Outside the Grand Master's Room

As if waiting for something, an unsteady hand taps gently at the wooden doors, and a well-dressed lady dressed in a long white dress that covered most parts of her body except her bare feet enters the chamber.

She takes off a necklace decorated with red pearls hanging from her neck onto her waist as she continues walking forward until stopping beside a tall man seated on a black couch facing the doorway.

The woman glares straight into the eyes of the large baldheaded man; with skin as dark as obsidian—and then speaks to him. "Was there anyone suspicious or anything?"

"No ma'am." The baldhead replies—a slight hint of annoyance present in his voice, "Nothing seems to have gone wrong so far."

He glances towards the Grand Master's Room where Rihan has disappeared, "We're just taking precautions that everything goes smoothly—"

"I understand, Sir Grinder, but I just received news that Sir Wennen was arrested. I want you to make sure that nothing happens here!" She says loudly enough to penetrate through the door.

"Our reputation will surely suffer if the Royal Family gallantly march in here now just because they took the Golden Key! That won't look good for me nor the clan, no matter how much my family owns the pavilion."

Grinder scoffs quietly. His quirked eyebrow suggests his feelings towards the young lady before him.

"I know you don't agree with what we did, Your Highness," He pauses briefly before saying. "But what do you expect us to do about it? We were ordered by the Clan Lord himself not to attack and release Sir Wennen without their permission."

A short laugh escapes from his lips before stifling it and continuing with a smirk, "What would you prefer to go to war with the Royal Family? Or should we follow our orders like loyal subjects of the clan?"

A huff leaves her face after hearing Grinder's words and she sighs exasperatedly, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at him again.

"Do as you please, Sir Grinder. Just promise me that there won't be any problems with the security tonight."

"Of course." He answers respectfully despite his earlier comment to his boss' daughter.

"Good." She pats Grinder's shoulder gently, "Now, go check the other areas and make sure there are no rats from the Royal Family sneaking in, alright? Also, inform everyone that the Chief won't be able to return tonight, so have the guards on high alert."

With a smile, the woman turns around and begins walking away when a thought suddenly occurs to her.

She stops just outside the Grand Master's room, then frowns lightly, turning back towards the two men before speaking quietly "One more thing, Sir Grinder."

"Yes ma'am?" He responds without looking at her.

"If anything happens here today," Her tone softens slightly with concern while gazing at Grinder who stares directly ahead without flinching or moving an inch from his current position.

"My father and the rest of the Blackwell Union's is currently going through some major changes due to my father entering closed cultivation to breakthrough—" she stares intently into his eyes as she continues slowly but firmly.

"So if something goes wrong due to this incident today which leads to us losing the Golden Key permanently"—her eyes glance downwards briefly.

"I will personally end yours and Sir Wennen's pitiful life."

Grinder pauses before replying. After sighing deeply and clearing his throat, "Don't worry Your Highness. We'll get it done."

"Good." The young lady pauses for a moment, poking her tongue out pettishly; her nose crinkling in disgust, then quickly leaving the chamber after her sentence finishes.

Grinder turn and looked at the stairs behind him, watching the tall figure in white leave the Grand Master's Room silently like a ghost.

When the doors close completely with the sound of heavy footsteps following after her, Grinder turns to a large mirror next to him with annoyance clearly visible on his face.

"Damn that stupid princess! What's up with that temper of hers?!" curses under his breath softly like prayer, part of his face morphed into a hideous beast-like creature with its red scales glistening beneath the torc's light.

A short growl leaves his lips as soon as his reflection stops changing shape, "No, I must control myself," anger as his gaze focused on his own reflection.

With an exasperated grunt, the man takes deep breaths before resuming staring at his reflection. "It would be wise not to anger my superior." He mutters under his breath.

Suddenly, a clinking sound came from the Grand Master's Room and all of Grinder's attention went towards the wooden door leading inside.

Suspiciously, he listened carefully—with caution and careful steps, he walked towards the Grand Master's room slowly and quietly.

Just when reaching the doorway, his hand stopped just beside the keyhole while his ear was pressed against the thick wooden door.

Inside the Grand Master's Room

Rihan wiped his forehead, which was drenched in a cold sweat. "Shit! I almost screwed up," said Rihan pensively as his hands caressed a necklace of carved ivory beads and ornaments that hung from his neck.

He glanced at the wooden door nervously before placing it inside his pocket.

He turned around with some difficulty because his body had stiffened when the sound of the necklace clinking against the door rang out like an alarm bell throughout the quiet room.

He had his back to the wooden door and after a few minutes of silence, he could hear Grinder giving up on trying to listen.

The sounds of rustling fabric gave him away, but otherwise, everything seemed fine.

Maybe he hadn't heard anything? His thoughts were interrupted by someone stumbling upon the wooden floorboards behind him.

They creaked slightly beneath their weight. With his eyes fixed on the spot where the noise originated, Rihan saw a small shadow moving towards him slowly.

It came closer until the shape took form into that of a puppy's head covered with furry black hair.

A yellow-white eye opened and blinked twice before shutting again quickly. This was followed by another blink before the dog's tail wagged excitedly and she began sniffing the air all over.

"It's you!?," grumbled Rihan as the puppy nibbled his fingers.

She growled playfully before barking sharply.

"Shhh!" He patted her head gently while whispering to himself. "You'll alert them."

The puppy jumped off his lap; running toward the wooden wall with its smooth surface and staring intensely at it.

After scratching herself against it, she returned to sit beside him again.

"I can't believe you're alive," said Rihan smiling widely in front of the little dog.

She ran past his legs, around the couch—which faced a wide window made of clear glass that offered a stunning view of a lush garden outside—and circled back to lick his hand once more.

Her long ears perked up from time to time and gave out soft whines.

"Your little boy, Xiao Hei was very loyal indeed." He looked down at the animal lovingly. "Thanks to him I was able to escape from those monsters without much trouble or injuries."

He chuckled slightly as if talking to himself. "We could've escaped together, but he didn't make it ou—" Rihan's smile vanished when his memory flashed vividly across his mind.