Late afternoon came and the children got tired playing and running around the city. Cale told Hans to bring the children back to the inn. Youna and Cale would roam around for a while before going back.

Even though it was getting dark, the city was still lively. Cale could see the happiness on the faces of the people in the Molden Kingdom. However, there was still this icky feeling he had been sensing ever since they set foot on this kingdom.

Youna spotted a food stall and went there to buy. Cale walked towards the plaza but before he could reach it, the Queen arrived on the scene. The people bowed to show respect and Cale did too. As soon as he lifted his head, he could see Queen Elisneh the First looking at him.

Crap, does she know me? Cale thought as he stepped back as soon as he saw Elisneh walking towards him.

The people watched their Queen walking towards the redhead.

"Hm, it's my first time seeing you in my kingdom. Are you new here or are you a visitor?" Elisneh asked as she examined Cale from head to toe.

"Ah, yes. I am here to visit the festival here," Cale smiled.

"My, what a lovely visitor we have here," Elisneh said with a delightful expression, "Here, I am inviting you to our banquet tomorrow in my palace."

Cale took the invitation Elisneh handed to him. He smiled thinking he won't need to infiltrate the palace if he has access there.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Cale bowed.

Elisneh flapped her fan and smiled behind it. She has a different agenda inviting the red-haired noble. She was oriented about a certain redhead their leader fancied.

"Before we part ways, may I know your name?" Elisneh asked.

"Oh, pardon for my late introduction. I am Cale, Cale Henituse, Your Majesty," Cale answered.

Elisneh felt as if she won a lottery upon learning his name. This was certainly the person White Star was longing for. They all thought this person died three years ago, it seemed he didn't.

"I see. Nice to meet you, Young Master Cale. I am looking forward for your participation at my banquet tomorrow," Elisned said and she walked away with her guards.

Cale stood there, while the citizens looked at him in awe. He stared at the invitation given to him.

Lucky me, Cale smiled as he walked towards Youna.

The red dragon dragged him to a secluded area in the city. Youna slammed his hand on the wall as he stared down at his red-haired human.

"What do you think you're doing, Cale?!" Youna asked in a low voice but his tone was definitely angry.

"What do you mean?" Cale asked.

"Don't play dumb! I know you know what you did!"

"Calm down, Youna. They will not hurt me."

"But they already did," Youna said as he leaned his head on Cale's shoulder. The latter gently patted Youna's back. The red dragon stood properly and Cale finally saw Youna's worried face.

"Youna, it's important they know my name. I want to take advantage of their affection towards me," Cale said as he cupped the red dragon's face.

"We already talked about this with everyone, right? They have set up the devices I asked them to and the key for this operation is to get closer to one of the sources. This kingdom has a big reserve of dead mana, so purifying this place is important," Cale added, however, Youna's expression didn't get better.

"I am coming with you," Youna responded. Cale gently caressed the red dragon's cheek and the latter leaned on it.

"Of course, you'll be coming with me as my mage, right?" Cale replied with a smile. Youna turned his back and stretched his arms.

"Ah, you really are a troublesome human. Oh, you're not a human anymore," Youna said. Cale laughed.

"If I am not human then what am I?" Cale asked.

"Hmp! You already know what you are, stop playing dumb."

"I know, I know. Let's go back and prepare for tomorrow, hmm?"

Then the two went back to the inn they were staying at. In the middle of the night, Youna snuck out and went to the Whale Tribe to drag out Archie, Whitira and Paseton without Cale's knowledge. The red dragon had briefed the whales of Cale's plan and they were more than willing to cooperate since it was their problem too. Youna told them they would be pretending to be Cale's knights when he goes to the banquet in the afternoon. They all agreed as they went back to the inn where the group was staying.

Morning came and Cale sighed at the sight of the three whales in front of him. He looked at Youna who was proudly smiling at him.

"I see, so that's how it is," Cale sighed once again. "First and foremost, these people over here are my friends. They certainly won't harm any of us here. This is Ton (Paseton), Tia-noona (Whitira) and Chi (Archie)."

The children and Hans bowed at the three as their greetings, they also introduced themselves for them to get acquainted.

"Chi has a weird name, why are you called Chi?" Hong asked. Archie flinched, he also didn't like the name given by the redhead.

"Maybe his parents want him to smile when saying his name. By pronouncing his name you will have a toothy smile," Cale said as he grinned. Youna and the two whale siblings held back a laugh.

"Oh I see! Chiii," Hong said as he called Archie, who became pale from the reason.

The rest of the morning was spent teasing Archie. Cale informed Basen about his attendance to the royal banquet as he was personally invited there.

"Why would they invite a foreign noble who's supposed to be taking a vacation rather than an official visit?" Basen wondered.

"I don't know, they spotted me among the crowd yesterday and Her Majesty, the Queen just handed me an invitation," Cale shrugged. Basen sighed.

"Hyung, I swear you really need to stop seducing people," Basen responded.

"What?! I am not seducing anyone!" Cale defended himself while making a scandalous expression.

"If you keep doing that, you might attract troublesome people wherever you go out!" Basen replied.

"I told you, my dear brother, I am not doing that," Cale stood his ground. Basen sighed from how oblivious his brother was.

"Be careful out there, Hyung," Basen said.

"Yes thank you. I'll be leaving Ohn, Hong and Raon in your care," Cale responded.

He already mentioned to the three children they should remain here with his brother and sister. In case something happens, the three will protect them.

Basen nodded in response.

Afternoon came and a carriage from the Molden Kingdom's Royal Family arrived in front of the inn they were staying in. The people downstairs and outside were making a fuss. Then, Cale, all dressed up, came down from their room with Youna and the whales, who were currently in disguise. The people inside the inn and outside jaw-dropped from seeing gorgeous individuals. In addition, they were being escorted by the Royal carriage. Oh, how influential must this red-haired person be staying here in the owner's humble inn.

The ride to the Palace was a comfortable one, even though Cale was heading to one of the enemies' dens he wasn't fazed at all. That was why his calmness made his companions relax as well.

The Young Master is truly interesting. Youna-nim told us we are going to one of the sources of dead mana and there were enemies swarming the place as well yet he is calm, Whitira thought as she stared at Cale. The redhead noticed this and he smiled.

He makes a good leader, Whitira added as she nodded.

After a while, they finally arrived at the palace. Before they left the carriage, Youna gave the three whales an invisibility amulet as they will be using them to scout the area. Cale was the only who would be allowed to go inside the banquet hall, the knights would be waiting outside. Youna and the whales will use the opportunity to look for the source and plant the device they needed in order to destroy the facility, along with the other facilities as well. After finding the main source, they will immediately inform Cale as he was the only one who could purify them—whether Cale would store the dead mana or completely purify it.

As they left the carriage, the Queen's attendant greeted Cale and he nodded to his knights. The four understood and nodded as well. Cale was led to a room, and as soon as it opened, he was greeted by Elisneh the First.

"Welcome, Young Master Cale. I thought you won't be coming," Elisneh said.

"Greetings, Your Majesty, the Queen. How could I do such a rude thing when the Queen personally invited me," Cale responded. Elisneh smiled.

"I also invited another person here, would it be alright to wait for him?"

"That would be alright, Your Majesty."

Then, another redhead entered the room. Cale's eyes widened upon seeing the other red-haired. He was still wearing that familiar face, he didn't age, it was still the same as he remembered which sent a sudden pang in his chest. On the other hand, Cale Barrow, also known as the White Star, smiled seeing the child he was longing for.

Ah, he's alive! My precious child is alive! Barrow thought.

"Greetings, Your Majesty. Pardon me for being late and thank you for your invitation," Barrow greeted. He contained his happiness, he didn't want to scare Cale Henituse.

I see, so that's how we'll play, Cale thought as he smiled towards the White Star.

The three seated and spoke for a while. Elisneh had to excuse herself first as she had to attend to her visitors. By then, Cale realized that the banquet invitation was just a bait for him to go to the Palace so he could meet their leader.

"Young Master, do you perhaps remember me?" Barrow asked.

"Why, yes. I do remember you, Sir Barrow. You are the one who mistook me for an orphaned child years ago," Cale answered. The White Star smiled from ear to ear.

"I have heard about what happened to you three years ago, I am glad you are well now."

"Thank you for your concern," Cale smiled. Isn't your organization the one who did it?

"I see that you are a good friend of Her Majesty," Cale added.

"We do, Her Majesty has helped me countless times before," the White Star responded. He might be smiling but Cale couldn't feel the sincerity in his words.

"It seems Her Majesty is a kind and benevolent person," Cale replied.

"Should we head to the banquet hall? Her Majesty is about to enter the hall," Barrow said as he led Cale to the hall.

There were a lot of nobles in the Molden Kingdom present at the Festival Banquet. They all looked at Cale as it was the talk of their kingdom that a foreign noble was invited to attend the royal banquet. Some people tried to approach Cale but they couldn't do so with how much security they felt from Cale Barrow. The White Star didn't want to allow anyone to approach him, this didn't go unnoticed to Cale and he was somehow grateful for the White Star's guard.

Ha, who would've thought my enemy would be keeping me away from those annoying nobles, Cale thought.

A moment later, the Queen arrived and everyone in the hall showed their respect and greetings. Behind Elisneh, there was another lady which Cale presumed to be her sister. He didn't have much information about her so he will ask his people about her again. The Queen gave a short speech and let the visitors enjoy the banquet with dancing—and some would be eating like Cale.

"Do you like sweets, Young Master Cale?" Barrow asked after noticing Cale was munching sweets here and there. The redhead blushed as he didn't expect that the White Star would be observing what he eats.

"Well, yes. Who wouldn't love sweets? These confectionaries are a delicacy, I couldn't help myself," Cale nervously laughed. Barrow extended his arm to wipe away some crumbs on Cale's cheeks.

"Oh, sorry about that," Cale said as he turned sideways and brought out his handkerchief to wipe his cheeks. Damn, that was embarrassing! I never imagined the notorious White Star would be here wiping away what's on my cheeks.

The minstrels they hired played songs beautifully and the nobles danced along with the music.

Cale-human! Youna suddenly called inside his head.

We found the source already, Archie and the others already installed the devices. Everything is ready now, you have the key, right? Youna added. Cale smiled.

Of course, Youna. Great job! Let's meet later, Cale responded.

Since everything was settled, all that's left was to do Cale's part. The redhead calmly waited for the right time. The music stopped and the Queen stood in the middle again and stared at Cale.

"Since we have a special visitor today, it is our culture that visitors from foreign lands perform something for us," Elisneh said. The people cheered. "May I call Young Master Cale Henituse to perform for us?"

Cale flinched from the sudden attention, he wondered why he kept being the center of attention. He kept his smile as he walked towards the middle. He held the device firmly in his hand as he stood in the middle and bowed, then walked towards the grand piano and settled himself comfortably. He pinned the device on his chest, using his Omnipotence and Fire of Destruction, it fueled the device which would connect to the other devices to purify the corrupted land.

"I dedicate this song to that person who chose to live in solitude for a very long time, to that person who chose to bury his feelings in exchange for he desired," Cale said. The White Star watched the redhead intently as he was curious what he was about to sing. The people in the Rowoon Kingdom have mentioned before that the redhead has a beautiful voice.

Cale began to press the keys and the audience watched in awe how graceful and elegant the young noble was. Murmurs were heard as the news of Cale being in coma for several years reached their ears, they didn't expect for the recovered noble to be able to hold a piano after sleeping for years. Then he began to sing:

If you want to cry the tears you held back

It'd be okay to cry so many you could drown in them

If someday, this day comes back to mind

It'd be nice if you could be kind to someone

Cale's song, fueled by Omnipotence and the Fire of Destruction, began filling up the device on his chest. The object remained invisible to anyone aside from Cale's allies. Youna immediately came to Cale's side, though he kept himself invisible. The whales also stealthily lurk around the area.

Every note he pressed, every word he sang, reverberated inside the hall. Cale sang clearly and beautifully. Even though his purpose of singing is to purify the source of dead mana inside the palace, he also wanted to purify the hearts of the people who felt the sorrows and aftereffects of the dead mana.

This shining love from over a thousand years

Is embedded with a thousand mile's worth of feelings

Every word and feelings Cale learned from his past was what made the song. Before dead mana became the way it is, they were from living beings which were created from love and hopes. Cale didn't want it to be used as a weapon, yes it could be used as a source of nutrients. However, using it as a means to harm people was something he couldn't permit. As a being who oversees the land, he couldn't let a group of people endanger the harmony that nature has.

As Cale approaches the chorus of the song, he maintains eye contact with the White Star.

That's why, whenever you feel dreary,

I'll play this song and envelop you in it

So that this warmth will reach you, I'll sing to you

Closer to your side than anyone else

As if he was singing the song for the White Star, Cale Barrow couldn't avert his eyes away from the other redhead. His body was trembling slightly as he felt his heart swaying from his song. As if Cale Henituse knew who he was, as if he'd know what he was. He knew what he needed to do if Cale Henituse was a dangerous person for his organization. However, he couldn't harm a single strand of hair from the said redhead. Cale Barrow knew from that moment he laid his eyes on him, he could no longer do anything harmful for him.

On the other hand, as Cale finishes the song, he feels his power flowing from one device to another. He could feel it in his body the dead mana was being purified. It didn't take an hour to purify everything, he didn't even feel any side effects from using his power. He smiled as he clutched the device on his chest and exhaled, then he heard the resonating sound of the audience claps and cheers. Cale stood as soon as he felt that everything was completely purified. He smiled as his cheeks flushed and bowed towards his audience. 

Cale went back to his place as nobles swarmed around him. He was smiling, superficially, through and through. Youna and the whales kept praising him inside his head. Cale Barrow remained in the back, waiting for Cale Henituse to approach him. After speaking with almost everyone, Cale went back to the White Star's side.

"You were amazing back there," Barrow smiled.

"Thank you, sir," Cale responded with a smile as well.

Before Barrow spoke, he dragged Cale Henituse to a secluded area in the hall. Cale could feel his cold skin and racing pulse. Then, Barrow faced him. He has a serious expression painted on his face.

"So, who are you really?" Barrow asked, Cale saw a glint from his eyes.

//TBC ...

Note: The song used here is called Song of Sorrow sung by Emma Verde. 

https://youtu.be/FqiVP8gMDXI