"Not another word from you, ungrateful brat!" The minister yelled, spittle flying about as he raised his finger and pointed at his son, his actions only fueling the rage that burned in his eyes.Sudden clapping reminded them of the presence of the third party, the one mainly responsible for their entire interaction. "Bravo, I haven't been to the circus in years but that performance was splendid. Though it truly pains me to cut it short, I'd like to remind junior here, that his daddy dearest isn't the only one at fault."Pulling out a recorder from his pocket, Arthur pushed the play button and watched their reactions slowly morph into one of despair and realization, the father and son duo were finished.Just before it got to the end, Arthur switched it off as he believed they were no longer listening; with the minister sitting on the sofa by the TV with a grave look on his face and his son who had his shocked and troubled gaze on the ground, his teeth biting at his fingers in a futile

While she did so, he scanned the room, noticing the lack of decorations or rather anything that made it seem unique. The entire appearance helped him draw the assumption that Ayame was moved here recently."So," she nudged him with her elbow, snapping him out of his thoughts."What's up?" Arthur's brows raised as he asked.Aya studied his gaze for a brief moment before sighing and turning away, balling her hands into fists and staring at the ground.Seconds stretched into minutes and just before Arthur was about to ask what the problem was, she suddenly began to speak."I've actually liked you for a long time, and the funny thing is, I still do. So I just thought it'd be really awesome if you felt the same way."She shut her eyes firmly after her statement, waiting for a reply from Arthur, one that didn't come. Opening them and turning to him, the pained smile he wore was enough for Ayame to understand, even though it wasn't what she wanted."I'm sorry Aya. I'm too hurt to have any of

A few weeks had gone by and the quiet within the empire's region was anything but comforting.While no major faction made any moves, it was like everyone knew better than to assume that everything had subsided.Even with their continuous attempts to limit the ones who were aware of the information, the news of the death of the police task force members spread like wildfire, even amongst the common folk.At a point, it was safe to say that every person in the city, no, the empire was aware of the action, what was the mystery to the middle and lower class individuals was who was truly responsible for such an act.Many speculations flew about; some accused terrorists, others claimed it might have been rebel forces that wished to overthrow the Emperor himself, there was no end to the wild theories.But only a select few within the middle class and a majority of the upper class knew the act was caused by one of the seven great families, but for their safety, none dared to make any accusati

The party went on for a while without any issues of any sort. Arthur alongside Luna mingled a bit with the guests present before returning to the more familiar and welcoming faces.While he was appreciative of the calm uneventful route the party was proceeding with, he had a gut feeling that someone or something unexpected may show up.And his intuition was right on the mark when the minister, who he had handled during Ayame's kidnapping case arrived at the party.Whispers flew about as the elderly man walked in with his cane, making a beeline for the celebrant of the occasion who quietly watched him while sipping from his champagne flute.The actions of the crowd was somewhat justified after all as far as the public knew, he was a man who had his son arrested for kidnapping one of the most famous musicians in the world while trying to frame the man who was also the reason for the occasion.As if that wasn't enough, the minister's son was caught up in an awful scandal where due to the

So that was their plan.One thing all four men had in common was that they had been taken down a notch by Arthur Rhyfel, perhaps for standing in his way or just being obnoxious people or a crime far worse than the two in Arthur's books, attempting to harm those he cared about.Pablo Greco and his father, Mr Greco, sat and watched the other two men who had been invited by the latter, their purpose was as straightforward as anything else. They simply wanted to get back at Arthur.But while that was the main reason the four men had gathered, the son of the Hughes family, Saul Hughes had other plans for himself as well.On a normal day, he would not have been caught dead associating with the likes of the Greco father and son family or even a mere auction house shareholder, no matter how big it was.He was from one of the seven great families of the empire, as far as Saul Hughes was concerned, they were far beneath him.But as they were intent on harming Arthur and had the resources and o