"I’m sorry, young lady, but you aren’t allowed to go in." The black-suited guard repeated himself for the second time.

Maya frowned. This didn’t seem right. Why would they refuse her entry into the estate?

If she was refused at the gate of the family house, that was understandable. But to refuse her entry into the estate as a whole — that had never happened before.

A hint of worry flashed through her eyes. Could it be something had happened?

She was aware Seth and his father seemed to be under some kind of pressure.

"You know who I am, right? Why won’t you let me in? I want to meet my Big Uncle Simon Duskreaver." Maya confronted the guard, unwilling to give up so easily.

The guard’s expression remained unfazed. "Rest assured, young lady, I know who you are. It’s just that the Duskreavers are not accepting any visitors, familiar or not."

Maya felt helpless. She was concerned about Seth. Something told her there was more to this, which made her more anxious the more she thought.

"Excuse me, sir. We were sent by the government to relay an invitation to Seth Duskreaver." A bold voice called out from behind.

Maya’s eyes lit up — a chance! One she wasn’t going to miss.

She turned around to see four individuals who looked around her age.

’Strange... they seem too young to be soldiers... well, whatever.’ Maya felt if she could use this chance to follow this group in, she might have a chance to find out about Seth’s situation.

She actually hoped she was overreacting, but her instincts alarmed her otherwise.

The guard turned his head toward the newcomers, but before he could reply, Maya had already chimed in.

"Me too. I’m Seth’s relative, and I’m here to see him, but I was refused at the gate." Maya sighed.

Brandon and the other three’s eyes lit up. If they could use Seth’s relative to quickly meet up with him, wouldn’t things be easier?

But their eyes quickly dimmed as they listened to the other part of the sentence.

"Why? We need to meet with him urgently." Brandon’s brows creased as he spoke.

The guard remained silent. The arrival of these four complicated things.

Who in the whole of the Duskreaver estate hadn’t gotten news of what had happened?

Seth Duskreaver had gotten into a falling out with the real big wigs of the family and was currently in confinement — meaning he wasn’t allowed to see anyone or leave either, indefinitely.

So normally, if it was just Maya, she could be ignored.

But these four? If what they said was true and they were from the government, things couldn’t be so easy.

Even though private families and factions seemed to hold a high level of power in this new reality, the truth was that the government faction would always be superior.

What was more powerful than a single faction that could mobilize the economy and resources of a country?

The government had a firm hold over the people — something private institutions could never have.

And now that they were getting involved, he had to let the higher-ups know and let them decide.

"Hold on for a minute. Let me contact my superiors." The guard finally spoke after keeping silent for some time.

The guard walked toward the edge of the gate, operating an intercom. He spoke into it.

"Sorry to disturb, sir, but we have a situation over here."

A raspy crackle came from the other end of the radio.

The guard then proceeded to tell him about the four possible agents of the government and who they were sent to meet.

"They are here to see Seth? Motherf— the government must be planning on drafting him." The voice cracked harshly.

It remained silent for a moment, as though deliberately considering its next words carefully.

"Send them away," the voice ordered.

The guard was stunned. "Sir?"

The voice cracked once more. "Are you deaf or something? I said send them away. Tell them whatever — we are not accepting visitors, anyone!

I don’t want any outsiders getting so much as a whiff of Seth’s situation. Keep it confidential."

After confirming what he heard, the guard went back and stared at the four.

"I’m sorry, but now is not a good time to visit. The Duskreavers refuse to see anyone." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Disappointment was visible on all four faces as they tried to push.

"Like I said, we are in a hurry. Could you just please let him at least know we are here? I’m certain he’ll let us in or at least come out to meet us."

The guard’s face grew colder on hearing them refer to Seth.

"I’m sorry, but I can’t do that either." With that, the guard didn’t bother to share exchanges anymore and just left into the gate, shutting it behind him.

"We’re actually so close." Elaine sighed. They were literally at Seth’s doorstep but couldn’t step in.

"I don’t know, but something seemed off — the way the guard reacted." Uriel mused as he rubbed his chin, his eyes flashing with discerning lights.

He felt something off with the guard, but he could do nothing. Acting on mere speculation was nothing short of stupid.

"If you guys can follow me, we can at least try to meet with his other relatives, if that would help." Maya’s voice rang out as she offered.

The four’s eyes lit up once more. As long as there was still a chance, they were in.

...

Inside the mansion, a thin frame obscured by a thick, dirty black cloak dropped a radio transmission.

Staring at his peer before him, he relayed:

"We miscalculated. The government is here for that half-blood."

Even with their faces not visible, the frown that formed in their elusive features could practically be felt in the atmosphere, as though reality was responding to their Will.

"If the government faction hears of that little bastard’s situation, they’ll try to save him — and we can’t let that happen." A raspy voice echoed everyone’s concern.

The others all nodded, except for one. Avan spoke: "If you hadn’t antagonized the boy, we would still have had a chance. But now... all because you refuse to let the past go!" He rebuked.

"Hmph!" A boisterous voice snorted. "History has proven that talented half-bloods are disasters we can’t allow to mature."

Another nodded. "I feel we did the right thing."

A venomous green glint flashed underneath the shadowy haze obscuring an elder’s features, as a str

ing of chilling words left his mouth.

"So let’s see it through! Let’s end this tumor. We can’t waste any time."