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(3rd Person POV)
Aston entered the room with Edmund just behind him. He had a calm and captivating smile on his face.
The sight that greeted Aston was a lavish room with golden chandeliers, a beautifully crafted table and several exquisite dishes on the top of the table.
He could see Lant Agriche in front of the dining table to greet him though that was just for customary purposes. He could also see Jeremy Agriche looking warily at him.
It was apparent that Lant Agriche had already warned his children about Aston.
Aston walked with a confident stride along with Edmund to Lant Agriche.
When the two people came in front of each other, the aura around them could be seen only by the truly powerful people in the room which were Jeremy Agriche and Edmund.
Jeremy had started to sweat while noticing the power oozing out of them.
Lant Agriche extended his hand towards Aston with a sanguine smile but he was truly scared in his mind.
He had informed his children to never go against the Phoenixes.
But he was going against them, simply by showing disrespect for the crown prince, Aston Phoenix.
Both parties knew that fact.
The reason why he was still trying to show himself superior is because of his stubbornness regarding his Agriche pride, his mind had manipulated the fear he has into flimsy bravery.
He didn't want the pride that he maintained his whole life to be crushed into pieces.
Some years ago, his pride had been mellowed down by the person in front of him.
But time gave him a false sense of security, somewhere in his mind, he began to think that the incident at the royal palace with the crown prince was just due to his exaggerated imagination.
Maybe due to being nervous at the royal palace, he misunderstood the power level of the crown prince...
Now, this time the crown prince was visiting their territory. His talk with his children about the Phoenixes was told as something extremely important because he didn't want his forces to underestimate the enemy.
And the existence of Phoenixes as their enemy was for sure.
Aston looked at the hand in front of him first and then shook it.
Lant tried to grip hard in the handshake but his attempt at dominance was easily countered by Aston's grip.
Aston was not using his full strength, even then it was enough to fluster the person in front of him.
This was a psychological trick used by people to make their opponents stumble from the start.
After this long handshake and a gazing match between them, they opened their mouth to wish each other.
Lant Agriche said, "The head of the house of the Agriches welcomes the respectable crown prince of the empire."
Aston also sprinkled his words with flowers, "I also pay my wishes to the head of the Agriche. I have been wishing to meet you for a long time since our memorable first meeting."
This greeting was riddled with threats and warnings which could only be seen by Lant Agriche who knew about their first meeting.
After Lant, Aston moved on to the teenager behind Lant, Jeremy Agriche.
There was no exchange of words between them. Just a simple handshake and a hostile gaze by Jeremy...
Aston didn't respond to Jeremy's hostility but just calmly went to the seat designated for him.
The other two people also took their seats and Edmund stood in the corner of the room, ready to help Aston in any way possible.
The dinner started with Lant Agriche saying in a loud voice, after regaining his composure, "Crown Prince, I would like you to enjoy these splendid dishes."
Aston cordially smiled and said, "Thank you for going to such lengths for my sake. I am sure this was not needed at all."
Now, the dinner started and Aston Phoenix ate elegantly using all the manners taught in the royal palace.
He was not wary of the Agriches putting any kind of poison in the food as he had perfect poison detoxing power from his body due to his powerful ability.
While they were eating, idle talk continued between them which had hidden taunts and daggers between the lines.
Lant Agriche said with as much of a pleasant tone he could muster, "I heard about your feats, crown prince. You had achieved a legendary achievement in killing one of the animals belonging to the dragon species, Wyvern. I am sure that you are capable enough to become the king."
This was an insult disguised as praise, Lant showed his doubt toward Aston actually killing a wyvern which was raised as a rumour in the public.
Though, they were smothered in a couple of weeks, courtesy of the Tenebres Squad.
Aston didn't stay behind and said, "I also hope that the Agriches are doing well. I have seen how capable the children of the Agriches are."
This was an insult to the incapability of most of the children of Lant Agriche.
Lant had a vein almost popping in his forehead as he countered the back, "Of course, they are my children. Sadly, his majesty didn't have any other siblings. And how is the health of the sun of the empire? Is he fine?"
This was a low blow on how Aston's mother died when Aston was 7 years old and the king of the empire was too old for conceiving any more children.
Aston didn't react much but had deathly calmness on his visage. He just ate the dish in front of him and relished it.
He spoke up in a mocking tone, "Have you heard about how the Prince of the Blue got kidnapped by the underworld forces? Poor man, how can people even harm such a righteous and good person, it baffles me to an unimaginable extent."
This showed that the crown prince had an inkling that the Agriches dealt in the underworld and had kidnapped the prince of the Blue.
This was a snap moment for Lant Agriche, but he used his newfound patience and remained calm.
He didn't say much after it but ate his food.
His son Jeremy Agriche also understood that political and psychological warfare was going on between these two people. He didn't like to use his head much so he stayed quiet.
After both parties had eaten dinner, the servants were going to clean up the table but a cold voice stopped them in their place.
Aston had an expression showing that he was tired of something, "Lant Agriche, why don't we stop this stupid nonsense and hiding knives behind our backs bullshit?"
This came as a shock to most of the people in the room with the exception of Edmund. He knew that his master was going to create some kind of incident the day he entered the Agriche estate to gain the upper hand in the proceeding afterwards.
The servants in the room were shell-shocked that the person they hailed as a gentleman could have such a cold voice.
The Agriches were stunned as well because they didn't expect Aston to do something like this in public.
Lant Agriche tried to redeem the situation, in a nervous voice, "Uh, what are you saying, your highness? We can talk in private later tomorrow. Let the servants do their work, pleas-"
Before he could finish his words, a person entered the room.
Roxana Agriche.
She came in with her sleek, black dress and a confident demeanour.
Her whole appearance reminded him of the sight of the dawn he used to see on the top of the palace.
The moment Aston saw her the line said by Panem came into his mind.
'The Devil Itself Might Be Bewitched By Her Beauty'
But he didn't care about her much.
External beauty was worthless in front of him, she might be the most beautiful flower in the world.
But all flowers wither.
She isn't an exception to that. He didn't care about someone who could be a burden to him.
She was inconsequential to his life.
Though, she could be a good pawn to play with and destroy the Agriches simultaneously.
Aston sighed with annoyance and said, "Do you think I will give a fuck about these worthless beings? They hold no importance to me."
Before anyone could even manage to digest the words said by Aston, he snapped his fingers.
*Snap*
His fingers may as well have been called the fingers of death considering what happened afterwards.
After that snap, the scene in the dining hall was nauseating for a common person but glorious to the crown prince.
His snap was succeeded by the death of all the servants in the room.
In a split second, all of their heads blew up.
None of them even managed to squeak a word. It was so fast.
Just a single moment and all the people's heads exploded, the blood was spilt everywhere in the room.
The table was laden with the blood of the servants nearby.
Both Lant Agriche and Jeremy Agriche had their clothes dirtied by the blood of the servants behind them.
Roxana's face and dress had splashes of blood as well.
Aston had a lunatic smile on his face as he wiped the blood on his face.
He said while chuckling slightly, "Did you think that I won't make my move in public? Well, you were technically correct."
He faced Lant as he asked in a mocking tone, "How are you doing, Lant? Better since our last meeting, I presume? Seeing this scene must have stirred up some of your memories. "
Lant Agriche had been watching this being startled by a sudden change in Aston's behaviour but the direct taunt brought up some memories that Lant preferred to not be brought up.
He shouted in rage, "How dare you, Aston Phoenix! In my own estate, how dare you commit such a presumptuous act. I can-"
Aston just pointed his finger towards Lant and interrupted him, "Don't shout too loud, Lant or you might have to face some similar consequences."
Lant was shut up even as he tried to clutch his throat and speak.
Aston stood up from his seat and said, "I am going to rest now, Lant. Let's meet tomorrow. Also, I know you have kidnapped the Prince of the Blue. No need to hide him from me. It will be better for you to give him to me as fast as you can."
As he was walking toward the door, he was met by the lady in front of him.
She looked even more dazzling up close.
Aston put a hand behind his back, bowed slightly and asked her, "Can I get the opportunity to greet the Rose of the Agriches?"
Roxana was overwhelmed by the sudden situation in front of her. She got over it and then her mind started thinking about possible ways to react.
All ways pointed towards the best choice being to go with the flow.
She regained her composure and slightly smiled, "Of course, your highness."
She brought her hand in front of him to allow him to kiss his hand.
He took her hand in his and slightly touched his lips on her smooth and silky hands.
Two people...
A man and a woman...
Meeting for the first time...
In a bloody atmosphere...
These two people would have no qualms about killing the person in front of them currently.
How would they know that...
Their destinies were intertwined...
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(End of the Chapter)
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