There were carriage tracks in front of the manor again, but, this time around the one to arrive at the doorstep was someone far younger, and also quite similar in appearance to his father. It is Alladen who had returned from his duties in the Raressank territory's capital — Kolanaren. The young man was dressed in a tidy, official suit that didn't have much flare; only sheer quality of the material, a few accessories on the collar and gold pins at the ends of the suit's long sleeves.

The weather was far livelier compared to how it was at his father's arrival: the sun was still partly obstructed by the gloomy clouds, though the occasional spotlights that went through those fluffy obstacles illuminated the distant views, and, at times, shine over the manor itself. 

The obnoxiously polished leather shoes of the horned young master clicked as the hard soles connected with the stone tiles, slowly tracing the echo closer and closer to the main entrance. Yet, Alladen didn't enter right as he got close enough to turn the door handle, rather stopping to look at the trees by each side of the path. The sound of the faint wind was the singular thing keeping his ears preoccupied. When he had just left the manor for Kolanaren, there were still birds singing up in the branches of those wooden behemoths. Perhaps, he felt a slight tinge of disappointment as his favourite ambient was gone for the next couple of months.

Pulling at the handle, he opened the door and stepped in the freshly washed low floor of the entrance. He was carefully planting his feet, not having the will not desire to ruin the pristine cleanliness of the floor, but alas, it was inevitable as he still had to venture inside, Alladen tip-toed his way on the low floor, and soon felt something enter his field of vision, and soon he lifted his eyes from the floor. "Talia!" Alladen rejoiced, quickly noticing one of the familial cats looking up at him from the upstep of the corridor. Talia's paws were tucked under her body, the short, rough grey fur was neatly groomed, the blue eyes posted symmetrically on either side of her small head.

Alladen approached the creature with a smile across his face, though a part of his attention still was left to guard the floor’s washed state. "Did you go down from the second floor just to meet me?" He finally stopped and planted his heels on the floor and bent his knees slightly, reaching down to scratch the cat between the ears, which did not amuse the feline as her tail began to wag, unsticking from the side of her slim body. The young master furrowed his brows and gently tugged the cat's ears with his hands, "Of course you didn't, I bet you wanted to run away again~" Alladen reached for her scruff and picked Talia up, leaving her feet dangling, the feline expression set as stone-stoic nonchalance. Alladen looked the cat in the eyes, her stature quite small in his hand.

Planting the discontent Talia on his left shoulder and holding her up by the rear, Alladen then met with the eyes of the head maid as well, who looked ever so tired. He was so preoccupied with the cat that he didn't see Moira coming up. "Young Master, I hope the road from Kolanaren was pleasant." Moira said with a dragging tone, and Alleden sighed, the tips of the fingers of his right hand buried in Talia's fur, riding up and down her back. 

Actually, Moira and Sobrana were the two of the six maids in the manor — being the only servant staff besides the few other butlers — so the workload kept her face looking quite indignant most of the time. Alladen didn't spare himself the compulsion to scoff slightly, "It was quite the opposite; the roads could do a makeover." He chuckled, lifting his right foot so that the maid could change the shoes for an indoor pair. Squatting down, Moira reached for the shoe's lace and started to undo the knot, "Then, should I relay that to the Duke?" The young master shook his head at the proposition, now smoothing out the landshaft of Talia’s back, "That is not an urgent matter, is it? Coming up to him with such a complaint would only worsen his mood." 

After exchanging the right shoe for a cleaner, but less polished leather shoe, the left shoe had been changed as well, and so Alladen stepped up into the corridor, scratching Talia at the back of her head. The young master looked down at Moira, who was now correcting and straightening out the slight imperfections on the surface of his suit's fabric. As she did so, Alladen remembered a topic that he seldom brought up at the Kolanaren administration when work was less. "I heard... Well — I read in the letters from the manor that father was having significant concerns regarding the island." Content with the way the young master looked, the maid stepped away, pushing up her glasses, admiring her efforts and not giving the horned master a look in the eye, "I don't know it myself, as I don't spend that much time beside the Duke." Her eyes trailed around the corridor, aiming to leave for the staff lounge — the door by the side of the entrance. But before she left, Moira looked at Alladen and added: "However, his expression has been sour ever since he returned from the assembly." Alladen nodded and turned to face along the corridor. "Then, I suppose that he is indeed very much concerned about something. I'll see for myself when I talk to him."

The young master began to trod through the corridor, his right hand tracing down the spine of Talia on his shoulder, the sound of his steps echoing from the walls and ceiling. His upper lip rose and Alladen shook his head from side to side. "You could purr at least once when I'm petting you, Talia." Of course, the cat did not react, the whole demeanour of this creature obviously trying to endure rather than ignore. But the young man continued, putting his left cheek to the cat's soft body "You are so mean to me~ I tried everything by this point, why don't you like me?" Alladen kept baby-talking the cat with pursed lips, clicking his tongue after Talia continued to give the young master silent treatment. Rolling his eyes, he pulled Talia back by the scruff, the stretched skin making her face appear quite silly as the young master bore the cat in the perfectly uncaring eyes. "Why are you so eager to run outside? There aren't even any birds this time of the year. Do you realise how much trouble it is to find you each time? What an infuriating cat you are." He let go and Talia's face returned to its normal, regal and poised state. But Alladen just kept talking on and on, turning left to go up the winding stairs, making the cat's head bounce as he skipped a step while going up — a more suited manner for him, as his height made going up one small step at a time fairly uncomfortable.

Walking out of the stairwell and into the second floor corridor, Alladen turned to go left, again, straight to his father's office. The more he walked, the more he noticed how quiet it was within the manor: No bickering between the staff, no sounds of a violin playing somewhere within the building, and no giggling of his youngest sister who loved spending most of her time on the second floor with the cats or, when time allowed for it — with her father. The stillness of the air itself didn't worry the young master. By extension, it could've been doing the exact opposite, as his ears were quite tired from the infinite nagging of the workers at Kolanaren's administration. Finally approaching the dark oak door, Alladen saw that it was slightly ajar. While holding his right hand in a fist to knock, he heard a voice speaking in the office.

"...osition?" It was the voice of his mother, the tone was calm but loaded with contempt. The young master froze in place, his knuckles stopping not far from the oak of the door, "Yes, Marpha made this proposition herself, looks like I'll be much needed." His father said after. As much as Alladen despised eavesdropping, his curiosity instantly piqued when he heard the name of Marpha: the woman he knew personally from the time he had to spend studying at the Dispanseria in Mellanegi — someone he had a pleasant recollection of. 

As the short moment of remembrance for Alladen concluded, he returned to the current place and time, "Still, it is uncharacteristic of her to propose something like that, Marpha wouldn't leave the territories of the Church without a significant reason." Orpha continued, the sound of shifting legs was heard from the room. "That I know myself. But trying to guess the reason for her decision is senseless." Ollade tapped on the table, moving some papers around. Alladen heard an exasperated sigh and the voice of his mother, "Then, will you comply and go through with her plan of action?" Slowly, the prospects of the conversation were getting more or less apparent to the young master; his hand had long been lowered, his right ear slightly turned towards the small gap between the door and the doorframe. "I'm one of the most influential people on the island, it would make sense why she would want to take me along with her." Orpha audibly sighed. "At least it's not just you who is supposed to go, that is somewhat reassuring." Alladen returned to petting Talia, gradually sinking into his thoughts.

"What are they talking about? Mother sounds significantly irritated, that's not unusual for times when father decides to do something absurd.”

As the rumbling behind the door continued, the young master looked at the fibres of the wood that made up the door, tilting his head to the side.

“They are talking about father being supposed to go somewhere with her Excellency Marpha. Is it related to his unsavoury mood that I've heard about? Then, it could also be a part of a bigger problem, judging by the fact that it is enough to make a man like him lose a part of his composure."

Alladen had his hand over his mouth, the black brows furrowed. He kept biting the inside of his lower lip while thinking, taking a deep breath; the fact that both of his parents were on sharp needles made him nervous as well.

"I don't think that it's best for you to go, either way." His mother kept talking after a bit of the discussion that Alladen had missed, spending that time in his head. "Then, what are the alternatives?” — "Meow." Talia had betrayed the inattentive young master, and so the inside of the office went silent. 

"Who is there? I believe I had ordered everyone to not enter the second floor until I do not permit to do so." Sounded from Ollade, whose tone got far stricter, hearing the meow of one of his cats far above the floor behind the door of his office. The young master didn't mingle much longer on the other side of the dark wood and opened the door at once. With a slightly shifty smile, Alladen stepped inside and closed the door behind him, "Father, mother, I have returned from my duties in Kolanaren." He said, standing put like a nail, the expression on his face straight like a brick. Ollade sighed, relaxing in his seat, while rubbing the right fist on the desk. "...It's just you, Alladen. How much did you hear?" — "I only heard about you planning to depart somewhere with her Excellency Marpha, father." The Duke looked at his wife, their eyes meeting in the middle, though Orpha's gaze was much more stern than promoting.

"I suppose that you'd find out about it sooner or later. Since you haven't done that yourself yet, I think we should discuss this all together." Orpha looked at Ollade, her head swiftly spun around to give him a demeaning stare, her face reading a clear message of confusion. The Duke looked back at her, sliding his left hand over his mouth and beard once, "The boy's a future Duke, it's better for him to know than not, that similarly goes for our daughters as well; even if they're young, it is still better to let them know than to keep them ignorant.” Ollade then turned to face Alladen again, “Let's get down and have some tea to talk this over something sweet." He stood up, his wife sighing but nodding in resignation. 

As the Duke walked around the table to leave the room, Orpha went closer to Alladen, the height difference much more apparent now that she's close to her son. "You're right.” She addressed that to Ollade, then reached her hands up to her son, ”Alladen, give Talia to me and let's go have a word at the table." The young man gently handed over the cat, and Talia was quite eager to leave the embrace of the young master, as loud purrs began to emit from the furry creature as soon as it landed on the dragon's shoulder. When Orpha also began to move out of the office, she regarded Alladen once more, "Your sisters included, bring them from the parlour on the first floor." He patted some fur off of the suit, "I will, mother."

Alladen had his father's eyes for sure. But, instead of seasoned, deep crimson resolve that Ollade usually had on his face, Alladen still brandished a bright maroon stilted by presuming worry.