"Cheers!!"
There was jubilation everywhere.
"They act as if they don't know what's in store for them" Nathaniel said.
"They see it as their final jubilation before the suffering begins" Ylva added
"Like I said, if he proves to be a threat to the peace of Cairhien then I'll eliminate him" Nathaniel said.
"Let's go back home, it's no use celebrating when we know suffering is what's next" Seren said as he held Nathaniel's hand.
"See you later, Ylva"
"Alright Nath" Ylva said as she waved at Nathaniel with a charming smile on her face.
"Did you hear her, she called me Nath" Nathaniel whispered into Seren's ears.
"So what if it? I mean there's no big deal in calling you by your nickname"
"This means I have a chance at her" Nathaniel said with a goofy smile on his face.
"Stupid" Seren said as he spat on the ground.
"Look Seren, if you continue giving that cold attitude, no girl's gonna look your way"
"Who told you I'm interested in things like that?, if care is not taken, I might not get married" Seren blurted out.
"Don't you dare say that!!, I'm gonna be an uncle and your children would love me more than you" Nathaniel cautioned.
"Leave that, let's go home, I wanna sleep" Seren said as he dragged Nathaniel to their inn.
"Welcome back boys" Xander greeted them.
"Dad, how'd you get here before us?" Nathaniel asked
"I walked, what's that supposed to mean?"
"There's no way you'll walk and get home before us" Seren defended.
"Says who, don't underestimate me simply because you two are young brats. I'm full of energy you know"
"Aaaah, I'm so tired" Nathaniel said as he dashed to the chair in the living room.
"Hey go to your room!!" Xander ordered.
"Knock, knock"
There was a knock on the door.
"Who's there?"
The door swung open and two people stood at the doorway. A male and a female and they were on black capes. The male was in his mid thirties and the female in her forties.
"Name yourselves" Xander ordered.
"Chiad Mandragoran" the male introduced himself.
"Loraine Han---" The female stopped her introduction when she looked up to see Xander. She was frozen to the bone.
"X-Xenox!!!, you're alive???" The female said in shock. She walked to Xander and gave him a tight hug.
"I've missed you" She added.
"U-um you're getting the wrong idea here" Xander said as he released himself from the embrace.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm not Xenox, I'm Xander Fauster, Xenox's twin brother" Xander introduced himself.
"Whaat???" Loraine was shocked to the bone.
"If I remember correctly, Sir Xenox mentioned something about having a brother, I never expected him to be a replica, a twin for that matter" Chiad said.
"U-um I'm so sorry, I've just embarrassed myself. Forgive my rudeness!!" Loraine apologized.
"It's no problem, I can understand. It seems you guys were close to my brother when he was alive"
"Yeah, we were colleagues in Ente Isla" Loraine said.
"So what brings you to Cairhien?" Xander asked.
"Well, Sir Xenox told us he had a son so we came to check on him" Chiad said.
"Oh, I see"
"Forgive us for not coming all these years, we've been investigating the group Xenox was chasing after before his death" Loraine said.
"It's okay, Nathaniel!! You have guests" Xander called out to Nathaniel who had already retired to his room.
"C-coming" Seren said as he dragged half asleep Nathaniel out.
"What?, Xenox never told me he had twins"
"Nooh, one of the boys belongs to me" Xander said as he beckoned Seren to stand beside him.
"This is Seren, my son" Xander introduced Seren.
"Wow, even their boys look alike" Chiad commented.
"Nathaniel, these are your father's colleagues" Xander introduced them.
"Oh, I see. I don't mean to sound rude but I don't joke with my sleep so I'll see you guys tomorrow, bye" Nathaniel said as he dashed into the room as Seren follow from behind.
"Nathaniel!!" Xander yelled as to call him back.
"Stop, let him be" Lorainne said.
"Like father like son, Sir Xenox never joked with his sleep. Be gives off the same vibe as Sir Xenox" Chiad complimented.
"My stupid twin, always taking things for granted and this attitude rubbed on his son"
"You act as if you dislike him"
"Of course not!!, I miss him more than anything. He was the best brother I could ever ask for, nobody can replace him" Xander said as he smiled at Xenox's portrait that was hung on the wall.
"U-um, there's another reason why we came, and we'd need your permission" Lorainne said
"What is the problem?" Xander asked.
"Well, we would like to take Nathaniel with us back to Ente Isla" Chiad said.
"I'm sorry I'd have to decline your request" Xander said almost immediately.
"And why is that?" Lorainne asked.
"It's simple, I don't want him ending up like his father. He didn't get to experience a father's love simply because his father was a magician"
"He did experience a father's love, from you. I guess you're just scared he's gonna die" Lorainne said.
"Of course I have to be scared. I mean he's my son even if we're not related by blood"
"That's understandable but it's not up to you to decide. I'll ask Nathaniel myself and if he wants to come then he'll come even if it means fighting you" Chiad said.
"You wouldn't want to fight with me"
"Is that a threat simply because you're the feudal lord's butler and he holds you dear? C'mon I thought you'd be smarter than that"
"I'm not releasing Nathaniel to you and that's final!!" Xander was already raising his voice that Seren could hear him from his room.
"We'll give you six months to consider, meanwhile we'll be taking a peek at the Cairhien Xenox had always talked about" Lorainne said
"You can spend the night with us if you like, make yourself comfortable" Xander said as he called Seren.
Seren hurried to the living room.
"Um, Seren you and Nath would be sharing a room as the guest would be staying for a long time"
"But dadd, that means I'll have no privacy" Seren complained.
"Don't give me that, I know you sometimes sneak to his room to spend the night when everyone's asleep. Just bear for sometime okay?"
"Alright dad" Seren as as he went inside to move his belongings to Nathaniel's room.
"You're strange you know" Chiad commented.
"Yeah people tell me that a lot"
"Imagine you just had an argument with us and it isn't resolved and you'll let us stay till when we feel like leaving, just like Sir Xenox"
"Yeah, always kind to everyone even his enemies and sadly that's what killed him" Lorainne added.
"Please don't talk about his death for now, hearing about that makes my heart boil with anger. Heaven knows what I'll do to those who killed him" Xander said as he clenched his fist.
"Anyways, thanks for your hospitality"
"No problem, my brother's friends are also my friends"
"Alright then, goodnight " Xander bade them before retiring to his room.
"You think I'll have a chance at his brother?" Lorainne asked.
"Whaaat??, don't tell me you're already falling for him simply because they're identical"
"They're not only identical in face but in personality and this makes it harder to just let him slip over" Lorainne said.
"You'll deal with that yourself, I'm not gonna help you this time" Chiad said as he spread a blanket on the ground.
"Goodnight" He said as he turned his back to sleep.
"Well, there's no harm in trying" Lorainne gave a smile before retiring to bed.