Prologue II

"Come not within the measure of my wrath."

-William Shakespear-

***

"You idiots, how could you let this happen!?" his rage was untamed when he finished reading the letter. He threw the piece of paper to the fireplace where it was devoured within seconds. Each guards on shift that night was summoned to his office.

They were shivering as cold air ran through their bare neck. They have been ordered to strip their clothes off and left with nothing but their underwear as they stood in the room further away from the source of heat.

The only person in the room beside them was one of the maid who stayed quietly on the back of the room, trying to not get involved in her master's wrath.

None of them dared to reply, each of them were staring at Dimitri wishfully, as if they were encouraging him to speak up and explain everything on their behalf, because they could not. Only Dimitri had a higher chance on standing up for them, for Vincent had placed a bit of favor upon him.

Although deep down they knew it was all useless, because Vincent had been to blinded by his rage and the only person who could calm him down is his lady and at the moment the lady was a runaway, meaning they would have to bear everything by themselves.

Such was the lives of puppets.

"We have done our best, it's just, she outsmarted all of us. We're deeply sorry, and we will continue searching for her." he stated firmly, though he was not expecting trouble with this man, he was not going to blame all the guilt on the guards as well. Yet apparently, his answer was not satisfactory enough for him.

"Are you telling me that a nineteen years old girl could deceive twenty highly trained guards, is that what you are telling me? I swear my father hired all of you for nothing, you bunch of idiots!" he slammed the table, inflicting fear upon the large grown men, except for Dimitri, who by then was already used to his hot temper.

Of course, none of the previous matters were enough to make him that furious, but somebody must stand firm on the ground while the rest were trembling.

Vincent was not exactly a large man himself, he stood at 6'0" tall with a lean muscular figure, his clean shaved chiseled face resembled a mature version of James Dean, the famous actor from the fifties. He did possess an air of intimidation and dominance which was enhanced by his family's wealth and power.

As the only son and heir of The Russet Empire, he was not someone to be taken lightly, though most of his power did come from his father, the late Wilhelm Russet, he did possess the ability to expand the family's fortune, something most people did not expect from him.

He was far from a spoilt child, but he did have quite the temper, and he was someone who would do anything to get what he wanted, including her.

He took a long heavy sigh as he tapped his Mont Blanc pen on the table, as if thinking of something which might temporary relieve him from the matter, only to find nothing. Pissed and bothered, he threw the pen toward one of the guard, stabbing him right on the lips, the wounded skin released blood to the wooden floor, but the sight only annoyed him further.

He quickly ordered the guard to lick his own blood from the ground and get lost from his sight. Everyone could only watch as the man humiliated himself for the sake of keeping his job, he looked like he was about to burst but ended up giving in to the order and bowed before leaving the room.

Dimitri had never seen him as furious as he was when he heard the news of her escape. He had no idea what was running through his mind, or maybe he knew perfectly what he was thinking. It just frightened him so much he preferred to pretend he did not.

Vincent pulled out a piece of cigarette, placing the end at the burning fireplace before placing it in between his lips. The nicotine seemed to relax him a bit, but his stare remained stone cold as he gave out another order.

"I don't care how, you must find her, before I destroy each and every one of you!" he commanded. The men could only nod as he dismissed them, including the maid. They stepped out of the room one by one, Dimitri was last to leave but before he could leave, Vincent called his name, freezing him in his place.

"Close the door." he ordered. Dimitri could feel a clench in his gut, something terrible was about to be done to him, but he did as told while maintaining a straight face as he walked toward him.

Vincent rose from his seat, taking slow steps toward him, stopping right beside the man who was two inches taller than him. He placed his palm on his shoulder while tilting his head gently toward his direction.

The tension was thick in the air.

"I did not place you beside her for nothing. You know that, don't you?" his voice was low and dangerous. He was silent, unable to answer the question. Then before he could say anything, a punch landed on his lower stomach ever so swiftly, stumbling him back with full force where he nearly fell straight on his butt.

"Find her, if you don't, you and the twenty guards will pay the price! Now get lost!" Dimitri was holding on to his stomach as he nodded his head and left. Once he was out of the room, he tried to stand up while holding back the aching in his gut. As he walked back to his room, his mind wandered to her beautiful face.

He should have known since the beginning.

That girl was trouble.