He leaned against the desk, crossed one leg over the other, and looked at Edward. Edward shut the door behind him as he entered; he had a stack of papers in one hand. He looked calm, but Darius knew him better than that. Underneath that calm exterior was an agitated heart. Darius raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. "You don't seem to be doing too well, which is weird. I've known you for a while now, but this is my first time seeing you like this."Edward smiled bitterly and nodded. "You got me there, sir. The answers those bodyguards gave are almost identical; it's as if they'd already discussed this beforehand. One thing to note is that they've all mentioned Robert Reid's name. My guess is that he may have spoken to them one-on-one, but none of them have ever caught him with someone else."His gaze was resolute as he looked Darius in the eye. "That's why I think Robert must be in cahoots with them. At the very least, he must've agreed to work for a few of these guys."Darius put h
He could already guess why Edward was here, and it was likely Edward hadn't gotten any rest. Otherwise, he wouldn't be pacing outside and waiting for him to wake up. Darius lifted the sheets and got out of bed but didn't open the door for Edward. Instead, he went to the bathroom and washed up before drawing a bath and getting in. Then, he said, "Edward, you can come in now."Edward sighed in relief when he heard Darius finally call his name. He pushed the door open and entered the room, immediately sensing Darius was in the bathroom. This surprised him because Darius had never summoned him while taking a bath. So, he swept a gaze around the room to make sure Darius wasn't hiding somewhere, then headed toward the bathroom. He stopped at the door and said respectfully, "Sir, I've already looked into everything." He fell silent here.Darius said, "Judging from how you're acting right now, it seems that the results aren't satisfactory." He sighed and said, "If that's the case, it's best
"However, you've really let me down." Edward shook his head, looking upset. "After hearing your conversation earlier, I can't help thinking that I'd be making a huge mistake by letting any of you leave this place alive!" The bodyguards were stunned. They gaped at Edward in disbelief, not knowing how to react to this turn of events.Edward merely shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Now, now. I was just joking. There are cars waiting for you outside, so you can go ahead and leave. As Mr. Reid said earlier, wait for us to call you. If you're the right fit for the job, we'll let you know so you can come back here and take up your post. Of course, if any of you try to pull anything funny, you can wait for death to come knocking on your door. As for the remainder that is neither good nor bad, it's unfortunate that you won't be able to continue staying here to protect Mr. Reid's safety. I could arrange for you to be hired as security guards elsewhere, but you may feel insulted by this despite t
"That's a good sign that you've matured. I'd be happy if you could keep thinking like that," Teivel said.Darius smiled, not expecting him to praise him like that. For a split second, his eyes turned red because he was so moved, but it quickly faded. He said, "Well, let's not bother about that anymore." He breathed deeply to calm himself, then continued, "After your battle with your old nemesis, your soul's power has diminished a lot. It won't be able to sustain you for long, so you have to merge with your body as soon as possible."Teivel took note of his grim tone and smiled faintly. "That's not something you need to worry about. I know how long I can keep going like this."Darius shut his eyes and sighed, lapsing into silence. He focused his attention on his life force and started channeling it to the places he wanted it to go. When it started flowing, his brows unfurrowed, and he smiled faintly.In the book realm, Teivel sat on the couch and crossed one leg over the other, a smil
"Anyway, I trust your final judgment," said Darius. He glanced at Edward, then continued, "I know you and how kind you really are. Chances are I won't find the people whose lives you want to end to be good samaritans, so you don't need to be too bothered by my opinion when you're dealing with these matters. If I were to be against anything you're about to do, I would've made myself clear. I wouldn't confuse you with an ambiguous attitude."Edward's eyes turned red at this, and he gave Darius a sharp salute. "Understood, sir." He was touched but didn't make it obvious from his tone. "This matter with the bodyguards is pretty much taken care of at this point, but I think I'll still need to report this to Bruce. I've actually been hesitant to do this because I feel that since Bruce has already given those bodyguards to you, they belong to you. No matter how they end up, it's a decision that you have the liberty to make. Still, Bruce is the highest authority when it comes to dealing with
"He suddenly showed up last night, pretending to be one of the bodyguards. He's been popping up before me quite frequently lately, and he told me his life story, from how he joined the Evans family to his fiancée to how he was forced to do many nefarious things. I only learned about him having come into contact with the Reid family's bodyguards last night, and this gives me the feeling that he's not as simple as he seems. It's imperative that we deal with him immediately." Darius' eyes darkened as he spoke. He was thinking about something.Edward stood beside him silently with his hands behind his back. He knew Darius' mind was on something; he didn't want to disrupt his train of thought. At the same time, he knew Darius would tell him what to do when he was done pondering, which would keep him busy for a while. Ten minutes had passed when Darius returned to his senses, and he turned to ask Edward, "Where did you lock him up after I told you to take him away?"Edward looked calm. "In
"On the contrary, I think you're here to end my life. Still, the fact that you've said so much to me proves that I'm wrong—you're not here to kill me, which means Darius needs something from me. That's why he hasn't given the order to kill me … yet. Of course, there's also the possibility of being genuinely kind and wanting to give me another chance," Winston said.Edward raised an eyebrow and scoffed, shaking his head as he said, "I've always thought you were smart; I even considered you a rival of equal standing. Now, I see that I was too naive. You don't deserve to be my equal!" His tone was matter-of-fact. It was as if he were only stating the truth.This got on Winston's nerves. He ignored the pain and shot to his feet as he stared at Edward in disbelief. Though he didn't say a word, Edward could tell what he was thinking—Edward wasn't there to end his life or force him to side with Darius. There was nothing Edward wanted for him, or rather, they could easily get whatever they wa
"You almost swore your allegiance to Mr. Reid, so you should understand what he's like. He may be kind, but those who betrayed him or did anything to cross his morals met terrible ends. I'm sure I don't need to go into detail about that for you to understand what you're up against." Edward didn't slow as he spoke. Winston clutched his chest, looking pained as he tried to keep up. Neither of them looked happy—Edward was impatient because he'd only intended to spend three minutes retrieving Winston from the basement and bringing him to Darius. Six minutes had passed, and they'd only just stepped out of the basement. To make things worse, Winston kept mumbling useless things behind him, making him feel like his patience was running out.On the other hand, Winston didn't look so good because he was in pain from his injury, and he could sense Edward's irritation. Everything he'd experienced from the night before up until this point made him realize something—Darius was more powerful than