Chapter 23

Amias was suddenly called in by Luciel to return to the castle immediately. He assumed it's most likely due to the prince and he immediately regretted helping him out. 'Man if you're going to sneak out, you could have done it more discreetly' he thought to himself as he teleported. Upon entering Luciel's office, he took notice of the serious face the king had and began to mentally prepare himself for a scolding.

"Do you know why you're called here?"

"I may have an idea but I'd still like to know anyways"

"Hmm, take a seat first and take a look at these"

Amias took a seat at one of the chairs in the office and Luciel walked up towards him and handed him a folder. Upon opening, it was profiles of Amias' underlings who were deemed missing in action.

"You're wondering why I'm showing you these profiles. Well I'd like to ask you to explain yourself"

Luciel flicked his wrist and several images flew from his desk and levitated in front of Amias. Several of the photos showed that some were still alive and in hiding. The one that particularly caught his eye was the one with the previous prisoner that had escaped. It was an Angel that Matthew sent over back to attack one of their bases but got poisoned and thrown out by his men since he can no longer use his powers.

"I…"

"You reported that these soldiers were either massacred in the ambush 25 years ago or gone missing and yet why did I get reports of their sightings near areas where Matthew is most likely to be hiding?!"

"I did! But those reports were only submitted to me by these very people and when they went missing during one of their campaigns I wasn't able to check since everything was happening quickly. You should know this Luciel!"

Luciel angrily scratched his head in frustration which resulted in it becoming a mess. He redid his hair tie and fixed his breathing. Amias was right, none of them left their stations and they were all under his watchful eyes. Besides that, unlike Azazel who willingly followed Luciel and left Matthew's faction, Amias was one of the many that Matthew cast out and even tried to kill for being different. But since El was still around at that time to keep Matthew in check, Demons were spared their lives at the cost of becoming the Villains in the eyes of the world.

'Amias has no reason to betray us and neither did those demons. So how come these photos exist?'

Someone may have been purposely trying to sabotage them from within. This was the only logical explanation in this scenario. Thankfully Luciel learned to be rational rather than act upon his emotions like last time. Amias can see Luciel's frustrated expression and he could not help but sigh.

"I have already devoted my life to serving you ever since I was cast out. I have no plans of betraying you since we share a goal in achieving that long-forgotten paradise" Amias began to recite his true feelings. He rarely shows this side to anyone since it's the same as lowering your guard.

"Paradise is far from being achieved if Matthew continues to plot against us" Luciel comments and Amias nods in agreement.

"I will look into this matter immediately and interrogate those who were included in the campaign"

"It's a bit impossible for them to remember those details Amias, what I would like you to do is something else. I'd like you to tell me why you gave my son a charmed jacket and where did he go off to?"

"About that…"

Amias proceeds onto explaining the situation between him and Kaiden. He wasn't sure either where Kaiden went but he was certain it had something to do with the child Gideon that he had obsessed over. By all means, he'll support Kaiden if ever he feels feelings for that child since it would probably be more beneficial for everyone if that was the case.

Luciel on the other hand felt like he was aging despite the fact he didn't age. His son spent 11 years with him but had not been this clingy to him in all those years. And yet he was clingy to a young boy he had spent what? Two? Three years? Thinking about the situation made him rethink the initial reason why he had called Amias for.

"Amias, Go find Valerie Dixit once again and do a background check on Gideon"

There was too much mystery that shrouded that child and it might be the link they are looking for.

Kaiden and Gideon were still on their fake date. The food was not bad. Although there were people back in the castle that cooked better than this it was still different eating it with someone. Gideon quietly ate his soup. It was an onion and meat broth soup that had bread and cheese on top. The Mother and daughter duo were watching them from afar, gushing with one another.

"How is it?" Kaiden asks and Gideon puts down his spoon to answer.

"It's good soup"

"Not to your liking?"

"Not exactly that it's more like" 

Gideon glanced behind him and immediately the two ladies looked away. He already felt their stares and could overhear some of their conversation that would make anyone blush.

'Just how shameless are the people in this novel?'

"Aren't you just cute for being shy"

"Just who the hell are you calling cute?!"

"Shh they might find out"

It's rather the opposite really. The two giggled at how much of a hot head this person was and how that conflicts with his physical image. It had a charm to it that drew people in and made anyone tempted to enrage him further to see his expressions.

Gideon bit his lip and angrily finished the remaining of his food. Kaiden savored every bite of his pasta with a grin, he felt very satisfied seeing Gideon blushing red and angry. It sounds terrible if you put it that way but for him, it was kind of like revenge in his own way. No one gets hurt and he's entertained, a win-win situation for everyone!

After paying for their meal, the mother-daughter duo gave them a coupon telling them to come back next time and they'll get a free dessert.

'Hah? Next time? Like that'll happen'

"Are you still angry?"

Gideon ignored Kaiden's question and looked into the paper bag that had the things he bought from earlier. Well to correct himself, the things Kaiden bought for him. He mentally started to count how much these items cost.

Seeing that Gideon was still ignoring him, he took it as a yes.

"Be honest, do you hate me? If you don't answer I'll take it as a yes"

"I don't hate you, Kaiden" Gideon immediately answered.

'I never had, never will. I am only terrified'

"Then why do you seem like you won't accept anything from me?"

"Eh?"

"You got even more upset when I made you pretend to be my partner… Wait, do you have a partner already?!" Kaiden's eyes widened at the realization that he did not put Gideon's relationship status into consideration.

'You're really making things harder yourself between the two of you, Kaiden' He thought to himself.

"I don't have a girlfriend"

"A BOYFRIEND?" wait does that mean Gideon really is-

"NEITHER!" 

Gideon was a mess. This man managed to make a fool out of him every second. Why did Kaiden suddenly care about his love life? This was just pure chaos all in a span of a few days of being with the protagonist.

Kaiden responded with an "oh" and nodded his head in acknowledgment. So Gideon was single and he didn't ruin their now recovering friendship. He mentally sighed in relief and suggested that they would go around more since they only explored one part of the Southern Capital.

Gideon refused, he already wanted to go home now. He knew that the longer he stayed with this protagonist, the more ridiculous things would get. He did not have a thick face to withstand all that shame.

'It's enough adventure for this poor soul. Have mercy on my dignity'

"Nah, you're spending the rest of the day with me"

"Kaiden, it's already four in the afternoon… by the time we get back to Central, it would be late"

"Then we can just stay here for a few days"

"No"

"Why not?"

"Kaiden, I know you want to be on good terms with me again but you can't force me to stay here with you. I'm really thankful for today but please be considerate of my feelings on the matter."

Kaiden was silently staring at Gideon to the point it made him bite his tongue for talking too much. It's not like Kaiden will hurt him out in public right? If Kaiden dares to do something then he could just run away and call Stephen to pick him up.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I'll take you home now as promised"