"Father."
All eyes were on him after he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Asteric, who has been in a very fraught state since the incidents happened in the grand hall, jumped to his feet. His eyes had already formed heavy bags under them, which no one ever wanted to question anymore when they had almost been pierced by the emperor's sword.
The emperor did not even get a wink of good sleep; no, he can't fall asleep with the state of his two children, one who has been kidnapped and another who is bedridden, and no one knows when he will wake up because of the major injuries inflicted on the child's body with a huge blood loss.
They almost failed to save his only son. He almost lost his only son to death. His son's body is cold like he was dying for a moment. That made him remember the moment his son's heart stopped after he drowned in the imperial lake. But this time, his own heart almost stopped.
Asteric was fidgeting, in a state of anxiety, and his mind was racing. He needed to compose himself because he was a family leader, a father, a husband, and the emperor. He left his son in his friend's more capable hands. He has another thing to do, and that is to find his youngest daughter.
He got the news from Celix about his son. He almost collapsed in reassurance, but not yet when he still has more problems in hand regarding his missing daughter.
What he knew was that his daughter was with his son when all of that happened. He didn't know if his son managed to see the bastard who had done all of this, but Asteric wouldn't let it slide for whoever dared to harm his family. He will kill them with his own hands.
The sight of his son right now makes his heart thump wildly against his rib cage. His son is awake and standing in front of him in his formal attire, which makes him suspicious.
"Michaelis."
"Your Majesty."
Michaelis showed courtesy to Asteric and addressed him formally. Michaelis stood straight again and looked at Asteric straight in the eyes. Asteric saw the seriousness and also put on a serious face, brushing away the concern plastered on his face. Michaelis is talking to him not as a father but as an emperor, and he should do the same.
"Pardon my insolence for the abrupt interference in the conclave."
He bowed once again as an apology, but his eyes did not linger around the table, which was seated by the leaders of various households, but to Asteric solely.
"Crown prince, disclose what you have in mind until you have forsaken your convalescence like this."
His tone, which he always uses with everyone except his family and close friends. Moreover, this is the first time Michaelis has ever addressed him as an emperor and not a father; based on this, he already knows what Michaelis wants to know and he already has the answer to the question, so he won't back down easily.
"Your Majesty the Emperor, I wish to collaborate in this conclave."
"I refused."
Without letting even a second pass, Asteric gave his answer. Sharp blue eyes met the same sharp hazel eyes.
"No, Your Majesty. This is not a request. I compel you to accede by hook or by crook."
Asteric narrowed his eyes at Michaelis. He was about to say something, but he was brutally cut by Michaelis.
"Instead, if you truly refuse my demand, I will fall on my own sword."
"Your Imperial Highness!"
"Crown Prince!"
The noble leaders, who had been silently listening to the interaction since the beginning, began to protest. Michaelis raised his hand, and the nobles quickly shut their mouths when they saw Michaelis' chilly gaze. Asteric also widened his eyes at Michaelis' bold statement.
"Which one do you prefer, Your Majesty? I would do anything, even becoming a daredevil myself, to get back my sister."
"Stubborn." Asteric said under his breath.
"Crown prince, inform us what you know."
Michaelis let out a breath with those words of approval. He began to recount everything that had happened to him at that time, recalling everything and whatever he felt odd about at that time. Every piece of information is crucial at this moment, and they can't waste much more time.
This is not a normal kidnapping. If yes, there would be a ransom request. There are two things Michaelis is suspected of in this kidnapping.
One, Nasharis, would be the hostage for the imperial family and do whatever the kidnapper wanted. He is sure the kidnapper would at least give a note or a letter for this if this is the case. When? He is sure something would trigger the kidnappers to make their move, but he needs to wait to confirm his suspicion.
Two, the worst possible thing that could happen is that Nasharis would be sold to someone outside of this empire or continent. When they have managed to send her outside their range of power, it will be more difficult for them to find Nasharis. They might make her a slave to gain money, considering the blood flowing inside her is imperial blood.
Michaelis hoped it was the former, and he somehow believed the kidnapper would contact them later.
Because they would take him too and not try to kill him if that were the case. They wanted to control the imperial family with their own hands. They wanted to ruin the imperial family by using the easiest method, which was the children of the emperor.
They will pay for their deed if he finds even a single scar on Nasharis.
×××××
Sigh.
"She kept crying. Could you just make her sleep or what?"
The one with a scar on his cheek said this to his two friends, who were playing cards.
"Do it yourself. We are busy."
The long-haired man puffed out the smoke from the cigarette in his mouth before his hand swiftly moved to put a card on the table.
"You're just playing cards all day! I am the one who always needs to feed the brat!"
He kicked his friend's chair until the long-haired one fell.
"What the f*ck is wrong with you?! Is it that hard dealing with a brat?"
The long-haired man rose to his feet and shouted with anger.
"I don't even like taking care of a brat!"
The scarred face growled at his long-haired friend. They are about to brawl, but their last friend, with a cloth covering his lower face, claps his hand to stop the two idiots.
"Calm down, guys; let me go look for her now."
"It's always you or me. You shouldn't baby him too much, Uda!"
The long-haired man rolled his eyes and sat on his chair again. He let out a puff of smoke while smirking at the scarred face.
"Jealous much. You even got burned by a brat and lost a hand."
"You bastard—!"
"There there. No need to fight every day, guys. Besides, Visilon is the one who gave you a new hand; you should appreciate it, Grole."
The long-haired Visilon smirked and let out a puff of smoke. Grole snarled at Visilon and kicked him again. They started to shout at each other again.
"Your loud voice makes her scared."
"We kidnapped her, Uda. We're not trying to babysit her."
Uda smiled at his smoking friend. It was not visible, but the wrinkle at the side of his eyes gave away the gesture. He smiled with closed eyes.
"Not until we get any news from the palace."
He walked down the stairs to go to the basement. He opened the locked door using the key and went inside the dim room. The light that was just visible through the opened door.
"Well, hello there, sweety."
A sobbing sound could be heard, even though it was slow. Uda knew the girl was trying to contain any sound when he came inside. He chuckled at the act and walked closer to the corner wall where the child was located. He could hear a metal sound when the child moved her body away from him.
He chuckled again at that poor attempt.
"Don't be afraid, sweety. I won't do anything to you if you obey everything I say."
He crouched down to look at the princess. He smiled with his eyes closed. His gesture did not manage to lessen the trembling and fear in the little girl.
"Okay, what do you want, sweety? I will fulfil what you want for the first time. I also won't let the scary man come to meet you today. How about it?"
Uda tilted his head when the little girl finally raised her head to look at him. Her eyes were red and puffy, showing that she had been crying nonstop. Her hair also looked dishevelled, showing that it had been negligent for days.
"Anything?"
The slow and cracked voice was heard, and Uda smiled even more.
"Yes, anything that I can give. But promise me you won't cry anymore."
Nasharis knew it was stupid to ask this, but she wanted to try. She wanted to go back home to where her family was. She didn't want to be in this scary, dark place anymore.
"I want to go home."
"Hm?"
She flinched when Uda suddenly opened his eyes. Two different colours of eyes looked intently at her; one was black with an unknown shape on it, and the other was completely white.
"That would be hard, sweety. I can't fulfil your request."
He patted her head slowly, but the gesture made the girl tremble even more. Uda raised his body when he got neither an answer nor a question anymore. He also didn't want to waste his time talking and consoling a brat.
"Well then, go to sleep. I'll be back in a few hours."
Uda walked back to the door, but before he walked out, he turned back to look at Nasharis.
"Ah, I forgot to tell you something, sweety."
Uda smiled. His eyes were closed.
"About your brother."
Nasharis looked at him, and his smile widened.
"He died."
"Huh?"
"There is no news about him, so he might die already. My friend you met just now has slit his throat. Should I bring his dead body for you to see? Ah, that'd be hard. Well, just to let you know, your brother won't be coming to save you, sweety."
Bang!
The door closed, leaving the shocked Nasharis. The dry eyes became wet again with tears when she finally processed what that man said just now.
"Brother. Brother. He lied. He lied, right? You will come. You will come to save me. Brother, please. I'm scared."
Uda smiled wickedly when he heard the whispers from outside, and that turned into a hysterical shout.
"Liar! You lied! Brother is alive! Liar! Liar! Liar!"
He went back to where his two friends were and saw that they managed to not break down anything and sat down to play cards.
"You are cruel." Visilon stated.
The scarred man, Grole, scoffed when he saw the relaxed face of Uda. They knew exactly what the man had done. All of them are evil; that is something they would not deny. However, Uda was the vilest among them.
"You would traumatize her."
Uda did not respond and took a pill out of his pocket.
"And he enjoyed it."
He smiled even more and crashed the pill into his mouth, letting his tongue melt the crushed pill.
"That is my stimulant."