Chapter 244

Vorbuk started walking in the direction of the Gazebo to meet back up with King Micah and the dragon, Bredret. A sudden sound of footsteps bringing him to an instant halt. Those footsteps weren't noticeable until they were hauntingly close. It was a familiar presence that he'd already met once before coming outside.

"Duke Heket," Vorbuk spoke roughly, "is it your habit of sneaking around?"

"Ah," Duke Heket paused as if he had to think about it seriously. "I have been told I may seem to come off that way a bit."

"... A bit." Vorbuk repeated that last bit as if he was in agreement with it.

Duke Heket watched Vorbuk cautiously for a moment, speaking after thinking about something carefully, "Thank you for allowing me to meet with Aoki. It was a long time since I was able to see that one."

That one? He referred to Aoki was if he was a thing rather then another living being. The duke held no real care for that vampire. In fact he was not close to Aoki in a familiar sense. They knew each other well but the duke had no real intent to meet with Aoki simply out of kindness. No, he never cared about Aoki. He wanted to meet him for another reason that the duke refuses to speak about.

"Did things go well?" Vorbuk tried to pry into it. He wanted to know what the duke was really up to within his palace.

Duke Heket's expression froze as he replied, "Not as well as I had hoped."

"That's a pity." Vorbuk's words were so forced that neither one of them believed he really found it a pity that the duke's intention to meet Aoki had seemed to be a failure. Though both of them knew they could not be blunt about it to each other. If they pointed out the duke's real intentions not being pure it would only disrupt the situation that they both wished to maintain calmly for the time being.

Vorbuk's eyes glanced around to locate Prince Leo but it seemed the prince had already went to find him with King Micah at the gazebo. It was not a far distance as he could the figure of the prince noticing that he wasn't over with them. The prince wont remain with King Micah long as he will rush over as soon he realizes Duke Heket was alone with him. That was something Vorbuk did not need magic to foresee as the prince often worried over him.

Duke Heket sneered as he heard Vorbuk's response before slowly asking him, "Did something happen, your majesty?"

"Would you like to join us for a drink, Grand Duke Heket?" Vorbuk asked in return in an effort to change the subject quickly. He could see Prince Leo heading their way out of the corner of his eye already.

"It would be an honor, your majesty." Duke Heket smiled with a respectful bow.

Vorbuk did not wait for the duke to continue talking. After hearing his answer Vorbuk turned and strode towards the gazebo. As he came closer to Prince Leo he could see the confused expression on his face. He had already heard everything from King Micah before rushing over to check on Vorbuk. Though the prince had not thought Duke Heket would also be joining the four of them for a drink as well. Things were beginning to look more complicated to the prince.

"What happened?" Prince Leo whispered to Vorbuk as he kept pace with him.

Vorbuk glanced back and saw Duke Heket following slowly from behind. It felt as if the duke was deliberately giving them distance to converse in front of him. The look on his face as he smiled behind them was as if he was saying, "Carry on. Don't worry about me." It gave Vorbuk the chills as he felt uncomfortable already.

"Someone from Drethia was involved. Besides Duke Heket have you seen anyone else from Drethia here tonight?" Vorbuk whispered back to Prince Leo as they walked.

The prince shook his head as he thought about all the faces he had seen until now, "I don't recall seeing anyone I recognized from Drethia. That doesn't mean someone wasn't missed. Do you think the duke was involved?"

Vorbuk hesitated as he shook his head slightly, "It's impossible to tell but we shouldn't let our guard down just because he wants us to help him."

"Right," Leo mumbled, "we can not let him realize anything."

The three of them entered the gazebo, glanced at the other two who were already waiting, and took their seats around the table. With all five of them sitting together with drinks brought by the servants of the palace they drank in silence for a while. King Micah kept casting cold glares in the direction of Duke Heket. Vorbuk had the feeling that King Micah did not think kindly on the duke.

Together the five of them represented a different kingdom each on their own; King Micah of Cista, King Vorbuk of Theapan, Prince Leo of Cadirade, Grand Duke Heket of Drethia, and Bredret as a dragon was able to represent Axania the kingdom of dragons.

"We seem to have extra company with us." King Micah spoke slowly as he sipped at his wine glass.

Vorbuk flinched slightly at the sudden words from King Micah and replied to him, "Yes, Duke Heket of Drethia, he seems to be joining us for a drink tonight rather then enjoying the banquet inside with the others."

"It is an honor to share a drink with his majesty, King Vorbuk. Why would I miss this to talk with the other nobles?" Duke Heket's words were as sweet as they were fake. Nobody was able to believe a word that came out from him as they sat there. It was impossible to understand if Duke Heket was aware that they knew he was pretending because he continued to carry on his farce kindness. Vorbuk felt nauseous just listening to his compliments when the duke gave them. The aura that Duke Heket carried when he spoke kindly felt as if a wraith was trying to reel you in closely. It was terrifying and gave him the chills.

"Just drink.." Vorbuk sighed as he had no strength to come up with words to say in this situation. The tension in the air was so thick it felt like you could cut it with a knife.

"You don't need to tell someone else that." King Micah muttered as an echoed response to Vorbuk's remark.

"Shut up!" Bredret shouted in response as soon as he heard King Micah's comment. It was clear that King Micah's words were directed at Bredret's heavy drinking. Things with him had become so bad lately that even Vorbuk did not feel surprised by how much the dragon had downed during the banquet so far. There seemed to always be a drink in Bredret's hands. It was difficult to say how things might go if they continued.

Vorbuk understood that the dragon was going through a difficult time but he had no way to deal with the dragon's drinking problem right now. He felt stressed enough that he wasn't certain he wouldn't have one himself tonight, "How old are you two exactly?" It felt like dealing with children.

"I don't know." "Lost track." They both said at the same time.