"He warned us to never lurk around Seraphina Castello again or he'll kill us the next time.

"

Lukas leaned back to his chair as his purple eyes narrowed into slits.

"An assassin…

" he repeated.

Roy gulped the lump in his throat as he began to feel anxious about what Lukas would do after hearing them fail. Will he get mad and punish them? He can't read their master at all...

"He is very skillful,

" he added. To alleviate himself? To justify why they got sent packing? Maybe both.

Lukas took a deep drag on the cigar and exhaled it slowly.. His head then tilted to the side almost lazily and stared at them in indifference.

"Have you gathered the information needed?

"

"Yes, we have,

" Roy immediately replied with vigor. It was their redeeming factor thus the enthusiasm.

"We made sure to copy all the documents about the Castello family from the registry of the kingdom. We had also observed Lady Castello for a few days and gained more information about her before we got attacked.

"

It sucks because they had only been watching her for a total of three days and had not gotten anything that satisfies even Roy's standard in information gathering. If not for that one assassin…

He could also not get mad that much because damn it, that assassin was good! He even made him look like a fool.

'Ah… I want to meet that guy again and ask for a rematch…'

Lukas brushed his hair away from his forehead.

"Alright, you can go. Leave the files here,

" he ordered.

Roy glanced at Elric who already had the files in his hand. The both of them bowed again and left the room afterward.

After the two were gone, Lukas's eyes landed on Elric who had come forward to deliver the said files.

"Did you send your good men for this mission?

" Lukas asked out of the blue.

His voice was flat but Elric could hear what he meant by that. He was asking if he did follow his order to send the best people for the mission. There was an underlying threat too so Elric swiftly braced himself and explained his side.

"Roy is an elite mercenary of the guild, albeit new to the position. I can attest to his strength and skills,

" he said.

Roy may look like a child… or a girl at that, but he was one of their best. This is why he was promoted as an elite member in no time.

"An elite huh? And he still got overpowered,

" Lukas mumbled. His mind drifted, a thoughtful look on his face,

"There is a person like that in a small kingdom like Wisteria?

" he whispered.

Lukas knows what being elite means. Heck, he has two elites working with him 24

/7 and they are both great at their job. Elric had mentioned that he was new but nonetheless, an elite is still an elite.

"Yvan,

" he suddenly called out.

The ashy-haired man on the side immediately stepped forward upon his call.

"Yes.

"

"What do you think?

" Lukas asked, still lost in his thoughts.

Yvan's brows furrowed as he was confused for a moment.

'Think about what? The assassin? What do I think of him?'

His master could not just word that question any better…

Lukas, in the end, didn't wait for his answer and issued a command instead.

"Go and finish the mission,

" He then halted for a second and added,

"--see if this assassin can be coaxed to work for us.

"

'Ahh… That was what he meant.'

"As you wish,

" He affirmed. Before he leaves, a thought suddenly pops into his mind. He had been curious for a long time and maybe this is a good opportunity to get an answer from him.

"Master, can I ask something?

"

Lukas took his precious time before responding to Yvan.

"What?

"

Yvan cleared his throat and without beating around the bush, blurted the question out.

"Do you perhaps like Lady Nadia?

"

'Why else would he pay so much attention to her if he doesn't?'

He was so curious, even his twin too. Who wouldn't think of that when he's out here doing things for the lady. He had even put Ylmer on surveillance for her, and that was after meeting her the first time in person. Ylmer would then come back and report every single day except for these two weeks because they were away.

But whenever Lukas is at the empire, if not Ylmer or him, it would be their master himself who would go and watch her from the shadows. It was bugging them for so long now and wanted to ask before but just couldn't find the right momentum.

Is he perhaps interested in women now? When he always wasn't?

When was the last time that their master took a liking to the opposite sex? He couldn't remember. Because it never happened. He hates everyone after all.

The question startled Elric. He too was curious about the master's answer so he waited in bated breath. But it sure didn't faze the impassive Lukas who just calmly gazed at his aide.

'Like?'

What does he mean by like? Liking a person romantically? Seeing her as a woman?

'Heh. How foolish is he?'

Ah. He probably has been giving her way too much attention these days. That's why he asked him that...

"No,

" was his flat response. His lips then stretched into a wicked smirk,

"I am only interested in her at the moment because of her mysterious power and my anima's reaction towards it. Nothing more.

"

That's right. That woman is interesting in that matter only to him. If she didn't possess such strange and mysterious powers, and if his anima could just shut the fvck up and leave him be, she would just be another person like anyone else. Until he could figure out why Nox kept fussing over that woman whenever she's near, he will continue to observe for now.

His electric purple eyes then glinted as he dragged the cigar on the ashtray.

"Now go.

"

Yvan didn't try to ask more and could only obey. But at least he got enlightened and was even reminded of his master's way of things.

That's right, his master doesn't care about anything unless it benefits him. Why did he forget about that?

Yvan saluted.

"I will be back, master,

" he muttered and went on his way without any more segue.

---**

Note: Nox is the name of Lukas's anima.