Thief of Twilight

Part Three: Chapter 108

"I never expected to see you here." Lord Ayad sat on the couch across from Lord Baldwin. "Ever since your last session of treatment, you have been disappearing quite a bit."

"What can I say?" Lord Baldwin chuckled. "I had a few things that needed to be taken care of."

"That is quite understandable." Lord Ayad smiled.

The door opened and a young woman walked in carrying a tray with a pot of tea and two cups. She set them on the table before excusing herself.

"Another slave?" Lord Baldwin questioned.

"Yes, but I prefer not to call her that. She is very young but will make me plenty of money in the future."

Lord Baldwin laughed. "I see you plan on sending her to one of your brothels?"

"I do." Lord Ayad watched his friend carefully. "Oliver..."

Lord Baldwin reached for a cup of tea.

"What are you planning? What little scheme have you come up with?"

Lord Baldwin held the cup of tea to his lips.

"You have asked me to send two people after Zurine. Both of them have not returned."

Lord Baldwin glanced across the table at his friend.

"Sagiri was found dead in a warehouse outside of the city of Jincheon. As for Stonemaker, I haven't sent Viper to search for him yet. But I fear that the outcome will be the same."

"Is that so?"

Lord Ayad nodded his head.

"I figured Zurine would not die by their hands. But I expected her to struggle once she confronted them. I'm sure she did. She was severely wounded after I forced her to ingest the Helos crystals."

Lord Ayad tilted his head to the side. "Were you trying to tire her out?"

"In a way, yes. But more importantly, I wanted to put a little bit of fear in her. If I continue to send people after her, soon she will realize that it is safer and in her best interest if she were to just come back to me. She would be safe and her emperor would not be harmed. From there, I could convince her to do other things and within time she would be back within my grasp. I would have full control just as I had before she met Emperor Kang Yohan."

"What do you plan on doing now?" Lord Ayad questioned. "She has not come back nor has she inquired of your whereabouts to put an end to your plan."

Lord Baldwin laughed. "Then that leaves me with no other choice. I will have to go to the extreme." he got to his feet and walked around the room. "It troubles me though. I thought I knew Zurine. I thought I knew what made her tick. What made her heart race. I thought I knew everything about her. But it would seem that I didn't. Until now..." he held his hands behind his back. "For the longest time, I thought Zurine loved me. But in truth...I believe she was, and possibly is, afraid of me. If I continue to keep that fear she will do anything that I ask of her without question. Even if it means parting ways with the emperor."

"Do you think she will do that?"

"I believe so. It would be in her best interest. I'm sure she doesn't want to see the emperor die."

"You plan to kill the emperor?" Lord Ayad chuckled. "If you do that then-."

"I understand the ramifications of those actions if I were to pursue such an option. But still, it is something that I think about very often. It would seem that the emperor is her whole world. Just as she is his. Knowing Zurine, she would do anything if it meant keeping him safe. I intend to exploit that." Lord Baldwin looked back at his friend. "I know that if I can do that...if I succeed...I will not be able to continue living as I have. I will have to uproot myself and take on a whole new identity."