
Since when was Jake there? Did he hear the conversation in the room?
Jose believes his room is soundproofed. The door is sturdy, made of thick solid and strong wood. There should be no sound coming out. "Aren't there necessary?" jose asked suspiciously. He was not familiar with his first brother, so there was no way Jacob would come for trivialities.
"Dad called you" said Jacob. "I was about to call, but George said that you asked no one to bother him. Funny yeah. I thought you were studying. Little Master is in a small meeting."
Jose smiled in response to the latter's insinuation. "You could actually have George deliver a message from Dad, Jake. But I'm glad you feel the need to trouble yourself to deliver the message. Well, excuse me, this Little Master is about to pass by to face Dad."
He passed Jacob without looking at his face. Rolan followed behind, then overtook Kripp, Hans, and Gerald.
"You pissed him off" whispered Rolan as he stepped in Jose's footsteps.
"Are I not upset?" reply Jose. Both laughed softly.
Jacob never liked the title of Little Master pinned on Jose. At first glance, it seems that the term is just a regular term for the smallest Argent, but Jacob always felt that calling himself the Little Lord was the same as saying that he was the next successor to Argent.
Technically speaking, the one who should have been called Lord Argent after Marco died was Edgar. Then if Edgar dies, the title belongs to Jacob. It was understandable why Jacob was riled up, but Jose felt that his brother was ridiculous. Jacob had already left Bjork because he did not want all his success to be attributed to the power of Argent. Her brother did not want anyone to make up his achievements by saying, "Correctly, there is no way the Argent Family will not help him."
The second and third children are the same. They are sick of their lives constantly being associated with family names. If they succeed, there is no congratulations because people think that it is only natural for an Argent to succeed. Some even think their success is thanks to that name, not because of their efforts. If they fail, people will sneer at their surname and say that they are bad seedlings in the family.
Following in Jacob's footsteps, Argent's second and third children soon went outside Bjork once he graduated high school. They run away to a place where their surnames are meaningless and they are only seen as they are. Jose was left alone to bear the burden of his brothers. Jose did not mind. I love living in Bjork. He likes to run around and jump in the red isthmus of his houses. He likes to escape from Marco. She likes to play the violin to comfort her lonely mother who was abandoned by her three children. He likes riding in the streets and teasing the girls in Bjork to enliven the atmosphere. What he doesn't like is the terror that surrounds this city.
Jose knocked on his father's room, then entered after being welcomed.
Edgar was alone there. As soon as he saw his son enter with his usual wayward face, he heaved a sigh of relief.
"I heard you were sick" said Edgar, rising from his seat and walking towards Jose. He cupped his hands on the boy's cheeks. No matter how old Jose was, in Edgar's eyes what appeared to be a four-year-old sweet boy with curly black hair who always laughed when held on the shoulders. He saw that something had changed in Jose's eyes. There is knowledge, fatigue, and horror there. The young man was also calmer and matured now, his emotions no longer bursting out. Edgar patted Jose's cheek. "You okay?"
Jose nodded. "Uncle Rolan was watching me," he said in a sulking tone. "How could I be sick if Uncle tailed like this?"
Edgar turned his head, only to see that Rolan was also there, behind his son. He smiled thinly. "Jose is okay?"
"Dad see for yourself I'm fine," Jose laughed. He took Edgar's hand off his face. "Do you know where I got sick?"
Edgar grunting. "Even walls can talk here, Jose. Said you suddenly got stupid and couldn't talk."
Hearing his brother's name, Edgar's shoulders slumped. He has sent people to spread in Bjork, but until now there has been no news about the whereabouts of Marco. He really hoped that his brother was just conducting a secret investigation. "Sit. You too, Rolan. Then tell me what you saw while riding, Jose. What makes you sick?"
Typical of an Argent. Jose knew his father must have guessed what caused him to go into shock. Maybe someone reported to Edgar that once he came home from riding, Jose's condition was the same as Linda and Anna—, two of Renata's ladies-in-waiting who were still in shock.
Edgar called down, asking the waiter to bring them brandy and snacks. Rolan looked pleased. He realized that he was really hungry. All the problems that came to them made his appetite disappear and he had not eaten anything since morning. All this stress comes just because Marco didn't come home all night.
When the waiter finally came to bring drinks and pastries, Rolan devoured a third of the portion. "I'm so hungry" he said shyly as he bit the bread.
"And I'm so sleepy," Jose yawned.
"Sleep after the story of what happened" Edgar said. She poured brandy for her son. "You said you wanted to do something Marco asked you to do, but I heard you rode to South Bjork. You know that there's danger, right? Your mother asked you not to go there. Marco too."
Jose took a sip of his brenda, feeling more comfortable after the heat spread from his throat to his entire body. "Uncle Marco told me to take care of the horse properly, and I just took Run for a walk" he said. He sighed. "Alright, Dad. I really just want to take a walk. I don't know why I went to South Bjork. I just want a long way to go."
Edgar stared intently without speaking, watching his son's eyes to check if the boy dared to lie to him. So far he's seen Jose look honest.
"Then I let Run graze on the Steep Cliff."
Rolan glares. "Why are you there?"
"I don't think there's any time to go for a walk" said Jose. "At the same time the grass is green, I think Run will like it."
"Forward," said Edgar. "Then you saw what?"
Jose hesitated for a moment. He could still see that face. It was as if he could still smell it. "Gladys," he said slowly. "I saw Gladys."
Both Rolan and Edgar sculpted. They know that name.
"Gladys who?" ask Edgar patiently.
Jose told me his experience in full. Starting from the figure that appears, the stinging aroma, what he did later with Run, then how he froze still for hours in the hot sun.
***