Cipher Code {complete}

Chapter Twenty Nine: A Busy Minister •EDITED•

As North's minister he did all he could to promote the dwindling industry by buying most of it himself and distributing it among his subordinates. Thus all important sectors in North used paper—which was quite convenient considering that it could not be hacked.

Though trees had become somewhat scarce a long time ago, Earth didn't need them anymore. Oxygen was now manufactured artificially and shields were erected around the planet to protect it from radiation. Some centuries back, the ozone layer had come to nothing and the glaciers had melted. Most had said that the sun would go out next, and they said so still but the world was still here. Humanity was still surviving.

That fact reminded Corey of the capital and the dire straits it currently faced. He found it hard to believe that after all the Earth had been through, this would be what ended it all.

"Come in," he waved a hand at the door and the lock opened. A messenger walked in, dressed in the standard dark green uniform and bronze cap with an empty satchel hanging off his shoulder.

The man announced the arrival of the two lords who stood behind him and immediately fell to one knee.

Immediately, Corey was reminded of Philip.

The messenger before him and the young Tyndale bore no resemblance but the reverence in their eyes was all but the same. Corey sighed in his heart and dismissed the man. He couldn't deny that being revered by soldiers much older than him made him feel slightly uncomfortable.

Sometimes he didn't understand why there were so many extremes to his rule. Some adored him with all their heart while the rest despised him with all they had.

"Edward, Richard," he slowly rose from his seat as his two favorite people stepped into the room. "I am so sorry that I couldn't meet with you earlier. I felt that talking here would be more suitable than that roguish arena."

Corey kept his smile despite knowing that they hadn't greeted him with a salute on purpose. He was well used to their mischief by now.

He sunk back into his seat and waited for them to start complaining about the lack of chairs in his office or the annoyance of that ever clicking clock. He would pretend to not understand what they meant, but unlike previous times when they had met, he would make his distaste for them blatant and showy.

No more hiding. The silence continued and Corey's smile grew as he watched them.

Both Lords had a head full of blond hair and eyes the color of mercury, they wore the same subtle arrogance and shared the same slim build and taste in finery. They were the North's most popular Lords and several conspiracies surrounded them and their mysterious resemblance. Some said that they were secretly brothers, others claimed it was the act of several facial reconstruction surgeries.

Regardless of the rumors, Corey knew the truth. It was coincidence, a pure and bloody twist of fate, that the pair looked like they had shared the same womb for nine months. Their parents didn't know each other and they had been born several years apart, so it was doubtful that they would pay a surgeon for the sole reason of making the two men look alike.

"What a lovely office," Noble Lord Maudlin started, and gestured to the nothingness of the room, "very homely."

"Thank you, I decorated it myself." Corey said as though he couldn't hear the thinly veiled jab.

"I bet for Gideon," Edward Estell said begrudgingly at Richard's constant nudging with his elbow, "congratulations."

"It was mere luck, I assure you." Corey could play this game all night, but unfortunately he still had things to attend to. "I hope you didn't lose too much?"