Esmi and Bastion stepped inside the premise of the Maxwell Estate, curious why this entrance was empty. But a single person could be seen through three entire courtyards, which should generally have been filled with people.

"Are you sure Ryder lives in this place?" Bastion asked Esmi as he looked around.

"Yeah, I am. Why?" Esmi asked, curious as to why Bastion was asking a question like that.

"Nothing, I just found it strange. This whole mansion is so big, yet no sign of Life can be seen here. In fact, I would have thought that this mansion was abandoned already. That's why I asked if he lived here," Bastion said.

"You're right about that. I can't say for sure either. Maybe they changed houses, and this place is abandoned?" Esmi said as she agreed. "Let's see if someone is inside the Mansion; if there's no one there, we can leave," Esmi said as she nodded her head.

They continued walking towards the main door of the mansion, unaware that someone was looking at them through the window.

....

Inside the Mansion, Eleven Kings were spread out, getting bored. Most of them were trying to think of a good excuse to leave and where to go.

The rest of the Kings were with Aluren, discussing some things about the future.

Amongst the Kings that were getting bored was the Seventh King, who was also known as the Lustful King.

He was also planning to leave as he looked out through the window.

As he looked outside, he saw someone approaching the mansion.

"Someone is coming here," he said as he looked at the others, attracting their attention.

"Who is it? Ryder or someone useless?" The First King asked without looking back. He was sitting near Aluren.

"It's not Ryder. A woman and a man," the Seventh King said.

"As long as it's not Ryder, I don't care. Go out and kill them," Aluren said. "I don't want any disturbance here."

The Seventh King stretched his arms as he yawned while walking towards the door.

...

Esmi reached out her hand to ring the doorbell, but before her finger could even touch the doorbell, she stopped as she saw the door open.

She could see a well-dressed handsome man standing before her. The dark haired man seemed like he was a handsome model who was in his early thirties.

As soon as Esmi saw the man, her lips opened wide, not because he was handsome. She wasn't dazed by his looks, but she was shocked for a different reason. It was because she had recognized the man.

"Seventh King?" She said, surprised.

"Huh?" Her words, in turn, surprised the Seventh King. The lady knew about him? How?

"Who are you?" He asked the lady, surprised.

"Ah, right. You don't know about me. But I am a part of the same organization under the Thirteenth King," Esmi told the Seventh King.

"Aunt Esmi? What are you talking about? What kings? What organization?"

Bastion didn't understand her words and asked her what she was talking about.

"Ah, you work for Renner then. I guess this guy doesn't know about him. You know our rules, right? I would have to kill him now since he heard about us," the Seventh King said as he grinned while looking at Bastion.

"Kill me? What the heck? Who the hell do you think you are to kill m-"

"Bastion! Silence!"

Hearing the words of the Seventh King, Bastion was upset and started talking back in anger. Seeing Bastion talk like that to the Seventh King, Esmi's eyes opened wide. She hastily closed Bastion's mouth.

"Ah, wait. Your name is Esmi, and you work for Renner. His name is Bastion... I understand now. He's..."

It seemed as if the mind of the Seventh King clicked just now as he realized the identity of Bastion.

"That's right," Esmi nodded.

"Alright. I won't kill him. He's a part of the organization as well, even though indirectly. Anyway, what are you doing here? Did Renner call you here? You're late. He left a while ago," the dark haired man said.

"Huh? He is here in the city?" Esmi asked, surprised.

"Renner? Is he talking about father?" Bastion asked Esmi.

"That's right. I'm talking about your father. Anyway, from your reaction, it didn't seem like you even knew about his arrival. So he certainly didn't call you here," the Seventh King suspiciously said. "That raises the question. What are you doing here?"

Hearing his question, Esmi fell into deep thought. These people were here in a place where Ryder lived. But Ryder didn't know about the Kings. So why were they here? And the missing guards, were they killed by the Seventh King?

She felt like they weren't here to do anything good. She didn't know what Ryder did, but she was worried about him now.

Ryder left last time in a hurry, as if he was in a big problem. And now these people are here. Did these things have any link? She wondered.

She started trying to think of an excuse for why she was here. She knew that she mustn't tell that she was here for Ryder and that she knew him.

"I'm here to meet my friend Ryder. Now tell me! Where is my father? I need to talk to him right now!" Bastion said before Esmi could answer.

Seeing that Bastion had told the truth already about their purpose in coming here, Esmi felt like banging her head against a wall.

'No! Things aren't bad enough yet. He doesn't know that I'm close to Ryder. I can still handle it,' she thought.

"That's right. We're here to meet Ryder Flynn, who lives here. Ryder was Bastion's classmate in college and his old friend. After a long time, Bastion came back to the city, and he wanted to throw a party, so he's here to invite him. After this, we'll still have to go to the house of others," Esmi said, minimizing their relationship to Ryder to that of only a classmate.

"Oh? Is that so? It's surprising that you go to the house of all classmates personally instead of calling," the Seventh King said with an amused smile. He wanted to see what she was going to reply.

"Actually, we plan on calling. But there are a few whose numbers are off. Ryder happened to be one of the few people who had their phones off," Esmi explained.

"Hey, are you both forgetting about me? Bastion chimed in. "Tell me where my father is. I need to talk to him personally."

" I guess your words make sense. His phone is indeed off. But I would advise you something. Leave this place and cancel the plan to invite him. Because I don't think he would be able to attend. In any case, he isn't at home. He went on a vacation, according to the servants here. He left yesterday," the Seventh King said.

"Even we're here for him—what a disappointing host. The guests are here, but he went missing," he further said as he smiled. "We're waiting for his return. Tell us if you find out about him."

As he finished talking to Esmi, he shifted his attention to Bastion. "As for you, young man. I think you're similar to your father. He also has a hard time hearing things sometimes. So let me repeat what I already said once again."

"Your father left a while ago. As for where he is now, I'm not his assistant to keep a record of it. Leave now and don't annoy me anymore. I don't want to explain to your father why his son is missing a tongue," he further added before he turned back and walked inside the mansion, closing the door.

"This rude man!" Bastion said in frustration.

"Aunt Esmi, did you hear? Father is in the city, and he didn't even contact us? That guy! His number is always busy, and when it isn't, he doesn't pick up. And now that he's here, he still doesn't want to meet us? Does he even consider me his son anymore?" He asked.

"Don't think nonsense. Of Course, he considers you his son. Maybe he's busy in something. Let's leave," Esmi said as she started leaving.

As she walked, her mind was constantly racing, thinking about what was happening here.

She didn't think that the Seventh King lied to her about anything. So they were here for Ryder. Her guess was right. And she also believed that their intentions towards Ryder weren't right.

Moreover, they said that he left yesterday. That also marches with the time when Ryder had abruptly left her. That could only mean Ryder knew about them?

How did he know about the Kings? And what did he do to make the Kings come after him? Normally the Kings didn't handle normal matters. For small things, they only sent their troops. But for them to come personally, something of great significance must have happened, she thought.