Meanwhile at the duchy:

Oliver was sitting in his study room and the head butler was with him worried as the man he served hasn't slept much in days ever since his adoptive daughter vanished. They couldn't find the spy nor could they find her dead body or herself. A gloomy air hung around the whole mansion and everyone was on edge nowadays as well. The servants who served Lady Viviana, were all searching for her going after every clue they got but nothing ever came out of it.

"Sire, you should rest. It will not do the Lady good to see you in such a state."

"Rest?"

"Yes, Sire."

"How can I rest if they can't find her?"

"What if she returns seeing you like this, Sire. She would also not like it."

"But how can I rest when I keep worrying about her?"

"You need it Sire. This will only make your health deteriorate and no matter how strong you are, you are still a human as well."

The fact still remained no matter how much Delca was talking about the human side of the duke's family, Oliver was still partially a beast. He was stronger and more agile than others. It should be him who had to deal with assassins and not a daughter he brought home for a week. He knew how much she looked like his sister who they all thought died but now that they saw her, they were all not sure about that. It was the duke himself who had a search party to look for their lost or dead sister again. However nothing came out and as of now, the new possibility of faking her death arose. The possibility was very low but looking at how Viviana was dressed when they found her, the chances of this were there.

Then again it was more likely that Oliver's sister gave birth and was dead. The person who took care of Viviana would be a close friend who they found dead the very same day they found Viviana. If this assumption was true then Viviana was certainly their relative and worth all the love and attention she would get.

It was just a mystery no matter how one would think about it. There were no hard leads about Viviana's true origin but it was for sure that she was one of them and that the blood in her veins were thicker than any of their own. Oliver could even bet that she should be more on the best side than human. However she was still acting like one, not fitted for her age and more mature but still a human person.

"I hate it."

"What exactly?"

"I am not just a human, the blood of a dragon is flowing through my veins and yet I am powerless."

"She will come back to us."

"How can you know that?"

"I simply believe in that."

"Does this make it better?"

"Would the Sire rather believe she is dead?"

"Don't even joke about that."

There was a slight chance that Viviana managed to get away and was safe. Even if this was a very unlikely possibility it was still there. Delca however believed that it was more likely to be the case as they found a white scale on the ground. No one knew where it came from but seeing it alone made the butler think that the girl was just different from them. Even Oliver knew about that scale and didn't want to believe it. It was a sturdy scale. Something he knew from experience. He himself could manifest some scales on his arms. It was something he liked to do in order to protect himself but seeing a white scale on the ground made him think that Viviana somehow managed to manifest them. That meant that she was no longer just powerless. If that was true then she should have survived the attack and should be somewhere out there.... But that was just his hypothesis.

"My apologies."

"Did you find out about the kidnapper?"

"No information so far either."

"What about the spy?"

"As the young lady suggested, we have indeed found two spies."

"Two not one?"

"Indeed."

"Who are they?"

"One is a maid in the kitchen and the other one is serving Miss Rosetta."

"Rosetta again?"

"Yes Sire."

"How did the king manage to get this many spies in here?"

"It must be due to my neglectance. Please punish me."

"Enough with that."

There was simply nothing good talking about punishments at all. Needless to say that Oliver never intended to punish his only true friend Delca. On the other hand, Delca did know about his shortcomings in this matter. He would have wished for a punishment since it was his responsibility to check all the servants background and yet he missed something like that. It was true that it was not easy to find out but after nights of observation he finally realized it. There was no hint nor any kind of special behavior which could have made them suspect these people at all. To top this off, Delca knew for sure that there had to be more than these two as spies in this very own castle. The question was only how he should tell this to Oliver.

"You are too quiet and you are avoiding my gaze..... Speak up."

"I fear there are more spies we have yet to uncover."

"Even more?"

"Yes Sire."

"How many?"

"I estimated around 5 more."

"Fi-FIVE?!"

"Yes, Sire."

"How in the world did this happen?"

"It was due to my neglectance. As I said earlier, please punish me."

"Your job is to clean up this mess. Do whatever you see fit Delca."

"I understand Sire."

"Now how are Alex and Ryan dealing with everything?"

"Alex is training even more nowadays and Ryan is taking the knights and searching the nearby forest and area as much as he can."

"He loved that child the most, so I can understand that. I would do the same if I could. ..."

"Please do not do that, Sire."

"Don't worry. I know that my position is here where I can keep the crown in check. Speaking of which, prepare our people for a war. Make this silently."

"Are we expecting to go against the current crown soon, Sire?"

"I fear so."

"I understand. I will make all the preparations ready."

"If they manage to get this many spies in here then they are up to something. We should be better prepared for it."

"I agree, Sire."

It was a silent war which was waging between these two parties. The crown wanted the duchy dead and over the years they sent spies and assassins over to get rid of them. However it was never this bad. A silent agreement was met not to target their offsprings but ever since Viviana went missing and the spies being sent over by the king, Oliver knew what to do. This duchy, the Underwoods on their own, were no cowards! If someone wanted to fight them, then they would give them hell back.

"Delca, get me one of the spies. I want to interrogate them."

"As you wish, Sire."

"Do my brothers know about this matter?"

"No, Sire."

"What about my father?"

"I believe he already does."

"And he is not doing anything about it?"

"I am not sure what you are asking of me, Sire. You are the one who is responsible for this household."

"I know this but I doubt that my father is sitting still knowing that we have spies in our midst."

"I have not seen him do anything."

"Did you even see my father?"

"No, Sire."

"What about other servants?"

"I believe not. I haven't heard them complain about serving the duke for a couple of weeks."

"Weeks?"

"Yes, Sire."

"Go ask around, immediately!"

"I'll be right back, Sire."

Just like that Delca excited the room in a hurry. It was Oliver who had a bad hunch. If he was right, then his father was not in the duchy himself at the moment. In fact he believed that his father was out right now fighting either demonic beast to get control over the beast blood in him or he would search for Viviana. One of these two things would be the answer to the question. He simply can't think that his father would be in his room not creating a ruckus after knowing there were spies in here. If anything he was the man who would go for the bigger fish behind them immediately. That made him think that his father might actually be after the assassin which came in the other day himself.

Oh how Oliver hoped he was wrong.

The duchy's position was very weak right now and they needed their elder.

Just moments later, a knock at the door could be heard and Delca entered once again. He had gathered all the information he needed while bringing some tea over.

"I came to deliver what you asked, Sire."

"This fast?"

"Servants like to talk, Sire. Walls have ears and eyes after all."

"Then what did you find out?"

"It seems that not only did no one hear nor see the duke for a week but he also gave them orders not to open his door or bother him. Instead they are supposed to come to find you instead, Sire."

"I should have known something was different the moment my workload increased."

"What should we do now, Sire?"

"Nothing... Father can take care of himself."

"Very well."

"BUT make sure we are ready to fight back any kind of threats."

"Yes, Sire."

Once again the butler left the study but this time, he didn't intend to get back inside as he had a lot to prepare and make sure they were ready for whatever was coming their way.

"I really hope nothing happened to Viviana and that she is safe out there.... Maybe it's also better if he wasn't here right now..."