bel!

Bel doesn't even have time for an epic rivalry of the century. He's too busy beating manners into his little cousin! How could this be?! How could Mercury miscalculate so terribly?! All that time and effort, down the drain...

He nearly wanted to fall to his knees in defeat. 

"Why...?" he asked, heartbroken.

Those cruel and cold green eyes landed on him, and Mercury shuddered with agony.

"How could you...?"

A single lone tear fell down his cheek. 

"Um, Mercury?" Bel interrupted him before he could challenge Tobus to one last battle of wit, "It's... not going to happen. You do know that, right?" 

As if reading his thoughts, Mercury felt as if a thousand arrows were piercing through his chest, each one more painful than the last. 

But then, the red coat swished, and his former arch-nemesis stood in front of him. 

A handkerchief appeared from his hand and Mercury slowly looked up.

"Don't cry," Tobus said, his tone dispassionate and curt. 

Mercury stood there, his mouth opening and closing like a gaping fish. His mind was trying to think up something to say, but he had nothing. Days of training, hours of studying, and he was speechless. 

Then he felt the handkerchief pressed against his cheek to wipe up the lone tear, his mind blanked out.

"Vesna?" he heard Tobus.

"You mean, as an agent? Are you talking about me?" Bel's dumb voice sounded. "Um, yes. Recently, though." 

"I'm your unit captain. Next mission, you're with me." 

"Oh... Oh! That's... nice." 

"Mm." 

What were they talking about? Mercury had no idea. The handkerchief was nice. It kind of smelled like flowers. Hmm, maybe thistles? That's nice. 

"Is he always like this?"

"Yes." 

---

The people of Vesna breathed a sigh of relief once they saw there was no impending need to part the two newly made Heir Protectors from a brawl. 

Some of the older folks remembered the first time Lord Calypto and Lord Monttevi met for the first time at the age of twelve. They destroyed three buildings and were punished. 

"What's this? Ickle Calypto brats wandering about? My, my, aren't you daring. Touching the Heir as you please." 

A man--a teenager, really--dressed in Monttevi blue swaggered over to the group and said the most atrocious lines out of fairy tale into being.

The children all turned to him, their heads moving in sync as their eyes landed on him unblinkingly. 

"Um..." it seemed the man had been thrown off by the reaction. Even the children of his own House and that of Lord Eartha's heir were now staring at him as if he was some insect in their way. 

In the pile of cats, his House Heir looked at him without emotions. 

"They learned from the Calypto children, and those children learned from Lord Arcadia," a woman explained to her confused son, as if she was warning him if didn't behave, he, too, would be snatched away. 

Lord Arcadia tilted his head, and then he was in front of the man in an instant, meeting his gaze. The air tensed, and there was an ominous feeling that surrounded them. 

"You are an enemy of my house," Lord Arcadia stated, "but you are not a puppy." 

"... What?" 

"Are you requesting a duel?"

"... Huh?"

There was the sound of daggers being unsheathed. 

"Very well. Let's go to the training ground." 

"Wait, hold on. You can't be serious--! Wait! Wait! Wait! No...! No! Stop that! Stop! Wait! Hold on!" 

---

Rasa felt a tug on her skirt and saw Duri standing there.

The girl cocked her head and looked toward the direction Tobus had run off, herding the Monttevi man toward the Vesna training grounds to beat him into a pulp for insulting the kiddies.

"He'll be back," Rasa assured them with a giggle.

Of course, her cousin would never allow anyone to brawl in the streets when the kiddies were standing there. 

"Isn't that a cousin of yours, Bel?" Rasa asked the boy.

He turned to the pile of cats where he had lost Rowan and shrugged.

"Technically, his sister married in, so we're not blood-related. Tobus wouldn't kill him, would he?"

"Hm..."

"Would he?" 

Rasa shrugged. "It should be fine. We're behind city walls."

"That's not a solid answer. I have to report this to my uncle if he kills him." 

She eyed him. "You're pretty confident of Tobus being the superior opponent. Shouldn't you side with your own House?"

Belwyn huffed. "I have my pride, but I'm not stupid. I've seen Tobus' mission records and it doesn't compare with that guy. He's barely been out of the city since he started working as a mercenary." 

Rasa laughed.

"So you admit my cousin would be the stronger opponent." 

"He's strong, like a monster. I don't know where Lord Calypto found him, but he's already climbed up the ranks and became Lord Eartha's prize agent."  

Belwyn was realistic in his assessment and self-aware of his level. 

She agreed with him.

Tobus was gentle, but behind all that exterior, there was a deadly beast constantly on the hunt.

"Rasa," a cute little voice called her name. 

She looked and saw Rowan appearing with flowers in his clumsy hands.

"For you," the boy said, shyly. 

She smiled and accepted the flowers.

"You're so sweet," she said, bending down to give him a kiss on the cheek. 

The boy's eyes went wide with surprise, and his mouth gaped open.

Rasa covered her mouth to hide her chuckle. 

What a sweetie. 

She ignored Bel, who mumbled something along the lines of "That tiny little fucker!" 

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[......... Vesna Rule I: An agent must always put the mission first .........]

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The author has something to say:

Honestly, Mercury is such a fun character to write. He's so cute and delusional--like a kid with eighth-grade syndrome. I wanted this chapter to be more house rivalry-ish, I hope that showed.