Gustav stood with his arms crossed as he watched the pair approach the entrance. The two stopped a few steps away from him, and Decker offered him a faint smile before speaking.
"Gustav, it's nice to see you."
Gustav scoffed, his expression filled with years of resentment. "Nice to see you? My ass. How long has it been—eleven, maybe twelve years? And only now you've decided to come and see me?"
Decker's expression immediately grew serious, discarding the cheerful demeanor he had worn moments before.
"It's about Mary."
Gustav's anger seemed to subside at the mention of her name. He nodded slowly before opening the door to his home. He stepped inside and gestured for Amelia and Decker to follow. The interior was not nearly as extravagant as the exterior, consisting of tiled floors and a parallel staircase that ascended toward the second floor. The three walked toward the sitting room, a modest space furnished with three couches: a three-seater, a two-seater, and a single-seater, which Gustav claimed for himself. Decker and Amelia sat on the three-seater, positioned only inches away from the single-seater.
Gustav leaned back into his seat and took a slow, heavy breath.
"So you finally found her?"
Decker shook his head, disappointment evident in his expression.
"No, but I've found her son… our son."
Amelia turned toward Decker, confusion written plainly across her face.
Gustav ran his fingers through his dark-brown hair, his eyes widening as realization dawned upon him.
"Mary was pregnant?"
Decker nodded solemnly.
Gustav stood and walked toward his wine cabinet. He retrieved a bottle of Scotch and brought it back along with a glass. He placed the glass in front of Decker before pouring the amber liquid into it, filling it halfway. It seemed only then that Gustav became aware of Amelia's presence.
"Who might you be?"
"Amelia Green," she responded.
Gustav sat back down and began drinking directly from the bottle of Scotch, pausing only occasionally to catch his breath. He stopped once he noticed that nearly half the bottle had already been emptied.
"So Mary disappeared and then had a son that neither you nor I knew about," he said, tears beginning to form in his eyes as he lowered his gaze toward the floor. "Where is he?"
"Right now, he's with that terrorist group," Decker said, his hands trembling as tears began streaming down his cheeks.
"Until today, I blamed myself for Mary leaving. What if she was never in love with me? What if she thought I was never truly in love with her?"
Gustav threw the bottle to the ground, where it shattered into countless fragments. He then pointed toward Decker, sincerity and anger intertwined within his voice.
"Don't do that. Don't go blaming yourself. Don't… make it seem as though her love was a curse."
Gustav slowly rose from his seat and placed a reassuring hand upon Decker's shoulder.
"You and she were meant for each other, and I'm not going to let your brother's decision make you question the bond you shared with her."
Decker tried desperately to hold back his tears, but he could no longer contain them. His head dropped, allowing the tears of grief and regret to flow freely, falling onto the floor like droplets of rain. Decker reached out and held onto Gustav's hand.
"Thank you."
Gustav wiped the tears from his own eyes before taking a deep breath.
"So, what's your plan?"
Decker steadied himself, forcing the tears that had once poured freely from his eyes to cease.
"First, we have to track him down, and there's only one person who can do that."
Gustav smiled faintly.
"Elizabeth Jameson."
...
Tristan POV
Tristan returned to Godfrey's establishment alongside Fin. Waiting for him inside was Claire and an unexpected guest. Sitting atop one of the seats in the lounge, casually drinking a glass of alcohol, was Bart. Several of Godfrey's workers sat on his lap and stood around him, seemingly keeping him company. He turned toward Tristan with a smile before speaking.
"I see your plan was a success."
Tristan immediately felt uneasy, and it soon became apparent why. Silver particles began forming around Fin's hand as he pulled from his Celestial Forge. Fin used his ability to lift the metallic objects lying on a nearby pan and hurled them toward Bart. His jaw tightened as the veins along his arms began to bulge.
Bart chuckled before quickly summoning his revolver and shooting every piece of metal that came flying toward him. He appeared completely unfazed, barely moving from his position. Fin stretched out his hand and attempted to pull Bart's revolver toward himself.
"That won't work," Bart said as he casually knocked on the revolver. "It's made of obsidian, and something tells me you can't manipulate that."
Fin turned toward Tristan.
"You said those two were the only ones you wished to protect, so why is a member of House Vermillion here?"
"He is a business partner. Nothing more."
Bart dramatically clutched his chest, precisely where his heart was.
"Ouch, cousin. Your words hurt me deeply."
Tristan walked over to the seat opposite Bart and sat down, placing his arms upon the armrests.
"Now, how do we proceed?"
Bart gently moved the girl sitting upon his lap before walking toward a nearby window.
"We take the pillars, and the whole thing comes crashing down. We don't merely want to defeat my sister; we want to weaken Pillar Orion. And for that to happen, we must eliminate its three pillars."
"Three pillars? And who are these three pillars?" Claire asked as she stood beside Tristan.
Bart turned around, raising one finger, then two, then three as he named them.
"The first is Adel Vermillion, the strongest Star Master this country has ever seen. Second is her right hand and the man who killed one of your members, Jonathan Graves. And finally, there is Adel's left hand, Gloria Estonia."
He paused for a moment as he walked back toward his seat.
"Destroy those three pillars, and Orion falls. Leave even one of them intact, and that could become a serious problem. It would be best if we eliminate the right and left hands first before going after the head."
"So, how exactly do we do this?" Tristan asked.
"Well, finding Jonathan will be simple since he's been actively searching for you."
Tristan leaned back into his chair, a puzzled expression gradually forming across his face.
"Why?"
"Jonathan was a third-year student at the academy, but he was also the dorm leader. He feels obligated to bring you in. So, if he finds out you're in this area, he'll probably come running. But he won't be easy to fight. His ability is extremely powerful, and what makes matters even more difficult is that he's a four-Star. We'll need the collective strength of everyone here to defeat him."
Tristan placed a hand beneath his chin, seemingly pondering Bart's words.
"I see."
"What about the girl?" Fin asked, scowling at Bart.
Bart turned toward Fin.
"She's not here. She's currently aiding in the transportation of a convoy sailing back from the Northern Continent. She should return in a day or two, but she'll be docking at Sector 4."
"We'll need someone to meet her," Tristan said.
Tristan pondered what to do. If Jonathan was truly as strong as Bart claimed, he couldn't send even one of the people currently accompanying him. And assuming Gloria was around the same level of strength as Jonathan, she could become an equally serious problem. He could think of only one person, but convincing that individual would be difficult, especially considering how much he hated Tristan.
Tristan sighed before turning toward Claire.
"Get in touch with Jester."