Chapter 988

Chapter 988: What truly happened?

“Someplace else he says.”

“Her place?”

“Most likely.”

“Should we intervene?”

“No, long as the king performs his kingly duties, we have nothing to worry about.”

A sprawling new apartment complex – fitted by the best of the best, a combination of three tall buildings build as if a peeled orange rose over the extended skyline. At the middle laid a circular mass – a mall of some kind, inspiration taken from the greatest architectural marvel of the century fixed upon Rotherham.

A relaxed pace guided Igna through the new roads and pathways. Guard details were tight as was the security. He continued, hand in his pocket, and scaled its slope. ‘-Rosespire’s growing at an astounding pace,’ he observed and reached the mall’s yard. Traditional food stalls were a common sight. Ordinary folks laughed and walked. Regardless of the massive buildings – the ground below served as a resting space for the rest. ‘-Hidros’ social differences aren’t pronounced as I remember. Nobles and commoners interact without the heaviness of prestige breathing down their necks. Seems a good time as any,’ he passed the center display of bronze structures. Arts and craft students were hard at work, painting or sculpting still lives. Pass the relaxed atmosphere – he headed towards one of the three buildings dubbed, ‘Apartment A.’

.....

‘A bit on the nose,’ a tap of the phone begot a beep. He entered a clean and stylish reception. Workers handled their duties with the most respect. ‘-residents,’ he spotted and made for the lift, ‘-stars if I remember correctly,’ indeed It was so, a couple – a beautiful actress known for her comedy and an actor known for his agility. ‘Top floor,’ he pressed silently – the lift rose.

“I’m here,” he entered a grand foyer, “-wait a moment,” said a distant troubled voice, “-in a bit of a bind.”

“Right,” he entered, changing shoes for warm slipper, “-of course, tis a bind,” he had visited the apartment so many times at night it felt wrong to stand there in daylight. White overalls caught his eye, and afterward came the steaming pile of vegetable goodness, “-morning, Syhton.”

“Morning my foot,” she giggled, “-it’s nearly afternoon.”

“Had trouble on the way here. You know, castle life. Anyway, how have you been?”

“Good,” she answered, “-very good.” A hearty meal graced the table – lunchtime, they ate. Casual talk led to teasing and flirtatious comments. For a virtuous goddess, actually, for one who was a virtuous goddess, her mind was as dirty as the slums.

When it mattered, the conversation deepened into solemn tranquility. Igna took up a seat at the lounge. Television played at a whisper’s volume. Syhton returned in a more presentable outfit, placing a thick-black briefcase onto the table, “-there,” she smiled, “-as the richest person on this planet, I hereby share all my wealth and associated businesses with my lover, the devil.”

“Your lover?” he narrowed.

“Pardon me, I got a bit ahead of myself.”

“Don’t be,” he held her hands, “-we’ve spent so much time together – I don’t mind us being called lovers. Clandestine meetings are exciting and invigorating; there’s so much I can barely contain myself. It’s honestly helpful. Thank you, Syhton.”

“Look at us now,” she dropped at his side and threw her feet over his, “-who would have guessed a goddess would fall head-over-heels for a devil.”

“Who would have guessed I’d take your baits so easily. No matter, the past is the past – let’s take some time to ourselves.

“No,” she rose her finger, “-if we start you won’t go back to the castle. Work comes first,” she smiled, “-I have much to attend to as the owner of so many companies. Hard to keep a low profile when income is twice if not thrice that of kingdoms.”

“Yeah, I never expected thy net worth to decimate ours, that’s saying something.”

“Told you,” she gave a quick peck, “-religion is a profitable business, more so than any around.”

The apartment later grew a stroke of color in the background, ‘-my personal wealth skyrocketed. I have so much money now, that I can even buy out one of the great fours and still have plenty left over. Forget the money – Syhton influences the world. Chosen few of the Church of the Stars share information with the church of Lucifer. History’s lost this bitter part of the olden days – the two churches used to be one. Where there was money to be made, the factions split and deviated. Explains the deep-hearted hatred, not just the empty threats of a collection of ideals.’

Rosespian Castle rose as any other day, “-éclair,” he entered the prime minister’s office and dropped the payload, “-take a look,” he smiled.

“Majesty,” a tired expression rose, “-barging into someone’s office is crude, don’t you think?”

“Get used to it.”

“And?” he pulled the case and dawned reading glasses, “-what is this?”

“A surprise.”

“Springing Riaz’s request on me surprised enough. I don’t think there much you ca- holy mother,” he rose, “-WHAT IS ALL THIS?”

“Contracts of partial and full ownership of many of the top businesses in the world. We speculated about a shadow leader ruling the world’s economy, the shrewdest tycoon to ever walk the earth. Turns out, the person was a lass, no ordinary lady either, a goddess. Her area of expertise; religion. Take it all in, such is the fruit of our labor. Have them incorporated within Raven.”

“Not Phantom?”

“No. Raven it is,” he said, “-oppose to two conglomerates fighting the four of Alphia, let’s make another. Three on four seems fair, and in fairness, the third has the power to decimate anyone with sheer financial prowess.”

“Papers don’t lie.”

“Nor do people,” quipped Igna, “-only if one is blessed to catch lies as they form. Nothing a little bit of practice can’t help.”

*Incoming call, Count Stark,* read the interface, “-have the implementation a top priority. Riaz’s arrival is scheduled a week from now, plenty of time to plan,” the room shut to an instant, “-hello?”

“Majesty, it’s me, Count Stark. I was wondering if we could meet in private?”

“Where are you currently?”

“At his majesty’s office.”

“Wait no further,” a nonchalant snap, “-here I am,” the call hung, Igna strolled – leaving fragments of the teleportation spell to flicker. “-why the sudden audience?”

“On the matter of Celina’s death,” he took a seat, “-I pieced together what happened.”

“You have my fullest of attention.”

“Peculiarities of this case are rather strange. It seems the scheme was planted not long ago – around the time her agency, Doel, filed bankruptcy. Apparently, they were contracted under a greater business – one by the name of Zei. I searched deeper on the latter and found nothing. More, if not, all of the fired employees were absorbed into the greater Zei, all with exception of ‘-talents’ so we call idols. Even here, as I continued my search, I arrived at a particular discrepancy. Celina’s musical abilities and degree carefully read her profile as one of a great and skilled musician. Her various trips overseas, playing alongside the greatest in the classical world – the list continues. Then, it came to me, as I found another less interesting profile. This time, one belonging to an untalented idol known for only her looks and brazen attitude. Nothing compared to what her colleague had accomplished. There comes the question, why did the latter get hired, and not the former. Was it looks? Certainly not, Celina’s well-defined and foreign features were a success on social media. Her follower count is a thing to behold. Then, there’s her musical skill – it all leads to this; every major agency shut its doors to her. If good looks, hard work, and talent weren’t able to make her stand out, I wondered what would... my search continued for days until I found the lead I needed. Her counterpart, an idol by the moniker of Pixie, was spotted applying for another agency. It pays to have contacts. Intervention from the ministry of justice procured most of her information. Her banking activity was highly strange, the balance would grow suddenly even when she remained unemployed. I took it upon myself to scout a newer hotel booking she made – what I discovered slowly made sense. What I came upon were men readying a filming set – the actor was a well-renowned performer. The idol known as Pixie turned her attention to the adult industry – a subject still taboo per pressure from the many religious factions. We spoke a while, she told everything when I mentioned a greater involvement from the crown, here I quote her response.”

“I love Celina to death. We’re friends or were until the agency began acting weird. Money became an issue. I constantly doubted myself for not performing my hardest during our live shows. Our band consists of nameless good looking teenagers and young adults. We knew deep down hard work was one constant – Celina brought most of our shortcomings. Her energetic persona on stage even allowed her to perform alongside Vorn. We hailed her as the savior of our low-ended agency. After they declared bankruptcy, many of us retired and I was left in an unknown city fighting for my survival. We surely thought her talents would have carried into a greater agency... nothing ever came from it. We were left helpless and wondering what we would be if she wasn’t hired. To our complete surprise, many of the agencies decided to hire most who choose to remain, all except Celina. I tried my best and failed – my manager eventually said my body and persona would be great for the weirdos on the Arcanum. It began innocently, I guess, taking lewd pictures and whatnot. Didn’t take long for it to escalate and I was scouted to become a star in the adult production. Saw it as an opportunity for it was either that or prostitution. Celina and I lost touch; what I heard from friends is that she turned a new leaf. Taking on a business instead of pursuing a life of creativity.”

“I initially expected the girl to be antagonistic – her words were sincere, had no reason to doubt. The sudden hires came because of a favor Celina asked of her guardian. She turned down Julius’ offer for employment and asked for her comrades to be granted a chance. Everything spirals down from here – loss of job meant loss of money. Her many astute investments broke one after the other – the other agencies rejected her offer as they heard what she had done. Lies and infectious rumors spread – Pixie and Celina’s close friendship became a curse for many who suspected Celina to be in the adult industry. Who would care for a sullied reputation? I dug some more and found the last ditch effort was to gather enough money to purchase Deol and lead her own agency. A short-lived dream for when her account had reached a sufficient amount – all the money was withdrawn and she was no were to be found. My conjecture is so; Celina worked hard to accumulate the money – she went to purchase the business, however, was subject to a deal gone wrong. Her head was shaven as a claim to fame and the money stolen. Deol truly was on sale – though, one discrepancy bothered me, no singular entity could own the rights – only a business or a proxy of a business could have the leverage for purchase. Such is how she died, and how it was meant to be backtracked. The legend of a hardworking lady brought down by corruption and greed; is the dirty truth of any stable society. Being just is sometimes not enough. All my sources and references are in this letter, you may check for yourself.”

“What about the true scheme, what’s the thought without proof?”

“Someone carefully orchestrated the fall of Deol. It moves linearly, how the agencies became rogue, how the idols were made to do unspeakable things, how money was short, and how the greater company decided to pull the plug. Makes one wonder, what truly happen,” he exhaled, “-on the matter of Celina’s death, against my better judgment, I ought to say, it will remain unsolved.”