Comeuppance

Mathias woke up in a dark room devoid of any light. 

It took his eyes a while to adjust to the darkness, but once he did, he wished his vision had still remained impaired. 

He was currently laying down on a cold hard floor, in an inclosed space, chains wrapped around his body, limiting his movement. He soon realized that he was being detained in a prison in what he presumed to be duke's home. Since Mathias used to be a trained officer in the military police, he did not panic immediately.

He knew his fate. 

Best case scenario he'd be locked up in here for some time. Worst case? He didn't even want to imagine it. He knew he had no means of escaping that man but he was also aware of the fact that he couldn't stay in here forever. Not only did he not accomplish his purpose for being here, he needed to report back to the Syndicate soon, otherwise he'd be in a lot of trouble. 

"Although me even being here is trouble enough." He muttered to himself. 

"For once we can agree on something." A voice said in the distance. 

Mathias quickly shot his head up, looking towards the direction the voice came from. A tall figure emerged from the darkness. Standing in front of him was the man he loathed more than anything on this earth. 

The man looked down on him, his face showed clear indifference towards the man below him. 

This angered Mathias more than anything. He hated how cold and unfeeling he was, never showing any emotion. He most likely looked at Sylia with those eyes too. 

Thinking of the woman he loved more than life sparked a new flame within his heart, making him rememberer his purpose once again. He wasn't going to leave this world without knowing about her whereabouts. 

His once irritated countenance changed in a matter of seconds. His lips spread into a sly smile. 

"Why dear duke have you brought me here exactly? Is it to kill me?" He asked with what seemed like genuine curiosity. 

"...." 

"As you are aware, killing me would be a waste considering how I am the cure to healing your son." He said smugly. 

This made the eyebrows on Donellan's face twitch slightly. He knew exactly what this mean was trying to do and it displeased him greatly that he was holding his son over him like a weakness. 

The air around him turned heavy, an ominous aura surrounded him making Mathias shiver unconsciously. 

Drat. He thought to himself.

He forgot how bad of a temper Donellan had. He prodded too much, he needed to dial it back before he ended up with his head on the floor. 

"I would like to propose a truce of sorts. I have the means to heal your son, and you know the whereabouts of Sylia. If you disclose of where she is, I will cure your son right away . It won't even take long." 

Donellan was quiet for awhile. Mathias took this as him pondering over wether or not he wanted to strike a deal. So, he decided to prod a little further in order to get him to agree. 

"You have absolutely nothing to lose from telling me. You simply have to tell me where she is, and I will go and look for her. Then you'll get to live with your son who will most likely recover quickly. He will even get to practice the sword again!" 

".... You are right. I don't have anything to lose by telling you. The problem is you won't be able to find her with where she is at the moment.... No it's more like there wouldn't be any point in going to see her since you wouldn't be able to bring her back." 

This made Mathias' heart sink deep into his chest. The bells in his head were ringing loudly.

He almost didn't have the time to process the fact that Donellan had spoken to him familiarly at that moment. It was the first time he had uttered more than one sentence. No, he was too focused on the last sentence he had uttered. The smile that was on his face disappear and was replaced with sheer horror. 

"Y-you c-can't possibly b-be..." 

And for the first time since he's met Donellan, the man before him smiled.

A smile so daunting, so unnerving, goosebumps started to form on his arms and the hairs on the back of his head rose in unison.

There was only one word that came to mind when he saw that smile. 

Diabolical.