A few minutes earlier...

[Hey, Perc... listen to me.]

Ethan’s voice spoke directly into his head.

Percival’s eyes widened slightly, adjusting his body on the couch. They were still at Ethan’s.

’This is still weird, I won’t lie,’ he spoke back into his thoughts. ’Can I at least get a warning first?’

[Goddammit, Percival, listen.]

’Okay, okay, jeez.’ Percival now gave more focus.

[Audrey came to the company] Ethan’s voice returned.

That was enough to get him fully alert. Percival sat up immediately, losing all laziness in an instant.

Hayley, who had been on the couch beside him, noticed the sudden shift. "Why are you acting weird?" she asked.

Percival raised a finger toward her without looking. "Hold on."

Ethan’s voice continued. [I don’t have much time. She wants me to go with her... and I will]

Percival’s face gained an agitated look. ’What? Why?’

[People’s lives. But if my guess is right, wherever they take me—will be at the same spot they’ve been hiding all these while]

[It has been hard to find, but with me there, I might be able to get the right direction. I’ll map that into your mind and you should also be able to see it.]

Percival replied. ’What do you need me to do?’

[I intend to fight them once I get there, I can’t let her slip again. But there are two grandcasters, and I still don’t fully know the extent of their abilities, so I can’t guarantee a win]

[That’s why I need you to get Isabella and Hayley; I want it be very certain that we win. Regardless of the abilities our enemies possess, they won’t be able to face multiple grand-class opponents.]

Ethan went on, giving a few more quick instructions. They were short, direct and left no room for confusion.

Then, the connection suddenly cut off. It had done so because it was at this point that Ethan had gone with Anton and Audrey.

Hayley sat up now and leaned forward. "What’s going on?"

Percival didn’t answer her immediately. He just stared ahead for a second, processing what had just happened.

Then he spoke. "They took Ethan."

Hayley’s eyes widened.

——

A few minutes later...

Ethan had already been transported.

He was inside the Hidden place, Audrey’s room to be specific, positioned by a wide window that looked out across a small island and into open water.

His eyes dropped to his palm as he raised his hand slightly. The mark was there.

That was what Anton had placed on him before they vanished from Stark Industries.

Ethan studied it briefly, wondering. ’Was this how the barrier had been bypassed?’

It was the only explanation that made sense. Nothing else could have slipped through his defenses that cleanly.

Across the room, Anton had already made himself comfortable, lying back on the bed as though none of this concerned him.

Esmeray stood off to the side, watching quietly.

Audrey returned from the other side of the room, with two glasses of wine.

She gestured lightly with the second glass towards Ethan who watched her with a stern expression.

He declined.

"I’m not here to kill you," she said calmly. "In fact... I want to start with an apology."

That made his eyes shift, just slightly.

"I overstepped the last time we met," she continued. "Threatening your control over your industry was unnecessary. For that... I apologize."

Ethan hadn’t expected that, but he said nothing still. Because right now, the supernatural awareness passive skill was in play.

He wasn’t focused on her words, but instead was mapping. The structure of this whole house came together quickly in his mind.

It was a compact building with two floors; and the location was an isolated island.

However, he could feel the surrounding waters and the structure of Gritnia’s sea port within the range of his awareness.

The distance from here to that port wasn’t extreme, which meant that this house wasn’t that deep into the open sea. It was closer to Gritnia’s side than anywhere near the demon continent.

This narrowed things down. With the port’s layout now traced in his mind, all he had to do now was work backward, estimating direction, distance, and curvature in a bid to pinpoint exactly where this island sat relative to the port on mainland.

It was at this time that his ranger class became the most relevant.

By simply setting his sight across distance, any skilled ranger would be able to judge approximate range, and identify the correct turns to take.

And with that, Percival was going to bring the others here, regardless of the fact that it was hidden under a cloak spell.

Audrey continued speaking. "But understand this, I will take over. Whether you agree or not."

She took a sip of her wine. "The difference is... I no longer need your support. But I would prefer if you stayed out of my way."

"As long as you don’t move against me... this can end without further complications."

She continued without pause. "I’m doing this because, like I said... I don’t want to see you dead. Stark Industries has the most potential in this country, and I would prefer it remains under your control."

She took another sip from the glass before setting it aside.

"There are people who would rather see you removed. Permanently. But against my better judgment... I’m choosing not to go that route."

"All you have to do... is stay quiet while the transition happens."

Ethan stared at her for a moment before speaking. "Tell me something, Lady Audrey, why are you so obsessed with this throne? The obsession has gone beyond Cynical.... The lives you’re willing to take for it, I don’t understand it."

She smiled. "Regimes are meant to change."

Ethan let her continue speaking further without interrupting. Actually, the question he threw out earlier was to keep the talk going.

At this time, he truly did not give a shit about what her reasons were. He simply needed a few more minutes to be done.

The mapping in his mind had nearly completed, everything aligning as he extended the final trace toward Percival through the mental link.

——-

At the same time, downstairs...

A large round table occupied the center of the room, where the king’s children were gathered.

They were eating.

Alistair sat at the head. To his right was Sylvia, composed as always, with Rayla and Tristan seated beside her.

To his left were Clara and Mara, both part-werewolf. They had a quiet presence.

At the far end of the table sat Archibald, the king’s second son. He had this pale, flawless skin, while long black hair fell loosely over one eye, giving him an almost careless appearance.

But his expression carried disappointment as he stared directly across the table.

Merlin was standing behind Alistair, like a chaperone observing the scene, though his eyes had already caught the scowl that hadn’t left Archibald’s face.

Finally, Archibald spoke.

"We’ve been here for more than two weeks now," he said, in an irritated tone. "And we barely understand what’s going on, Alistair."

Alistair raised his eyes towards him, took a measured drink, and set the glass down.

"Everything is going according to plan," he said. "When it is our time to play our part... you will be informed."

Archibald leaned forward. "Or you’re saying that, because you don’t actually know what’s going on."

That made Alistair lower the fork in his hand until it dropped on the plate. He suddenly felt this growing annoyance.

Merlin placed a hand lightly over his mouth. "Oh my."

Archibald didn’t stop. "Face facts, You don’t know, Alistair."

"For the last week, it’s been her and that grandcaster, Anton. And in that time, he knows more about what’s going on than you do."

"The father of her child."

"Archibald!" Alistair called out, as though giving a warning.

But his brother didn’t care. This frustration had been building.

Archibald went on, pointing slightly upward, "we know she’s back. We can hear her moving around, speaking to someone"

"But I bet you didn’t even know she was going to make a sudden return to this house today."

Alistair’s expression contorted even further.

Archibald then leaned back, lowering his tone a bit. "Here’s a piece of advice, brother. We may want the same thing from Audrey, that our father shouldn’t be on that throne...But that woman wants more than that."

"You might believe that after all of this, you’re the one who will sit on that throne. But It won’t be you, It’ll be her."

"And even if you are the one sitting... you won’t be ruling anything. You’ll just be her pet while she runs the whole show."

Right then, Alistair stood abruptly that the chair scraped through the floor. He slammed his hand on the table with enough force to rattle the plates.

"Merlin..." he whispered.

The trickster smiled. And in the next instant, Archibald began choking. His hand flew to his throat as his body seized, his face flushing red almost immediately.