Chapter 117 - Innocent Gifts (Part 2)

"Found it!" Deon grabbed a large rectangular box wrapped neatly in white paper and ribbons. On one side was a card written with the Countess' cursive writing.

[To: Prince Deon Hensworth

Wishing you luck.

Sincerely,

Anntoinette Blaire.]

SsshhK!

The sound of ripping paper dominated the quiet office as the boy tore the white wrapping away.

"Oh, F*ck! That's awesome!" Mikael admired the countess' gift from over Deon's shoulder.

Carefully laid in the maroon velvet lined box was a toy soldier that reminded Mikael of the movie [The Nutcracker]. Only, the craftmanship was so exquisite that it almost looked real. From the clothes made of high-quality fabric to the black leather belt and boots to the shining silver sword and the finely sculpted soldier. Anyone could tell that the toy was a product of so much dedication, love, and time.

Mikael placed a finger on his chin while inspecting the toy, "I bet this is hella expensive too…"

"It's beautiful…" Dame Nora muttered under her breath. Her dark eyes glued to the toy as if enchanted.

"Yes. I've never seen anything as masterfully crafted as this even from the offerings of foreign envoys." Deon too was amazed by the countess' gift, "I-I think I'll take this one home."

So, the trio spent the day sorting through the other gifts while they waited for Finn to finish the artifact.

By the time the sky turned indigo, Deon and Nora had already finished moving the selected boxes to the royal carriage.

"Your Highness!" The forgotten Sir Gordon Blake huffed as he ran toward them, his bulging belly jiggling beneath his navy uniform, "D-do you need help, your highness? Please don't hesitate to call for us!"

In the week that Deon had stayed in the Royal Investigations Bureau as a Temporary Junior Investigator, he had never received even an ounce of help from other Detectives. The only thing they did was gossip behind his back after faking respect. They all thought that the prince would soon give up on his own. So, they left him to do as he liked.

However, when the article from Veritas came out, the entire bureau had been put over burning coals. They were forced to endure harsh criticisms so the atmosphere in the Bureau was laden with tension. Now, they clung to Deon as if he was their only hope for survival. For the past three days, they asked – almost begged—the boy to tell them where the witness was and what her statements were so they could help in the investigation and when Deon refused to share his findings, they changed tactics.

The detectives, led by Sir Gordon, tried to curry back Deon's favor.

Too bad for them, Mikael had already sternly lectured the boy not to show them mercy.

" No. I'm fine, Sir Gordon." The young prince did not even spare the Senior Investigator a glance as he stepped into his carriage.

Throughout the journey back to the castle, Dame Nora's hand never left her black sword's hilt. She observed every rattle of the carriage, keenly smelled the seats for any flammable substance, and concentrated on hearing even the slightest disturbance outside.

By now, they were sure that the criminal had heard of the Prince's article-- whether it liked it or not; whether it really reads newspapers or not, it was bound to.

And so, their group vigilantly waited in anticipation for any move from the provoked kidnapper. 

Dame Nora never left Deon's side. She even changed her quarters to be closer to the prince for extra security. The same was true for Mikael. Before the king's bet, he could take leisurely night strolls in the beautiful castle gardens, but now, he stayed holed up in the Medium even when Deon slept.

However, to their utter frustration, it seemed like the kidnapper had no intention to be baited out of hiding.

The three days of heightened alert were gradually taking their toll on the members of the Golden Dawn Order—Physically and mentally.

As the days passed, the partners worried and stressed about the case.

They told Johnny Walter to make the article as vague as possible to avoid making the wrong assumptions.

But…

'What if we were wrong? What if the kidnapper realized that we don't really have any leads?'

'What if the kidnapper never reveals itself?'

'After publicly announcing that we are close to solving the case, what if we never do? The backlash would be tremendous and we will lose the faith of the citizens!'

'The third prince will be a laughing stock!'

As they were immersed in their thoughts, the group safely arrived at the castle.

"Please be careful!" Deon warned the servants as they gathered the luggage out of the carriage.

The servants filed into his bed room carrying the gifts and placing them on the side as instructed by the prince.

"Ah, I'll take that." Deon carefully took Countess Blaire's gift from a maid's arm. He carried it into the room and placed it on his bed as if it was a delicate infant.

Seeing his partner's absurd behavior, Mikael could not help but laugh out loud in the White World, "Oi, Kid. Don't you think you're adopting too many children? You already have a baby dragon with me, A prosthetic arm with Finn, and now you've even adopted an action figure? With whom? Dame Nora or the Countess? HAHAHAHA"

Mikael held his stomach as he trembled in a fit of laughter, green eyes tearing up.

"Sir!? Please don't say such disgusting things!" the embarrassed boy shouted at Mikael as soon as they were left alone by the servants.

"So what? Are you going to sleep with that? Like a mom? HAHAHA!" the mischievous ghost teased.

"Oh, please! I'm too old for toys, sir!"

"Reaaally?"

As if he already had enough of his partner's teasing, the young prince grabbed the toy soldier and strode toward the mantle.

Click!

Sshhhh….

The familiar sound of sliding concrete resounded as the stairs leading to their secret basement were revealed.

Deon descended the dark stairs with a grumpy expression, "I'm not a kid anymore. Why can't he stop calling me that? So upsetting…"

The boy placed the toy soldier on the shelf along with his other prized treasures. He then walked away and climbed the stairs to sleep, unaware of the chilling eyes that stared at his back with a creepy smile.

–Chapter end--