Second Time's a Charm (MxM)✔

Chapter 25 - The Tour

The news that broke over the next few days was all the Empire could talk about.

An attack on the blue temple, with dozens of casualties and not a single culprit captured. Though witnesses had seen men running in all directions, so Cain realized Catalina had hired some vagabonds to set the explosives as a diversion.

The basement of the temple did get exposed in the incident, having caused half of the garden to collapse and reveal the dungeon down below, where Dodson was put in hot water to explain why the temple he funded had such a thing there. Of course, the man made up a lie and claimed that it was the monks who had been up to scandalous affairs. He also failed to come up with a good explanation for why his fellow lords suddenly turned up missing. He could have claimed they'd been poisoned, but the man had yet to find out where exactly the planted evidence was located in his house, so he was smartly shutting up and playing dumb to their whereabouts.

Even if the man had the gall to step forward and try to oust the real culprit, Cain would bring forth all the trapped girls to act as a witness to his atrocious actions. Not to mention throw hints to the guards as to where they could find a suspicious poison in Dodson's home.

Between the temple being destroyed, the cells being exposed, and multiple lords going missing all in one night, it was no wonder that the Emperor took an interest in the matter. Ultimately, this was the crime of the century. The case was so big in fact that the detective working on his missing stepmother was summoned to the palace, putting the investigation on hold.

Andrew threw an absolute fit, having been seen by the staff to toss his papers about his study, frustrated that the search had been set back.

Cain had to wait for some time before he could transfer the title of ownership over to Wolf Brooks, but in the meantime had registered the land under his other alter ego, Periwinkle Toffee. He'd even come up with a fake family crest and everything for the identity. He planned to kill of Mr. Dodson as soon as he had the land transferred though.

All in all, things seemed to be going well. Too well in fact.

Cain knew that sooner or later things would get difficult with the Emperor involved. He already had a few backup plans in case the man somehow found a trail leading back to him, but decided it wouldn't hurt to take up some proper self-defense lessons from an equally powerful person.

Stepping out of the ornately decorated carriage, and standing at the foot of a very tall staircase, Cain was tempted to cringe over all the embarrassing memories he had of this place.

Maddox's palace was huge, with golden inlay decorating some of the outer walls and turrets up to the black roofs. The stonework gave the walls a dark appearance compared to the pristine white of the capital's palace, with intricate designs carved on all the hand railings and patios. The windows were all stained glass, depicting epic battles with fires and monsters. And every balcony seemed to have a jungle of plants overflowing the edges. There were even trees aligning each side of the steps, keeping it shaded from the sun. Off in the distance was a beautiful view of the nearby mountain range, with snow-capped peaks.

Cain had once eagerly walked these steps, only to throw himself to the ground and spew some of the most embarrassing flatteries he could muster to get on Maddox's good side.

This time, he would be on his guard. Especially considering how many demons were around here.

The servants that stood on guard near the front entrance had amber eyes and observed Cain with utmost interest. Luckily he still had his identity concealed behind his mask. Though there was a good chance Maddox would insist he remove it...