Villain: The Play of Destiny

"So, where are we going next?" Keith curiously asked the girls, who were whispering to each other, hiding their voices from him.

He did not know why, but when Ingvild smiled brightly and her eyes sparkled in excitement, he had a premonition that his pockets were going to run dry again.

"Let's go!" Ingvild skipped over to him and grabbed his hand, pulling him with her as she followed her sisters.

"So?"

"It's a surprise!" She said, giving him an innocent smile, and he sighed in his heart.

"When is Beena going to send you your Cloaks and the other things that you ordered?"

"Kiara contacted her at the Tower of Loki. She said that our order was being processed, and it would take three days tops. Once everything is ready, she will personally come to the Crystal City to deliver it to us."

"That's nice of her."

"She charges a delivery fee." Ingvild rolled her eyes, and Keith laughed at her words, shaking his head.

"Of course, she does."

Ingvild laughed at his reaction.

"Do you know that Minami gave Kira to Kiara?"

"What? When?" He looked at her in surprise.

"Last night." She smiled. "Minami did not want Kira to stay away from Lux. They are still too young to stay away from each other."

"That's true." He nodded, and his smile brightened.

"She also gave away her Beast Storage Ring to Alana." She informed him, and he glanced at the Ring that was hidden under Alana's left sleeve.

"Your sister cares about you." He smiled.

"She does." Ingvild nodded her head. "And it is why I don't envy her when you dote on her more than you dote on us."

"Seriously?" He chuckled as he met her eyes, and she stuck her tongue out at him before giggling.

"Do you deny it?"

"Do you seriously feel that I dote on her more than I dote on you?" He asked back, and Ingvild unhesitantly nodded her head.

"You always keep her by your side. Have you ever considered not keeping her by your side?" She asked, and he raised his brow at her.

"So, you want her to come with you." He saw through her intentions, and she giggled before nodding her head.

"We asked her, but she refused. She said she wanted to stay with you."

"Good." He appreciatively nodded his head, and Ingvild rolled her eyes before she squeezed his arm in her embrace.

"Can you ask her to join us? It will be so much more fun with her around."

"No." He adamantly shook his head.

"See! You always want her to stay by your side!"

"You can stay too." He shrugged. "I don't force her to stay with me."

"Not fair!" She pouted. "You can just join us and become an Adventurer too!"

"You can just come with me to Arcadia Archonos." He grinned at her, and seeing her mood deflate right before his eyes, he leaned in and planted a kiss on her head.

"The next time we see each other, we will get married," he whispered, and Ingvild immediately stopped in her tracks and looked up to meet his eyes.

"Promise?" She hopefully asked, her crimson eyes turning a little misty.

"Promise." He smiled, and she excitedly jumped into his arms.

"I love you!" She told him, kissing him on his cheek, and he replied as he nudged his nose with hers.

"I love you too, my Princess."

Several people on the street stopped and looked their way at their sudden show of affection, but as soon as Keith's eyes started glancing around, they scurried away.

Kiara, Alana, and Ingrid led them outside the city, into the Grimgrove Forest, where the air carried a faint, earthy scent of moss and pine.

They travelled down the road for a good few minutes before they took a pathway that led towards the cliffs overlooking the Zamzerian Ocean.

Keith raised his brow when he saw the pathway branching out and the wooden signs that bore the names of the Estates that they led to.

His dear daughters led him to the Estate called the Black Nest, which was situated on a cliff, surrounded by hundreds of metres of tall trees.

It was truly a beautiful place, and the Mansion, which was made completely out of black wood, overlooked the beautiful blue ocean.

There was no boundary wall or anything, but there was a transparent Barrier guarding the Estate. And Keith noticed the key in Kiara's hand when they passed through it.

"You rented this place?" He asked, and she smiled at him.

"No. But we have access to it for a day, with the option of owning it." She informed him as they approached the Mansion, and he curiously looked around the place.

"The Grimgrove Forest is not safe, and the cost of maintaining this Barrier should be quite high." He commented, and Kiara smiled as if she had been expecting him to say these words.

"Which is why this property is worth only a few million Stones."

"Only?" He smiled and helplessly shook his head.

However, the place was indeed quite beautiful, and the girls could not be blamed for taking a liking to it.

Once they entered the Mansion, they noticed that the place was not too luxurious. It was quite simplistic, but everything was done very tastefully.

There were a total of 12 Bedrooms, all with attached Wardrobes and Bathrooms. There were two Lounges, two Study Rooms, two Armouries, a Basement, a Pantry, a Large Kitchen which was connected to a spacious Dining Room, an Alchemy Room, and then there was the third lounge on the terrace, connected to the upper floor. Right under the terrace was the Courtyard, designed to serve as a Training Ground.

All in all, the Mansion was spacious, and it was quite a lucrative property.

Outside, on either side of the Mansion, were two houses each for Servants, and next to these houses were two botanical Gardens, where some Medicinal Herbs were being cultivated.

Lastly, there was the large barn in the middle of the woods, where nearly a hundred Mounts could be kept.

"Why is it up for sale?" Keith genuinely asked after touring the property, which encompassed the entire promontory, covering an area of a dozen acres.

Yes, the property was not in a safe place, but it was clearly built with care and thought.

The place was also on the outskirts of the City, away from people, and provided a lot of privacy.

"It was not up for sale, but listed as a reward for a Quest." The girls finally told him the truth and then proceeded to explain to him what was going on.

Apparently, whilst going through the quests, Kiara and Alana came across an interesting listing.

The Nemerus Family of Crystal City, a renowned merchant and Warrior family, recently issued a Quest in the Tower of Loki, asking for a Doctor who could save the youngest son of their Head, who had been poisoned and cursed by their enemies.

"They are quite desperate. In addition to this property, they have listed a number of rewards for people to choose from."

"There must be a reason why no one else took the Quest." He raised his brow at them, and Kiara simply shrugged.

"All the doctors in the City have already failed. They have even contacted the Foreign Doctors, but it is all to no avail. Their son is dying and does not have much time left. Perhaps, no Guild or person wants to take the risk of offending the Nemerus Family."

"And who is going to cure him?" He smiled at her, and as soon as they heard his question, they all expectantly looked at him.

"Pretty please?" Ingvild requested. "If we finish this Quest, we will gain a lot of Honour Points and our Guild Rank will jump up as well. We will directly become a Two-Star Guild. Once we are a Two-Star Guild, we can pick up more Quests before we set out to train in the Forest."

"What if I can't cure him?" He curiously asked, and all four of them shook their heads.

"Impossible. Rebecca told us that you were already better than any doctor we would find in the Lower Heaven." Alana brightly said and then took out a file to show him.

Keith found out that it was the Medical File of the child, who was no older than four years old, and his fair face was full of purple blood vessels, with dark hollows under his eyes.

There was even the diagnosis of previous doctors written in the file, along with all the Symptoms and how and when the child was poisoned and cursed.

With his vast Medicinal Knowledge, he could tell exactly which Curse the child had fallen victim to, and the Poison that was used was solely used to bind the Curse to the Child's Heart.

It was vicious and cruel, and whoever did it wanted the parents to watch their child lose his life in the most agonising manner.

The girls hopefully looked his way, and just when he decided to play with them and feign difficulty, they sensed someone enter the Formation.

"It should be a Servant of the Nemerus Family." Kiara guessed as she walked outside, and the rest of them followed her.

"Are you the Leader of The Wings of Nirvana?" A tall man in white robes, bearing the Emblem of the House of Nemerus on his chest, and a cap over his head, asked.

"Yes." She nodded her head, and the man curiously looked at their group, and then his eyes settled on Keith.

"I am the Second Butler of the House of Nemerus, Baigor, and I am here on behalf of my Master, the Lord of Nemerus Family." He told them. "My Master has just returned to the City and wants to know if you can cure our Young Master."

Baigor asked him, already familiar with the rumours that were circulating about him in the City.

"If what's on this file is true, then I know about the Curse that the child has fallen victim to. I can cure him." He nodded his head, much to the man's surprise, whose body suddenly started trembling in excitement.

"Please come with me!" He bowed to them, showing a lot more respect now.

"Lead the way," Keith asked, and then followed after Baigor, who rushed into the woods.

The girls quickly followed after them as well, and even though the speed was much greater than anything possible for a Martial Warrior, none of them were bothered by it.