Chapter 278: World War III Part 8

As the world was in a collective state of panic after what had just occurred all over the globe, Arias had chosen to return to Markovia. Because as good as it was to allow the situation to marinate on the outside, it wasn't a good thing to let it do so on the inside. In this case, the inside being Markovian, the center of all the chaos. 

Like a storm, the situation there needed to remain calm so that the storm outside could rage on much longer. Arias knew that if he left Tara to her devices, even with this immense advantage of unknown power he had provided her, some desperate enough may still try to bring harm her way, perhaps even resorting to kidnapping. Which, although not a big issue, it would derail the entire purpose of the plan, shifting it in another direction, calling for more variables to be put into place, which just wasn't worth it.

Within Tara's office in her bunker, her phone was constantly buzzing. If she tried to open up her computer and connect to the Internet, she could see that her feed was flooded with news about what was happening around the world, and that her personal inboxes were receiving multiple messages per second. It was an astonishing sight to look at. All these powerful figures were trying to reach out, and it made her very anxious. An unintended, but definitely a welcome result for Arias.

As she sat there anxiously looking at the news on the feeds, a flash of white light emerged in the office as Arias's figure appeared. Looking as casual as he was when he had left the Hacienda in Mexico. If one were to see him, one would assume he had just been casually present. 

Tara had never seen Arius appear in this manner, so she was quite frightened, and understandably so. She knew Arias was shrouded in mystery, and that she would never know more than he wanted her to, similar to Slade. But the difference was the scope of Arias's power just seemed far more out of reach.

Ignoring her dazed gaze, Arias asked her, "Are there any problems? You look a bit flustered, Tara."

Tara immediately switched to a frown and shook her head. "No, everything is alright, Dad. I did as you said."

Arias smirked, finding her attempt at a serious, mature tone amusing as he responded, "Of course you did. I expect nothing less from my well-behaved daughter."

Tara mumbled, clicking her tongue as she knew that this was Arias's way of speaking down to her. Far too scared to even attempt showing defiance, she could only keep a deep frown from forming but say nothing.

Seeing that she wasn't going to reply, Arias lost interest and so he moved on. "I think with your people have waited long enough, it's time their future queen says a few words to them and the world. Otherwise, who knows what crazy solutions we may be see being thrown at us."

Having said that, Arias turned toward the steel bunker door opposite the lavish, old, installed desk Tara was seated behind. As he inserted the code to unlock it, a hum with a mechanical tone sounded, as one could even hear the huge bolts that connected to the surrounding granite and lead-lined walls. It opened extremely slowly, as the door was incredibly heavy, taking a few seconds to even bring in outside light.

The moment the doors opened, however, Arias was greeted by a strange sight. Numerous figures, some vesting in neat corporate suits and others dressed in more formal military attire, common with high-ranking officials, looked like they were ready to run into the room the moment the door opened. However, as Arias's figure stood there, they all seemed to stand still.

Many of the high-ranking officials were fearful of Arias, and for understandable reason. Though they didn't know what the scope of his power was. 

The fear of the high-ranking officials had toward Arias came from the fact that they felt he had control over Princess Tara, and they wouldn't be wrong in that line of thought. And he wanted the world to think this and know this.

Trying to cover that up was far too much of a tedious task to even attempt, so better to leave it out in the open. But by having given her his wealth and subtracting himself from the equation, he basically said to all his competitors that if they could manage to get their claws into Tara, everything he gave her would be theirs.

However, no such attempts were successful. Countless meetings had been tried way before the events of today, in which people on the high-ranking end of Markovia's hierarchy tried to convince Princess Tara on matters of ways in which to rule. They put across false alliances, promised benefits, protection, and even hidden threats. 

But, more fearful of Arias, Tara acknowledged none. It was safe to say he had shown them that their efforts would never go anywhere, and that she would only listen to him, hence his special position in Markovia.

Looking at the many officials and members of the Security Council present, Arias, who still had his hands casually rested in his pockets, tilted his head ever so slightly at the crowd and asked, "You all seem to be in a rush. Is there a problem?"

Arias's choice of words was strange, to say the least, but it made those who heard those words even more confused. It made their hearts start to beat faster for multiple reasons. For one, according to their information, the only person within that bunker had been Princess Tara, with guards stationed outside. No one had gone in or come out, as the bunker was able to stay fully self-sufficient for up to five years, possessing rooms the size of a mansion, with the office being the first room upon entrance and more being accessible through a hidden mechanism only known to the king or queen.

It made them wonder if he had always been in there, or if he had gone in without them knowing. 

Many of these people gathered here had some ulterior motive in coming, most trying to influence Princess Tara's decision or curry favor with her. Arias was an obstacle to that, as he had basically shown that Tara listened to him, and so if they wanted to get through to anyone, they'd need to get through to him.

His feigned weak state was done so that the vultures hidden among the official could think he was out of the picture and show themselves, and now they were already here, in front of him. Among those who also genuinely wanted to help Princess Tara. Even just by looking at a crowd, Arias could see that some of the high-ranking officials had trembling eyes, fiddling their fingers. These were the most unsettled. Others kept their cool but still had countless thoughts in their mind. 

It was impossible to judge based on body language alone, and so Arias had asked that simple question, for he knew that once he heard the answers, he'd be able to tell even without the use of his telepathy.

Though it wouldn't really matter in the end…