Chapter 83. The plan change

Chapter 83: 83. The plan change

Jo knelt before Kai, his head bowed, leaving Kai feeling confused.

"Why are you kneeling like that?" Kai asked.

Jo lifted his head and looked up at his young master’s puzzled face.

"I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you."

Kai chuckled at this, then reached out to run his hand through Jo’s soft hair.

Jo was very happy when his head was stroked like that, because he felt that his master loved him very much.

"It’s not your fault. I think that demon prince is more powerful than me, Jo... that’s why it was so hard to detect his presence. Even though my detection magic is that powerful. I think I was too arrogant and thought I was better than him, so—"

"Young master is indeed great!"

Kai chuckled again upon hearing Jo defend him.

"Hmm, I know that. I’m great, but I mustn’t be arrogant, because arrogance is the beginning of ruin. Let’s think of it this way: if that demon prince is greater than us, then we’ll have the motivation to defeat him and won’t let our guard down," said Kai.

Jo nodded, then Kai pulled him over to sit with him on the edge of the bed.

The two of them stared at the large window, which was still wide open.

"It’s possible that right now he’s spying on us from afar, Jo... then he’s looking for another way to get close to me and kill me—actually, he’s doing that on the Duchess’s orders, right? "But the Duchess would suffer a huge loss if I were killed. She wants me to help Jessica open a dress business in the imperial capital. And actually, that demon prince is the Duchess’s lover... Ugh, I still can’t understand why he’s always trying to get close to me and kill me."

Hearing that, Jo came to understand the anxiety weighing on Kai’s mind. He agreed with everything Kaileon said, and he, too, didn’t know the answer to that question. So, he chose to remain silent.

Until Jo remembered the reason he’d come to see his young master.

"Young master, there’s something I’d like to tell you..."

Kai turned to Jo, tilting his head up slightly since Jo was taller than him.

"Yes? Go ahead."

"Well... Ricky said he still wants to stay with you and learn a lot from the journey to the Empire alongside you. What if we postpone your plan to expose Viscountess Knightley’s crimes until Ricky is ready? I think you know better than anyone what it’s like to be locked up for the rest of your life."

Kai was quite surprised to hear this. He hadn’t thought of that at all.

Ricky needed much more time to adapt to a new world beyond the room atop the tower.

Unlike Kai himself.

The one that locked away in the pavilion was the real Kaileon, before Kaiden arrived and took control of his body.

Kai was able to adapt more quickly because his mind had been replaced by Kaiden’s—a mind filled with many terrible experiences on Earth.

Of course, Ricky was far more fragile.

Ricky probably felt closer to and safer with Kai than with his uncle, Lucas.

"In that case, tomorrow morning we’ll meet with Lucas first before getting ready to head to the next city."

Hearing Kai’s decision, Jo smiled broadly.

"Thank you, young master!"

Kai laughed and patted Jo on the back.

"Actually, I thought you didn’t like Ricky, since I praised his painting more."

Jo shook his head slowly, then replied, "Not anymore, young master... I can understand why you praised him more, and I now like Ricky—he’s such an innocent and kind friend. Besides, you’ve also praised my painting—you even want to display it in your room."

"That’s because your painting is good, Jo... you’re better at painting portraits, while Ricky is better at painting objects or landscapes. Ricky’s paintings are softer, while yours are sharper. You’re different, but both of you are talented."

Jo couldn’t wipe the smile off his face; he was so happy to receive such praise from his young master.

"By the way, Jo... you’ll sleep with me tonight, right?"

Jo furrowed his brow upon hearing this. "Are you afraid to sleep alone? Or are you afraid that the devil prince will come?" Jo asked.

Kai let out a heavy sigh, then gave a faint smile. "I’ve felt before that the devil prince can even enter my dreams. I’ve also felt him near me while I was sleeping. Even though when I opened my eyes, there was no one with me. Maybe it’s just my imagination—I’m just too worried."

"Don’t worry, young master. Since Keith isn’t here, I’ll be the one to watch over you now. I’ll sleep here, if that makes you feel safe."

Kai smiled at that, then got ready for bed. A lot had happened to him, and not everything had gone his way. But that was okay, because Kai was always surrounded by good people.

The next day, Kai went with Jo and Ricky to meet Lucas. He told him that their plan was on hold until Ricky was ready. Therefore, Kai would leave without disturbing Viscountess Knightley.

Lucas agreed to Kai’s request; he promised to keep an eye on Viscountess Knightley and let him know if anything happened. Kai continued to provide information on how to make chocolate bars and how to use the chocolate to make desserts or cakes. Kai wrote everything down neatly using an app on his advanced smartphone. He included illustrations so Lucas would have a clear picture. Then he printed it on A4 paper, bound it neatly, and added a thick, beautiful cover to make it look like a book.

Lucas wanted to pay for the book, but Kai refused. Kai wanted Lucas to exchange it for the fairy children, whom he had already entrusted to the spirit fairies to care for.

The adult fairies built a large house in the trees of the forest behind the pavilion to serve as a comfortable home for the fairy children.

Of course, Duke and Keith knew about it. Therefore, a large and strong protective dome—created by combining Kai’s and Duke’s powers—was placed there to hide the fairies.

Only Kai, Duke, and Keith could see them and enter their territory.

All the people in Duke’s territory knew was that there were only two beautiful garden fairies living in that forest.

Long story short, Lucas agreed to exchange information about the chocolate beans for the fairy children. Even so, Kai still paid half, since Lucas had spent a lot of money on the children.

For now, money wasn’t an issue for Kai. He earned a substantial income from the businesses he ran in Arslan and other cities. He also partnered with the son of Count Verdez.

Even though half of Kaileon’s revenue went to support the orphanage, Kai still had plenty of money.

Viscountess Knightley, who still didn’t know that one of Kaileon’s servants was her own younger brother, gave a gift before Kaileon’s party departed.

The gift—one of the Viscountess’s finest paintings—was to be sent to Arslan. Of course, it was a painting made by Ricky, but Kai didn’t say anything. Jessica simply praised the painting and asked that it be sent to Arslan immediately.

Before leaving, Jessica met with the Viscountess and said,

"I know that painting is by your younger brother, Viscountess... I’ve heard about him—has he passed away?"

The woman was startled by Jessica’s question; she couldn’t answer and let Jessica board the horse-drawn carriage and leave.

"How did the Duke of Arslan’s daughter know about Ricky?" the woman muttered.

"Goodbye, Viscountess..."

A young man who was one of Kaileon’s servants gave a brief salute and then simply rode off on his horse.

Viscountess Knightley stood there dumbfounded, feeling that the young man’s voice sounded very familiar.

"Oh, no. I must just be hallucinating. There’s no way Ricky could be one of their servants... besides, there are plenty of voices like that... ugh, I need to rest now."

Kaileon’s journey began again.

This time it was a bit difficult because they were heading into the mountains. The road was quite steep and winding.

Therefore, before setting out on that road, Kai made sure the horses were in good health. If they weren’t healthy enough, Kai would open a portal and swap them out for other healthy horses from the pavilion.

Nathan inspected the horse-drawn carriage, making sure it was in good condition.

After everything was checked, they were ready to continue their journey. However, for safety’s sake, Kai cast various spells on the horses and the carriage—to prevent the horses from slipping easily, to lighten their load so they’d feel less burdened, and so on.

They managed to navigate the mountain pass without incident.

There were no slips, nor were there any attacks by monsters or bandits.

Everything went smoothly. It was too smooth to be true, so Kaileon began to get suspicious.

Even so, he didn’t dwell on it too much.

They took a break right after they successfully crossed the mountains and finally reached a safer place.

Nathan and Jo checked the horses and the horse-drawn carriage again.

Kai and Ricky cooked their dinner, while the princesses and their maids were washing up in the nearby river.

"Young Master! There are fruits over there—they look wild," said Nathan, pointing toward the forest.

Kai activated his detection magic.

Sure enough, there were many wild trees bearing edible fruit—such as mangoes, breadfruit, cempedak, and bananas.

As it happened, many of those fruits were ripening at that time.

Kai approached the fruit trees with Jo after he finished cooking.

"Don’t you think this is strange, Jo?" Kai asked.

Jo, who was shaking the tree to make the fruit fall so he could catch it, turned to Kai.

"Weird? Isn’t this amazing, young master? We’ve got fresh, just-ripe fruit. They’re all perfectly ripe! Look at this!"

Kai shook his head. "No, it’s true—we’re lucky. But think about it—we’re in the forest, where there should naturally be plenty of animals and monsters... these fruits should have been eaten by them. Yet, they’re intact, untouched. I’ve even activated my detection magic and haven’t found a single animal or monster around here. There are only a few insects."

"You’re right, young master. I don’t sense anything either."