The queen loosened her grip on the bedsheet and sighed as she lay back down. She stared at the ceiling and asked, “Where’s Lily?”"She's doing well and is waiting to become your vessel. Rest assured, I've taken good care of your new body," Fred said smilingly."My body?" The queen looked at him. "What about your new body, Fred? Have you already prepared one?"Stunned, he caught himself and chuckled. "What are you talking about, Your Majesty? The experiment we're doing is for you. I'm still young, aren’t I?" "Yes, but for how long?" the queen said coldly, "Fred, you're brilliant for planning everything ahead. You’ve worked so hard to make the experiment happen so you can use me as a guinea pig, huh?""That's not—" Fred stopped himself and suddenly began to laugh. His laughter grew louder and wilder as if he could not contain it. "You're clever, Your Majesty, and you know me best. All right, it’s as you said. However, you don't have to get mad," he said steadily, "No matter what
When Alexander returned home, he saw Mike holding his phone in a daze in the living room. The former removed and tossed his jacket aside, asking, “What’s the matter with you?”"Something's wrong," Mike said, puzzled. "What are you talking about?""It's Rhea." Mike looked at Alexander. "Rhea?" Alexander frowned and glanced at the phone in Mike’s hand. "There's something wrong with her? What did she say to you?"Mike shook his head and said, "Nothing. She didn't answer her phone." "That's why you think something's wrong?" Alexander was puzzled. "I called so many times, but she didn't answer or send me any messages. Most importantly, I told her I would be giving her the invisibility potion formula in two days. She’s eager to get her hands on it, so it's unlike her to not answer my calls.""Could it be …" Alexander looked at him thoughtfully, "Did she realize she failed to hypnotize you?"Mike shook his head. "That's not possible. If she got suspicious, she would call me or ev
"I have no idea," Alexander said, "The entire embassy seems off, just like Rhea."After some thought, Mike asked hesitantly, "Do you think… Fred has started a coup?"However, it seemed unlikely. Even if that were the case, Mike knew he should still be able to reach Rhea, who was on Fred's side. At that moment, a voice said, "That's impossible."They turned and saw Ross slowly walking downstairs. "I don't think that's what’s happening.""What makes you say that?" Although Mike shared the same thought, he could not help but ask Ross. "My men are in the embassy. If there were indeed a coup, they would have told me about it. Anyway, the embassy staff members are still working as usual, but Fred could be doing something in secret," Ross said, "They haven't seen him for two days, although he has been giving out instructions.”Alexander thoughtfully added, "So he's up to something, and he might’ve told Rhea not to contact outsiders. That's interesting because Fred seems to care about t
"Also, if necessary, we must break into the embassy. I hope you won't—"Ross waved. "Don't worry, I won't hold it against you. If it comes to that, I'll even charge in with you."Alexander did not expect the prince to say that. The former nodded and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."He quickly walked outside and called Cameron. After all, things would be more efficient with Cameron around. ...Rhea had a nightmare and jerked awake. She looked around and realized she was still in the laboratory with a bunch of people.Some sat on the floor, a few slept with their heads on the tables, and the rest stood lost in thought. They gathered in twos and threes in the tense atmosphere. Since they were unfamiliar with each other, they hardly talked among themselves.Since each person handled different tasks and most had notable achievements in certain areas, they seemed to look down on each other. Still, Fred had gathered them there to complete a shared task tomorrow.Rhea felt cold and c
Rhea found herself covered in sweat and was thankful she only grunted instead of shouting when she woke up. She sat up and realized her legs were numb. She checked the time and noticed it was nearly midnight. As there were several more hours to endure, she felt frustrated. It was ridiculous that everyone there knew they were going to conduct the R10 experiment, yet no one knew the detailed procedure.Rhea knew how much the experiment meant to Fred, and it was highly classified.Even the "boss" only knew part of it and was put in charge of researching and developing the drug. However, he never discussed how the organization would use the drug. Rhea thought it was because the latter phase of the experiment had been assigned to another group of people. However, she finally realized that was not the case. Although she understood the need for secrecy, she thought Fred should at least tell them about the procedure. Otherwise, they would not know what to do tomorrow.Rhea got to he
Rhea approached the computer and realized it was still working. However, she dared not touch it.A while later, Fred entered in his robe. He yawned, looking a bit upset as he asked, “What’s so important that you had to see me in the middle of the night? Do you think you can do whatever you want just because I praised you recently?”“No, Your Grace. It’s about something important,” Rhea quickly explained, “We’re supposed to proceed with R10 tomorrow, but no one has told us about the procedure until now.“I fear we will make irreversible mistakes and affect the experiment’s outcome.”Fred looked at her as he impatiently sat down behind the desk. “That’s it? Someone will give each of you a handbook on what to do tomorrow. Now, all you have to do is rest.”"But…" Rhea noticed he was about to leave and quickly said, "But we might not be prepared then.""The experiment is not as complicated as you imagine, all right?" Fred said dismissively, "With your abilities, I'm sure you guys will
Fred thoughtfully paced back and forth for a long while. He looked somewhat anxious as he asked, “Who else knows about this?”Stunned, Rhea shook her head. “No one, I think.”“Not even Lily?” Fred was incredulous. After all, Lily had developed R10 and should know if there were issues with it.“Well… I’m not sure,” Rhea murmured, “As you know, we don’t like each other, and she wouldn’t tell me anything. Perhaps she doesn’t know or simply chose not to tell me about it.”Fred frowned but thought Rhea was being reasonable. “I see,” he said solemnly. Rhea said, “So…”“We’ll proceed with the experiment tomorrow,” Fred replied decisively. Rhea did not expect him not to change his mind. ‘Why is he so adamant?!’“But the drug—”Fred interrupted, “There’s nothing wrong with it, and the experiment will succeed. Is that clear?”Rhea hesitated when she saw his glare. She nodded slowly, saying, “Yes, Your Grace.”She finally realized Fred would proceed with the experiment even if sh
"I'm just worried the others might get suspicious," Rhea murmured, holding the phone.Fred said dismissively, "If he can't even answer your call, we might as well cut him loose. Call him while I'm still interested, got it?"Rhea realized by now that Fred only cared about R10, and everything else was just a bonus to him. She always thought she could impress Fred with her accomplishments. However, after spending some time with Fred, she gradually understood that it did not matter what she did. No research or drug was as crucial to him as R10.Rhea did not think much about R10, but since Fred was the boss, she could only do as he said. She called Mike, and the phone rang a few times before he answered."Hello?" Mike asked nasally, seemingly just getting out of bed. "Mike, you called me?" Rhea said as she studied Fred's expression. "Huh? Oh, I called in the afternoon." Mike seemed to have forgotten about it."You called so many times. Did you have something urgent to tell me? Ha