The announcement

Yangcha blinked multiple times out of surprise, he couldn't believe what he had just heard. It had to be a joke, there was no way he had missed something that big in all the years he had served Tagon. However the amused expression on his master's face confirmed his fear.

— It's unusual to see you this surprised. said the leader of the Daekan Forces in between two sips of wine. Why ? You don't think I would do a great father ?

His right hand man frowned, he didn't really like the way his master made light of the situation. A reaction which only made Tagon want to tease him more. It was rare to see Yangcha express any type of feeling, most of the time he looked like he didn't care about what was happening around him. And even when people talked to him he would only look at the walls or the ceiling. A behavior which annoyed more than one but which no one complained about, that was the law of the strongest.

— Are you mad I didn't tell you before ?

The question immediately made Yangcha drop on his knees, his eyes riveted toward the floor. It was his own way of saying it wasn't the case and that it would never be. To most people a reaction like this would have only been seen as grandiloquent and hypocrite, however for the masked warrior this gesture was more than sincere. As his most loyal servant he never would have allowed himself to succumb to such petty feelings, that would have been the same as betraying him. Tagon was Tagon, he could do everything he wanted and Yangcha didn't have a word to say in it. The servant didn't need to know what his master was scheming, what he was doing or with whom he was working, all he needed to do was to follow. If his lord had wanted all of his allies gone Yangcha would have killed all of them. If he had asked him to torture a child Yangcha would have found the most painful way. If he had told him to die Yangcha would have obeyed right away. Anything Tagon wished for had to be accomplished. In his opinion the soldier didn't blindly follow his leader's orders, no. He followed whatever his master would dictate him because he knew he was never wrong, everything he did had a purpose and with him even a failure could turn into the greatest victory. Which is why the servant wasn't angry at his lord for keeping this information to himself, if he had chosen to do so it must have been for a reason. And if his servant had wanted to know so much about it he should have paid more attention to his master's behavior.

— Then why are you so worked up ? Said Tagon more to himself than to Yangcha.

The leader of the Daekan Forces was curious. Having as a right hand man someone who wasn't allowed to talk would have been a burden for anyone, but not for Tagon. His servant was for him a perpetual challenge and he was someone who liked when things were complicated. Because of his mask the soldier didn't have many facial expressions which made him hard to read however his eyes would often betray his feelings. But even that way he would remain quite mysterious for most people. Of course Tagon wasn't like most people, he was more observant and more thoughtful. Whenever he would come up with a plan he would blaber some parts of it out loud not to help himself think but just to observe Yangcha's reactions. He liked seeing the young man connect all the pieces together and rejoice. Had the masked man been a simple puppet who only followed his orders without thinking Tagon wouldn't have kept him by his sight, however his right hand man was smart. He knew how to adapt to situations or when to retreat, he wasn't the type to discuss orders or to act recklessly. And even when he was kept in the dark about his master's real aim, when facing difficulties he would always opt for the right behavior. He was the perfect balance between loyalty and intellect, which probably explained why he was so good at pleasing Tagon. Without words the two men perfectly communicated, almost as if they were connected.

— You are worried about the consequences of me having a child with Taealha…

Yangcha slightly rose his head and stared straight forward, Tagon understood the gesture right away. He smiled, his guess was the right one and once again his main man had made an interesting remark. Although they deeply loved each other Taealha and him weren't married, they couldn't. She was a yomarae who had been ordered to spy on him and his father by seducing them, she had to stay desirable to both of them and to never let one of the side seem to win her over the other. If she were to have a child with any of them it would put an end to the balance and she would be deemed useless. Her father did not favor Tagon and wasn't planning on supporting him in his political quest so if he were to be made aware of the existence of the child things would not end well for any of them. However Yangcha's fear was not founded.

— He is not Taealha's…

The young man slightly flinched, barely containing his surprise. He didn't understood, he was sure Tagon loved her and he couldn't think of any other woman in Arth who would have been worthy of his favor. But then again he had failed to discover the existence of his child so who knew how many things his master had hidden from him. He pondered a lot on the question and Tagon watched over him as he did so, it was an entertaining view. At one point he noticed that the soldier had calmed down which meant he had come to a conclusion. Knowing him he probably thought Tagon had managed to bed a woman from the Asa Clan, maybe even Asa Mot herself, and was thinking of using the child later when he would need to overthrow Asa Ron. While it could have been a great strategy seducing a woman from the Asa Clan — let alone Asa Mot its most conservative member, was an impossible task for any stranger. Especially if the said stranger was Tagon, the son of the biggest rival of their leader Asa Ron.

— He is not from the Asa Clan and he is not even my child either.

While his entire body was frozen the eyes of Yangcha betrayed his confusion, he hadn't expected this answer at all. If Tagon had adopted this baby it meant it could be of use for him later, but whose parent could it have been for him to make it such a huge secret ? Although he couldn't see his eyes his leader perceived his bewilderment.

— To be honest I don't even know his parents...

Once again only the silence answered him, but it was a silence way more eloquent than any speech both of them had ever heard. This time Yangcha hadn't provided any answer, he had only asked one question. And Tagon understood it right away.

— Because he is like me.

His voice was cold and his explanation was short, no other words were needed or would be allowed on this topic. The masked man lowered his head again, his eyes glutted to the floor. Even if he hadn't done anything wrong he felt sorry. He understood the meaning behind this sentence and the weigh it holded on the heart of his master. He should have understood faster or maybe he shouldn't have asked any question at all. Either way he had done a mistake.

— Now that you know about his existence I have a question for you, will you protect my child ?

Changing of topic abruptly to avoid talking about that particular thing, it was just like him. Yangcha lifted one of his leg in order to only have one of his kneel touching the floor then extended his arm from his forehead toward the ceiling. This meant that he would follow the order, which didn't quite satisfied Tagon. He didn't want his soldier to see this as a simple task, he wanted him to consider it as a new role.

— Treat him like you would treat my very own child, he is important to me.

Saying those words Tagon grabbed documents on his table and started to read them. Yangcha knew he wasn't putting an end to the discussion, he actually was considering something about it. Working on something else at the same time helped him to order his thoughts when taking decisions which bothered him. He hadn't made his mind on how valuable was the child to him so the masked man had to wait. The waiting lasted quite a while but the soldier didn't mind, he was used to it. Most of the time he would stand guard in Tagon's office or outside of his tent. Tagon suddenly stopped writing on the document he was working on and then said.

— He is important but never place him above Taealha. As of now she is way more useful than him.

This time Yangcha simply nodded and Tagon started writing again without even looking at him. The second part of his sentence had created complicated feelings inside of him, he had only met the child a few times but he had already felt an incredible potential. He didn't doubt he would become a powerful ally in the future, maybe even more than Taealha. "I need to get the throne fast to avoid making such a choice", he thought to himself.

Noticing that his right hand man hadn't moved at all he stood up once again and walked to him, the soldier immediately rose to his feet ready to follow him like his shadow.

— You probably are curious about him aren't you ? Sadly I'm afraid I don't have much informations to give to you, I only recently started communicating with him.

He pointed at the fire of the chimney and his warrior understood what he was trying to say, he had burnt each one of the letters in order to not leave any trace. Yangcha wasn't worried about that, he knew his master had read each one of them and probably had memorized most of their content.

— As of now he is eighteen...Tagon marked a pause after realizing something.

" You were much younger than him when you joined the Daekan Forces ."

Yangcha had joined their troops young, way too young even in the eyes of their leader. Both of them knew what he had seen and what he had endured, those weren't experiences a child should have gone through. Tagon wasn't really sure on how the young man had managed to keep his sanity but he was at least sure of thing, as long as he was one of his people he would never allow anyone to make him suffer like this again.

— I wanted to have him join me earlier but I felt like he wasn't ready. He has grown up alone in a tower until his fourteen birthday so I couldn't just throw him right away on the battlefield.

At the mention of the word "fourteen" the eyes of the masked man lightened up. He understood everything, he had managed to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Tagon smiled to him before leaning on his desk.

— So you finally remembered ? What happened four years ago.