The group in front of Jeremiah and Lynette consisted of two guys and two girls, all barely escaping their teens.Immediately, the faces of both guys became one of amazement after getting a good look at Lynette, whose beauty eclipsed the girls they had come with. Who would have thought that they were going to see someone like her on their visit to the estate?Just then, one of the guys with blonde hair named Benson, licked his lip as his expression became lecherous toward Lynette. He grinned from ear to ear as he broke off from his group and stepped closer to Jeremiah and Lynette.“Who knew that a servant could look like you? Wow! I’m impressed,” Benson said as he slowly circled Lynette, his hand on his chin as he checked out the maid’s body with a lustful gaze.“What’s your name?” Benson asked Lynette from behind her.“Umm, Lynette. Lynette Ross,” Lynette answered hurriedly, looking and sounding uncomfortable at what Benson was doing.“Nice to meet you, Lynette. My name is Benson Cl
Who the hell was David?You know what? Jeremiah couldn't care less.“You’re free to do whatever you want,” Jeremiah said, then looked at Lynette, pushed Benson’s hand away again, and grabbed Lynette’s hand.“Let’s get out of here,” Jeremiah said, and Lynette nodded.Jeremiah started pulling the maid away, both of them going around Benson and heading for the door. “Excuse us,” Jeremiah said once he and Lynette got to Kristin, Brenda, and Desmond, who blocked their path and the two girls happily stepped to the side for them to go through, while Desmond, who wanted to impress Kristin, refused.“What does a servant like you think he’s doing acting all tough?! Benson wasn’t done talking and you just disrespected him like that. Do you think that the four of us are on the same level as a lowlife servant like you? Are you crazy?!” Desmond threatened.“Sure. Whatever.” Jeremiah rolled his eyes and then placed his hand on Desmond’s shoulder.“You can say whatever you like and call me whatever
“Jeremiah Garrick? Wait… Garrick? Isn’t that David’s and the king’s last name?” One of the guests behind David said, looking shocked.Everyone else thought about Jeremiah’s last name and had the same question in mind.“What’s going on here, David? Why does he bear the same name as you and the king? Are the two of you related or something?” Brenda asked.“Speaking of being related, I noticed that the two of them share some resemblance with one another, but is there more to it than both being good-looking? Are they actually related?” Kristin said.The others started murmuring, filling the corridor with confusion and questions. David frowned.“What nonsense are you lot talking about and why the hell are you all acting surprised and confused?! Do you think I would have talked the way I just did if this liar and I were actually related?! Are you guys daft or something?!” David asked, and his friends looked at each other guiltily.“David is right. We’ve been best friends for a long time no
“How dare you look me straight in the eyes and say such a grievous lie?! Also, did I just hear you call this bastard a young master? That’s it, come here right now! I’m going to feed you to the dogs!” David said.He reached forward, grabbed Lynette’s hand, and was about to forcefully pull her away from Jeremiah when, to his surprise, Jeremiah grabbed his wrist and stopped him.Everyone who saw what Jeremiah did was left dumbfounded.Did he just lay his hand on David?Did he want to die?“What do you think you’re doing?!” David asked as he glared at Jeremiah through the corner of his eyes.To his surprise, Jeremiah too had an angry look aimed at him.“That’s what I should be asking you? Who gave you the audacity to think that you could put your hand on the person assigned to assist me during my stay while I’m standing right here?” Jeremiah asked, his voice so powerful that it sent chills down the spines of everyone there. They quickly got over it because they thought that he was a nob
“So, what were you saying about being the son of our king?” David taunted, making all his friends laugh at and make fun of Jeremiah.The only ones who refused to do that were Kristin and Brenda, who had both taken a liking to Jeremiah, and that infuriated Desmond, because how dare Kristin have eyes for another guy when he was right there?The reason the two girls acted differently from everyone else was because they weren’t friends with anyone in the group, so they didn’t feel obligated to join them in what they were doing to Jeremiah.The group of visitors consisted of David, his four friends from college, Benson, who was his best friend and roommate in college, Desmond, who was Benson’s cousin, and then Kristin and Brenda. David had wanted to visit the estate, so he invited his friends from his department in college, who had told him about wanting to see what the castle looked like in person, and Benson, who had already visited the place before.Hearing about the visit, Desmond, wh
At their university, though David was a sophomore, he was the most eligible bachelor to every female who knew him, and that even included the teachers. Everyone knew that he was royalty and incredibly rich, so they wanted to do what they could to either be his friend or date him if they were girls and Kristin was no different.Knowing that Kristin, his crush, had a crush on David who was someone he could never compete with, once they arrived at the estate, Desmond pulled Benson to the side and asked him for a favor. The favor was to separate Kristin from David, so he could get the opportunity to woo her and give her reasons to like him, as she had been all over David since they arrived and started their tour of the estate.Agreeing to help out his cousin, Benson separated everyone into two groups. David took his friends and continued the tour of the estate, while Benson took Desmond, Kristin, and Brenda on a separate tour of the inside of the castle. They had just started their cas
All the guards who responded to the emergency call sent out by David when he pressed the bottom on his phone, had been in the throne room when Jeremiah had his meeting with Reginald. After the meeting was over and Jeremiah left with Kingston, they all were made to swear to keep everything they had heard and witnessed in the throne room a secret just like Reginald told Jeremiah they would.Reginald also told them to refer to Jeremiah as “Young Master” when other people were around as his identity as Lord Crimson was a serious and sensitive information that should be kept secret at all cost. It became extremely ironic the moment they all walked through the door and appeared in the corridor, hoping to take care of the nuisance bothering David, only to see Jeremiah and recognize him as their Lord Crimson and young master.It was like a funny joke and the only person being made fun of was David.On the flip side, Jeremiah who recognized all the guards and knew that they weren’t going to
Every guard who held someone pulled that person to the corner beside the door.“You too,” Jeremiah told Kristin and Brenda and the two girls' eyes widened. “Are we also supposed to go on our knees?” Kristin asked and Jeremiah shook his head.“No. You two are exempted from any punishment but like I said, I want everyone in one place so just follow them and stand in the corner” he instructed and they nodded.The two girls followed the guards who pulled the rest of David’s friends and they went to stand at the corner beside the door. “Not him,” Jeremiah told the guard who was pulling Benson to the corner.“I have something different in mind for him,” Jeremiah said and the guard assigned to Benson nodded.“Bring him over here” Jeremiah instructed and the guard pulled Benson over to him, making Benson stand beside David who was still speechless about everything that was going on. “Here he is, young master,” the guard said after positioning Benson to stand properly in front of Jeremiah.
Inside the Study, Reginald, who noticed that Jeremiah’s mind was elsewhere, asked him what he was doing.Jeremiah had actually been eavesdropping on David, wondering if he would say anything that would expose his involvement in the gas processing plant’s explosion and prove to Jeremiah that his suspicion was right. However, that didn’t happen and Jeremiah got annoyed that David stopped talking all of a sudden. From the last sentence Jeremiah heard David say before abruptly cutting himself off, he concluded that David knew he was onto him and was actively trying not to expose himself. Or perhaps it was just a coincidence, and Jeremiah was wrong about the whole thing—meaning David wasn’t involved in the explosion at all.There could only be one answer to the two possibilities, and time would reveal which one was correct because sooner or later, David was bound to slip up.All Jeremiah had to do was wait for that moment to come. Jeremiah replied “Nothing. I was just listening to what D
David, looking at Jeremiah, blinked multiple times to emphasize his shock.Even though he had once thought that Jeremiah had joined hands with Dean and Adam to kill all the guards—after seeing the dismembered bodies when he escaped the plant—the fact that this was only an assumption and was never confirmed left him with some doubt that Jeremiah had ever gotten blood on his hands.That assumption quickly vanished after he heard about how Jeremiah saved everyone at the welcome ceremony from the Rubik's Cube bomb and even traveled a great distance to save him.However, when Jeremiah admitted outright that he had killed Dean—and went on to elaborate on how he did it—it sent a shock through David's body. He realized he might have been wrong about who Jeremiah had killed, but not about the fact that he had killed someone.‘So he really is a cold-blooded murderer’ David thought and gulped.Just then, David noticed something that felt concerning.He looked at Reginald and the three other men—
David tried standing up but before he did, Kingston offered him a hand. David looked at Kingston’s hand but instead of accepting, he felt insulted. The fact that he had just heard that Jeremiah, his one competition for the throne, was a powerful being who could do whatever he wanted, made him feel weak and useless in comparison, and seeing Kingston’s hand annoyed the hell out of him.Still, he had to maintain composure.“No thanks. I can stand on my own” David said, feigning a smile.“As you wish, Sir” Kingston replied then retracted his hand and stood upright while David went on his feet and walked back to where he once was.“Are you okay?” Reginald asked.However, David, who was annoyed that Reginald felt it necessary to ask that question out of concern for his earlier reaction, forced a smile.“I am Uncle, so please, continue,” David said. Reginald looked at Jeremiah and said “You should also listen to what I’m going to say because it involves you as well” “Okay,” Jeremiah grim
Reginald started by revealing the history of Crimson Fall to David, who at first was confused as to why he was telling him an old folk tale but soon realized why when Reginald told him the part that only the king and a select few knew. The moment David heard about reincarnation, his eyes widened, asking himself if such a thing existed.Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only bombshell he was going to hear as the story continued to unfold.Reginald told him that it was the Garrick family's mission to make sure that Lord Crimson, the powerful dragon who ruled over Crimson Fall for centuries, reincarnated and like that wasn’t enough, he gestured at Jeremiah and told him that Jeremiah was Lord Crimson, reincarnated.“I’m sorry what?” David asked, trying to make sure he wasn’t mishearing things. “You heard me right. Your cousin, who we all thought was dead, is our one true ruler. The all-powerful, Lord Crimson” Reginald said passionately. David’s eyes blinked multiple times as he looked at
The boldness with which Jeremiah said “Yes, I did” demoralized David. It was like he was telling David that he didn’t regret what he did and was daring him to reprimand his actions. Knowing that he couldn’t lash out at Jeremiah for what he did, David had no choice but to gulp and accept what happened and move on— making him more mad because he hated being made to feel small and insignificant. “I’m sure you had your reasons but can you please tell me why you hurt my friends,” David asked, making sure to choose his words carefully so as not to sound like he was confronting Jeremiah. “Friends? I think you’re misunderstanding something, David.” Reginald said and David quickly looked at him, wondering what he was talking about. “Jeremiah didn’t hurt your friends but your friend. Only one person was hurt by his hands” Reginald clarified. David grimaced. He reflected on Reginald’s words and remembered that the king had said “friend” instead of “friends” when he revealed that the per
That’s right, he had completely forgotten about his punishment because of the night he had, but it’s a good thing Reginald was bringing it up now.What was his uncle going to say? Hopefully, something along the lines of, he had seen that David had learned his lesson and because of that he had decided to bring the punishment to an end. David thought and started smiling discreetly.“After the aftermath of the explosion at the welcome ceremony, I have decided that—“ Reginald said, but David cut him off.“Explosion at the welcome ceremony?! What explosion?” David asked and Reginald paused.“You haven’t heard about the explosion yet?” Reginald asked. “No, I haven’t. There was another explosion but at the welcome ceremony?” David replied.David had been so anxious to find out what Jeremiah knew about the gas processing plant explosion that he was tunnel-visioned from everything else. He had just gone to his room to freshen up, changed clothes, and then went to Reginald’s study for the mee
After looking at everyone in the Study and seeing how they were staring at him— especially Jeremiah’s whose stare was like a predator’s to a prey— David, who realized that he was in a hot mess, thought of how to get away from the situation.How could he spin the story and change the narrative in his favor? He wondered and his brain started working at a million miles an hour in search of the answer.Soon enough, a thought came to his mind and he decided to go with it.David started chuckling, making everyone wonder why he was doing that.What did he find so funny?“Uncle, what gave you the impression that I knew about the explosion before it happened?” David asked.Reginald, who thought about the question, grimaced and adjusted how he sat.“Well, if I remember correctly, you were rambling about how we should leave the area and were adamant about it for a good minute before the building exploded, so I thought that your behavior was because you beforehand that the building was going to e
Once inside the study, the first thing Jeremiah did was pause and groan when he saw David standing in front of the desk. Kingston, who was just as surprised as Jeremiah at the sight of David, jolted and asked “Sir David, you’re already here?”“Yes, he is. Truthfully, even I was surprised when he arrived before you two did, but for some reason, he seemed eager to have the meeting which I guess is a good thing because I have so much to ask him” Reginald said.David, who was trying his best to keep his cool and act normal, turned to Reginald and smiled. “I just wanted to tell Uncle what happened because I know how worried he was about my disappearance and maybe that will calm his mind a little,” David said.Reginald, who didn’t know the young man’s true motive and believed his words, smiled. He took David’s feigned concern for him as a sign of David changing and attributed it to the punishment he gave him working. Speaking of the punishment, what was going to happen now that the guard
Jeremiah, Kingston, and Steven went to Reginald’s study while Elizabeth went back into Jeremiah’s room to spend some more time with Lynette’s corpse.Since the body would most definitely be kept in Jeremiah’s room until the funeral tomorrow, this was going to be her only moment of privacy with her former protégé. Though it would be a one-sided conversation, as Lynette could talk back, Elizabeth was going to say everything she had in her chest and hopefully feel at ease with losing someone she cared about so soon.A couple of minutes later, after finally being at peace with Lynette’s passing, Christabel came to the room and she too got her chance to say goodbye to her friend and fellow protégé.After that, Christabel and Elizabeth reminisced on past moments they and Lynette spent together when she was alive and the experience made the remaining two form a stronger bond than what they had before.Just then, the room door was knocked. “Who is it?” Christabel asked after Elizabeth used