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"WHY ON EARTH IS Max absent again? He finally ranked up and he's not even here," Ervin complains while he, Ari, and Felix, walk their way to the Great Hall to eat their lunch.

     As they arrive at the hall, Ari and his friends were suddenly surprised to see that Krist and the rest of the members of Jokers were already sitting in their usual seats, and sitting beside them on the other table was none other than the dukes, BND.

     When Krist sees the three friends approach their table, he immediately looks at them and asks, "Did Max come to school today?"

     "No, and it's already been three days," Ervin answers on their behalf.

     Hans, who's sitting beside Krist, takes a bite of his chicken breast and says, "Marcus hasn't come to school too. We've been trying to contact him but he hasn't answered his phone. That's why we're wondering if you guys have."

      "None of us have called him. It's not really rare for someone to be absent, especially when he just finished a pageant. He might just be sick in bed or something," Ari casually says, almost making Krist hit him with his water bottle. "Try contacting him now you idiot, this is serious. Are you guys even his friends?"

     Ari was surprised by the sudden command, but out of fear, he pulls out his phone from his pocket and dials Max's number.

     Everyone stares at Ari, waiting for something to happen. But after a couple more rings, Ari puts his phone down and says, "He's not answering."

     "Shit..." Krist mumbles to himself before angrily stabbing the meat on his plate with a fork.

     "Wait, it's only been three days. Why are we acting like Max is missing? We could just visit him in his house to check on him, right?" Felix asks, confused on why they're all worked up about it. He thought that Max was probably just sick or maybe just tired from last week's event.

     "That's because he is," Brave answers this time, immediately making Ari and the others look at him with shock.

     "What do you mean?" Ari asks, unsure if he heard it wrong or not.

     Brave, who was also eating his lunch in peace, takes a sip of his soda first before looking at Max's friends. "We were at the rooftop this morning when we saw his butler. We asked Rome and Toni to follow him, and apparently, his butler went to talk to president Janus, asking him if Max went to school or if he has any idea on where he might be."

     "What?!" Ari, Ervin, and Felix ask from complete shock.

     "We were just with him last Saturday. How could he be missing?" Felix asks, genuinely worried about where their friend could be.

      "We don't want to assume things for now, but it's best if we can contact Marcus first. If I could get a hold of him, he might know what's going on," Hans explains, and then Ari's eyes finally widen from shock, realizing why everyone is so bothered about all this.

     "Don't tell me...is this connected with the bombing incident? Did someone kidnap him?!" Ari practically shouts, making the people who were surrounding them look their way with surprise.

     Red, who's just on the other table, reaches out and hits Ari at the back of his hand before saying, "Be quiet you moron."

      "W-Wait...is he really kidnapped? Why isn't he in the news yet?" Felix asks, now genuinely concerned about the whole situation.

      "There are only two reasons. His family is probably keeping quiet about it, or Max isn't coming to school exactly because of his family. It's best if we just look for him in silence too to not attract unwanted attention," Hans explains.

     Ari nods his head in understanding even though he wasn't sure if they should just sit around and wait like this. "I'll keep on contacting him," he says instead.

     "Me too," Ervin and Felix then say in unison. But before they could even pull their phones out, trumpet sounds were suddenly heard, and everyone immediately stands from their seats to welcome the Royals.

     "Great," Krist says with a sarcastic tone as the members of PHD and Busters make their entrance, while the students bow to them except for BND and Jokers.

     As the royals walk past them one by one, Viktor suddenly stops in front of the two brotherhoods and asks, "What's with the long faces? You guys still haven't found your missing toy yet?"

     No one inside the Great Hall really knows what Viktor was talking about, but that question alone instantly made Krist and Hans's eyes widen from shock.

     Without anyone there to stop him, Krist runs to Viktor and grabs him by the collar, pulling the king towards him. "What did you do to him? Where's Max?!"

     Krist's voice echoes inside the Great Hall, and the mere mention of Max's name made every student start talking and whispering at each other.

     "If you think I kidnapped him then you're an idiot. As powerful as I may seem, I currently do not have the luxury to kidnap a Sinclaire," Viktor says with a playful grin, angering Krist even more.

     "If I find out where you're hiding him, I'll-"

     "You can't find a person who doesn't want to be found," Viktor immediately says, and Krist's grip on Viktor slowly loosens.

     When Krist wasn't clenching on Viktor's collar anymore, Viktor pushes him away and fixes his uniform. "Toys break baron, but you're not his toymaker. You are not required to fix what is not truly yours," Viktor tells him.

     "Enough with your riddles Viktor," Hans says this time, making Viktor look at him.

     Their expressions made Viktor laugh. But before anyone could even do anything, Viktor stops and says, "You speak so highly of him and even gave away your crowns, yet you do not trust his capabilities and willingness to return. If you think he'll just abandon you then you only fooled yourselves."

     Viktor's statement made Hans and Krist clench their fists in anger, but they couldn't say a thing because they knew that he was right.

     "I don't know where your little toy is, and even if I did, I won't tell you. You are not the only person who has secrets that they want to hide...Master Joker," Viktor finishes before walking away from BND and Jokers and then heading straight to the balcony.

     As the royals take their seats, Krist and Hans look back at their brotherhoods with concern, worry, and complete defeat. Those who were close with Max were left puzzled, but unlike them, there were also people at the Student Council office who were completely clueless about what was happening.

     "Have you heard, brother?" Justin - the Elites' School Representative - asks while leaning close to his twin brother's desk that's just right beside his.

      Dustin - the Elites' Treasurer - was busy computing the school's budget for the month of October. He doesn't even look at his brother as he asks him with an annoyed tone, "What is it this time?"

     As everyone inside the Elites' office continues on their duties, Justin leans close to his brother and says, "Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire isn't actually sick, he's apparently missing," Justin reveals, instantly making vice president Gavriil and secretary Richard Young look at their school rep with shock.

     Dustin, who looked like he didn't want to be bothered earlier, finally looked intrigued as well as he looks back at his brother and asks, "What do you mean missing?"

     "Heard there was some uproar at the Great Hall earlier. Master Joker mentioned something about Sinclaire, and apparently, Viktor knows something about it. I don't know the details, but it's definitely something serious," Justin explains.

     Dustin opens his mouth to comment on the bizarre rumor, but Richard immediately clears his throat and tells them, "I suggest you exert your time and efforts on finishing your tasks rather than feeding yourselves with useless rumors. If Ian sees you two slacking off like that, you'll be in big trouble."

     Justin pouts, but he heads back to his table anyway and starts reading one of the documents that are pilled on top of his desk.

     As the Elites continue on with their weekly reports in silence. Richard glances at Gavriil to check on him. And as expected, what Justin mentioned immediately made him lose his focus.

     "That applies to you too, vice president Alexeev," Richard says.

     Gavriil takes a deep breath and looks back at the documents that are in front of him. He tries to concentrate again, but instead, he slams his pen down and says, "Excuse me."

     Before Richard could even stop him, Gavriil was already out of his seat as he hastily walked out of their office.

     Richard sighs and massages his temple in frustration before glaring at Justin who was pretending like he wasn't the reason why their vice president had to leave in such a rush.

...

Viktor, who was enjoying a pack of gummy bears, was sitting on his throne that's found on the middle stage while staring at his brotherhood who were training at the battlegrounds. As you have known, the Royals' brotherhood base is the stadium itself, which is why they have the advantage of training there.

     "Vi," someone calls out, making Viktor stop tossing gummy bears in his mouth so he could look at the person who diverted his attention away from Busters.

     "I didn't ask earlier at the Great Hall because I knew you wouldn't answer me there, but is it true that the white uniform is missing?" The prince, Kim Hee-joon, asks as he approaches Viktor, blocking his view of his training brothers. Viktor doesn't answer his question, so Hee-joon continues to ask, "And is it true that you know where he is?"

     "Move..." Viktor commands instead, ignoring the prince's question.

     "Answer me," Hee-joon answers back with no ounce of fear, making Viktor smirk.

     Without saying anything, Viktor pulls Hee-joon towards him, almost making the prince sit on his lap. With his intimidating eyes, he leans close to Hee-joon and whispers, "Jealousy doesn't suit you, my prince."

     Hee-joon looks down at Viktor, slowly sliding his slender fingers in his hair before aggressively grabbing a handful of it, making Viktor chuckle. "My patience is running dry Viktor," Hee-joon tells him, his voice almost soft yet intimidating. He then leans even closer to Viktor until his lips were only a millimeter away from his. "If you keep playing these games, you'll have to look for a new prince who's willing to please you."

     Viktor stares back at Hee-joon before grinning from ear to ear. "When have I ever disappointed you?"

     Viktor tries to lean close so his lips could touch Hee-joon's, but Hee-joon immediately lets us go and pulls away from his king, making Viktor groan in irritation.

     "If that white uniform doesn't return, and I find out that it's because of you, the deal you made with me is off," Hee-joon angrily says before turning around to take his leave, PHD immediately following behind him.

     "Ren!" He then calls out while walking away.

     Ren Adachi, who was walking behind the Hot Wingmen, runs to his prince's side. Hee-joon then glances at him and tells him, "Get ready. I have a task for you."

     Hee-joon and the rest of his brotherhood walk out of the exit. And as Viktor watches the doors close, he sighs and massages his head in frustration. "You owe me big time Sinclaire. Now I have to beg on my knees and apologize to Joon after this," Viktor says to himself. But just when he thought that this topic was over, someone suddenly barges inside the stadium, automatically making Busters stop what they were doing to look at their unexpected guest.

     "Fuck..." Viktor mumbles to himself before finally standing from where he's seated as Gavriil  Ivanovich Alexeev stood at the bottom of the stage.

     "Vice president," he greets with a pretentious smile. "If you're looking for white uniforms, I can assure you that none of them are here in our base."

     Gavriil, who didn't look like he came here to be civil, looks back at Viktor with complete anger, almost making Viktor roll his eyes in annoyance. So without saying anything, Viktor snaps his fingers, and Busters immediately walk out of the stadium, leaving the two alone.

     Viktor then sits back down and asks, "Alright, how may I help you, rank number two?"

     "Where is he?" Gavriil asks, and Viktor instantly knew who he was referring to.

     "Seriously, if I hear about this again I will shoot myself," Viktor sarcastically says, but Gavriil's expression didn't falter, so Viktor clears his throat and says, "It's only been three days and everyone's acting like he's been gone for a month."

      "You know something, don't you? That boy will not just disappear like that with no valid reason. It has to be connected with his family, and a Stepanov like you is bound to know what it is," Gavriil says, annoying Viktor even more since Gavriil was definitely right about that speculation.

     "Fine, you're right. It has something to do with his wonderful family," Viktor reveals. "We of all people know best that his family has always been fucked up. People say the Stepanov Clan were the scary ones but the truth is, it's that boy's family that people have to look out for; they're the real monsters. Which is why he had no choice but to hide from them."

     "So he's not missing?" Gavriil asks back.

     "The boy is just cooling his head, and I just so happened to have found him in the gutters when he was having an emotional breakdown. It is my act of kindness...or maybe...a gift, for what he did for us during the pageant. As the king of this House, it is only expected that I reward him."

     "Will he return?" Gavriil asks with a worried expression, and this time, Viktor grins back at him.

     "You still haven't changed Gav," he tells him. "I sometimes forget that this is the exact same reason why you purposely held yourself back and returned to being a sophomore when you could have been graduating this year with us. It's funny because you want to get close to him again but you're avoiding him at the same time."

     "You know how complicated things are. Out of all the people here, it's you who knows it well. I can't just-" Gavriil stops himself and suddenly clenches his fist in anger.

     Viktor stares down at him, and the vice president's pained expression almost made Viktor pity him. He didn't want to say it, but he massages his temple again before taking a deep breath and saying, "Grand Rosso at Westbridge Avenue. Apartment 501, passcode 2213. You'll find him there."

     Gavriil's eyes widen from shock, but he doesn't say anything. Instead, he mentally notes down what Viktor just said to him, making sure he doesn't miss a single detail.

     "I'm tired of covering for that white uniform and getting the blame for it. I don't care what you do, but give the kid more time to be by himself. If he still doesn't return..." Viktor pauses and takes a deep breath before slumping himself in his seat. "Drag his whining ass back here."

- END -