Koiren greeted him and Daniel on his side. He gave Daniel a polite smile and linked his arms to Kayne. He pulled him over to another side of the road, far from Daniel and whispered, "What are you thinking, rushing on things?"
Kayne forcefully broke the physical connection and slightly fixed his clothes. He admits that the decision is a bit rushed but he really needs to solve the case as soon as possible to find possible clues on his father's disappearance. His hypothesis may be wrong but it won't hurt trying his best now.
He ignored Koiren and went back to Daniel instead. Kayne apologized for his behavior and handed a few golds out of his pocket for the inconvenience, which Daniel declined.
"It's fine. I am not that short on money. Even though we're not as rich as Regulus, we can provide for ourselves."
Koiren punched him lightly on the side and bowed at Daniel. "You're seriously losing it. That's Daniel Lois von Malcolm. He's a cousin of the crowned prince."
Kayne stole a second glance at Daniel and the latter returned a smile. "That's fine."
Having his head messed with the unexpected trivia, Kayne let himself get dragged by Koiren out of the scene. His partner even made lousy excuses in front of Daniel to not offend the person.
"What's wrong with you today?" Koiren asked when they're finally alone. He clicked his tongue and combed his hand through his hair out of annoyance to the kid, standing like a stone in front of him.
Kayne was about to leave him alone again but Koiren grabbed his hand before he could do so. It took almost everything of Koiren's power to stop him from taking another step, making him rethink how ridiculously insane Kayne's capabilities are. He readied himself for another death threat but Kayne did not say anything, which surprised him.
"Listen, pretty boy," Koiren said in a sultry voice.
"Stop it. It's repulsive." Kayne snarled at him.
Koiren pouted and sighed. "Well, first, you need to calm down." He looked at Kayne's hand he's holding and then back to Kayne's face. "Are you willing to listen to me now? I swear, I will pester you non-stop if you kept ignoring me. Don't get me wrong. I am also against touching and appealing on you in this way."
"Then get lost."
"Lucian told me to watch over you. Technically, you're my responsibility right now."
Kayne repeated what he did earlier and forcefully removed Koiren's hands on him. It did not require too much effort and he managed to get his hand free again.
"Are you Lucian's dog?"
"Woof."
Stupid.
That's what Kayne thought. He can't handle the stupidity of the current conversation and the way things are turning out.
"I'll assist you, however, you also need to tell me everything that you're going to do. Else, I won't have a good report to submit to your family."
"I am reporting my daily activities on my own, you don't need to do it for me." Kayne lashed out at Koiren.
"Two mouths are more reliable than one. Whether it's the truth or the lie, it's believable as long as there's a lot of people believing it as the truth."
The words spilling out of Koiren's mouth added more to Kayne's aggravations. He's not here to bicker and reason out with anyone but to find his father. The only motive he has to accept this investigation is to find Rigel's whereabouts and save him in case he's in a perilous situation.
"Lucian said—"
"What?"
Lucian this and Lucian that. It's clear as day that Koiren is Lucian's little puppy.
"He said that he'll personally help you find Rigel after this case."
"Really?"
Among the Regulus family, Kayne has great respect for Lucian and his grandfather, Luke. He can ask for resources from his grandfather or use the money Rigel left for him but he can't expect any direct help from Luke. That's what he taught him when he's staying at the Lion's Den before.
"Regulus' have the pride of a lion, they raise their cubs to be vicious by throwing them off a cliff," Luke would usually quote.
And that's the reason why obtaining Lucian's promise of help is a great thing for him. More than that, Lucian alone, can be a supplier of information and money.
"Is he going to accept any kind of request from me?" Kayne asked again to make sure that he did not hear it wrong. He's planning to have Lucian travel with him on his search.
"I don't know. He only said that he'll help in finding Rigel."
That's not enough. But still better than nothing. He will try to negotiate with him later after closing this incident. Were it not for the fact that desperation is dawning on him, he won't take his hand for help and just turn the world upside down all by himself. But he is weak. Weaker than what he's supposed to be.
At that point in time, Kayne decided to take his initial step forward to search for greater power.