"He was the one who wanted Zorivia to be abducted and defiled in order to get rid of the purity trait that her father was pushing so hard as a treat of all the past queens. Luring Kenneth out of the Rotteloss mansion for some questioning should not be particularly against his principles at the moment... this is actually pretty good; would you mind sharing the secret recipe?"
The girl added, focused on the addictive drink that was tasting better with each gulp.
"...I could... if you tell me more about His Highness's plans towards my Zorivia first..."
"!!!"
"Really? No problem~!"
Since Ava didn't really know Medea, she had no idea what his friendly smile meant – she also didn't notice that the copper-haired Gerard was about to enter the kitchen, but upon seeing that particular expression on the black-haired boy's face, he backed off as fast as he could.
After all, Medea's smile was particularly charming – which meant that the boy was utterly enraged.
"I don't blame you for not knowing about that detail – a lot of things have changed in the main story already, some because of your interference with Zorivia – but as things stand now, Noah has no intention of being with her. In his words – he isn't interested in getting chained down to some dumb failure."
"..."
The pixie-cut girl revealed, finishing the drink while Medea was smiling at her without a word.
Only observing her while comfortably leaning back in his chair.
"It was only because I used the charm pellet on him the first time, too, that I learned about it. He became awfully talkative even though I didn't even ask about his relationship with Zorivia."
The girl, who had no idea how much danger she was in at the moment, said while eyeing the remaining herbs at the bottom of her empty cup as if she seriously considered scooping out and chewing on them.
"He didn't want her dead, but after Theo would bring her back to your boss, Noah would pay Oliver a lot more just so Zorivia wouldn't return home in... well... marriageable state... If you know what I mean."
Ava clarified while looking awkwardly to the side, very much uncomfortable with what she was implying.
"Oh... now that I think about it... if you were to get in contact with the prince, both of you could get what you want."
"..."
The clueless girl raised her brows and gasped as if she had come up with some fantastic idea – making the ever-so-silent Medea's smile become twice as friendly and charming.
"Do you want me to make that suggestion to him after I use the charm pellet on him again?"
The pixie-cut girl inquired cheerfully, encouraged by the beaming smile on the black-haired boy's face.
"Hmm~ No, not really. I must be careful while planning my future interaction with his highness. Spontagniousness is nice and all, but things could end up bad in the long run... about my end of the bargain, though. Here's the first part of the recipe."
"Really?! Thank you!"
The boy looked up and hummed before shaking his head and standing up, walking towards the cupboards and taking out some writing utensils and listing down the ingredients for the energizing drink, and handing the note to the eager girl.
"I can't wait to make it for...! Wait... first part...?"
Ava cheered out and blushed with excitement as she skimmed through the list, but then her good mood disappeared, and she asked in disbelief.
"It will give you some energy, but not as much as the full product. You see, I said that I could share the recipe... I never specified whether complete one or just part~."
"... uh... I almost forgot who I am dealing with..."
Medea added as his smile began subsiding, making Ava grumble.
"And here I hoped to have Theo try... it..."
The pixie-cut girl groaned – and then her face became pale as she reminded herself about the actual reason she was visiting the black-haired boy for.
"I will definitely let you know as soon as I learn anything."
"Please do."
She stood up and said while readying herself to leave, and Medea nodded at her with approval.
Only half an hour after the girl has left did Gerard get the courage to approach Medea.
The black-haired boy was still in the kitchen, looking out of the window while sipping on his energizing concoction that had already gone cold.
"B-boss... I've heard most of what you were talking about with the young Miss... Umm.. you... you aren't going to try and assassinate the royal prince because of what he tried to do, are you...?"
Gerard asked awkwardly, already imagining the tragic end that every single member of their gang would meet if something outrageous like that was ever attempted.
"You are a bit too eager, mister. First things first, having a friendly chat with Kenny and inserting myself by Zorivia's side takes precedence."
The black-haired boy snickered and waved his hand dismissively before clarifying the misunderstanding that the copper-haired man seemed to have.
"Oh, thank goodness, boss...! I thought that...!"
"Only after confirming that she is out of the reach of any trash that tries to use or hurt her will I begin the cleaning operation. The prince can live until that point, I guess."
Grand breathed out, but his relief didn't last for long – Medea cut it short with a friendly remark followed by an even more amiable smile.
-------------
The damp room was lighted up by two torches hanging on the opposite walls.
The room had no windows, but judging by a slight breeze, there had been some degree of ventilation there.
The room had no furniture except a single metal chair embedded into the floor at the very center.
The chair wasn't empty – there was someone rather big, with his whole head hidden by a dirty bag pulled over his face, chained down to it.
The captured man wasn't the only person in the room either.
There were two more people there, but they weren't sitting, and they weren't chained down either – if anything, they must have been the people to capture the unfortunate person.
Both of them were male and had rather thuggish features, but even so, they looked quite anxious about the situation.