"I'm not sure you made the best decision," the King of Galandria said to the High Judge on one of the many balconies of the royal castle.
"I understand your concern, Your Majesty," the High Judge replied calmly.
Both could see the entire city from there.
"Don't misunderstand me," the King said, admiring the view. "The crown owes much to the House of the Sun. Without them, my family wouldn't have held the throne for so many years."
The King of Galandria sipped elegantly from a silver goblet of wine.
The High Judge, a bald man with a long, gray beard, kept his eyes on the landscape. He preferred not to drink.
"Of course," the High Judge said. "After all, young Erick put on quite a show after the trial, didn't he?"
"You bet!" the King replied with a carefree tone. "I was even more surprised that young Mako Sol didn't banish him."
"Yes, that boy is full of surprises. That's why I decided to put them to the test," the High Judge said as a small blue bird perched near the balcony.
The High Judge looked at the curious little bird. With a friendly gesture, he extended his hand, letting it rest on one of his fingers.
"Ah, the simplest creatures can sometimes be so marvelous," the High Judge mused to himself.
"Yes," the King said, not fully grasping the meaning of the High Judge's words. Setting his silver goblet aside, he continued, "I'll take my leave for now, old friend. I know your judgment is sound."
"It is," the High Judge replied. "Of course it is."
◇◆◇
Meanwhile, at the mansion of the House of the Sun…
In Mako's room, doctors were tending to the badly injured Ana. She lay in bed, her limbs wrapped in bandages.
"Will she recover?" Mako asked, worried, holding Ana's hand as he sat beside her bed.
Since Erick's attack, Mako hadn't slept or left Ana's side for a moment.
"She will, my lord," the head doctor said humbly. "She'll recover soon. But…"
The two doctors exchanged concerned glances before continuing.
"We believe you're the one who needs to take better care of your health now. We've been tending to the lady for two days, and your lack of sleep is noticeable," the head doctor said.
Mako didn't respond. He thought for a moment, then stood from the chair.
"Thank you for your services. I'll call for you at the same time tomorrow," Mako said soberly, without a trace of anger or emotion.
The doctors had no choice but to comply.
Once they left, Mako collapsed back into the chair.
Ana slowly opened her eyes.
"Mako…" she sighed, relieved to see a familiar face. "Are you okay? You look exhausted."
Mako let out a small laugh.
"You're the last person who should be worrying about someone else," he said, feeling a wave of relief seeing Ana better than when he'd found her.
After Erick's explosion, Mako had feared the worst. He'd only seen Erick's ability unleash a couple of times, and those moments were still seared into his memory.
Erick's power was destructive in every possible way.
"And Polifemo?" Ana asked, looking around the large, empty, silent room.
"Erick… destroyed him before I could get there," Mako said, struggling to find the right words, but Ana understood exactly what that meant.
"I know he'll be okay. Demons don't die, but I still feel awful for him," Ana said, clenching her fists in frustration. "If I weren't so useless…"
Hearing those words, Mako gripped Ana's hand tightly. Ana looked surprised.
"You're not," Mako said firmly. "You're not useless."
A faint blush spread across Ana's face.
Seeing her blush made Mako nervous. He wasn't used to seeing her like this.
But before he could say another word, Igor, the House of the Sun's butler, burst in, frantic with urgent news.
"Master Mako!" Igor announced as he entered the room. "Oh, Master Mako, forgive the intrusion, but it's urgent."
"Speak already, what's going on?" Mako replied, letting go of Ana's hand.
"Someone's looking for you!" Igor continued, too flustered to be more direct.
"Who?!" Mako shouted, growing impatient with Igor's constant stammering.
"Willy Fox!" Igor said, more hunched than usual, intimidated by Mako's raised voice.
Ana and Mako exchanged a look at the mention of that name, clearly concerned.
◇◆◇
"What do you want?" Mako said in the mansion's main hall as Willy Fox sauntered in with his usual air of malice.
Mako immediately noticed the smell of smoke and cheap cologne wafting from Fox.
"Is that how you treat your guests?" Fox said sarcastically. "You nobles have no class!"
Fox kept glancing around. It wasn't until he saw Mako's stern face that he dropped the act and took a seat in one of the elegant armchairs.
"I came unarmed, Lord Mako," Fox said, trying to ease the tension. "In fact, you should be thrilled to see me."
"Thrilled?" Mako laughed at the audacity of Fox's words. "I should bury you alive. You nearly killed us. Why would I be happy to see you again?"
"Oh, how spiteful!" Fox exclaimed.
"I don't have time for this. If you're just here to waste my time…" Mako said, ready to kick him out.
"Alright, alright!" Fox said, raising his hands. "Jeez, I see Lord Mako's stopped being a little kid in no time flat. But don't get too full of yourself. You're still just a boy."
Lowering his hands slowly, Fox flashed a half-smile.
"Look, Lord Mako," he said, resting his right elbow on the armrest, sitting sideways. "Since that trial you had at the castle, things have changed."
"What do you mean?" Mako asked, intrigued.
"The underworld investors still think your House is going to collapse even sooner than they predicted," Fox replied, taking off his crooked top hat and giving it a shake.
A small piece of paper fell from the hat. Fox grabbed it and handed it to Mako to see.
"The bets are going wild. Ninety-nine to one against you, my friend," Fox said with a wide grin.
Mako felt like Fox was mocking him. He was about to swat the paper away, but then Fox said something that changed his expression.
Fox said, "And I'm betting on you, kid."