Chapter 330: 330
Evangeline was put to sleep and blindfolded by the agents of the Shadow Mercenaries . It took them a few days before they were able to get back to the base which was always changing its location . Upon the return of the group, Richter was there to greet them .
"What of Drake?"
"He"s dead . "
"Good . "
That was the quick interaction between Hektor and Richter as they talked about the death of a long time ally . Seeing as Drake was one of the weakest in the group of ten, losing him wasn"t that much of a blow . After hearing Hektor"s report, Richter s.h.i.+fted his attention to Evangeline .
"Place her in my study . . . Without her p.a.w.ns she"s pretty much a weakling . After you"re done with that, I want you to prepare for a guest"s arrival . " The six who heard what Richter said saluted at him, and left . Hektor headed to Richter"s study, while the other five started to prepare for the coming guest . It was easy for them to tell who this mystery guest was .
. . .
Evangeline who had been sound asleep opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was an old man wearing a similar yet different uniform from the other people in the Shadow Mercenaries . His presence alone made it easy to tell who this person was . Evangeline who was placed sitting on a chair in front of Richter stood up and did a curtsy .
"It"s a pleasure to meet the grandfather of Alex . I"m Evangeline Kain a friend of your grandson . " Richter smiled amused, seeing how Evangeline acted the complete opposite of how Rachel reacted upon meeting him .
"Hmm, interesting . . . Very well I shall introduce myself as well, I am Alex"s grandfather, Richter Greyhound . Now the tedious pleasantries are over let"s get down to business, little girl, I heard you like my grandson . . . What if I tell you, I can give you his love?"
Evangeline was already expecting this to be one of the question Richter would ask her . Ever since the death of Drake, she knew that she would stand face to face with Alex"s grandfather at some point . With that scenario in mind she started to think of numerous ways of how their conversation would go, and how she would respond .
"Your offer is enticing, but I will decline . I want to gain Alex"s love with my own efforts . "
"I see . . . Another question then, aren"t you angry at me?"
"Why should I get angry at you?" Evangeline said this line with a calm smile on her face, which betrayed nothing of her inner turmoil . Richter who was great at deducing what people really feel, couldn"t get a good read on what Evangeline was truly feeling at the moment . If she were hiding her anger she was doing it so well, that she was able to fool even him .
"Aren"t you angry that I have captured your friends?"
"Captured? Weren"t they invited to a party like I was?" Evangeline looked genuinely surprised when she said this, which made Richter smile in amus.e.m.e.nt .
"She really is the total opposite of Rachel Regius . "
"I see, so you"re going to keep up this charade . " Richter who was sitting across the room from Evangeline, placed his hand on the table in front of him and leaned his head on it a bit .
"Hmmm?" In response to what Richter said, Evangeline tilted her head acting as if she was confused at the whole situation .
"Let"s see if you can keep up this act of yours once I show you this . " Richter took out a remote and clicked on one of the b.u.t.tons, which made a huge screen come down from the ceiling .
When Evangeline saw what was on the screen, her facial expression twitched a bit, before returning to the confused expression she had . In the large screen six different locations were being shown . Each one of the locations had a friend of Evangeline"s .
In a normal looking cell, Kei was there and for some reason he was doing pushups . In another jail like place, sat Emily who had both her hands and legs bound . Niel was also present and when Evangeline saw what was done to him, her facade nearly broke . Niel was placed in a small room, his whole body was being bound by chains, and there was a steel mask covering his mouth .
Oliver was also placed in a similar situation, while Rachel was being detained even more harshly . Rachel was placed in a similar small room same as Niel and Oliver . Rachel had not only been bound by chains, but she was also wearing a straightjacket, like both Niel and Oliver she was wearing a metal mask . Yet her mask was different from the other two, her mask not only blocked her mouth, it blocked her eyes as well . She was also being suspended up in the air using the chains that bind her .
Seeing her rival and friend being treated like that, made Evangeline extremely angry, yet she kept it hidden within herself, as she didn"t changer her facial expression .
Evangeline then s.h.i.+fted her attention to the last person on screen, it was Alex . Unlike the others, he wasn"t bound by anything, in fact he was only wearing some tattered looking shorts . Yet he looked like he was having the hardest time among them, Evangeline who saw Alex"s expression was about to tear up, but she held it all in . She couldn"t believe what she saw, Alex was sitting in a corner of the room crying while clutching his forearms while they bleed, and he also kept on mumbling "There must be a way, there must be a way," repeatedly like a broken record .
Evangeline who tried to to keep a confused expression, couldn"t fool Richter . The moment Evangeline looked at the screen, Richter noticed some twitches in her facial expression every now and then . He also noticed that Evangeline clenched her fist involuntarily .
"Why are you showing me this? I already know you have my friends, so what"s the point?" Evangeline still tried to play it cool, but Richter already knew what she was truly feeling . So before Richter answered Evangeline"s question he stood up and took something from a nearby closet .
It was a chessboard which he placed on top of his desk and started to set it up . While he was placing the pieces on the chessboard, Richter finally answered Evangeline .
"Nothing much, I just wanted to know what you truly felt, and as I expected showing you that, gave me the answer I needed . "
When Evangeline heard what Richter said, she knew that she somehow blew it .
"So now that I know what you truly feel, how about a game of chess?"