“It’s me.” Hearing Mike’s voice, Alexander and Austin shared a stunned look. They felt Mike had caught them red-handed doing something without his knowledge. Of course, they were just trying to figure out what happened to him.Alexander gave Austin a reassuring look, then got up to open the door. “What’s the matter?”Mike looked tired as he stood at the doorway, his eyes bloodshot. He looked inside and asked. “Austin’s here too, right?”Alexander glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah.”“Can we talk inside?” Mike raised his brow, then rubbed it. Feeling he was acting a bit off, Alexander nodded and stepped aside. “Come in.” He left the door open and led Mike inside before pulling a chair over. “Take a seat.”However, Mike did not sit down. Instead, he stood beside the table and looked at the two. “You were talking about me, weren’t you?”Embarrassed, the other two fell silent. Not knowing what to say, Austin coughed with his fist held to his mouth. However, Alexander bluntly an
Alexander and Austin could not understand why Mike admitted it.‘Isn’t he under the drug’s control? If not, why would he obey Rhea’s commands? Did we guess wrongly, and Mike’s willingly working with Rhea? Is he confronting us to show off what he did?’Not keeping them in suspense, Mike continued, “Yes, I was the one who freed Rhea, and I did it on purpose.”“She hypnotized me,” Mike added.“Hypnotized?” The other two did not consider that. However, hearing the term, Austin felt it made more sense now. “Hypnosis,” Mike nodded and continued, “Of course, she might have used some drug, but I wasn't sure how it worked. What I do know is that she performed hypnosis on me. She wanted to control me so that I would let her go. So, I did.” Austin blinked in confusion. He held up a hand and said, “Hang on. What did you just say? You knew she wanted you to free her, and you just did it?”When Mike nodded, Austin could not help but say, “Do you know what you’re talking about? Are you und
“You want to know why she failed to hypnotize me, don’t you?” Mike asked first. Alexander nodded. Austin was curious about it as well. ‘If Mike only intentionally helped Rhea, why was she so confident that her hypnosis had worked?’“I guess you could call it a coincidence. I’m predisposed to insomnia to begin with. Years ago, I slept lightly and woke up easily due to busy schedules and irregular routines. It was always the same, even when I took sleeping pills.”After a pause, he said steadily, “I later visited many doctors and even a hypnotist. At first, hypnosis did work, but I grew immune to it over time. Maybe my subconscious mind was resisting it. Anyway, I found it harder to fall asleep.”“When Nick was around, my insomnia got better. However, recently…” Alexander and Austin could have guessed what happened. Since a highly dangerous organization had captured Mike’s son, it would be hard for an ordinary person like Mike to fall asleep, let alone someone with his condition
Mike was calm enough to consider all that and did not blame Alexander and Austin. They were right, after all. However, Mike did not enjoy being suspected and treated as an outsider. Having sensed something was up, he struggled inwardly for a long time before telling them the truth. “I’m glad you’re not upset.” Alexander nodded. He noticed Mike was no longer the same.Although Mike was still worried about his son, he did not let his emotions influence his thoughts and judgments. “You told Rhea what Dr. Blanc said—” Austin felt Mike shouldn’t have done so. However, Mike interrupted him. “Firstly, didn’t Dr. Blanc claim the invisibility potion was real to test my reaction?”“Yes,” Austin said as he palmed his cheek.Although Mike did not mind it, he felt embarrassed admitting this.“So there’s nothing wrong if I told her about it, right?” Mike shrugged and explained, “Also, I know I shouldn’t mention Dr. Blanc, but I doubt they know who he is or what he does. They would only sus
Austin was the first to break the silence. He cleared his throat and looked at Alexander askingly. “So, what should we do next? Pretend we don’t know anything or act like we’re assuming Mike’s under Rhea’s control?”Pointing at Mike, Austin pondered this but did not know what to do. The situation was too complicated for him to handle. He had a way with medical problems, but their scenario was complicated.‘How do we solve it without incurring complications?’Unable to figure it out, Auston consulted Alexander.After some thought, Alexander said, “Let’s pretend you didn’t confess to us and that we’re still suspecting you. Let Rhea keep thinking you’re under her control.” Mike nodded in agreement. He would not have told the other two about his plan if he was not concerned about them jeopardizing it. He only told Austin and Alexander to make them realize the situation was not as bad as they had imagined.Mike also did not want them to think he was incompetent. In other words, he ha
“It doesn’t seem like Mike’s been poisoned. However, his wrist pulse is abnormal, so something must be wrong with his body. The organization’s creations are bizarre and anti-human, so I can’t tell.“Still, his life isn’t in danger for now.” After a pause, Austin looked at Mike. “In other words, you’re not dying anytime soon.”Although it sounded blunt, Austin was being candid. “That’s good enough.” Mike withdrew his hand, unbothered. “As long as I don’t die anytime soon, it won’t be an issue.”“What the hell are you talking about? Being okay now doesn’t mean you’ll be okay later on. Various viruses don’t take effect immediately, okay? No one knows what her virus will do to you!” Austin was upset because he had suffered from Rhea’s creation before.Seeing Mike taking it so lightly, he could not help but feel angry. Austin thought Mike had not realized how severe the onset of the poison could be. However, Austin was wrong—that was not what Mike meant. The tired yet resolute Mike
Fred had always been an efficient man. He did not delay handing Rhea the information she asked for. She was shocked to realize Fred wanted her to hypnotize a Yudonian prince.After reading it, she became familiar with the prince’s characteristics. However, she could not understand why Fred wanted to control him instead of the queen.'Everyone knows the queen has governed the country for decades. She has three sons and some grandchildren, but no one knows who she’ll pass the throne to. So, what's the point of hypnotizing Prince Ross? How does Fred know he’ll be the king?'Rhea could not figure it out but dared not ask Fred about it. She could only study Ross’s information carefully in hopes she could perform the task well and impress Fred. “Well, since I'll meet the prince soon, I should play it by ear and see how things go,” she told herself. Fred came that evening and asked, “How's your preparation?”"I'm ready, Your Grace. I've memorized all the information about the prince.
"Don't worry, Your Grace. I'm sure I can develop anything. The stuff probably exists since Dr. Blanc could detect traces of an invisibility potion. Perhaps it's still kept in the house where Alexander held me.""So you know how to make it?" Seeing her scheming look, Fred was pleased. He liked people who were ambitious and cunning. Only they were helpful to him. "Yes, you can trust me. Also, if you give me some time, I'll prove I can do better than Lily," she said earnestly. "Lily?" Fred was surprised to hear the name. He had not visited her all day. It was not that he had forgotten about her, but Ross kept asking to see him. First, the prince said he needed to discuss something important with Fred. Then, the prince mentioned meeting with a foreign minister and wanted Fred to join. Afterward, the prince said he was confused about something.Fred was frustrated and anxious, but he could not lose his temper. After all, Ross was a prince in the prime of his life and was relatively