Kings On The Horizon (Vol. 4-6) ✓

282 | Greatest Secret

     "So this is the life that you want? Getting drunk, hiring thugs and kidnapping people who you think will give you answers? You keep looking for ways that will put you in grave danger. Do you even know that Lucas Ivory was killed an hour ago? I swear, your foolishness will be the death of you..."

    "Then let death come!" Viktor shouted back, standing from the bed and pushing Akim away as well. "This...this isn't even worth living anymore. The moment that bomb was set...I died along with the Stepanov Clan. I'm just an empty shell whose only purpose is to seek revenge."

     Viktor glares at Akim and finally turns away from him. He walks towards the door to the balcony, but before he can step out, Akim stops him.

     "And Leigh?" Akim suddenly asked, the name making Viktor freeze. "Cindy...Gavriil...even Grey...were they not worth living for? Were the sacrifices they gave you not enough? Especially Leigh. That kid...he—"

     "Do not mention their names here," Viktor quickly says, turning to Akim and pointing at him, not even noticing that his hands were already shaking. "Do not even go there, Akim."

     "Why? Are you still afraid?"

     "S-shut up!" Viktor shouted this time, but Akim was still unfazed.

     When Viktor looked like he was going to have a panic attack, Akim took a deep breath and approached his young master. He didn't say anything anymore, but then he grabbed him and gave him a tight embrace to calm him down. He embraced him like he was the helpless kid he took care of before the rest of the Stepanovs were killed.

     Viktor swallowed the lump in his throat as his body continued to shiver, memories of the past suddenly haunting him again. But as the familiar embrace of the only family he had left calmed him down, Viktor finally relaxed.

     "I made a promise to your mother and father that I will take care of you until my last dying breath. Viktor, you are the sole heir to the Stepanov Clan. You carry not just yourself but the rest of your ancestors' legacy so I beg you, stop your investigation now before it gets worse," Akim says with a much softer tone, almost sounding like he was begging.

    Viktor swallowed the lump in his throat for the second time, but then he immediately pushed his butler away.

     "If you didn't want me to get involved, you wouldn't have enrolled me in J.S High," Viktor says.

     "You know why you were enrolled there, Viktor," Akim answered, and Viktor finally headed to the balcony. Akim was supposed to follow him there, but he stopped himself.

     "I'll let you clear your head, but we'll have to talk about this again," Akim seriously tells him. "Your dinner will be waiting for you downstairs," he then finishes before finally heading out of the room.

     Viktor doesn't say anything as he stares at the city lights from his balcony. He takes a deep breath, and then he slowly reaches out to touch his right shoulder where the symbol of the Fleur de Lis was branded on his skin with hot iron. 

     While the king was staring at the city, he remembered the fire from the bombing incident that killed the Stepanov Clan. He remembered the screams, and then he remembered Grey pulling him away from the door, the only thing that blocked him from saving his burning family.

     Viktor clenched on the balustrades, the voices repeating in his head every time he was alone. He then remembered the funeral, the dozens of coffins that paraded in front of him, and the board of directors who couldn't wait to get a hold of their company if it weren't for Akim. But despite all that, Viktor was scared of only one thing and one thing only. It wasn't just the fire or the sound of the bombs. It wasn't the media spreading the news that the Stepanovs deserved to die. It wasn't even Paradox or Kim Hee-joon losing during the battle. It was none other than...