Chapter 38 - Arrest

Bang!

Before Kaiser could even say anything, the door to the house flung open. As the three turned their heads to the sound of intruders, several figures entered and crowded into the home, all wearing the same official's uniform of the Lunargard Council.

Kingsley was the first to react. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded with a scowl. As part of the highest rank in the council, how ridiculous can it be to see lower-ranking guards tamper with his business with Colleen? No, the order from Bon Banson itself already was much more than absurd. Making such a scene was a direct humiliation to the Valanar family that Kingsley tried to avoid at all costs. But now seeing them here…

Was he too slow in carrying out the task himself?

He clicked his tongue, tense.

One of the female guards stepped forward, her voice firm. "Kingsley Hastamvidé, representative of Strom Tribe and the son of Bradley Hastamvidé, you are to be summoned immediately!" she announced.

Colleen and Kaiser turned to stare at each other in confusion. They didn't know what was happening exactly, but they could sense right off the bat that Kingsley had known nothing about this beforehand.

"What urgent matter is more important than this?" Kingsley rebuked in annoyance, his scowl only deepening. "I'm in the middle of an important matter, and you all have just ruined it! This matter should be carried with such delicacy and utmost privacy-!"

"There are sightings of Blaze Estereon from the eastern gate! Chief Banson wants you to retrieve her and send her to prison right away to start the interrogation process!" One of the male guards beside the woman spoke up with urgency in his voice, taking Kingsley, Colleen, and Kaiser by surprise.

"What?!" they exclaimed in disbelief. They shared a look of uncertainty.

"I'm going to the gate!" Colleen instantly headed for the door, but the guards stopped her before she could get anywhere close. She froze, stepping back nervously with her head held high as the point of a dragon-slaying spear pricked her neck. They formed a half-circle, weapons drawn against the single, unarmed woman.

"You are under watch for being suspected to be conspiring with a criminal. We apologize, Colleen Valanar, but you are going nowhere."

Colleen gritted her teeth, fists clenched in anger of such madness, but there was nothing she could do about it. She figured this was bound to happen after Kingsley told her she was now a criminal, and even prepared herself for this exact scenario. Yet she could not help the rage from showing on her face as she tried to suppress it as much as she could.

Kaiser butted in, trying to break the tension between the two parties. "A- ah, hey!" he interrupted quite awkwardly. "Let's lower the weapons! I think you got the wrong person. Colleen is not-"

A sharp voice cut him off. "And who are you?!"

The guards parted to two sides, clearing a path from the door as a blonde woman stepped in from the entrance, her footsteps confident. Her fierce golden eyes stared forward through her thin glasses, her long hair swishing back and forth in a high tail. She stopped just in front of Kaiser and jabbed her spear at the empty space right beside the skin of his neck. "Don't make me repeat myself," she hissed at Kaiser's puzzled expression.

Kingsley's eyes widened, rushing towards Kaiser with his arm outstretched. "Remain silent!" he ordered, but it was too late.

"I am Colleen's future husband!" Kaiser proclaimed before Kingsley could stop him, oblivious.

Kingsley sucked in a sharp breath. He did say he would send them both to prison earlier, but he didn't know why, he still attempted to save Kaiser by getting him to shut up. He knew very well what would happen to him if he said anything, but clearly, someone who seemed to have peas for a brain had no idea what was going on.

'Tsk. Cowser, you fool! You are the perfect example of bone-headedness!' Colleen cursed him in her mind. She pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers in resignation.

"Captain, if I am correct, he is Kaiser of the Dyingstar branch family, first cousin of Yvonne and Quintel Dyingstar. I think sending him to prison is not a good idea," one of the guards whispered into their captain's ear.

The blonde-haired woman raised a sharp eyebrow. "Oh? Is that right, now?" she remarked bitingly. Her spear arm lowered as she eyed Kaiser up and down, pondering what she should do with him as she circled him slowly.

'Jessica, you son of a b*tch!' Kingsley cursed, squeezing his fists tight in such anger that his knuckles turned ghastly white. Of all the Council brigades, Jessica's was the most annoying. Even though she came from the same tribe as him, he didn't like her and her men one bit. Anything they did was simply vexing.

Then, Jessica's brows raised as she seemed to recall something. "Oh, I heard of him, their 1-star Dragons-slayer cousin," she harrumphed. "The Earth Tribe representatives won't care about him. Send him to prison as well!"

"But, captain…it could still turn ugly for our brigade," the young guard argued, trying to explain his point. "It will tarnish the Dyingstar family's high prestige in the Council, and we'll be the target of blame!"

"Are you questioning my decision?" She cocked her head to the side, deliberately staring down at him to assert her dominance.

Kingsley stepped forward and forced her weapon away, standing in between Kaiser and Jessica. "You don't have to do this, Jessica. I am the one in charge of this! You, are simply a brigade captain!"

Jessica pushed her glasses up on the ridge of her nose, fixing them firmly in front of her golden eyes as she smirked at Kingsley, staring straight into his burning eyes.

"Oh, are you colluding with the culprit, Kingsley?" she asked, sarcasm evident in her voice. "I am certain your father, Bradley Hastamvidé, would not take a liking to such news- ugh!"

Her mocking tone was cut off as Kingsley suddenly yanked her in by the collar, his fingers finding their way around her throat.

"Don't you dare involve my father in this, I'm warning you!" he seethed through clenched teeth, his expression darkening. "You are stepping off the wrong foot by provoking me, Jessica. I can and will destroy several generations of your family if you get on my nerves!" His storming face tightened, contorting into a nasty snarl.

He had been holding in his mess of emotions since the day of the expedition and was barely bottling it all inside. But now – especially right now – he just couldn't keep them in any longer. It was his final warning to anyone who would pick on the final straw that would let his pent-up feelings finally explode.

Jessica's heart skipped a beat, her breathing becoming raspy. "Ki…Kingsley…"

His overwhelming pressure and hatred seemed to suffocate her as she stared into those terrifying, bloodshot eyes, her head pounding loudly in her ears.

"Kingsley, let go…please!" she gasped.

Unfortunately for her, his grip only tightened.

"Kingsley, let her go!"