SWNOVELXO CHAPTER 120 - What is going on? 2.
The compartment door shut with a hollow thud, sealing the four inside. Unlike the chamber that the student council was residing in, this one had sound suppression enabled.
That was the reason that the chatter and music from the ballroom faded into the background, leaving only a tense silence.
Vestian's heart pounded like a drum in his chest, the weight of the situation pressing down on him. He avoided meeting Alex's piercing gaze, focusing instead on the intricate embroidery of the carpet beneath his feet.
He knew he had messed up a bit, but what could he do? He wasn't the same sly fox he used to be—or more like, he still was the same, but whenever Alex joined the equation, his expression would always falter.
He couldn't be blamed, though. Anyone in his situation, when facing someone who could control your life and death with a snap of their finger, would have a hard time staying calm.
Soon, Alex's voice echoed in the chamber. "Sit," he commanded.
Both Thomas and Vestian quickly scuttled toward the sofa next to the one Alex and Vanessa had sat upon.
"What are you doing?" But Alex's voice made them pause, both Thomas and Vestian exchanging a glance before Vestian replied, "Taking a seat?"
Vestian looked at Alex, not sure what he was doing wrong, but the way both Alex and Vanessa were frowning, he was sure that he had done something wrong.
"When did I tell you guys to move?" Alex leaned forward, his eyes locked into Vestian's before he pointed at the floor. "All I said was sit."
The meaning behind Alex's words finally settles into both Vestian and Thomas's heads, and after a nod, they sat on the embroidery-filled carpet—not once voicing out any objections.
'Their fear for him is more than what I had thought...' Vanessa, sitting next to Alex, studied both Vestian and Thomas. She had known of Alex's deal with the Pope of the Holy Empire, and although she didn't believe in others when Alex said that everything would be fine, she relented.
Vanessa was here purely in case Thomas, who was still too strong for Alex to face on his own, was to make a move against him. What she didn't know was that there was no way they could do it.
[Looks like the fear of the slave seal is still fresh in their minds.]
Commented Sophie inside Alex's head, making him nod to himself, recalling the first time he had bought the slave seal.
It was at the time he had Vestian and Thomas held captive. He had some 250,000 system points at that time, so he bought an item that could help him for a long period.
It was a slave seal—one that directly binds one's soul with their master.
It was costly, taking around 100,000 of the 250,000, but it was worth it. All Alex had to do was make one accept being his slave, be it mental acknowledgment or verbal.
Once that is done, the slave seal registers it as acceptance and marks that person as a slave.
A slave can never even think of betraying their master—that's the principle of the slave seal. If one goes against it, endless suffering awaits.
During the starting days, both Vestian and Thomas had experienced that pain for hours, making them almost lose their minds.
So now, they dare not think of anything against Alex even by mistake, resulting in them always getting scared in his presence.
"Now, Vestian," leaning back on the sofa, spoke in a relaxed yet measured tone, "What happens to a slave that fails to follow what he was ordered to?"
Vestian swallowed hard, suddenly feeling his mouth dry. "I... I didn't fail," he stammered. "I followed the script. I did everything you asked."
Alex leaned forward again, his head tilting as he studied Vestian like a hawk sizing up its prey. "Did you?" His voice dropped—almost a whisper—but it carried the weight of a storm. "Because it looked to me like you were about to choke back there."
Then, with a pondering look on his face, he questioned, "Do you know what happens when one chokes?"
Vestian shook his head, his breath hitching.
Vanessa chuckled darkly, cracking his knuckles. "Neither do I. But I'm dying to know."
The tension grew as Vestian, under Alex's gaze, could do nothing but tremble like a lamb about to be slaughtered.
But just then, Thomas finally spoke, his voice low. "Master, he did what he was supposed to." As he felt Alex's sharp eyes moving at him, he shuttered, his head lowering, "P-Please be merciful."
Thomas didn't want to help Vestian. He didn't even like that guy. From the moment he knew of Vestian's true face and the fact that even he was manipulated by Vestian, his view of Vestian had changed.
Thomas was an honest man. He gave generosity with generosity and dishonesty with hate.
The only reason he was helping Vestian despite the betrayal was solely because both he and Vestian were on the same boat now. Even if it was because of Alex's order, Vestian was still the one he was supposed to protect.
Alex knew this as well—the reason Thomas even stepped forward to help Vestian was because of his own order.
Thomas really wasn't a bad guy. Even his willpower was so strong that although Alex had made him his slave, Thomas, under the seal's torture, never accepted to work under Alex. That was until Alex accepted not to harm the innocents in any of his schemes—or at least try not to do it until no other options were left.
So, after staring at the guy for a while, which felt like an eternity to both Vestian and Thomas, Alex finally shrugged.
"I guess it was better than worse," he leaned back on the sofa with those words, letting his body sink in it.
Both Vestian and Thomas let out a shaky breath at that, relieved that things didn't escalate. None of them wanted to experience the pain they had felt before ever again.
Alex's expression shifted abruptly as he sat back straight. "Now, let's discuss the real reason we're here."
At those words, Vestian and Thomas also straightened, the former pulling a sealed letter from inside his coat and holding it up for all to see. The wax seal was unmistakable—it bore the crest of the Holy Empire.
"This letter arrived yesterday," Vestian said with a serious tone. The seal on the parchment was still unbroken, clear that it hadn't been opened, much to Alex's satisfaction.
"Would you like to hear what it says?" Vestian asked as he touched the seal, ready to break it on Alex's order, but Alex just stared at him with a black look. "Duh," he tilted his head with a deadpan look, making Vestian fumble as he broke the seal of the letter.
Right now, everyone's focus was on Vestian's words, even Vanessa, who was here just to keep watch.
Clearing his throat to not mess up again, Vestian began to read. "To my loyal servants within the Drakathor Empire, you are to start attacking the Drakathor Empire using the church's believers. Do not rest until the Empire is plunged into war with both pro-church factions and Empire loyalists at each other's throats."
The words hung in the air, heavy with implication. Thomas tensed up, and so did Vestian, while Vanessa just shifted on her seat, her eyes flashing coldly. Everyone was aware of what this letter meant.
"So, it has begun," Alex muttered. Alex had known this since long ago. The church was not the one to back down so easily.
But that didn't mean Alex wasn't prepared. Alex was more than prepared. He had been preparing since the moment he took in both Vestian and Thomas as slaves.
His first step in the negotiation, which was forcing the church to relinquish some of its control, was the first but not the last move.
"Have you done what I had asked you for?" Alex then questioned Vestian, his expression serious since the topic right now wasn't something they could take lightly.
"Yes. Almost all of the church's members are under my mind control ability." Vestian nodded solemnly, and although Thomas didn't like how Vestian was controlling innocent people, since no one was being harmed, he stayed silent.
"Almost?" Alex, however, frowned when he heard Vestian's words. "I want them all under your control in the next two days by hook or crook."
Alex's words hardened Vestian's expression, but he still nodded, knowing that he didn't have any other choice.
This was Alex's second part of the plan. To take control over the church in the Drakathor Empire.
Alex didn't have influence in the empire, and this step would solve many such problems related to influence for Alex.
"Now," leaning forward, Alex spoke in a low voice, "Remind me what I have told you guys to do."
Nodding their heads, both Vestian and Thomas started to tell their parts in the plan and what they were going to do—all that Alex had told them to do.
Vanessa from the side just listened to everything, her expression still cold, but her eyes kept flashing with pride. 'He really is an exception...'