Chapter 40: The Other Side (Masain)

Jun stared at the council members sitting across from him, gazing at their fearful eyes. They had left him to die upon Astoria after his ship had crashed. Not a single one of the members before him left a message or a signal.

He eventually realized his crash was not an accident, but an attempt on his life. The only ones who had reached out to him were his own men, who vowed to follow him to the ends of Earth. They were his most loyal.

Not a single word was spoken within the large banquet hall as silence reigned supreme. One of the members before him, his brother of sorts, seemed fearful on the outside, yet his eyes showed a world of smugness. It wasn't farfetched to believe that his brother plotted a murder attempt against him.

Within their ever complicated family, his mother is not his brother's mother. Years ago, Jun's mother passed away when he was but a mere child, leaving his overbearing father lonely and depressed. Eventually, his father found another woman who was far more malicious, plotting to have her son become the next leader of Masain.

His father had been the leader for 30 years, up until the death of his mother. When the 'accident' occurred, his father delegates the council members different positions so that there was no longer a single ruler. In hindsight, it was a horrible decision as now there were two factions within Masain's political playing field.

His own faction and his step-brother's faction, both of which constantly fought one another slyly. For example, Jun's faction managed to upstage his brother's on the political field, where Jun managed to get another county on his side. The back and forth between the two often leads to plenty of tension within the council, making it increasingly difficult to get anything done.

"It seems we are at quite the standstill, for if it were not for a little fox, I would not be standing here. That sounds off to my ears and it makes me wonder, who pulled the trigger?~" Jun's voice sounds playful, but the coldness seeping deep within it tells an entirely different story. "How are we ever to resolve this?"

Jun's heterochromatic eyes watched his brother's pale purple ones, noticing the irritation slowly building up. It's easy to rile his brother up, who often threw tantrums as often as a toddler did.

He thought back to the little fox he met back on Astoria, who he almost believed was an assassin at first. The meeting felt too artificial, but as he watched the little fox, he realized the male was simply too..well pure to have done anything. It made his stone-cold heart beat for just a second.

Eventually, he just couldn't help trapping the male by the nearest tree, flirting just a smidgen. The blush and stutters only added to the male's innate cuteness. Jun sighed inwardly, keeping his cold expression on firmly.

Silence continued to stagnant throughout the room, as none of the council members spoke up. "Hm? If no one speaks up, i'll just have to punish you all." Jun smirked, knowing those on his faction would remain quiet as to not attract attention to their current suspicions.

"Not a single council member did anything, brother." His brother, Shun, spoke through gritted teeth, spatting out the word brother at the end. It was clear that his irritation was rising even further. All Jun wanted to do was keep pushing his buttons and leave the room, allowing himself time to create a plan to see his cute little fox again.

Ah~, he wanted to make the cutie his, but that would have to wait as he had to deal with incompetent fools. "I don't believe you, but I have no time to deal with any of this. The shadows are closing in lately and none of the guards on the outer borders are able to do anything. We'll meet again tomorrow at the same time and hopefully someone has answers for me." With that statement, Jun gracefully left the hall, where his right-hand awaited him by the door.

"General Jun! Has anyone fessed up yet?" His puppy-like right-hand asked. The younger male's curly dark blue hair bounced up and down as he skipped beside Jun, who sighed fondly. He may have a cold outer shell towards those he doesn't trust, but to his most loyal, he is like an older brother figure.

"Not yet, Lee. However, i'm positive my brother will blow up tomorrow and we'll get somewhat of a confession." Jun smugly smirked, knowing he would get an answer. He wasn't necessarily cruel, but his brother constantly played a dangerous game that he refused to lose.

"Ah ok!" Lee stated, doing a small finger salute. The two walked towards their hideout, far away from the council hall and from wandering eyes. It was hidden by a frightening forest that may never dared to venture into.

Jun and Lee both walked down into a hidden hole that lead to a beautiful walkway, full of stunning portraits of Jun's mother and glowing flowers of all colors. The walkway brought the two into a dark room full of plenty of other people, all of whom went down on one knee once Jun was in their presence.

"General Jun!" That sentence was shouted out by the other members as one, all of whom awaited Jun's signal. The handsome male lifted his right hand up, prompting those on the ground to get up. "What's the status on the shadows?" Jun stated in a booming voice, unwilling to allow the monsters to roam around any longer.

"They've been multiplying at a steady pace. No matter how many times we bring them down, a new one pops up. They've also been spreading to other countries, with Astoria being the most recent." A female with long light brown hair and a half-white rabbit mask stated. Her voice was sweet but firm.

Jun quirked an eyebrow upwards, wondering how they already spread to Astoria, a continent on the other side of the world. That only spelled disaster for them, as many of Masain's outer guards were already struggling against the shadows.

"The best thing we can do is alert the other continents subtly and possible visit Astoria to see if the riot breakouts are related. We've seen plenty of cases where other Masain citizens have become more aggressive." The general sighed a bit but slightly brightened up when he realized he could possibly see his little fox again.

His lips quirked up, making his most loyal a bit confused and curious as their general rarely showed such an expression. The male smiles here and there, but the smile he currently wears is wistful.

The female with the rabbit mask slightly turns towards Lee and whispers to him, "You know what's up with the general?" Lee didn't respond for a bit, wondering how to break the news without alerting Jun himself. "On Astoria, he met someone Yeri." That's all he says but it causes the female, Yeri, to squeal quietly.

General Jun whips around for a second, staring at the two offenders, before sighing and going back to reading the report provided to him by one of his members.

Either way, his mind is half on the reports and half on the cute white-haired male who intrigued him. When they meet again, Jun won't let him go.