735 Unexpected

The castle Kreo built for his daughter was located in a high-end area exclusively owned by Kreo.

Similar to Julius' Guardian Islands, this location, Unicorn Estate was Kreo's Homebase.

Other than his daughter and her caretakers, no one was allowed to enter the place.

Once the military escorted Kristine to him, Kreo ordered them to evacuate. The three hundred-strong awakeners left without another word, leaving the father and daughter alone.

But now, nine people were pacing back and forth on the lawn in front of the pink castle.

Each of the men and women gathered here was someone who stood at the very apex of the political pyramid.

A single word from them would affect millions of lives.

If they banded together, they could affect the economic and political landscape of an entire planet!

People of such high stature were now occasionally gulping potions to keep their blood pressure from rising.

"Are you an idiot? This can only be a prank. But because of you, so many important events of Mars are canceled today." A man in a purple suit narrowed his eyes at the man in butler uniform and spat coldly.

Out of the gathered nine, there were four political officials, four military officials, and one disciple of Kreo.

But there was also a tenth person standing stiffly in front of the castle gates. He was the one who 'informed' them of the news.

He was the peak level 8 butler who took care of Kreo's estate. At any other time, he'd be treated with basic respect.

But now, he was questioned bluntly and was even expected to answer obediently.

Despite his resentment against such treatment, he had no choice but to answer meekly.

Bowing his head lightly, the butler said. "A maid was assigned to take care of Miss Kristine's diet. She entered the castle. But she didn't return even after four hours."

At first, the butler thought she made a bad mistake and was 'taken care of' by Sovereign Kreo.

So, he decided to send another maid after warning her. She didn't return either.

Worried, he sent three maids this time and the same thing happened.

In the end, he messaged Kreo and after waiting an hour for the reply that never came, he went into the castle himself.

And there, he found it.

"A body with purple skin with a pool of blood, though the blood was fast drying up.  The face and the body, it looked exactly like him." The butler said as he fought hard not to shiver.

The reason the maids never returned was that they fainted after seeing Kreo's corpse. It was an impossible event in their mind and experiencing it firsthand broke their tolerance.

"Are you so out of your mind to think he can die?" The man in the purple suit laughed.

"President Larry, the special team already went in. Results will be out anytime soon. We'll know if it's a prank or if the Sovereign Kreo really di--"

"Careful, butler. Some words shouldn't be spoken." Larry's eyes shone with a dangerous glint.

The butler swallowed his words and nodded.

Even if they were false, if his words were leaked, they'd cause a huge uproar.

'I followed the protocol, but I hope it's just a prank.' Hoping so, the butler moved his gaze away from Larry and turned to the castle gates.

Before he knew it, his hand clenched into a fist and veins popped up.

Larry noticed the butler's nervousness and snorted.

It was impossible for his master to die. As Kreo's disciple, he witnessed his master's strength firsthand.

That's also the reason he didn't inform his fellow disciples.

Even peak Level 9s would only last a few blows against a Sovereign. So, no Sovereign could be 'killed' or 'assassinated' by non-Sovereigns.

Besides, the report, in his opinion was too sloppy.

'The heart was pierced and a lethal poison destroyed the brain.'

With his strength, there's no way anyone could surprise Kreo and lodge a sword in his heart.

Even in the impossible case where it happened, how could Kreo not have the antidote to that potent but common poison?

'Since Kristine is missing along with the master, I guess he's setting up this case so that he can spend time alone with his daughter.' Larry shook his head.

Larry was one of the few people who knew how obsessed Kreo was about his daughter.

So, he guessed that this was Kreo's way of telling them to 'not disturb him and let him spend some time with his daughter'.

It wasn't just Larry, the other eight delegates were also of the same opinion.

The President Of Mars, Matt Damon, walked up to Larry and mused. "It looks like Sovereign Kreo really wants a break."

High General of Mars, Skad chimed in. "Well, isn't it too obvious? His daughter disappeared silently and the corpse doesn't have the artifact."

"Precisely." Larry agreed and the three men looked at the nervous butler with contempt.

In their eyes, this guy had an IQ in the negative.

Feeling the despising gazes on his back, the butler's face scrunched up. 'Damn it. You people think you know Sovereign Kreo better than me? I've served him for forty years, dammit!'

The butler touched the door of the castle with trembling hands and recalled. 'Sovereign Kreo built this pink castle by himself! To him, this is his daughter's home! He treasured it like crazy.'

There was one time when one of the maids accidentally injured Kristine. Kreo rushed to Kristine's room and healed her first before finding the maid trembling in the corner of the room.

He didn't beat her. Nor did he curse her. He gently held her hand and took her out of the castle. Then, he killed her.

'I can bet my head that Sovereign Kreo didn't like any violence in the castle, much less bloodshed.'

Yet, he saw that corpse and the pool of blood. Both were real.

'There's no way this is a prank...' The butler felt his palms sweat as his heart raced faster and faster.

With a clank, the entrance of the castle opened, attracting the attention of the nine delegates.

They were itching to return to their work and just stayed for formality.

So, when the door opened, Larry instinctively said. "Say those words and we'll leave."

"H...He...."

Instead of the composed answer he wanted to hear, Larry heard a stuttering voice.

"What happened?"

The old man who opened the castle was pale. His legs were trembling violently and he was barely able to stand by clutching onto the doors.

An ominous premonition flashed in Larry's mind. But he quickly suppressed it and yelled.

"Hey, I know master wants a break. You don't need to act."

Larry's words seemed to have no effect on the old doctor. He still shivered and trembled like he was out in the cold.

"Excuse me, what happened?" President of Mars stepped forward and asked.

The old man's neck moved stiffly like a rusted machine and his eyes met the President's.

The President flinched and took a step back.

The doctor's eyes...they were filled with despair.

'Oh no!'

"If you joke around, I'll fucking kill you. So, speak the truth." The high general of mars said in a cold voice and a thick killing intent locked onto the doctor.

The old man's face flushed as he felt suffocated, but due to the jolt, he recovered from his shock and moved his trembling lips.

"D-Dead....Sovereign Kreo is dead."