"It’s been a while since we last saw each other, Alice."
The words echoed through the space as Prince Zen Asterval stepped into the office as the door closed behind him.
With a soft smile, his eyes were fixed on the woman seated behind the stack of papers, her focus on the work before her.
Alicia did not raise her head to look at him or give him any attention as she spoke in the same cold, emotionless tone.
"It seems you enjoy barging in without permission, as always."
Zen’s smile did not waver even after the harsh words. Instead, he walked toward one of the sofas and sat down.
"Is that how you treat your cousin?"
Alicia did not look at him or answer that. Instead, she changed the subject.
"So why are you here... perhaps worried about your little sister?"
Zen tilted his head slightly, a curious expression on his handsome face.
"And why wouldn’t I be?"
For the first time, Alicia raised her head and looked at him.
"Since you’re here for that reason, then you should go to the Director. I’m not responsible for this matter." With those words, she returned her attention to her work once more.
But all he did was smile. "It’s not very nice of you to try to chase me away, Alice... Don’t you have any affection for your relatives?"
"No, it’s just you."
She answered coldly, more indifferent than ever, as if the person before her was not a prince or anything at all.
But contrary to expectations, Zen sighed without any annoyance, as if he had grown used to this long ago.
"Anyway, I heard that you, who don’t like working with anyone, have hired yourself an assistant... What was his name again?" Zen thought for a few moments before continuing in a tone laced with a hint of irritation.
"Caius Astroweild... what a beautiful name!"
Zen’s voice echoed through the room.
"I wonder what’s so special about him for you to keep him so close?"
Silence.
For some time, the only sound in the room was the scratching of the pen against the paper.
But Zen soon resumed speaking again, unbothered by Alicia’s silence.
"It seems he’s one of the missing... so he might already be dead."
For the first time, Zen received a slight reaction from Alicia.
"And why do you think that?"
Upon hearing that, Zen smiled as if the disappearance incident did not concern him.
"The thing is, my sister possesses an Artifacts for emergency communication, but even after three days, we haven’t received anything... so I assume they’re dead or something like that." He spoke those last words as if they were the most natural thing in the world.
Alicia replied without even lifting her head. "That is not proof of their death."
He had expected that, so he nodded and continued. "Yes, you’re right... but there’s something else that makes me certain of it."
"On my sister’s storage ring, there is another Artifacts—even she doesn’t know about its existence... and its function is to measure her vital signs."
He raised his finger and continued, "That Artifacts is linked to another one I have. The moment her vital signs stop, I will be alerted by the Artifacts in my possession."
Zen’s face showed some sadness... but who knew whether it was genuine or not?
"And yesterday, unfortunately, I learned that my sister’s vital signs had stopped... so everything points to them being dead, even your assistant, unfortunately."
He sighed.
"What a waste of a group of rare talents."
With those words, Zen carefully observed Alicia and any reaction she might show.
But in the end, all she did was utter a few cold words.
"If what you’re saying is true, are you really happy about your sister’s death? And does the Emperor know about this?"
Zen frowned slightly. "No, why would I be happy about that? She is my dear sister, after all." Perhaps even he did not believe his own words.
"And my father does not know... nor do I plan to tell him in any case. That might complicate matters with the Axis, and I don’t think you want that."
Alicia looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "And you come here to tell me?"
The smile returned to his face. "And why wouldn’t I? Perhaps you don’t care much about your cousin or the others with her, but maybe you care about your assistant, who might be dead as well."
No reaction.
’Perhaps she truly doesn’t care about him... Was making him her assistant just a whim, or what?... Then this is good for me.’
While Zen was thinking, Alicia stared at him calmly.
"If you’re done, you may leave now."
He exhaled at those final words. "Are you really determined to drive me away today?"
"You could say that."
Zen stared at Alicia carefully—her crimson eyes deeper than his own, her silky white hair, her skin, her figure.
Everything made Zen captivated by the daughter of his late aunt.
Yes, Alicia even carried the blood of the imperial family in her veins.
Because her mother had been the sister of the current Emperor, Princess Astria Asterval...
Who had married Duke Astra Nova.
In the end, Alicia inherited the Astra Nova name and took control of the family after the death of her parents.
In any case, that story was not important for today.
Zen sighed as he stood to leave. "Alright, I’ll go now. It was nice seeing you again, Alice... even if it was one-sided... and for a short time."
With those words, Zen walked toward the door, opened it, and left the office.
He closed the door behind him while Alicia sat there, staring at it as he departed.
"Annoying," she muttered.
In truth, she did not believe what he said about their deaths—not because she thought he was lying... no.
As far as he was concerned, he was telling the truth.
But she knew.
He would not allow him to die.