Upon returning to his manor, Leo imdiately began tearing through every corner of the space, determined to confirm beyond any doubt that the ditation manual was nowhere to be found, as he did not want to humiliate himself later if the manual did end up being within his own house.
Drawers were pulled open, shelves were swept clean, and cushions were flung across the room in a frenzy. Every corner, no matter how unlikely, was thoroughly searched, but his efforts yielded nothing.
The manual was not within his manor, and now he felt certain about that fact without a shadow of a doubt.
Hence, if one were to secretly plant the manual in his house later. He would not fall for it, and know full well that soone sabotaged him on purpose.
Leo's frustration about the whole situation grew with every passing mont.
The ditation manual was important for him, for it was his main tool for improvent currently. And without it, he felt like a runner forced to sprint on a treadmill, expending energy but going nowhere, as just natural training of his skills alone was not enough to yield any important results.
"This is insane," Leo muttered to himself, clenching his fists. "Soone is deliberately ssing with . But who? Why? What's the point if they can't even use the manual themselves?"
The questions circled his mind like vultures over a carcass.
Was this an attempt to throw him off his training?
A poorly thought-out prank?
Or sothing more sinister?
Regardless of what it was, Leo knew that he couldn't sit idle and wait for answers.
Ti was of the essence in any cri, and every mont without the manual being located felt like a major setback.
Then, just as he was about to start flipping over his bed fra, he heard footsteps approaching.
The door creaked open, and Luke stepped in, his brow furrowed in concern as he took in the chaotic state of the room.
"Leo? What's all this noise about?" Luke asked, folding his arms, as he was surprised to see the littered furniture all over the VIP manor.
Leo looked like he had properly raged in the place, ransacking everything he could get his hands on, leaving only the immovable pieces of furniture intact.
"Did you lose sothing?" Luke questioned, as that was the only reasonable explanation that ca to his mind for Leo doing sothing like this.
Leo straightened, his frustration montarily replaced by a sliver of relief at seeing his brother, as he replied "Soone stole my ditation manual, brother"
"I've searched everywhere, and it's not here. I know it's not misplaced. Soone took it."
Luke's expression darkened.
"Are you sure it's stolen? But who would do such a thing? The only ones with access to the VIP sector are you, , Alia, Amanda and the staff.
The three of us won't do it, so…." Luke murmured, as Leo agreed imdiately with his line of thought.
"Exactly my point…." Leo said, as Luke raised an eyebrow in response.
"How did they do it?" Luke questioned, as Leo shrugged his shoulders in response.
"I don't know, but the Captain says there's surveillance caras all around. Whoever did this, they will find within 48 hours who it was" Leo said, as Luke nodded solemnly.
"We should trust the captain for now, but it doesn't an we can't investigate on our own in the anti" Luke suggested, as it was Leo's turn now to be surprised.
"How?" Leo inquired, as Luke's face turned into a sly grin.
"Footprints. The house has two entrances—the main entrance and the back door, right? If soone entered or left recently, we might be able to trace their steps." Luke explained, as without another word, the brothers grabbed a portable light and headed to the main entrance first.
The training ground outside the front door was a flat expanse of dirt and sand, frequently used by Leo and Alia for training and sparring practice.
The ground was littered with faint footprints, but a closer inspection revealed nothing out of the ordinary.
"These are all ours," Luke said, pointing to the distinct patterns. "Yours, Amanda's, Alia's and mine. No one else has been here recently."
Leo gritted his teeth. "Then it must be the back door."
They hurried to the rear of the manor, where the environnt was different.
The back entrance opened onto a patch of slightly damp ground, its surface soft enough to capture clear impressions of anyone who walked across it, and Leo's sharp eyes imdiately picked out a footprint that didn't belong.
"Here," he said, crouching down and gesturing for Luke to join him.
The footprint was distinct, larger than Amanda's but slightly smaller than Leo's, and it led away from the house in hurried strides. The direction was clear—it pointed toward the staff quarters.
"It's not one of ours," Luke confird, his tone grim. "And whoever it was, they were in a rush."
Leo studied the trail with a cold intensity.
"They made a mistake leaving this behind. I'll make sure it bites them." He concluded as he pulled out a dagger and began cutting a precise block of the mud where the footprint was embedded.
Luke watched silently, his arms crossed as Leo carefully lifted the block and carried it back towards the apartnt where they placed it within a cooking utensil.
Thankfully the mud block was thick and sturdy enough to hold the impression intact, making it a perfect piece of evidence.
"This footprint will lead us to whoever did this," Leo said, his voice steady but filled with unshakable determination. "No one sses with and gets away with it."
"Yep, yep, let's wait for the Captain to give us sothing back, if we can notice the footprints, I'm sure the Captain can straight up catch the culprit.
Because if not, it ans he's involved in this whole ss" Luke said, as Leo gave him a firm handshake.
"I knew I was not crazy. Sothing really was up!" Leo said, as Luke chuckled out loud.
"Of Course you're not crazy, brother. Why would you even think so?" he assured, as Leo gave him a genuine smile.
**********
(anwhile, Captain Kid)
Captain Kid sat stiffly in his chair, his eyes glued to the surveillance monitor.
The grainy footage of Leo and Luke ticulously carving out a block of mud from the back entrance of Leo's manor played on the screen before him, his heart sinking with every passing second.
"They're cutting out my footprint…" Kid muttered under his breath, his voice trembling with disbelief.
The plan that he had thought was foolproof was now unraveling right before his eyes.
He had accounted for caras, suspicions, even Leo's rage, but he had made one glaring oversight—his own damn shoes.
His gaze shifted to his feet, where his custom-made, high-performance boots rested.
Unlike the standard footwear issued to the ship's crew, these boots were a distinct design, crafted specifically for him as part of his status as Captain.
The reinforced soles, unique tread pattern, and sleek build were unmistakable.
"No… no, no, no!" Kid whispered frantically, running a hand through his hair as panic gripped him. "I left the most obvious clue behind. Anyone with half a brain will know it's ."
The realization struck him like a sledgehamr. He couldn't deflect the allegations if confronted.
There was no plausible explanation, no scapegoat he could use, no one else on the Arc Ship wore shoes like his.
The tread on the mud block would lead directly to him, and once it did, there would be no escape.
Kid's mind raced as a cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, imagining the horrific consequences of being caught.
He pictured Leo storming into his quarters, daggers drawn, his expression twisted with fury.
In his mind, Leo didn't bother with questions or explanations—he simply went straight for the throat, demanding answers with the sa rcilessness he had shown earlier.
"I'll flay you alive," Kid imagined Leo saying, his voice dripping with venom. "I'll string you up by your toes and carve out every lie you've ever told."
The thought made Kid shudder. He could see himself tied to a chair, Leo's daggers glinting in the dim light as he inflicted punishnt after punishnt.
The idea of Leo's unhinged rage being directed at him was enough to make his stomach churn violently.
"No… I can't let it co to that," Kid muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. "I have to get ahead of this."
Kid straightened in his chair, forcing himself to think rationally despite the chaos swirling in his mind. He needed a plan—sothing that would divert attention away from him while keeping him out of Leo's line of fire.
"I could stage another theft," Kid muttered, his brain working overti. "Create a diversion, make it seem like there's soone else within the staff is pulling the strings."
The idea of planting false evidence began to take shape in his mind. He could fra another staff mber—soone who didn't have the trust or loyalty of the majority. Perhaps a newer recruit or a heavily disliked worker.
But even as he considered these options, a nagging voice in the back of his mind whispered one undeniable truth: Leo was no fool. Any plan that didn't hold water would only buy him ti, not safety.
With his pulse racing, Kid buried his face in his hands. Every scenario he envisioned seed to end with the sa grim outco—Leo finding him and exacting a vengeance so brutal that it sent chills down his spine.
"I should've used soone else's shoes, I should've thought this through," Kid muttered bitterly, as he cursed himself for his own stupidity.
For now, all he could do was bide his ti and pray that Leo's investigation didn't lead to him before he had a chance to act.
But deep down, he knew that he was running out of moves, and that the noose around his neck was tightening with every passing second.
-------
Reviews
All reviews (0)