Second Time's a Charm (MxM)✔

Chapter 45 - Enigma

Maddox POV

Maddox tapped his finger irritably on the wooden table, waiting for his drink to arrive. He was wearing a dark green cape with leather straps and a grey vest. His hair was tied back as usual, but hidden beneath the hood of his cape as he aimed to remain inconspicuous.

Normally he'd be on the front lines, or with the Queen's party discussing battle tactics. But lately, their clashes with the Empire's forces had been lacking. The soldiers were undertrained and weak. He hardly needed to summon demons anymore. Their victory was all but assured. However, he'd been ordered to take a break after working three years straight on the battlefield.

Unconsciously he rubbed the scar on his chin, remembering how he'd gotten it while being distracted mid-fight. Wolf Brooks had suddenly teleported into the midst of battle, then tossed a small metal ball before disappearing. A second later, it exploded and took out several Imperial soldiers with it.

His opponent had taken advantage of the distraction and swung wildly at Maddox's face. The knight stumbled only out of surprise, before beheading the soldier.

After that, he'd had multiple meetings with the Queen of Chalot, who was constantly asking about her favorite informant.

"Are you sure you don't know who he is?" She'd ask, to which Maddox would scowl back at her, and she'd laugh at his distress. "I see. So you two are still fighting?"

"We are not fighting."

"If you say so." She crossed her legs and folded her hands. "With how long that man holds a grudge I don't think I'd want to get on his bad side."

"You had also suspected him of summoning the dragon." Maddox pointed out.

"True, but I hadn't known him as long as you."

"He still thinks you don't trust him."

"That is the point." She replied. "It's why I let him keep that mask on. He knows that if I don't know his true identity, I have reason to doubt him. The less he believes I trust him, the harder he'll work to earn my trust. And lately, his information has been invaluable. I do not want to lose that."

"I understand." Maddox sighed in agreement.

Wolf Brooks was an enigma. Sometimes the man seemed to know when things would happen before they were even possible. He also carried an odd aura around him, one that other soldiers could only describe as a sense of 'De' ja' vu' upon first meeting him. Everything about Brooks felt a little too familiar, driving the knight to search for his true identity through an extensive investigation, only to turn up nothing.

Lord Brooks was able to disappear without a trace, and that was before he got his hands on that damned crystal. It felt like every day that went by, Brooks got smarter. It didn't worry Maddox as much as it intrigued him. No, intrigue was not the correct word. Something about the man kept drawing him in...

Maddox recalled how quickly Lord Brooks had taken him up on his challenge to fight. How easily he was able to kill the nuisance that was Powerhouse, and how he wouldn't back down regardless of the threats he faced.

The man tended to always be in the thick of things and didn't appear to understand the meaning of 'self-preservation'. Which worried him greatly.

For three years he'd witnessed the man put his life on the line over and over again, pulling off ridiculously destructive stunts and making the demons look like decoration. As a villain, Maddox could only wonder what kind of life Lord Brooks had led to becoming such a person.

The server brought him his meal, and Maddox chewed in silence, recalling his first romp with the mighty Lord Brooks in a remote tavern. He had offered to meet the man to figure out what he was after. There, he'd prepared three tactics. The first was the poison he'd put in the man's soup. After drinking it, Maddox would have offered an antidote in exchange for information. The second option was to fight him if he refused to eat, which was what happened.