As Aaron slept, Kris stared at Aaron's face from his laptop.
He was watching Aaron through the camera he had hidden in the car.
He thought he had allowed his senirips to leave his sight, but that didn't mean he wouldn't keep an eye on him.
Furthermore, he smiled with his beautiful, sexy lips as he observed Aaron's sleeping face from the laptop.
He looked at Aaron's face as if to remember every mark, every feature made by God in that face, as if he could scan it all into his mind to keep that face forever in his thoughts.
"My lovely senirips. You are very naughty. What does that kid Ethan have that I do not?"
"Why do you care for him so much?" The feeling of Aaron's affection for Ethan left Kris grappling with unfamiliar emotions.
Observing how close his senirips had become with Ethan, Kris's brow furrowed as he watched Aaron with Ethan.
Their easy smiles and shared looks were alien to him; friendship was a language he couldn't speak,
nor could he understand the desire to be close to someone who wasn't a partner. This lack of understanding stemmed from his childhood.
When he first arrived on Earth B, he viewed the world as bleak and unwelcoming, almost like a dreary, undeveloped place.
Though not literal, it reflected how he saw his surroundings at the time.
There were only a few small cities and villages around the place. After his father went missing,
he, his sister Annabelle, and his brother Watson had to make a place on Earth.
It was through coordination and hard work that he built Raven City, making it surpass all other cities on Earth B.
On this evolutionary Earth, he made sure to engage in many endeavors. He worked hard. He fought power with power, blood with blood, sweat with sweat.
Thanks to his sharp intellect and strategic brilliance, he succeeded in turning Raven into the largest and most dominant city,
rising above all others. Even though the surrounding cities still had their own rulers, his influence had stretched far beyond their borders.
Raven had become the heart of power, the center of trade and governance, with other cities now reliant on its strength.
His city was not only the largest but also the most functional and efficient, a well-oiled machine compared to the fractured rule of others.
His reign over Raven placed him in a position of quiet authority, with almost every other city looking to him for guidance, whether they acknowledged it or not.
While he had been engrossed in the monumental task of building a city and carving out a place for himself in this new land, time slipped away from him.
He had no space left in his life for personal connections or distractions.
The people he had once brought with him from planet Earth, those he had relied on in the past, were no longer close to him. Distance had grown between them, and that distance was now filled with suspicion.
He couldn't trust them anymore. Their loyalty had shifted; their eyes were now set on the very power he wielded. They wanted more than to follow him.
They wanted to take from him, and for this, he knew he had to act.
He needed to be tough, to remind them that he was not their leader but their ruler, a force not to be underestimated. Weakness had no place in his world now.
He had to show them that crossing him would have consequences; he was not someone to trifle with.
He had to be rough to protect his power, his city, and everything he had fought so hard to build.
Likewise, he worked tirelessly, putting in countless hours to build connections. It wasn't just about power. A giant standing alone would have ants trying to bite him.
They would see him as an enemy tyrant; thus, he did not want this to happen or take the risk of provoking other small cities that might form an alliance against him, like the thousand ants do to the giant.
For this reason, he sought more diplomatic approaches in crafting relationships and securing allies in subtle, strategic ways.
By the time he reached Rosewood City, his efforts were already paying off,
with each connection strengthening his influence and giving him more leverage without the need for aggression.
To him, the king's influence and authority seemed utterly insignificant, almost laughable.
The city held no real value in his eyes, and its offerings, or lack thereof, did nothing to stir his interest. The king's power appeared hollow, a mere shadow of what true leadership should be.
Rosewood City had no strategic advantage, no wealth worth mentioning, and no alliances that could benefit him.
In his mind, it was a place of little consequence, unable to provide anything that would further his ambitions or strengthen his position.
The king struck Kris as a little brainless; his cruelty was too blatant for Kris's liking.
From the moment Kris laid eyes on the ruler of Rosewood City, his mind was already clouded with doubt.
The king's demeanor did little to impress him; instead, it ignited a wave of negativity. In Kris's heart, the first thought that echoed was sharp and unforgiving:
This king is not fit to rule.
The more he observed, the more his conviction grew. The king's lack of tact, paired with his ruthless nature, made him seem incapable of leading a city, let alone one with the potential of Rosewood.
What kind of possible connection could he establish with this man? Kris had been irritated by him.
Back in Rosewood City, in the king's main hall, meant for city matters, Kris sat, enduring and listening to the ruler of Rosewood City's proposition.
"I have a beautiful son, my lord. He is all I have to offer," the owner of Rosewood continued. "As the one who will settle the cognition between us, he will be our means of connection.
I'm handing over my precious senirips son; this will prove my sincerity. It shows how willing I am to join forces with you, the great ruler of Ravenhill City."
The whole time, while the ruler of Rosewood City talked, Kris maintained a face that bore no smile.
His expression was cold and chilling, like the dark night. Only a chuckle escaped his lips. "A senirips, you say..."
"I may have to get to know that senirips. I will have to see him first before I agree."
For a dishonest person, Kris had no reason to listen to his words; he must have proof and evidence.
Besides, as the ruler of Ravenhill City, he had many people and had seen many come to him, wanting to throw themselves at him.
At the very least, he needed a partner to manage all those pestering him.
After Kris spoke, the ruler of Rosewood City laughed.
It sounded so fake coming from him. "If so, my lord, you can stay at Rosewood City and see my son. Perhaps you might get to know him better."
Kris immediately rejected the offer. "I will do my things on my own. Do not inform your son of my presence or that I am around.
Leave this until the time is right, until I have given my positive or negative response regarding whether I want to marry him or not."
After that, the king of Rosewood City let out a laugh of a greedy person; the deal had concluded.
Kris stayed in Rosewood City for a while.
Because he did not tolerate or accept nonsense from anyone, adding that he ruled Ravenhill with an iron fist, rumors began to circulate.
Rumors came that he was devil-like. He was dangerous, very dangerous, ugly. He did many bad things to handle such a big city.
But for Kris, that was not his concern. He believed his so-called almost crown bride would be concerned about these rumors.
The flashback ends at one point, from the laptop to the camera in the car. Aaron's neck had already shifted at one point.
Kris called his phone and made a phone call to his guard.
After the call ended, the guard stopped at a mall, purchased a pillow, and later walked with the pillow to the car, placing it behind Aaron's head.
Aaron was still sleeping like a baby, snoring, and even dreaming. After the bodyguard followed Kris's instructions, he returned to his seat. Moments later, he received a second call from Kris: "I instructed you to place a pillow behind his head, not to touch him."
The bodyguard trembled at the tone of Kris's voice. His master's voice seemed to convey that he had already fallen into Hades.
Guard: "...". He knew he was going to be punished.
As predicted, his master muttered, "The skin of your palm that touched him will be peeled off." The bodyguard shivered.
"Yes, Lord," he replied. The other bodyguard in the car turned to the shivering bodyguard. They all shook their heads in pity.
It had been his bad luck to make such a mistake. Now, he would have to face the pain and consequences.