The Legends of Kartas | Ongoing

32. WEB OF LIES

The plan was simple because Two didn't really have a plan. When she entered Lucius's office, she noticed it was more kempt than her previous visit. All the stacks of paper were stacked in one corner in bundles tied together with string, and the space was surprisingly empty save for Lucius's desk and chair. The bookshelves on the walls were layered with dust, and through the extensive window behind the desk, torchlight tinged the atmosphere a light gold.

Lucius's back was to the window. He sifted through the lost files on his desk and threw them over his shoulder onto a messy pile of other forgotten items. Once he noticed Two's presence, he glanced at her through the strands of his brown hair flowing over his forehead. It was quick, as if he couldn't care less if anyone bothered him, but after a moment, he paused and looked at her again, gaping as if he was face to face with a ghost.

Waving with lazy fingers, Two clicked her tongue. "Why are you so shocked? I'm here for the mission report."

As she planted herself before his desk, Lucius composed himself. He ran a hand through his tousled hair and steeled himself back into his usual reserved demeanor. But the cracks were still showing—visible but too small to see through.

"The Umbra mission, correct? It slipped my mind."

Two tilted her head in confusion. Slipped his mind? There was something off with Lucius. Eyeing him from head to toe, she saw that he was wearing a refined suit topped with a cravat neatly tucked beneath a cowl. If she didn't know any better, she would've assumed he was a noble.

Brushing the dust on his chair, he sat with his legs crossed. As he placed an inkwell on top of the files on his desk, he said, "Well then, I don't have all day."

It all came down to this: how she would ease the fact that Jungkook was outside the door into the conversation. If Faestuna still batted an eye at her, she begged for her fortune.

"There was an assassination."

Lucius raised a brow. "Who died?"

"All the sovereigns."

That was it: the first step. But Lucius was neither intrigued nor astounded. Just indifferent. Two repeated, "All of the sovereigns were killed. No one knows how, or I don't know how, at least."

Lucius was turning something over in his hands beneath his desk. "There was nothing else? No new coalitions between kingdoms? No news? There has to be a purpose for King Leonis to call a Royal Council."

Replaying the day's events in her head, Two recalled the moment right before the sovereigns died, the words King Leonis had spoken before chaos erupted. "They spoke of the Demon Days."

"The Demon Days?" The faintest of smiles graced Lucius's lips before fading. "Then was there anything particular that happened along the way there? The way back?"

That white-haired girl came to mind, and it brought along a sharp pain stinging her abdomen. "Of course not."

"Really?" Lucius mused, pushing to his feet and openly playing with a quill. Using the sharp end, he scratched the side of his head. "These past few days unraveled very smoothly, too smoothly to be true, but when I saw you, Two, I was beyond appalled. I couldn't believe that I would see you again."

Managing an awkward chuckle, Two stepped back. "Did you really think the mission was that difficult?"

"No, no," Lucius said with a laugh, waving the quill as if he was brushing her words off to the side. "I was shocked to see that you had survived that ambush."

Two's blood ran cold, and she had no time to react as Lucius grabbed her and pinned her against his desk, aiming for her throat with the quill. Before he stabbed her in the neck, Two blocked the attack with her palm, flinching as the metal tip of the quill impaled her hand. Blood dripped onto her neck as Lucius pressed down with more force.