Max sat in the cell alone with Edward gone. He could feel the formations working around. It certainly was enough to restraint most of the peopleâ¦. but these things were useless in front of Max who wasn't entirely dependent on mana.
Max closed his eyes and sat on the bed, he wasn't going to get anywhere in this situation. It was better to just relax in the spirit world and train too.
Max had a strong feeling that the breakthrough wasn't far away especially after the fight todayâ¦.
â¦.
When Max finally came out of the spirit world, Edwards was back in the cell already, sitting in the corner with his back turned towards Max.
'What did they do to him?' Max thought inwardly. He didn't mean to get him in trouble. But with the situation at hand, he couldn't make himself look bad and give them another reason to target him.
When Max was about to call Edward, he noticed the patrol guard coming towards their cell once again and another person was walking behind him.
It was Learâ¦.
"You have 20 minutes, Sirâ¦" the guard said as he looked at Lear and then glanced at Edward from the corner of his eyes before walking out of the place.
"What now?" Lear finally asked as he looked at Max.
"Let's see what these people have got for meâ¦..if they shamelessly try to get rid of meâ¦I will not be seating idly, we will have to make an escape planâ¦" Max said with a smile.
"You really can smile at this timeâ¦" Lear said with a sigh.
"What else am I supposed to do?" Max said with a calm voice, "If I knew that someone was about to remove the barrier, I would have let that guy out instead of making a moveâ¦"
"Well, it can't be helpedâ¦.anyway, I don't think that they would go to extreme length in punishing you." Lear replied after giving it a thought.
"You make it sound like I was in the wrongâ¦." Max said as he started at Lear.
"It can't be helpedâ¦.do you think they would accept your explanation? Will the Edwinson House accept Victor's truth in front of everyoneâ¦" Lear asked as he shook his head. "Anyway, you didn't do anything out of the ruleâ¦..but to pacify the rage of Edwinson House and maintain their dignity, you can't go unpunishedâ¦."
"Hmmnâ¦" Max nodded, it sounded logical.
"Beside, I am sure that a few Houses will take your sideâ¦.they don't get along after all...not to mention you are definitely worth fighting forâ¦.." Lear calmly said as he looked at the time. There were still a few minutes left.
"That should be the caseâ¦.otherwiseâ¦" Max didn't continue any further. This would be his first impression of the 12 Houses in real-life when it came to himself.
He definitely wouldn't just forget or let go of people who would try to kill him, that was for sureâ¦.
Lear looked at Max and understood as well. The Noble Houses obviously would take Max as a small fry not worth their time.
But, Lear knew that if things went down the wrong way, it would be a disaster. He just couldn't say that killing people was right, but reality wasn't that simple. Several things had to be considered and decisions have to be based on what kind of impact they would carry on the overall pictureâ¦..
Even though the Noble Houses didn't Knew anything about Max, Lear knew very well. If they made the mistake and Max managed to survive, they might be done for...this guy already seemed to carry hatred for themâ¦..he would definitely try to destroy the system in the future and the Nobles wouldn't sit by idly if that happens and would fight definitely fight backâ¦.the results were imaginableâ¦..the weaker one would perishâ¦
For Lear, both the outcome wasn't something he wantedâ¦.It seemed that he had to make a move to make sure that things wouldn't go the wrong wayâ¦.
"I am leavingâ¦.times almost up as wellâ¦" Lear said as he looked at Max.
"Wait, I almost forgotâ¦.do you remember that guy, the one I caughtâ¦." Max asked.
"Yeahâ¦."
"I locked him up in the storage room...get him some food and water or he will die before I get outâ¦" Max said with a sigh. The guy really had some super glue on his lips and hadn't spoken a word till date. He had to keep him alive and he didn't know when he would be returning after all so it was better to let Lear look after him.
"Three times a day is too muchâ¦.what do I do if I get caught?" Lear said with a frown.
"That guy isn't on a vacation to have the luxury of three mealsâ¦.once a day is enough to keep him aliveâ¦.and torture him while you are at itâ¦." Max said with scrunched brows.
"Fine, I will remember itâ¦" Lear said with a nod before leaving.
Max turned around only to see Edward shiveringâ¦.the guy was sweating profusely as he continued to scream inwardly, 'Scary!!!! What kind of guy did I mess with!!!!!! I wanna get out!!!! Grandpa!!!!!'
â¦
On the other sideâ¦. Two hours agoâ¦.
Lear stood in front of the operating room with a tensed face. He had used the last of his secret savings today to pay the billâ¦.Axel had lost too much blood and was not in a good condition.
"Oh, you are finally hereâ¦." Lear said as he looked Lisa walking towards him with hurried steps and sweat rolling down her forehead.
"Where... is he?" Lisa asked out of breath.
"He is inside, they are preparing for treatmentâ¦.." Lear replied as he pointed at the glass pane.
Lisa turned her head and saw Axel lying on the stretcher with blood flowing out of his body. His shirt had turned red and blood dripped on the floor and continued to slide down the tilesâ¦.
Lisa's eyes seemed to be fixed on the pool of blood and slowly, the scene began to turn fuzzy and overlap with a scenery which she didn't know ofâ¦..
There was someone lying in front of herâ¦.blood continued to flow all around...the scene was fuzzy and she couldn't make out the appearance of the person....she didn't know what was going on â¦.but it didn't feel goodâ¦.
"Lisaâ¦."
..
"Lisa!!
Lear's voice finally woke Lisa up bringing her back to her surroundings.
"Don't cry, he will be fine for sureâ¦" Lear said with a comforting tone which made Lisa realise that tears were flowing out of her eyes.
Lear stayed with her until the Axel was treated and when his situation was finally stable, he went out to look for Max.
Lisa on the other hand, couldn't get the thing out of her head. The strange feeling had started to well up inside her making her uncomfortableâ¦...she didn't know what to doâ¦
'Is it because of my power? I need to talk to Max when he gets backâ¦.' Lisa thought before looking through the glass pane.
â¦
Current situationâ¦.
"Do you rememberâ¦...when we were in Arcaneâ¦.during our first day of club activitiesâ¦we had the same conversationâ¦" Axel said as he remembered the incident. It was something which should have been sorted out earlierâ¦..
"Yeah...Norek had interrupted us in betweenâ¦." Lisa replied in a soft tone.
"You didn't even remember my brother that dayâ¦..it seemed he was really insignificant in your eyesâ¦.I really don't even know what's the use in talking about him to youâ¦.he really was an idiot to fall for-"
"Stopâ¦." Lisa interrupted Axel as she looked at him with a serious look in her eyes.
"Don't you dare to make fun of himâ¦..last time, I didn't initially know who your brother was...that's the reason I didn't remember himâ¦.but, I did remember him as an individualâ¦.I said it at that time and I will say the same thing nowâ¦.I didn't do anything wrongâ¦.You still don't know anythingâ¦." Lisa said with a calm tone as she remembered the nightâ¦..she should have realised it...she was the one asking for impossibleâ¦.it's time to give upâ¦
"Let's end it hereâ¦..I won't disturb you anymoreâ¦.." Lisa said as she turned around and walked out of the room.
Axel looked at her and could see the water flying out of her eyes as she turned around and walked out.
Truthâ¦.
He wondered. Just what was there to hear anymoreâ¦.unconsciously, he had clenched his fist.
This was goodâ¦..he had hated her from the depth of his heart, he had said it to himself from time to timeâ¦.reminded himself of his brother everydayâ¦.so that he wouldn't lose his resolveâ¦..this was the right thing....
Lisa walked out of the hospital as she wiped her tearsâ¦.not knowing why she just couldn't stop it. She had decided to end it today because she was scared after having those hallucinationsâ¦..she didn't know what it was or why she saw themâ¦..but if it was because of Axel...she just didn't knowâ¦..but she didn't want to experience that feelingâ¦she was scaredâ¦.it was as if she would lose herself...
'Maxâ¦'
He was the only one she could go looking for answersâ¦..there wasn't anyone elseâ¦.
â¦.
Max who was quietly laying around in the cell suddenly received a messageâ¦..
?Lisa: Are you safe? I want to meet youâ¦.?
'Hmmn? What's with her?'
?Well, I am safe for nowâ¦.can't guarantee for the futureâ¦.as for meetingâ¦.we can'tâ¦.let's meet if I can get out...? Max replied, even though he could get a visit here. He wouldn't be willing to drag Lisa in these and make things complicated.
?Lisa: I will get you out thenâ¦.?
Max smiled as he looked at the message, having no idea just what she was about to do.
â¦
Later that eveningâ¦
Walker Houseâ¦.
The family was having dinner as usual with all the Lisa's family aroundâ¦.
"Dad.." Lisa suddenly said as she looked at her father.
"Yes, sweety?" The Mage King said with a smile.
"What are you going to do with Max?" Lisa asked as she looked at him. Her face was oddly serious surprising everyone around.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Kain looked at Lisa and spoke with a teasing smile, "What's wrong little sister, you are oddly showing an interest in a guy?"
The Mage King on the other hand finally remembered where he had heard the name Max. It was back when Lisa had brought his name upâ¦.regarding some betâ¦.
"Stop teasing herâ¦.you ill bratâ¦" the old man sitting on the main chair smacked Kain's foreheadâ¦.
"Common Grampsâ¦.let me have some funâ¦" Kain protested.
"How many times do I have to say, stop calling me thatâ¦." The old man said in anger.
"Sweety, it's not yet decided...We will have to discuss, about it with everyone elseâ¦" The Mage King said feeling a bit odd about her behavior.
"I don't think he will survive after what happenedâ¦." Kain said with a laugh.
Lisa suddenly stood up surprising everyone and her next words made everyone feel as if they had been struck by thunder, "If he dies, then I die as wellâ¦.."
With that Lisa turned around and left. She wasn't wrong, if Max died, there was no one to stop her and then she would die once she lost control againâ¦.
But for the people who didn't knowâ¦.
The silence continued on the dining table...â¦.
A minute pastâ¦..
10 minutes passedâ¦.
An hour passedâ¦..
They still couldn't come to terms with just what had happenedâ¦.
"I will kill that brat!!! With my own two hands!!!!" The Mage King finally got up with a roar scaring every servant in the mansion.
"Bang!''
This time, it wasn't the table but the Mage King who sent flying and broke through the two continuous walls before crashing into the toilet seat headfirst.
"Father!!"
The Mage King shouted holding onto his swollen cheek.
"What father?!! You idiot!! Didn't you see her face? You can't even tell how serious she was when she said those wordsâ¦.remember if anything happened to her, even a small scratchâ¦.I will skin you aliveâ¦." The old man said before turning to Kain. "Bring me everything you have about that boyâ¦."
"Yes Sir!" Kain immediately responded, this old man wouldn't show mercy when he was angered for real. He only loved Lisa and spoiler herâ¦.
'But...did she reallyâ¦' Kain suddenly looked towards Lisa's roomâ¦.having no idea about what could have happened and how it all happenedâ¦.