"Umm…argh…" Estella groaned.
Damian rushed to her side, propping her beside the bed. "Are you okay?"
Her burnt throat was able to recover with the help of the wolf shaman's quick diagnosis and the doctor's immediate first aid. She coughed to clear the uncomfortable feeling she had sticking in her throat. "Thank you for all you've done."
Accepting her thanks, the doctor and the wolf shaman took their leave.
Relieved that she finally woke up, Damian held back his burst of tears. "Sister, should I go detain the true culprit immediately?"
"Don't. Sein." Estella summoned her right hand man. "Give me the details."
Appearing out of thin air, Sein calmly reported. "The patrol dogs have been all knocked out. Duke Callisto has escaped out of the jail and Duke Lecter is preparing to run."
"Was this part of his plan too?"
"Don't worry, sister." Damian reassured her, tucking her covers. "I have followed everything he told me to. Besides, Kieran helped me in controlling the nobles. He also…"
A chill creeped down his spine. He could feel a vehement gaze, warning him not to spill the beans. Along with the murderous intent, he could tell it wasn't a warning rather a threat.
"Also…?"
"Nothing!" Damian nervously wrapped up the topic about Kieran and moved onto talking about Lecter and Callisto. "It seemed Lecter placed a crate of drugs in Callisto's study as a way of framing him. Unfortunately, Callisto had the same plan in mind and chose his closest subordinates to do it. All we need to do is secretly persuade the servants who were abused."
"Right, they are easily convinced if we make use of their hatred against Duke Lecter."
"Sister."
She kept on going. "If we display their wounds shockingly in the court, that would appeal more sympathy to the judge and warrant a heavier punishment on Lecter."
"Sister!" Damian stood up angrily. "Why would you say that?"
Estella calmly explained her line of thought. "A harsh punishment on Duke Lecter is necessary for them to settle their hearts at ease."
"Are you saying that for the servants or for yourself?" Damian tested her. If it was Estella, she would probably say….
"Of course for both of us." Estella replied immediately.
Damian paused, surprised that her reply was not the answer he was expecting. His sister had faced countless near-death experiences far severe than the one right now.
So, why was she behaving differently than her usual self?
Callisto did say if she was acting peculiarly, he had to inform him. Nonetheless, this slight discomfort between his sister was just a feeling. He had no evidence to convince Kieran, who loved Estella the same or more than him. Rather than with his words, he would prove his affection with materialistic gifts and silent protection.
On the other hand, he was just….
Snapping out of his thoughts, Damian wondered if there was a need to inform Callisto. For the time being, he should keep his guard up with Estella in case she was being controlled.
"You should know that revenge isn't what they truly need for now. What if the nobles disliked them for coming out to the court and decided not to hire them in the future?! Their lives would be ruined from not being able to earn a high income for their family."
"Whether to show up to the court as witness testimony or decline my invitation, the choice ultimately lies in their hands. Either way, if they don't take a side, they will be doomed."
"Sister!" Damian was downhearted at her cold heartedness.
"What?" Estella glared at him. "After this, I was planning to give them recommendations to nobles' residences far away from the duke. Is that not enough?"
Damian hesitated. It wasn't a bad offer. In exchange for standing up to a common enemy, they get benefits and Estella would obtain the satisfaction of slaying an enemy.
"Besides, this wouldn't be bad for them either. I want revenge, and they want their peaceful lives back. Aren't I giving them exactly what I want?"
She sounded like a devil.
Estella muttered. "The only thing that would hold them back is their trauma. The faster the Duke is detained, the earlier the trauma from the physical and verbal abuse could be healed."
"Traumas? I don't think the vampires would be affected by such things of the Luz realm. Our species aren't that powerless to hold a candle to these diseases the humans speak of."
Estella sighed. "Although vampires may seem powerful in strength, their mind is just unlike any other humans. Weak. Vampires are trained to endure mental burdens from their experiences before while humans don't have the leisure to do that."
"Then, there's no problem." Damian shrugged.
"Even so, traumas still hold a large effect on the victim. Say I left Lecter unpunished. Despite their high paying jobs, the servants would certainly feel restless, uneasy that the duke would target them again anytime. Due to their trauma, with a fatal weakness as a crack in their defense, they become easier to be manipulated."
"You sound like you know a lot about trauma." Damian commented. "That's the first I've heard you mention it."
"Really?" Estella closed her eyes, recalling the moment. "Don't talk as if you know everything about me. It's annoying."
"I see." To retaliate against her, he had plenty of energy left in him in spite of the argument they had earlier. But because she was a patient, Damian acknowledged her statement silently. "When are you planning to detain Duke Lecter? He's going to run out of the country soon."
"When the right time comes." Estella smiled mysteriously.
What does that even mean? It was at times like these he could tell Estella and Kieran were similar. The way they teased him whenever everything they arranged went according to their plans, and their overprotective personality - not telling him anything when it came to significant matters occurring in their domains - was similarly vexing.
Damian came close to hitting her face. "If you need something to eat, just call me. I will be your personal servant for the time being." He left the bedroom, leaving Estella alone in the big space.
Estella chuckled at Damian who had no choice but to yield to her requests because her body grew weak temporarily. She was glad that royal purebloods had three imperial family members. Seeing that Damian was too softhearted, he was definitely not suited to be an ideal king.
"This is too chaotic." Her headache sprang up at the thought of the mess Callisto could have left if Damian hadn't controlled the situation. "Well, it does suit his personality as a mad dog."
Estella smiled softly at the thought of making a surprise comeback in the social events soon.
Meanwhile, back in the Larcena castle, Callisto was blocked in his constant attempts to feed Val breakfast, prepared attentively by his servants.
"What are you doing?" Val asked, shocked that the first thing he had to see was Callisto. He was the last thing he wanted to see after being caught stealing the contract that night.
"I figured you'd want to avoid me in the morning. So," Callisto leaned forward, trapping Val between his arms, which were leaning against the sofa, "I am making sure you wouldn't run out of my sight."
"I already gave you my word." Val pouted. "What else do you want?"
"A blood contract?"
Terrified, Val turned his head away stiffly, stuttering. "No…nevermind. L…let's stick to the bet." He obediently finished up all his breakfast.
"Hahahaha…" Laughing at Val's meek reaction, he noticed there were some things about Velda that never changed.
Ignoring his exasperating laughter, Val brushed his hands off the sofa, pointing at the seat opposite him. "How's the crate?"
Callisto sat down. "In the morning, Charles and the subordinates placed it back to their original position in the duke's storage, camouflaged with the vegetable pile near the flower field since it can cover up the scent. My spy sprinkled some in his water to show on the drug tests that these substances were recently ingested into his system."
"You were very thorough."
"Of course." Callisto bragged proudly. "I chose Charles for the job because he is my friend, whom I trust the second most."
Friend? "Doesn't he feel more like a subordinate rather than a friend? I feel like whenever I met him, he was putting himself down, not daring to do anything in your presence."
"That's true." Callisto pondered. "By the way, why are you thinking so seriously about other men?"
"Are you jealous?" Val was going to take this opportunity if he denied it, however…
"Uhm." Callisto nodded. Contrary to his expectations, Callisto was brutally honest. If it was the past, Callisto would reply curtly in his defense that he wouldn't be in love with such a crude woman and blah, blah… He would go on to list all of her weaknesses.
Where was the cold blooded duke who took years to befriend and never tried to cross their border of friendship?
"By the way, I didn't get to ask you a question because yesterday was a rush for me to clarify things." Val changed the topic. It was too late for him to ask as he was busy, recovering from the mistake he made in his plans the day before.
No matter how little time he had, he should have accounted for the possibility of Callisto coming into his study himself. "How did you even get out?"
"I had the keys of the handcuffs given to me by Damian since Kieran was too busy finding blood with Duke Lecter. We knew of their plan from the start. It was only put into action because we had to sniff out any traitors in my mansion."
"Oh, right." Callisto just recalled her. "While I was made to stay in the sewer-like prison, a female named Helda Nevil helped me out."
"Helda Nevil." Val repeated saying the name several times to help him remember something. The number of profiles he'd read piled up to almost 150, therefore, it took a while to reach an image of a detailed report about a woman named Helda.
"Does her name ring any bells?"
"She once worked as an A-rank hunter in the US government, however, she suddenly made a decision to quit after meeting a man. It is safe to say there's a mastermind behind her."
"Putting aside Helda, after tailing the two boys, what did you discover?"
If he knew they were boys, he must have seen them on their way outside of the mansion since the moon was bright outside. The castle floors were all dark, not permitting people to easily distinguish enemies or foes.
That meant he must have arrived at his study quite late. "I heard from their conversation that a crate will be sent to a syndicate called Ebon. What they do is unclear because I've never heard of this organization before this."
"Please allow me to do at least this much." Callisto sighed frustratingly, as he nuzzled against Val's shoulder. He buried his head in his hands. "I don't know what else…"
Bracing Callisto's head, Val pressed his lips onto his. He expected Callisto's lips to be rough and chapped, but unexpectedly, it was soft and warm. After a long peck, Val pulled away only to leave Callisto yearning for more.
Just a little kiss couldn't quell his heart down.
Callisto wanted more.
Pushing Val onto the sofa, Callisto went in for a second round. When Val was about to push him away, seeing Callisto's eyes soften as if begging him to go along with his whims, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Val reluctantly reciprocated his licks and nibbles.
As soon as he parted his lips to breathe, Val gazed at him in a frenzy. Pulling him closer, Callisto approached him and locked their lips together in a slow, rhythmic movement.
Wanting to savor him further, Callisto pulled away from Val, looking into his eyes lovingly and slipping his hands underneath the shirt to touch his bare skin.
Feeling the cold sensation on his waist, Val shuddered, before biting Callisto's upper lips as punishment and thumped Callisto lightly on his head. "Will you ever be done?"
"Never." Callisto smirked. The feeling of wanting to touch him more for a bit lingered. "Can I…?"
A knock on the door interrupted them, completely destroying the mood. Callisto was irritated to have missed this chance. After all, when else would Val let him do anything to him?
Alfonso, unaware of what caused his master's rage towards him, entered the room. "Master, you have a meeting with the vassals. Would you like to go or would you skip this meeting?"
Alfonso wasn't saying empty words. If his master wanted to skip this meeting, he could have arranged another one immediately even if the nobles demanded to meet him at once. It was apparent Callisto didn't want to go. He whimpered about the meeting being so boring and several other complaints he had about the vassals. So, as a butler, he should fulfill his master's desire to the fullest.
How did he become this spoiled? He would normally pretend to be a responsible and dependable person, especially in front of the kids.
Should he try persuading him? But, the last time he tried persuading Callisto, he failed miserably because Lis was good at making an impressive counter argument.
With his puppy-like eyes, Alfonso was imploring him to get the duke out of the room as soon as possible. carry out his duties as a duke. Val had no choice but to bribe him.
"If you want another, finish your meeting successfully."
"A deep kiss?"
Why was it so hard to please this man? "Just a peck."
"Please…." Callisto tugged at his sleeves and acted pitifully as if he was a maiden with no place to call home.
Val groaned, thinking it over. "Fine." He had really gone soft on Callisto. "Make it back before 6 or else forget we ever talked about this matter."
"Ok!" Callisto happily nodded.
As Callisto left the room with a pleasant skip in his steps, Val's smile vanished.
The meeting should buy him some time since Callisto had been out of his seat for a while, which meant Alfonso should have arranged several matters to attend to. He had to also deal with a traitor within his ranks.
Val muttered under his breath. "I should make my way soon to the Regalia Empire."
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"I finally found it!" Rune exclaimed in excitement as she held up her ipad.
"What do you mean?" Charles asked since he couldn't see anything she was doing on the driver's seat.
Raul explained in her stead as she was too engaged in her discovery. "Apparently, she already found the duke's friends."
"Uhhh…? Already?" Charles was surprised. There were still 2 months left before the bet ended and she already completed the conditions?
"Don't look so flabbergasted."
"I am not really…!" Charles retorted. "It's just… Her pace of tracking was way faster than our spies so
"No wonder." Rune commented. "It's impressive that they could gather intel when there's so little to work on. As for me, I am nothing remarkable. Rather, I would say the internet is the exceptional one, granting easy access as long as we had the right account as a cover."
"They'd say appearances are often deceiving. Although she may be doing things on impulse, the details are always carefully planned." Raul broke down her way of thought. "When she proposes something, it's only when something piques her interest first. After she saw the duke's messages to his friends and other colleagues, she was curious about which one was closer since all his messages were cold and blunt. From the texts, he had the impression of a strict and harsh superior even though he was easy going at home. The contrast in between the two social identities led her to enthusiastically start the bet without consulting mom about it."
Charles heard about this matter from his chief, who hadn't been challenged like this blatantly in a long time. He could certainly feel her touch of impulsiveness when comparing the side's stakes. Hers - conversing with the friends - was relatively low in materialistic value.
"It wasn't impulsive! I was confident that I could track them down." Rune defended her side of the story.
"With what?" Charles pondered. "You only had the message history from Ywit chats and the monthly clues the duke would provide you."
"By tracking their digital footprints, IP addresses and piecing together their meeting points which were encrypted and time schedule. Though I couldn't figure out exactly where they were meeting." Rune thought it was a shame since she didn't have much time.
"But it's okay since I only needed to identify the people." She showed him pictures of the four friends with their code names and real names underneath. "Am I right?"
Stopping the car for a moment, he took a look at the people on the laptop screen. Blinking his eyes to see if he was hallucinating, Charles pinched himself. It was unbelievably real.
A child had hacked into an important database just to win a miniscule bet at which she wouldn't lose much. If this news were made into a youtube video, it would definitely be bashed by the netizens, who no longer believed in the paranormal.
"Y…yes, you are." Charles resumed driving. He swore this world was nothing but normal. Now, child prodigies could even do something an average adult would have to take 3 years to learn theoretically and put into practice.
"'Why is she going so far even when she wasn't even going to lose anything?' is what your face is telling me." She hit the nail on the head.
Charles smiled awkwardly. "Are my thoughts that obvious?"
"Well, what can I say? Your face is an open book." Raul rubbed salt into his wound. Empathizing with him, Raul patted his shoulders. "But, it's okay. Not everyone was born to have good acting skills or a stoic face. In a way, I understand you."
"Besides, you are supposed to deny it." Rune giggled. "But, you are right. Me talking to these friends may not be much but to me, it's very important. Besides, I promised my uncle a separate reward he would like if I won the bet."
Rather than Callisto's friends interacting with the twins, Charles was more anxious about the 'separate reward' the duke was going to receive. "Do tell me what it would be?"
"It's a secret." All of a sudden, a red signal appeared on her ipad. "Turn to 12 Main Street and make a left turn! One of the duke's friends is there."
"What?!"
"Someone placed a location tracker on him."
"How did you even find that out?!"
Ignoring his question, she urged him. "Quickly!"
Charles heeded her command. Clenching his teeth, he took a brief moment to reflect on his choices. Ever since their first meeting, she acted unlike a normal ten year old. So once again, he chose to trust her lead. Speeding up the car, he clutched the steering wheel tightly. "If something goes wrong, take responsibility for me, boss."
"Fine." Rune rapidly sealed a deal with him. Via wireless connection, she told him to follow the route on the navigator she provided him with to reach the friend.
"Man," Raul mumbled idly as he closed his eyes, "this is never going to be a peaceful day."