Royse crossed his arms. "What brings you here?" He asks.
"I should be asking you that."
Royse was about to make a snarky comment but decided against it when he sees Amy's expression.
"Something happened."
Amy pursed her lips. "It's best if we talk about this inside."
Royse nods and retreated inside the shed. Amy followed after and closed the door behind her.
"Care to enlighten me?" The younger male asked as he stood in the middle.
"The city was attacked by monsters."
Royse widened his eyes in surprise. Seeing how he didn't feel any headache back in the base meant that what happened in the city was part of the game plot.
Royse scoffed as he glared at his friend. "At least give me a heads up that something like this would happen." He states.
From fighting the man to this, Royse knew he was easily irritated due to all the events that happened this evening.
"Before you go and scold me, give me the chance to finish explaining." Amy refuted as she returns the glare.
"There are two reasons why I haven't told you of it."
Amy rose her index finger. "One. The incident in the Emor. Considering it happened, I had guessed that the attack would be held back." Amy rose another finger. "And two, the attack was supposed to happen a few weeks from now."
"I see. So it didn't go to schedule." Royse replies.
Amy nods. "That's right." She pursed her lips. "If I'm being honest, I wasn't expecting the attack to happen in our timeline."
The younger male frowned. Staying silent, he lets his friend finish.
"This event is the start of Catherine's downfall."
Silence engulfed the atmosphere. Royse frowned as he took in his friends' expression.
"You see, the reason the attack had happened was because of a demon."
Royse stiffened. He recalls the time Amy told him the plot and paled.
"You mean everything has started?!" The younger male rose his voice, alarmed at the revelation.
If he thinks about it now, before he left his home, he had sensed that something unleashed. He assumed that it was regarding the underground group, that's why he chose that moment to leave so he could investigate.
That meant he was wrong.
It also made sense why he didn't stumble upon any monsters when he travelled in the forest.
He ruffles his hair in irritation. "Everything's suddenly moving fast." He snarled.
Royse hears his friend sighing. "I know. I thought we'd have a few days of rest before all this happens. Seems I was wrong."
"Still, the mystery remains. Since the demon is on the loose, who will be its victim?" Royse bit his nail as he gazes on the floor. "Is it people who are jealous of either of us or is it still Catherine?"
Amy frowns. "It's possible. They choose anyone, so long they can feed on a person's desire."
Catherine was just recovering and now she was already in danger?! At this point, it seemed as if the plot was targeting Catherine!
Royse blinked in surprise.
He suddenly rose his head, causing his friend to jump in surprise.
"No, it makes sense." He murmurs.
Amy rose a brow. "What makes sense?"
"Catherine is being targeted."
The girl in front widened his eyes. "That's..." Amy trailed, weighing her friends' words.
"Carl said the Emor incident was linked to the underground group." Royse rummaged in his pocket and took out the black crumpled paper. "I went and infiltrated the underground groups' base."
"No wonder you're here. I did expect that you'd actually go and investigate, though I still had my doubts." Amy strode towards her friend and read the paper.
"I stole this."
Amy huffed. "Of course you would."
"But according to Carl's investigation, it simply speculated there that the underground group simply targeted the Emor in hopes to create a commotion." Royse narrowed his eyes. "But he's wrong. They weren't acting on a whim, they were ordered."
"'Client'." Amy reads out.
"Someone else is targeting the Emor. The group was simply hired because they have easy access on the black market."
Royse recalls the invoices and documents that were glued on the wall back in the base. He grits his teeth. "If only I had known, I would've taken all those papers!" He growls.
"Wait, if there's a client, then that meant the demon was working alongside them."
"And whoever this client is, it wouldn't be weird to consider the client asking the demon to target Catherine."
After reaching a conclusion, the two took a deep breath.
Amy ruffles her hair. "Seriously, the game didn't say anything about this!"
"It seems the games' plot is deeper than we expected. In the game, both the Emor and Frostenden family was broken all because of this client." Royse gritted his teeth.
Narrowing his eyes, he became determined. "I'll find who this person is."
Amy huffed. "I think we'll know soon."
Just as Royse was about to ask what his friend meant, his clone back home woke up to a knock.
He can see through the clone's vision that Mark had entered with a letter in hand. He could tell the purple-haired male was sweating as if rushing to deliver the letter.
He reads the letter and was surprised to see that Carl and the twins were asking for his presence. The meeting place wasn't in the palace, rather it was inside the town.
His clone thanked Mark before it started to change its clothes and prepare for departure.
Royse returns his vision towards his real place.
Amy crossed her arms. "Me, Milivoj, and Andrew took part in fending off the monsters. We stumbled across Carl and the twins as well and told us to meet them after we finish our job."
"I see." Royse then tilted his head. "Wait, if you were busy, how'd you expect that I was here?"
"Easy. First of all, I was stationed here outside the castle wall which means I saw that huge beam of light from the forest." Amy explains. "Pretty sure there was no one other than the famous young master of the Frostenden household who was capable of doing that."
Royse groaned as he smacked his forehead. "Ah, this is gonna be a headache."
Amy huffed. "Yeah. Pretty sure some people saw it. Anyway, the second one would be when I saw the shed emit a blue light from afar. It was a dead giveaway that you'd be teleporting here as an escape route seeing how you went and infiltrated the base."
The younger male sighed. "Nope. Someone else teleported me here."
His friend became confused. "Another space attribute holder?" She asks.
He shook his head. "Nope. A mechanism. I was about to capture them but they knew they didn't stand a chance so they used the mechanism to transport me as their way of escaping."
Amy laughed. "They're smart, gotta give 'em that!"
He simply sighed. "I'm gonna head back home. I'll see you at the meeting place."
Amy waved her hand. "Yeah."
Just like that, the figure in the middle of the room disappeared.
When Royse teleported back home, he retreats his clone and changed his clothes.
He wore the clothes his clone was wearing and checked himself in the mirror. He realizes the potion was still in effect and saw how his hair was still in a different colour.
He blinked in surprise when he sees his eyes were colour black.
"I thought the potion also changed it..."
Did it lose its effect while he was fighting the man?
He wondered if the potency of the potion was less than the rest. Brushing off the topic, he uses his mana to cleanse himself off the colour changing potion. Soon, his hair returned to its red colour.
Finally done, he sees Mark waiting for him beside his door outside.
"Young Master, the carriage is ready." He greets.
The redhead nods and walked down the hall.
The journey was silent.
Royse was occupied with everything that happened. From his infiltration to the revelation of the fact that the Emor was being targeted.
Things were becoming messy. Aside from the endgame battle that they'd face in graduation, there were already a lot of things they needed to do before they reach that stage.
Royse was caught up inside his world that he didn't realize they had arrived at their destination if it weren't for Mark pulling him out of his thoughts.
When they exited the vehicle, Royse realized the meeting place was none other than the cafe that Carl's family had built.
Mark stayed outside as a guard while Royse entered. He walked up the stairs and entered the office that he knew Carl frequented.
When he opened the door, he was surprised to see a man tied up in a chair.
The man's back was facing him so Royse didn't have a clue who it was.
Entering and closing the door, the eyes of the cast focused on him. Amy was standing by a table with Carl who seemed to be reviewing the papers he received. The twins stood in front of the tied man while Milivoj was standing guard, alert for any sudden attempts that the man would do.
"I assume this man is the suspect?" Royse spoke.
When he walked in front to see the man, he became surprised to see who it was.
Henry frowned while Carl held a dark smile.
Putting all the pieces together, Royse inched closer towards the man. He looked down, anger seeping through him.
"So, all those good deeds were simply for cover." The voice of the redhead was cold.
All occupants were bewildered as they never have heard the redhead speak in that tone.
Amy frowned, knowing that her friend was furious. Compared to Amy, Royse had the tendency to end everything that came his way, heading straight without any care, regardless of danger.
"It makes sense." The redhead continued. "You were there in the gathering."
Carl spoke next. "Yes, Evan worked as a waiter back in the Emor's grand hall. I've interrogated a few of the Emor's people that Evan had interacted with." Carl takes a bottle that Royse recognized.
"The potion from the time in town." He whispers.
Henry frowned. "It seems when we saw Evan with that perpetrator that Royse defeated back in the alley, he wasn't being mugged, rather the perpetrator was his accomplice."
The redhead grits his teeth. "And the lady had witnessed Evan and the man's exchange."
Henry nods. "Yes. When we arrived, Evan had no choice but to act like he was a victim."
"So the story that you said back in the clinic was all a lie." Royse states.
The man tied in the chair held a different expression. His usual kind face was replaced by the opposite.
"It's your own fault for being tricked." The man answered in a venomous tone.
Royse crossed his arms. "Carl, regarding the virus."
"The man is responsible for spreading it in the Emor household. It seems the virus was created by an alchemist in the black market."
"In which the underground group was the one to make contact with." Royse continued. He grabs the black crumpled paper and tossed it to Carl.
"This is..."
"Evidence that the group had a client."
Everyone except Amy looked at Royse in alarm.
William marched towards Royse and grabbed both his shoulders. "Where did you get this?!" He asks. The people in the room felt their sweatdrop. They hoped it wasn't what they thought it was.
Finding no need to lie, Royse remained resolute. "In their base."
Both Henry and William glared at the brunette. "Carl!" They shouted in unison.
The said person frowned. "So you infiltrated their base." He spoke.
William gritted his teeth. "Royse, you are to not meddle with this investigation anymore." He declared.
The redhead slapped the hands on his arms as he backed away. "I'm sure you're aware of my capabilities." He glares. "If it's safety you're talking about then I can assure you that I can protect myself." His eyes spoke of anger as the words left his mouth.
William snarled. "That's exactly why we're furious." William took a step forward. "You overestimate yourself. You rely on your skills and is confident that you'd win any battle."
The two shared a heated glare. None backed down as they tried to prove themselves.
Everyone became tense. Milivoj was taken aback by how everything escalated. Carl frowned as he saw a new side of the redhead. Royse held a different expression that none of them saw.
Amy stood by the side, monitoring their situation and prepared herself if she needed to meddle.
"But you're bound to lose someday. You're bound to fight a battle that you cannot finish."
William changed his expression into one of fear.
"And when the time comes, we are not there to protect you..." He finished.
Silence engulfed the atmosphere.
The redhead gritted his teeth.
He was angry and wanted to counter the words the older male spoke but he knew William made a point.
The battle with the white-haired man was an example. He lost control and despite that, he failed his task.
If one day he stumbled upon an enemy as strong as the man, he wondered if he'd win.
Relaxing his tensed shoulder, Royse sighed. His anger slowly dissipated as he took into consideration of the casts' feelings.
"Fine. If that's the case if there were to be another infiltration, I will make sure to notify you."
William frowned. The redhead wondered if the older male would decline but he was surprised when the blond nods.
"Very well."
The tense atmosphere finally disappeared.
Dropping the topic in hand, everyone returned their attention towards the suspect.
"I take it that you were ordered by Callan Monroe." Royse states.
Evan remained silent.
Royse gestured for the potion bottle. Carl strode towards the redhead and handed over the object.
The youngest male of the group examined it as he recalls his appraisal. Memories flooded his mind as he forces himself to remember all sorts of lessons he learned in alchemy. He remembers the original content of the bottle and continued to think of its capabilities.
This was one of the ingredients used to concoct the virus. If Royse can find a way to discover the other ingredients, he could find a cure.
He turns his head towards the tied man.
But for now, he'll need to rely on the others to do that job instead.
He needed to focus on this part.
"It seems the next I'll be seeing you would be in the palace cell." Royse states.
He could see the man visibly flinch at the mention.
"So you've been suspicious of the Monroe since before?" Royse asks as he turns towards the twins.
He remembers when he joined Henry in town. Henry had said Evan was his target. There was also the time with Carl. When Evan appeared in the restaurant, Carl signalled their job as finished.
If only Royse knew of their suspicions, he would've stopped the man back in the gathering.
"Yes. Though this topic will remain a secret until we have further evidence." William explains.
"We need to investigate if there are others who are involved with the incident. I'm sure there are more people behind this." Henry finished.
Amy strode closer towards the redhead. "It's best if we told Catherine about our findings." She suggested. She narrowed her eyes when the twins frowned at her words.
"Catherine has just healed, telling her this news may worsen the situation." William states.
"She is a victim, she has rights to know." Amy refuted. She turns towards Royse. "If there's anyone that shouldn't, it would be Rohesia."
The redhead sighed. Amy had a point. Considering his sister, he was sure that Rohesia won't stay put at the news. It may even affect her greatly.
"But if we keep my sister the only one in the dark, she may react harshly. It's best if we only give a few details. 'The Emor family is being targeted'. If they ask any further, then we reply that we're currently investigating the case." Royse replied.
Amy was frustrated but agreed. Royse was a bit surprised at Amy's quick agreement but nonetheless was glad that she didn't try to persuade him.
"It's best if I were the one to tell her. As for Catherine onee-sama, I take that William-sama and Henry-sama will tell her."
The twins nodded. "Yes. Father will also be informed since we're sure he saw the beam of light from the palace." Henry states.
Royse remained still and stopped his expression from showing.
"I'm sure the King already knows just from that." Amy covered her friend. "If there's anything I'm more worried about, it would be the fact that we may be involved in a bigger scheme." She finishes.
The redhead frowned. There was also that demon they'd need to fight.
How many more months does Royse have left?
"Rushing will get us nowhere." Amy patted his shoulder. "Let's handle this one by one."
As if reading his mind, the ombre-haired girl smiled assuringly.
The redhead huffed out a smile.
"Yeah."
The ride home was silent. Mark could tell that whatever they discussed must have affected the young master. The butler wanted to ask but he was sure he'd soon know when he receives a message from his other workmates.
The redhead glanced at his butler and sighed.
"You must be curious." He spoke, finally breaking the silence. "You'll soon find out anyway so it's ok if I tell you beforehand."
Mark didn't react but he prepared himself for the news that Royse would deliver.
"The Emor family is being targeted." The redhead looks at the window. "The black market is also involved according to Carl's findings."
The older male narrowed his eyes at the mention of the group. Unable to keep it in, he replied.
"Then young master must not meddle with this."
The redhead sighed before turning towards his butler. "You and his highnesses are the same. I've received permission that I can make myself involve as long as I inform them."
Mark was about to answer when Royse cut him off. "I can assure you that I will be safe."
The older male remained silent. He examined the young master's expression. Royse held an assuring gaze.
Just from his look alone, it was evident that he was prepared for anything. Even if Mark were to try to talk some senses he was sure Royse already decided on his actions.
The older male sighed in defeat. If anything, his young master resembled his mentor the grand mage and his other student.
"If you require assistance, please don't hesitate to call me." He spoke.
The redhead blinked in surprise and grinned.
"Yeah, I'll be sure to."
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Author-dono keeps on getting sick so I apologize for the current quality of writing. I'm currently taking medications so hopefully Author-dono can continue writing.
Again, despite that, I hope you enjoyed the chapter <3