Haven And Chaos

43) Answer then I call

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3RD POV
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"Is dad in his...is he busy?" A young man in his mid-twenties asked, looking restless. He tried to hide his anxiety from the person standing before him but couldn't fully accomplish it.

His equally young aide sighed demotivated.
"I'm afraid news travels fast. Especially when such an attack happened in one of the ten Imperial States. He tasked the archduke in charge to carry out a thorough investigation. I fear that your identity might be compromised soon."

"Fuck!" The young man paced back and forth in front of his side. "What about the thing I asked you to investigate?"

"All done, my prince."

Prince Abel suddenly hated and faced the male aide he had grown alongside, sworn to him by absolute loyalty.
"Well then, spit it out!"

"My prince, I'm sure you remember the night that your fiancee was involved in an accident, she was accompanied by a close friend of hers. Turns out that the friend is, Maya Williams."

"Her?! She's the one..." His words trailed off before a choked chuckle followed. "Well, this is something. It now makes sense."

"My Prince, I advise that you pause sneaking out. If your parents find out about this, I'm afraid that the consequences will be serious."

Abel shot him a 'shut up' glare before sighing and turning around. "You think I don't know?... I've lived in this palace for years without exposure to the life among our subjects. How am I supposed to rule over what I can't understand?"

"You make perfect sense My Prince, but please, think more about your position. Should anything happen to you, the country and the world will fall into another-"

"Leo, please. Save me the lecture. Of course, I know all that. I'm reminded almost every single day by my family and those nobles. But I don't plan on stopping now. It feels liberating to walk and eat by myself."

Leo sighed again, this time, defeated. He could never win against Abel even if he wished. The crown Prince; smart, attractive, mature, and sensible, and had almost no friends within the imperial walls. The first friend he had almost made was the same person who was involved in the death of his fiancee.
He was not pitiful, but he had his sad moments. Just like how he was secretly being judged for the sins of the woman who birthed him.

A woman he had no memory of.
A woman he had grown to hate after learning their family's history from his parents, like every royal child.

He walked closer to the large window that provided a clear view of the gardens. Seated in the wooden gazebo were his father, Emperor Jack, and his uncle, Luke. Abel had always liked Luke for his bluntness. He never sugarcoated anything even if it involved their family. According to his parents, Luke used to be their family doctor during the wars. And now he served as the family's trusted advisor. He always made sure that whatever decision his parents made would not affect both the family and politics negatively.

Abel smiled.
"Inform Uncle Luke about an urgent discussion once he's done with my dad."

"I will, my prince." Leo bowed and left the library.

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The crimson splutters covering the old worn-out walls looked like the world of a famous artist. But they told a story that the corpses littering the floor couldn't.

"...speak!" An impatient manly voice yelled, followed by a loud groan from another man.
"The next one goes through this little brain of yours."

Seated in a corner silently watching the bloody show, Gale rubbed his right temple out of exhaustion. He had swept through the city for these terrorists after they had killed at least thirty innocent victims during their last attack. The same attack Maya had been involved in.

He showed no mercy in killing or torturing them, after all, their actions had cost and might cost the lives of hundreds and thousands all over the country.
"His fingers!" Gale roared. "Cut them a piece at a time until one of these bastards speaks!"

"Yes, Sir!" A chorus echoed back to his ears from the soldiers who were in charge of the interrogations.
More weapons were rushed into the slaughter room to Gale's orders and soon after, the roughed-up men on their knees began wailing like babies as the soldiers carried out their leader's instructions to the letter.

The scene wasn't new to Gale, but he always found the noises unpleasing and accelerated his headaches.

How long had it been since he left his home? Two, three days?
He had lost track of time due to the interrogations which seemed to be taking forever.
As his headache persisted, he drew comfort in the last pleasing memory he had. Which was of Maya's flushed face as he fucked her. He still remembered how her freckles made her pink face look like it had sprinkles. How soft every part of her body had felt.

He didn't care whether she was over a decade younger than he was. Or that she was probably the person he should be hating. As he fucked her that night, she had been a girl with a lovely face and an appetizing body just like he had been her live dildo to be used by her.

Gale's eyes split open, focusing on the tent his bulge had been secretly arching to the memories of that night.
An embarrassed lump formed as he quickly threw his left calf over his right knee to hide away his hard-on. It'd be such a shame if it were spotted by his subordinates while such a gruel event was taking place. They'd think he was a damn sadist. Such news would be worth millions of dollars.

He cleared his throat to refocus his head on the ongoing actions. But his mind kept drifting off to Maya.

"Dammit!" He cursed under his breath and hesitantly fetched out his phone.
After staring at it for a minute, he put it away. But took it out again as his mind continued debating whether to do it or not.

He was certain that Maya would be asleep, it was past one in the morning after all.

After a little more internal conflict, he heard the ringing of the call he was already making. Without realizing it, he held his breath and anticipated hearing Maya's drowsy voice. But a few more rings and the call went unanswered.
"Of course you're asleep. Lazy as a damn cat." Gale muttered clucking the lit screen a few times.

This time, by the third ring, the person on the other end had already answered.
"My Lord, how many I-"

"Is she asleep?"

"Yes, My Lord. Do you wish me to wake her up?"

"Yes," he answered without any more hesitation. "And be fast."

"Right away, my Lord."
The call died instantly and Gale was left with a weird sound in his ears. He only realized that it was the beating of his heart only when his phone started buzzing.

The called ID read, 'Jinx'.
And it was a...video call.

Gale suddenly panicked for reasons he couldn't understand and shot to his feet before he could control his actions.
The soldier closest to him threw him a surprised glance but said nothing. Not even as he hurried out of the room without giving any further instructions to the interrogators.

His strides were long and quick as he rushed to his little office.
Once behind the shut door, he clicked the receive button and raised his phone to his eye level with a frown to intimidate Maya.
"You could have just called-"

"Do you need a lullaby?" Maya's heavy voice came from the dark screen. "Which one do you want me to sing to you?" She sounded both pissed and too sleepy. Both of which angered Gale, but not more than the fact that he couldn't see her face while he had rushed here just for better visibility.

"Why are you in the dark?" He questioned, hiding not his irritation.