Lucian turned his back to the general, his hands still in his pockets, walking toward the hospital entrance.
The general let out a long sigh, his gaze fixed on Lucian’s retreating figure.
Meleonora and the purple-haired man remained silent, their expressions unsure. They had no idea what to say or how to process what had just happened.
Then
“Are you really going to make the Patriarch wait?”
Butler’s voice cut through the tense silence.
Lucian paused mid-step.
Turning his head slightly, he looked over his shoulder, his expression unreadable.
“You’re rejecting a personal request from him for this?” Butler continued, his disapproval clear.
Lucian slowly turned back to face him. He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his gaze locked onto Butler’s, his expression blank, yet something about him felt dangerously cold.
“You don’t think this is important?” Lucian finally spoke, his voice eerily calm.
Butler stood firm. “This is not important. It does not justify making the Patriarch wait.”
Lucian stared at him for a moment, expression unreadable.
Then, he tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing as if he had just heard something ridiculous.
Without another word, he took slow steps toward Butler, his movements fluid and unhurried.
A subtle tension spread in the air.
Meleonora, the general, and the purple-haired man felt their throats tighten as they instinctively took a step back.
These two… They wouldn’t start a fight, right?
Purple-haired man swallowed hard. Should I just run now?
Lucian stopped just centimeters away from Butler, looking down at him.
Despite the height difference, Butler remained completely unfazed. His gaze met Lucian’s with the same unwavering calmness.
Then
“Waste of time?” Lucian’s voice dropped into something low and razor-sharp.
His gaze, piercing and ice-cold, never left Butler’s face.
“You really think so?” His voice was even softer now, almost a whisper.
“Your Patriarch can wait. I don’t care. That’s a waste of my time.”
The weight of his words hung in the air.
Be happy enough I’m even entertaining you.
“Know your place.”
His words cut through like a blade.
For a moment, Butler simply stared.
Then
He stepped back.
His expression remained the same, unreadable.
But then
With absolute precision, he bowed.
“Apologies, Sir Lucian. For the inconvenience.”
His voice was smooth, controlled, but the slight tension in his bow revealed something else.
Lucian didn’t react. He simply watched Butler with cold detachment.
Then, without another word, he turned back around and continued toward the hospital entrance.
Meleonora and the purple-haired man felt their hearts jump to their throats just watching this unfold.
Without another glance, Lucian turned and continued toward the hospital entrance.
Behind him, the butler straightened up.
With a composed air, he adjusted his collar as if nothing had happened.
A flicker of something unreadable flashed behind his monocle as he watched Lucian walk away.
“Quite hot-tempered, I must say…”
“Completely different from how he was just moments ago, talking about his family.”
“Just pray, boy, that you’re someone truly important. Otherwise…”
“You will regret disrespecting the Patriarch.” He thought to himself.
—-
The general exhaled slowly, relief washing over him.
He didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened if those two had truly clashed.
Even if the opponent was just a butler, he was from the Malvic Family.
That alone was enough to terrify anyone in power.
The Malvic Family, backed by the Black Order, had more influence than most governments.
They had the right to be arrogant.
And then there was Lucian Kane.
A complete enigma.
A man who had somehow summoned a high-ranking Black Order member as if it were nothing.
A man who threw nuclear bombs like they were popcorns.
The general didn’t want to take any chances.
Not now. Not ever.
He had no desire to witness a clash between these two forces.
Certainly not a war.
“A world war over a kid…” The general muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Maybe I really am getting too old for thinking that much.”
Its really too much to think right? right?
—–
Just as lucian reached the hospital entrance, Lucian suddenly halted.
Everyone’s eyes snapped toward him.
The air shifted.
Lucian turned slightly, glancing at the general from the corner of his eye.
Then, without hesitation, he shifted his gaze to the butler.
A beat of silence.
Then
He pointed at the general.
“His daughter has been kidnapped.”
Meleonora and the purple-haired man flinched.
The general stiffened.
Lucian’s stare didn’t waver.
“By a neighboring country’s terrorist group,” he continued, his tone sharp, absolute.
“She’s being held in the Amazon jungle.”
Lucian’s eyes darkened.
“Order them to return her. By tomorrow.”
Meleonora and the purple-haired man stared in surprise.
Lucian’s words had caught them completely off guard.
Even the general, who had expected nothing but hostility, was frozen his face shifting between shock and shame.
Lucian… was helping him?
Even after what he did?
Even after almost getting Lucian’s sister killed, after keeping secrets, after betraying his trust Lucian was still willing to speak on his behalf?
The general had already accepted his fate.
He had seen what kind of man Lucian was.
Lucian killed without hesitation. Anyone who got in his way never walked away.
And yet, he had chosen to let the general live.
Now, he was even doing him a favor.
The general’s fists clenched. Stay connected through My Virtual Library Empire
A mix of gratitude and deep, crushing shame filled his chest.
“Why? After everything why would he do this?”
His daughter.
He thought of her face.
The fear in her eyes.
The nightmare she was probably living right now, held captive in the jungles of the Amazon.
What they might be doing to her.
He swallowed hard.
He wanted to say thank you.
But he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
He didn’t deserve to.
Stil for the first time in days, he felt relief.
Hope.
Lucian…
He was a monster.
But even monsters had things they cared about.
And for some reason, this monster still understood.
—
Lucian’s Perspective
Lucian barely looked at the general’s reaction.
He wasn’t doing this for him.
He simply understood.
He is just repaying the favor maybe general did betray him but he did protect his family for years…
He knew exactly what it felt like to have someone you love at the mercy of others.
To be powerless to protect them.
He had felt it the night his sister was shot.
The general had made mistakes big ones.
Lucian would never trust him again.
But he wouldn’t go out of his way to destroy him either.
Helping him cost Lucian nothing.
Just a single order.
It would be done.
That’s all.
No forgiveness.
No trust.
Just a favor.
And it was the last one.
—
And then
“No.”
The butler’s voice was sharp and final.
Lucian’s gaze lifted, his expression unreadable.
Huh?
The general’s heart dropped.
“I believe you misunderstand, sir,” the butler said smoothly, his voice as composed as ever. “I am not your butler. I am here under the Patriarch’s orders to resolve this issue, speak with the World Council, and escort you to him.”
His tone was firm.
“And your orders do not fall under that.”
Lucian didn’t flinch.
Didn’t argue.
Didn’t waste time.
“Then should I go save her myself and meet your Patriarch later?”
His words were calm, but there was a quiet weight behind them.
The butler paused.
For a moment, something flickered in his expression. Then, slowly, a small smile appeared.
“It will be done, sir,” he replied, bowing slightly.
He had been testing him.
Measuring.
Trying to gauge Lucian’s mindset, his connections, his understanding of power.
If this boy had to call someone and complain to someone like some small kid…He woulve understand how big of a deal he is
But it seemed this hot-tempered boy knew more than expected.
Lucian didn’t care.
Without another word, he walked into the hospital.
He had bigger problems now.
His mother was coming.
Everything had to be normal.
But what if Rose woke up first?
What if she jus spit out everything waking up?
Lucian clenched his fists.
He wasn’t afraid of war.
Wasn’t afraid of death.
But that?
That terrified him.
