亚洲综合中美

“What do you mean, devil?” the prime minister dragged behind the headstrong Igna, voluptuously bicolored pupils sought left and right top and back for a glimpse of Elvira’s coffee-colored hair and slightly tanned complexion.

“Excuse me,” inferred a well-dressed attendant, “-we’re reservation only.”

“Reservation only?” Igna’s search paused, wherein he took éclair’s arm, whomst pondered the title of devil, and dragged him to the center, “-shall this suffice?” inquired a warm Igna presenting éclair’s face as if an all-round pass. Aback by the sudden display, “-perhaps I should ask my manager?”

In éclair fashion, a holographic display propped above a rose-gold bracelet, “-here,” he said, “-I’ve made a reservation. Now, will you excuse us?” more pressing matters had the trusted minister waiting.

“Everything checks out, yes?” inquired Igna overlooking the attendant’s diligent work ethic.

“Yes sire,” he said, “-the table’s set for the private quarters,” to which he glanced farther in towards steps leading onto the elevated floor. Music swayed beside said stairs, a podium held a piano and a violin, each of which was masterfully played. The soothing melody passed the duo’s hearing, Igna’s walking slowed at the lovely performers, “-éclair,” he stopped at the stairs, “-are musicians well paid?” éclair followed the inquiry, landed at the musicians, “-ah, yes, they’re well paid,” he affirmed, “-lord Genth on piano and lady Yukia on violin. Revered performers in the world of classic music, why?”

.....

“Thought I’d pay my admiration through financial recompense,” one foot over the stair, “-seems there was no need,” hands in pocket, the noble Lord, as appeared to the estranged entourage, carried himself and the prime minster onto the upper floor.

Dressed in the dark, Elvira sat with her legs crossed in a somewhat short dress, her appealing outfit drew the attention of her date, a middle-aged man of Iqeavean nature with, a long sharp nose which broke inclination after a sizable nose bridge. Little to no hair upon the scalp, fingers unusually adorned by jewelry and a thickly layered expensive coat. The latter bore definitions of military ware.

“No,” said éclair, “-master,” he spoke in a strict and confident tone, “-the tables leading to lady Elvira’s housed to guards. The restaurant has a policy of total discretion when it comes to business dealing.” A painting thrown at the wall of the restaurant held what seemed to be scratch marks. Igna’s observant gaze thrust at the tables and eventually led to the window.

“Too bad,” added Igna, “-seems the dealings aren’t innocent in nature. Tell me,” arms crossed smugly, “-how many people have died?”

“Pardon?” he blinked, “-how did you?”

“Observation,” he said, to which another waiter ran for the duo.

“This way,” he said in an erratic pant, “-please.”

‘Well, he hurried to us, suppose our arrival’s made it to the top of command,’ the devil gave a reassuring nod, “-do lead the way,” he gestured.

Settled behind a circular table, arguably the best in the house, Igna threw a warm look at the waiter, “-we’ll order in a bit, for now, bring us the best liquor thee have. Money’s not an issue.”

“As you wish,” noted the waiter, “-I’ll be back very soon.”

“Take your time,” added éclair, “-master, how did you know about the deaths. I know there’s no connection to my internal system yet – finding out such a detail’s impressive. I know of only a few people able to deduce much from a scene, looks to me, the devil,” he said in a very liberal tone, “-has done some leveling.”

“Don’t bore me,” slashed a sudden apathetic voice, “-pardon,” the personality swapped, “-we get out of hand at times,” said a few coughs hiding flashes of purple behind red and white. “Answer to the question, tableau, we’re at a reputable establishment, point proven by the entourage, attention to detail, and quality of musicians employed. From that, we can safely assume a lot of business deals have taken place – the nature of the violence was made blatant by the change in furniture, the scraps on the painting, and the newly replaced glass. Lastly, we’re in Rotherham under the authority of our own leadership, therefore, a murder or two isn’t out of the ordinary. Seems like auntie’s not doing so great. Those military men,” he gestured by flicks of the brows, “-not from Hidros, neither are they from places I’d know of. The man has features to a foreigner – that alone doesn’t reveal much.”

The same waiter arrived with a few dated bottles cupped in briefcases, “-best our establishment has to offer,” he said, “-which would you like?”

“Price ranges from 150,000 to 400,000,” he looked at éclair, “-what can 154,000 afford nowadays?”

“Accounting for inflation – nowadays that’s the price of a modest home in a remote village or a somewhat luxurious car. Working average wage ranges from 5,200 to 7,200.”

“Right,” he turned at the waiter, looked at the five bottles that cost 1.3 million combined, “-we’ll have all of ’em.”

“Pardon?” gasped the waiter.

“Did I stutter?” he blinked, “-éclair, I don’t even have to ask how Raven’s doing. Send the bill to whoever’s leading, consider it my, ‘I’m back,’ message.”

Prime minister éclair locked eyes with the waiter, shook his head in amusement, and handled the payment wirelessly, a tap of a card and a notification snapped, “-t-t-thank you?”

“Hey,” interjected Igna before the man left, “-if you were me, which would you prefer?”

“I’d take this one,” the fingers hinted at the cheaper items, “-good tasting wine is hard to find. Heard good things about this brand on the Arcanum,” the lips suddenly locked and gaze lowered, “-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have spoken so freely.”

“Chill,” whispered Igna, “-I see the manager here’s got a chip on his shoulder. Here,” Igna rose, “-ladies and gentlemen,’ the voice carried throughout the room, “-in honor of a great service by this lovely lad here,” he pointed at the waiter, the curious and envious crowd, especially the female demography, admired the charming white-haired man, “-I, Igna Haggard of the Haggard dynasty will gratefully pay for all the bills tonight. I find there’s nothing more pleasant than to share a good experience with others, and here,” he tapped the recruit’s shoulder, “-an earnest working young lad dared to serve my companion and me,” he stepped back, “-to that, my dear fellow, I commend thee,’ quick to pull onto a briefcase, “-here, have the wine bottle, tis yours.”

The entourage, distant and avoidant on the outside, were helpful within save the exception of a few, needless to say, the vampiric allure and charm sufficed to gather a round of applause, leaving the young waiter as the star of the night.

“What was that about?” narrowed éclair.

“What was what?” he blinked; “-didn’t you see the young lad being tormented by the manager. No matter,” he sat and smiled, “-look what my little displays caused.”

Jaded black pupils looked over Igna’s shoulder, and landed upon a confused group of soldiers closing at their master’s side. The broad man stood, threw his handkerchief, spat on the floor beside Elvira, threw them aside, and glared at Igna. A band of angry guards reflected against éclair’s pupils, “-KING IGNA!” cried the broad man raising a pistol, “-YOU RUINED,” *woosh,* he vanished, left the guards stumped, appeared behind the belligerently broad-shouldered man, *crack,* knee shattered, the man fell hard onto the cold ground – panic rose on the lower floor, “-how dare you,” the devil pressed upon the man’s head, “-how dare you insult a person of my familia before my eyes?” he crushed, muffled coughs and whimpers escaped.

“Don’t!” fired a prominent screech, “-don’t kill him,” surrounding guards rose concealed weapons at Igna and Elvira.

“LET THE MASTER GO!” shouted a poor excuse for a bodyguard.

Elvira approached, a dark presence through the openness of the restaurant, her black stiletto pumps reflected ambient light, “-greetings, auntie.”

“Shut up,” she tapped Igna’s head, nudged him aside, locked onto the emissary, “-you fucking excuse for a man,” she spat, “-don’t you disrespect the Haggard name, you barrel-shaped ape,” she kicked with such force that his jaws broke and teeth fell, “-call in the cleanup crew,” she rose her heels and stomped, the bottom splattered in dashes of red, blood escaped, skull impaled, the man yet breathed, “-the fat keeps you alive, huh?” she stomped and stomped and stomped, all that remained was the shadow of a truly merciless entity beating down on a living being. Last stomp in, she threw her undone hair back, locked onto the table, reached for a bottle, popped the cork, and guzzled. The square bottle neared halfway, “-take a seat,” she slammed the drink and sat, “-éclair, head to my office, ask ’em for the clean-up team.”

“Igna,” she called, “-have you taken care of the guards?”

“Yeah,” he calmly took a seat, the fingers dripped with blood, “-too bad,” *Blood-Arts: Bloody Mary,* crystal orbs hovered, “-the lifeforce isn’t exactly appealing. I think I’ll just throw them,” he pressed, the spheres squirted red before turning to dust. “-Long time no see, auntie.”

“Yeah, long time,” her composure returned, “-a nightwalker’s body automatically negates the effect of booze. Get high for a few minutes and then it wears off. I tell you, it’s a pain when the mind wishes to escape reality. What brings the fallen king to his domain?”

“Fallen king?”

“Yes,” she sipped, “-the fallen king, times changed, nephew. The capital’s controlled by Empress Eira – a totally worthless ruler who delegates important tasks to an entourage conveniently compromising of key members from Alphia.”

“I figured as much.”

“Guess you’ve heard of Arda and Easel Run Gard distancing themselves from Alrosia?”

“Yes.’

“Same mistake,” she said, “-the same thing happened with the Federation. Once the founder was gone, no matter how hard the heir tried, there was no beating the past leadership. I wouldn’t count Hidros as a free kingdom, we’re at the mercy of the Alrosia leadership. Take that corpse, for example, an emissary of a not-so-loyal noble serving Alphia. He answers both to us and the Wracia Empire. Spies, opportunists, and traitors, it’s hard to find good people nowadays. Long are the glory days gone, Hidros’ not the meritocracy we sought for it to become.”

“I don’t mind,” he said, “-aunt Elvira, I’m here for a reason. I had to leave,” he narrowed, “-I saw the way you ordered éclair around, I know everyone blames him for my disappearance. Thing is, éclair is also tied by tighter strings, because of his selflessness, Hidros stands here today as a unique body – perhaps not free, but still, the Hidros I know and love. There’s much to say and do; my cool-down period is over, sufficient time has passed to show who stands where.”

The leader of Phantom watched, her gaze firmed on Igna’s lips, “-I’m pleased.’

“Pardon?”

“We were at our wit’s end, rummaging through darkened alleys, knocking at closed doors, and screaming at empty walls. Tell me, nephew, what doth thee wish from me?”

“Admission to the University of Rotherham.”

“No, not going to happen. I will not watch you waste time at school.”

“As a researcher. Maicite’s got more potential than one realizes.”

“Do tell,” she said sarcastically.

“There’s a new way in which Maicite can be applied. The Arcanum stands uncontested and ripe for the picking. The world’s interconnected, éclair and I have had plans to expand,” he looked outside at the star-lit sky, “-grab hold of the Arcanum and we’ll have access to everything.”

“Sorry?”

“Wait and watch, auntie,” he smiled, “-wait and watch.”