"Why did you call me here, Cristopher?"
Percival asked in annoyance after Brutus took him to Thirteen's room because his Master was calling for him.
"I have some questions to ask you, Taiga."
The Tigerkin subconsciously straightened up after hearing the seven-year-old's voice, who had given him a very traumatic experience.
However, after realizing that the voice that talked to him was from Vassago, Percival couldn't help but feel anger rising in his chest.
"You dumb bird, what do you want?!" Percival asked in anger in an attempt to mask his embarrassment.
He didn't want to admit it, but his fear of Thirteen was now firmly rooted in his heart and mind.
"Tell me, Taiga, is the name of your father Stark Evander?" Vassago asked. "Or should I call him General Stark?"
The Tigerkin immediately quieted down after hearing Vassago's question.
Seeing his stance and expression, the Pocopoco shrugged and asked another question.
"Is the name of your mother Briella Evander?" Vassago eyed the Tigerkin, paying close attention to his features. "Is your sister's name Cleo Evander? Last, but not the least, is your brother's name, Anwir Evander?"
"That traitor is no brother of mine!" Percival growled. "Never speak his name in front of me again!"
The Pocopoco nodded because his Master's suspicions had now been confirmed.
"Right now, I am in the Sumatran Kingdom, living in your Family's Residence," Vassago said in a teasing tone using Thirteen's voice. "Did you know? Your mother even wanted to adopt me and make me her son."
A look of disbelief appeared on the Tigerkin's face, which made Vassago chuckle.
"What's so surprising about it?" Vassago inquired. "How do you think I know about your family's name? Why do you think I'm talking about this topic right now?"
"… You're lying," Percival said through gritted teeth. "You're just messing with me!"
"Whether you believe it or not is up to you," Vassago replied. "Just to let you know, the name of the Captain of the Scouting Party that caught me is Dixon. His Vice Captain is named Armand, and the two others are called Thane and Alina.
"There is also a human shaman in your Residence, and his name is Rafiki. But, enough about them. The reason why I'm telling you this is because your brother, Anwir, is planning something."
The moment Percival heard this statement, his face turned grim, making the Pocopoco wonder how his Master was able to know that the Tigerkin would react if he said something along the lines of "Anwir is planning something."
"What is he planning?!" Percival demanded. "What is that snake planning to do to my family?!"
"Calm down," Vassago ordered. "Before I tell you anything, you must tell me exactly how you've been captured by the Slave Traders. By doing so, I will help you expose your traitorous brother to your family. Who knows? I might be kind enough to return you to your family.
"But this will depend on your attitude. If you behave and listen to Cristopher's orders, I'll consider returning you to your family after a year. If not, well, you can spend the rest of your days as a slave, never to see them again."
A look of shock briefly appeared on Percival's face before it was replaced by determination.
"Will you really return me to my family?" Percival asked. "Will you?"
"Like I said, it depends on your attitude," Vassago said in a teasing tone. "If you listen to Cristopher's orders and work hard for my sake, I will allow you to see your family. That, I promise to you. Now, tell me how you became a slave. If you do that, I will consider helping you get rid of the snake in your family."
Faced with such a choice, Percival clenched his fists as the frustrations that he had kept inside his heart burst out like a tide.
He told the Pocopoco everything that happened to him from start to finish.
Starting with how his Step Brother, Anwir, said that they should help patrol the borders of their Kingdom against the Barbarian Raiders.
Percival narrated how Anwir purposely left him behind so that the Barbarians could capture him.
"And do you know his motive?" Vassago asked.
"I only have a hunch, but I believe that he wanted to be the only son of our family," Percival was clenching his fists so hard that they were making noises. "I overheard him talking with his subordinates in the barracks that he was also planning to marry my sister, Cleo, and take care of our family business."
Vassago tilted his head to the side. "Anything else? Aside from marrying into your family, do you know if he has any other motives? What about his biological parents? What is their relationship with your family?"
"His parents?" Percival frowned. "I only knew about his biological father. He was one of the captains who served under my father, and he considered him as his right-hand man.
"Because of this, when he died during the battle with the Barbarians, my father decided to adopt that bastard to our family. I wish he never did that. I feel disgusted every time I think about how I called that person my Brother for nearly five years."
Vassago stayed silent for a bit and pressed for more answers.
His Master had asked him to understand Anwir's true motive so that he could deal with him after getting the information he needed from Percival.
"Do you know how his father died?" Vassago inquired.
"I only heard rumors," Percival replied. "They said that my Father ordered Anwir's Father and his subordinates to conduct a raid, which was equivalent to a suicide mission. Although they succeeded, many soldiers died during that incident."
Vassago lightly tapped his foot on the table. "Is there anything else that you would like to add?"
"None." Percival shook his head. "I've told you everything I know."
"Understood." Vassago nodded. "I will pass the information you told me to our Master. Remember, from this point onward, you will listen to Cristopher's orders. Of course, if you don't want to see your family again, feel free to defy him. If you do that… hehehe."
Vassago's chuckle was the exact copy of Thirteen's evil chuckle, making even Cristopher shudder after hearing it.
Percival, on the other hand, felt conflicted after knowing that his Master was currently living with his family.
He wanted to see them again, and he wished that he never listened to Anwir, who schemed to get him captured by the Barbarians from the start.
"I will do as you say," Percival said. "Will you really let me see my family after a year?"
"Didn't I tell you?" Vassago shrugged. "That will depend on your attitude. Now, behave and listen to Cristopher's orders."
The Pocopoco then glanced at the chubby boy before opening his wings.
"I leave everything here to you, Cristopher," Vassago said. "I'll be back after a few days."
After saying those words, Vassago flew out of the window and headed North towards the Sumatran Kingdom.
Even now, the Pocopoco was quite impressed because his Master's hunch was right.
Thirteen already knew about the possibility that Anwir was doing this for revenge, but he didn't know the reason for that revenge.
Now that Vassago obtained the information that he needed, it was only a matter of time before the young boy obtained a new puppet that he could manipulate to do his bidding.
