Chapter 452 - 448: Throne Room
"I'll be leading the case? But I just..."
Ray was visibly confused. Why was this case being handed over to him? He was under observation by the previous director. They should be suspicious, not reward him.
"I know it's complicated. The thing is that you are one of the one people we can trust," Drake answered vaguely, stunning Ray.
They could only trust him? Why? He couldn't help but wonder.
Drake didn't let Ray delve into his confusion for longer and explained further instead, "The Director of FBI was killed in this place. It must mean that our agents are compromised by a foreign enemy. You are the only one we can trust at the moment since you weren't close to either the previous Director or his killer, according to our reports and witnesses."
He turned back and walked closer to the door. He opened the door but didn't step out. Instead, he gazed back at Ray.
Gesturing him to follow, he said, "Come with me. I'll explain further. I'll give the investigation to you, but that doesn't mean you'll be the sole incharge. There are going to be three teams. You'll lead your previous team in your investigation while others will investigate separately."
"You'll all report to me about how the investigations are going."
"Yes." Ray stood up and followed after Drake.
*****
Ryder left the amusement park with Alice after spending the rest of the day there. He and Alice went on many different rides. They even went on a few rides in which Alice had previously gone along.
Ryder tried to have fun with Alice, but since he knew that Shu was dead and never going to return, he just couldn't enjoy it. There was a certain sadness in his heart about what had happened.
He could only pretend to be enjoying the rides and having fun. Fortunately, he was good at pretending, and Alice didn't find anything strange throughout the day.
It was only in the evening when the Limo returned to pick them up and to take them back to the hotel.
They reached the hotel and entered their rooms.
"It was so fun today. I feel like I'm going to have the best sleep I've had in a long while," Alice said as she entered the room.
Ryder gazed at her but didn't say anything. He was thinking about finding an opportunity to tell her the truth, but after hearing her words, he had dropped his plans of telling the truth. He was going to let her be happy tonight and wait for another opportunity to tell her the truth.
"Today was certainly fun. What's your plan for tomorrow?" Ryder asked casually.
"I don't have any plans yet. In any case, you should decide. Today was decided by me. It's going to be your turn tomorrow. Today we did something that was fun for me. Tomorrow, let's do something that's fun for you tomorrow," Alice asked softly.
"Alright. I'll decide what we do tomorrow. Go sleep now. You just be tired," Ryder replied as he agreed.
He was still waiting for her to confess to her that she had joined Divinity, but so far, she didn't. He didn't even understand why she was keeping it a secret, but he wasn't going to ask her. He could only wait for her to come forward herself.
Ryder and Alice went back to the bed and turned off the lights.
Ryder placed the Divinity Glasses once again and entered Divinity.
He woke up in the Royal Chambers of the Demon Realm Royal Palace, where he had logged out.
Opening the gates of his room, Ryder stepped out. He could see a Miyali standing outside the room.
"What are you doing here, Miyali?" Ryder asked, confused. Shouldn't she be with Miku, learning her work?
"Ah, Miku sent me here to wait for you to wake up. The High Dukes are already here. They are waiting in the Throne Room for you," Miyali answered.
"Oh, they're faster than I thought," Ryder muttered as he nodded his head.
"Come." He started walking towards the throne room.
"So, Miyali, how are you? Did you feel that urge again?" Ryder asked Miyali as he walked beside her.
"Urge? No," Miyali answered.
"Good. That's how it should be. According to Rale, you should be better now that you faced your first turning and the side effects. From now on, you can control it better. Just find go hungry for weeks again like before. You should be fine," Ryder nodded.
"Also, your body should be stronger as well. How about I get Miku to train you? She isn't a Vampire, so she can't tell you how to be perfect when it comes to strength, but she does know a good amount of information regarding Vampires. You'll only get stronger under her training," he suggested.
"There is no need. If I get stronger, I'll only be more difficult to control if, God forbid, I ever lose control again. I'm fine the way I am," Miyali kindly rejected the offer.
"Don't worry. You won't lose control again. This time we know what went wrong. You wouldn't be allowed to go hungry again. And even if you get stronger, you'll not be strong enough to take on Miku. Even though she isn't included in the strongest beings of Demon Realm, she's pretty strong indeed," Ryder answered, still insisting.
"Why do you wish for me to be stronger? Will I be helpful to you if I'm stronger?" Miyali inquired, seemingly confused.
"You will be. You're a Vampire who is half Demon. You got the best of both worlds. You can have some crazy abilities. If you get stronger, you'll be able to help me and protect our people," Ryder answered.
"You heard about what happened in Devilia's place, right? We were attacked by the Death Domain. Now we were able to stay safe, but a lot of people died. There's no guarantee that something like this won't happen again. I want you to be able to protect yourself if that ever happens again in this place," he continued.
They soon reached the door of the throne room. Ryder stopped before the doors and gazed back at Miyali.
He continued, "Only when a person can help themselves can they help others. If you can't even protect yourself, how will you save others in the palace? You can protect the lives of our people. In that way, you can somewhat atone for the lives you took. That's all I'll say."
"I won't force you. You can think about it and tell me if you are ready," he let out before he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Miyali stayed back, lost in deep thought. She wasn't allowed to enter the Throne Room so she left. A complicated look remained on her.
"Saving lives is the only way I atone for the lives I took. And I can only save lives if I'm strong enough to do it. I must do it," she finally muttered as she clenched her fist. She was prepared to do it. She thought about it a lot, and she decided to tell Ryder that she was ready after he came out of the meeting.
*****
Unaware of the fact that Miyali was ready so soon, Ryder stepped inside the throne room.
As soon as he stepped inside, Ray dropped to one knee. Miku did the same as they greeted their Prince.
The four High Dukes also stood up, but they didn't take a knee or bow. They weren't required to do it since their positions were equal to that of a Prince of the Demon Empire.
They only needed to bow to the Emperor. Ryder wasn't the Emperor yet.
"Greetings, Your Highness." Rale and Miku greeted Ryder.
"Greetings to the Prince," the High Dukes greeted as well.
There was one more person who seemed like a middle-aged man. He also greeted Ryder by taking a knee like Rale and Miku.
Ryder already realized who that man might be. He must be the new Marquis candidate that needed his validation. It was only for name's sake since he was already selected by High Duke Oris.
"Greetings to everyone," Ryder replied gracefully as he walked back to the throne.
He sat on the throne in full glory before he gazed at everyone.
"We heard you called for us. What could be so urgent?" High Duke Mila asked Ryder.
"We can talk about that later. For now, let's deal with something else," Ryder replied as he gazed at the Marquis Candidate.
The other High Dukes understood his implications. It must mean that Ryder wanted to be done with the Marquis Validation faster so that the new Marquis can be sent back.
Only the High Dukes were called here. So it must be a matter of grave concern that couldn't be shared before others.
High Duke Oris stood up.
"That's right. Prince Hades, let me introduce you to Kaia. He is the new Marquis candidate that I feel deserves this position. I should tell you his achievements so you can judge for yourself," High Duke Oris said before he went into the history of the man.