But Juan and Kyle were not dumb. They improvised their strategy as the servants protected their eyes and aimed for their heads instead.
The servants could not take it anymore and started scattering like lost sheep as they held their heads. The two boys exchanged quick looks and picked up more rocks as they chased after them.
“Juan, I think you’re faster at throwing!”
“And I think you’re better at aiming!
“But we still need more practice!” Kyle concluded.
“Kyle, I know Taekwondo, so I’ll go after them and bind them up. I’ll leave Maya and Nina to you!” Juan figured out an ultimate strategy.
But Kyle disagreed and refused to leave his brother alone.
Beside him, Juan smiled warmly at his brother’s comradeship.
“Dang it! We just ran out of stones!” Juan suddenly realized.
The two quickly turned around and ran in the opposite direction.
Sensing the sudden stop of attack, the servants finally opened their eyes and saw the kids running away from them.
“Ha! Look at your eyes! You’ve got two black eyes like a panda! You look so funny now!” one of the servants laughed, pointing at another servant.
“Pot calling the kettle black! You’re not any better. Yours are all swollen!” the second one mocked in return.
“Geez, my eyes feel so painful. Will I go blind?” another complained.
“Stop talking and start chasing them! The duchess is still waiting for us to hand the kids over!” yet another servant reminded.
“Seriously, these kids are a pain in the ass! They really know what they’re doing, man!” the first one said.
“You can say that to ‘em when you get ‘em!”
Speaking, the servants set out and hurried towards the two boys.
Meanwhile, Juan and Kyle could not find Maya and Nina when they reached the rockery. They looked around anxiously, wondering if they had lost their way.
“It’s either they’re lost or they were caught,” Juan speculated as his gaze wandered around the rockery.
“Nina’s there, they won’t get lost,” Kyle replied.
“It’s difficult to say what’ll happen with Maya around,” Juan said.
“Why not we call them? Nina has a smartwatch,” Kyle suggested as he bent down to look at every nook and cranny.
Juan called her and they got in touch in no time. Nina told him their location and the boys ran off right after they found out where they were.
By the time the boys reached, they were surprised to see there was no one else in the spacious room except for their sisters. “There’s no one else here?” Juan queried.
“Yeah. No one’s here, that’s why we came in,” Nina answered.
“Then we’ll hide here until the old witch stops looking for us.”
Little did they know, Stephen heard them loud and clear as he stood in front of a portrait behind the screen. He was deeply engrossed with the painting when he heard hasty footsteps in the room and decided to just stay put and find out what was happening.
He glued his ears against the screen as he tried to eavesdrop.
The kids piqued his interest when they talked about an old witch coming after them.
The duke readjusted his position and peeked through the gap of the screen.
The four kids looked fine and beautiful. Stephen thought their parents must be a handsome pair.
He surveyed each of the children and his gaze eventually fell on Nina and Maya. The frown on his brows deepened as he dug his gaze through them. Hm, these two girls look exactly like the woman Levant invited over.
Their eyes look so much like Rosalie’s and the woman’s.
He sighed and turned around, looking at the person in the portrait in resignation.
“What can I do, Rosalie? I hope you don’t mind these kids coming in. I’ve never allowed anyone in. But they look so much like you,” he whispered softly.
A sad smile curved on his lips and a glimmer of regret shone dimly in his old eyes.
On the other side of the screen, Juan straightened his back as he heard some movement in the room. “I think I heard someone talking,” he hissed.
“What? Who? I didn’t hear anything,” the others whispered back.
They hushed and pricked their eyes, trying to listen for voices. But instead, they heard footsteps approaching.
They cocked their heads towards where the footsteps came from and jumped when they saw Stephen coming from behind the screen.
“Wh… Who are you?” Juan asked nervously.
“Me? I’m the master of this estate,” the duke answered.
“You own this place…?” Juan mumbled.
“This is his territory, and he must be really fierce. That’s why no one else dares to come in. We’d better be careful,” Juan said to the rest.
A subtle smile settled on Stephen’s eyes when he heard those kids talking.
“What are you guys doing here? Where did y’all come from?” he asked.
Juan eyed him suspiciously and evaded the duke’s stare as he replied, “We’re guests here. And we came from our house.”
Stephen raised his eyebrows at the boy’s careful answer. But that did not stop him from probing further.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
The kids knew well enough to never give their names to strangers. “I’m the eldest, he’s the second, she’s the third, and she’s the fourth,” Juan answered warily.
Yet, Maya was not satisfied with such an underwhelming introduction of herself and asserted, “I’m not just the fourth kid. I’m a little fairy!” she added.
