21 Chapter 21
Morning
"Here you go, Miss Kro", said Karina as she placed a hot cup of tea on Kro's desk, just like she was instructed,
"Thank you",
Karina then walked back to her desk. Kro, quenching her morning thirst, picked up the cup and took a heavy sip, having no idea that her PA was glancing at her anxiously from a distance. Karina nervously chewed on her lower lip as she waited to see what will happen in the next few seconds.
The look on Kro's face suddenly looked disgusted. She moved the cup closer to the nose and sniffed the tea, but the scent was alright. How odd!
"Karina, where did you get this tea?", while putting the cup down, Kro asked,
"The food pantry, boss", Karina answered, amazement resting under her widened eyes,
"What brand?",
"Prism",
"That's weird, it's the same brand we use but somehow tastes different today. Did you check the expiration date perhaps?",
"Ye _ yes, boss. They're still good",
Although unconvinced, Kro nodded. There was no point in questioning Karina who had no business with the food pantry department. There were more concerned people to talk to about that.
....
AZARADAN
Night at Pix
Kro came out of the bath. She was shivering from the coldness, ready to throw herself in a pile of sheets as soon as she gets into her room.
Kenna laid in her sister's bed, waiting for her, already dressed in her sleeping robe. She didn't want to sleep now that Kro was back home. Kro was glad to find Kenna inside. She was actually planning to go stay in Kenna's room after she got dressed, but everything was now simplified,
"Cold, cold, cold!", shivered Kro, throwing a blanket over her body,
"How long has it been since you had a nice, warm shower like this?", asked Kenna,
"You do know that soldiers shower too, right?",
"But you're a female soldier, you need to SHOWER",
"Of course, I SHOWER",
"Yeah, okay",
Kro jumped in bed too,
"So, tell me the truth sister, why did the crown prince let you go?", asked Kenna, curious for the juicy gossip,
"I just asked for my old life back and he granted it to me, easy", Kro shrugged,
"I know there's a catch. What is it?",
"He just wants us to be friends. That's all", answered Kro, her cheeks slowly turning burgundy,
"Friends?", Kenna scoffed, "He's a man, he only wants to sleep with you in the end",
"That's crazy, I also want the same thing",
Kenna laughed hard, covering her mouth immediately after to avoid catching attention from the people outside. She quickly sat up straight, digging in Kro's blanket to hold her hands,
"Do you like this prince? You look like you do, your face is all red. Tell me more about him, how does he look like? Is he tall? Strong? Funny?",
"You've already seen him before. We even had lunch with him",
"Wait, ATTA!?",
Kro nodded, chortling. Kenna threw her embarrassed body on the pillow, thinking of all the things she said about the prince while he was seated right in front of her,
"Kro, why didn't you stop me?",
"Why do you think Poqo shoved a grape in your mouth?",
There was a sudden knock at the door. The girls paused their conversation,
"Who is it?", asked Kro,
"Me!", said general Qin
As soon as they heard his voice, Kenna quickly sat up straight. Kro had to put on her sleeping robe fast. A short while later, they were both standing before the door respectfully,
"Come in", Kro said,
The door fell open and the general walked inside. A serious expression crimped his face, his hands rested at the back. His tense stare was directed to Kro,
"What are you doing here?", his deep voice filled the room,
"I'm home, resting for the day", simply, Kro answered,
Hoping to see a happy look on her father's face, she was disappointed to see him maintaining the same serious look,
"Aren't you supposed to be guarding the crown prince at this moment?",
"Well, he decided to _",
"Why?",
"I don't know, I'm not supposed to question his order",
"I heard the crown prince disappeared yesterday, and when you went to look for him you disappeared too. Any explanation on why you didn't tell me about it?",
She could feel her body losing the heat, the only thing she was sure of being keeping the incident a secret. Telling her father about that was never a good idea, not until the timing was right. With her head still lowered, she gave him the answer,
"I found him returning to his chambers, and that was very late at night. He asked me to leave because he wanted to be alone_",
"So, you left? Where did you go because you certainly weren't at the camp",
"I just kept walking around the palace_",
"Why didn't you report it to me? How dare you lie to me?",
"Father _",
"Do you remember what I said when I allowed you to do this?",
With a hammering heart, she nodded,
"I hope it stuck in your head!", he raised his finger, a gesture he normally did when he was about to emphasize on something, "DON'T! I REPEAT, DON'T GET ANY STUPID IDEAS! This isn't the path I paved for you", his voice was like thunder,
"I hear you, father",
General Qin stormed out of the room.
Kro remained staring at the door, trying to figure out what that was all about. He was a tough father sometimes, and she was already used to that, but for some reason, that day it didn't feel like that, she felt as if she was listening to somebody else, a stranger,
"General moody is back", Kenna chuckled, "It's been a while since we saw him like that, I almost forgot he existed. Can we get back to what we were talking about?", said Kenna, trying to clear the tension,
"Um, Kenna, I need to rest my head for the night, how about we carry on tomorrow?",
Kenna could see Kro's mood changing.
"Sure, sleep, okay? Don't let his words kill your spirit", she said and left the room.
...
Present.
MD's office
"You wanted to talk to me?", asked Kro,
She got to Sue's office as soon as she got her text. It sounded like an emergency.
Sue took a deep breath. She was about to do what Leo asked her to, not knowing how Kro will take it. Kro took a seat.
"I'm sorry I asked you to come. It's just that what I want to tell you is confidential, so_",
"Even asking my PA to leave the room would sound suspicious, I know. That's why I agreed to come. Now, tell me",
"It's about Zoe, I want to bring her home. Yesterday I called Leo to ask him for spies, but he said it's expensive. But again, he advised me to come listen to your thought, maybe you might have an easier way",
"Leo's right. It's very expensive to conduct that operation, I'm sure you want people to check each school in the country and steal your daughter back to you, but it's too expensive and risky",
"What do you think I should do? I'll die at this rate without seeing my daughter, I keep having nightmares where Zoe is crying but no matter how hard I try to reach her hand, I fail. If I can't save her, I'll kill myself!",
Unknowingly, Sue's eyes were already filled with tears. She hated being that kind of a lady in front of people, but she couldn't control her emotions anymore.
It was the first time Sue managed to involve her in something so serious. Kro couldn't let the mother and the daughter suffer while there was a lot of things she could do. She decided to be of assistance, she decided to step in
"It's Saturday tomorrow, right?", asked Kro, wearing a knowing smile,
"Yeah, it is",
"Well, I think I might need to pay a visit to the monster-in-law. You know where she lives?",
"No, I don't",
"This will be fun. Send her phone number to Leo, tell him I asked you to do it, he'll know what to do next",
"I will, I'll do it right now. Thank you so much, I don't know what you're going to do or say to her, but I trust you",
"You got it. Now rub those tears and have a cup of tea, which reminds me, have you tasted the tea today?",
"Yes, I had a cup an hour ago",
"How did it taste?",
"Okay, just like it always does",
"I guess my taste buds aren't having it today. Well, let me get back to work now",
"Sure, thank you so much",
"Anytime!",
Kro collected herself and walked out of Sue's office, leaving her with enough hope to fill the whole day with.
....
Rooftop
If there was a contest for the most confused, and amazed person in the world, then Karina with no doubt would win the prize. She had her phone in her hands, waiting for the person she was calling to pick up. She kept pacing back and forth, the unoccupied hand running through her hair anxiously.
The rooftop was clear, no one was there, just her. She needed total privacy.
A few seconds later her phone call got responded, she had to snap out of it fast,
"Boss, I did what you asked me to, I put the poison in her tea",
Even thinking about it made her body tremble,
"Yes, the same poison which killed that guy in 3 seconds! She just took a sip and said it tasted weird, that's all. Nothing else happened, she proceeded doing what she was doing. Boss, she's immortal! If that poison didn't kill her, I'm afraid nothing will!", Karina panicked.
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