Chapter 126: Gala (3)

Chapter 126: Gala (3) "Oh my God, Queen... Your dress..." Chasey panicked, eyes wide as she stared at the cream and chocolate smeared across Lethia’s gown. Lethia’s blood surged as she caught the smug smile on the woman who’d dropped the cake. It was fucking obvious she did it on purpose, itching to start something. Her ears burned with the heat of restrained fury, but Lethia kept her composure, snatching the tissue Adam offered and calmly wiping the mess off her dress. "Thania! You did that on purpose, didn’t you?" Chasey yelled, but Lethia grabbed her wrist, stopping her. She didn’t want to create more of a scene. "Oh, I’m sorry. My hand slipped," Thania said, voice soaked in sarcasm, not a hint of actual remorse. "But... the cake tonight tasted awful, and I just wanted to toss it in the bin. What should I do? Maybe it found its kind first, a dirty dust—she paused with a sly smile—on the floor." She threw Lethia a sharp glare, letting the insult land with a vicious little giggle. Lethia exhaled slowly. Once. Twice. A third breath. Her hand twitched toward the drink on the tall table beside her, tempted to douse Thania’s smug face with it. But no. Not tonight. Not here. People still remembered the stiletto incident. That wasn’t the image she wanted to paint again at this prestigious Gala. Her gaze dropped to the black pin Thania and her minions wore—exactly like hers, except in black. Lethia let out a smirk. Then Lethia turned to Thania with a lingering gaze, forcing the sweetest smile she could muster. Even Chasey and Adam froze, startled by how warmly she grinned, her eyes curving into perfect crescent moons. "It’s fine, Thania. I know you didn’t mean to," she said gently. "But... It’s so clumsy, isn’t it? How could an Aide let herself be this careless? That’s not good. Our job requires sharpness and precision. Am I right?" Still smiling, Lethia swept her eyes toward Thania’s two lackeys. The flick of her gaze alone made them squirm. "What? What does a hand slip have to do with—" "Oh, dear... of course it has everything to do with it. As a soon-to-be mum, my soft little heart can accept your clumsiness. That’s normal. We all make mistakes. Nobody’s perfect." Lethia paused and sighed. Her smile slowly faded. "But," her tone snapped cold, "as a VIP Aide, I can’t accept that." A smirk tugged at her lips. "What should I do, hmm? At first, I wanted to offer a brilliant aide like you a position under me to assist Caelum. But your clumsiness? I would just offer that to the other two besides you." She turned her head toward Thania’s lackeys, whose faces lit up the moment Caelum’s name left her lips. "So? You girls want to join me?" They both nodded so quickly it looked like bobbleheads in motion. Thania’s jaw dropped, stunned, her face going stiff. "You... Wait... How could you—" Lethia leaned in, her lips grazing close to Thania’s ear as she whispered, "Because I can do what you never could. Don’t bitchy your way around like some jealous little brat. I don’t have time to entertain your tantrums." Pulling back, she flashed her angelic smile once more. "You two can speak to Chasey later about the work. Excuse me." Lethia brushed past Thania’s shoulder and walked away toward the restroom, Chasey and Adam trailing closely behind. The three of them stood in a quiet corner near the second-floor restroom after Lethia had cleaned herself up. Chasey crouched down in front of the stained part of her dress, her face crumpled in despair. "I’m surprised you didn’t claw her face off, Queen. Oh no... she actually ruined this dress..." she whimpered as she gently traced the outline of the cream stain, which stubbornly remained despite being rinsed with water. "Yeah, I’m surprised too that I managed to hold my emotions back," Lethia muttered, her eyes fixed on the ruined spot as her hands balled into fists at her sides. "And what’s with that gold pin? VIP Aide?" Adam asked with a teasing lift of his brow. Lethia gave a bitter smile. "It just... happened in the blink of an eye," she chuckled. "When I walked into the hall earlier, I honestly thought the position was unnecessary, but who would’ve guessed? I ended up using it so damn well." Chasey stood up straight, eyes wide. "I didn’t know Zeran Tuffin could be that romantic. He gave you power instead of surrounding you with a dozen bodyguards you clearly hate. I always thought he was the possessive type." "So..." Adam smirked, tone laced with mischief. "Are we getting an invitation soon?" Lethia only responded with a soft chuckle—but then something snapped in her. "What about the investigation on the brothel? Did you two find anything?" Her irritation over the ruined dress shifted swiftly into sharp curiosity. "Well... we found a lead," Adam said, folding his arms, his expression turning sour. "But... when we tried to meet her, she vanished." "Queen, it’s clear someone from Lykon Haven candidate visited that brothel frequently, but there’s no solid proof. Even the CCTV around that area showed nothing. Like, he clearly knows where the blind spots are," Chasey added. Lethia frowned. "Then how can you be so sure he was Varrel?" "Because I found this." Chasey pulled out her phone and showed a photo of a stack of receipts from the same brothel. Lethia zoomed in and scanned them, noticing the dates started just a few days after she’d left the Obsidian Pack and continued regularly up to very recently. But what really caught her attention was the name listed on each bill. Orland. She scoffed in disbelief, her eyes flicking between Chasey and Adam, who both wore sly, knowing smiles. "Then it’s definitely him, judging by your reaction," Adam said, sounding certain. "There’s no one named Orland in the entire Lykon Haven. And Varrel was a huge fan of the Casipea Football Club," Chasey added, wrapping up her point. "And Orland Moore is his favourite player," Lethia concluded, sealing the deduction. "Yeah... we kept investigating the brothel without knowing for sure it was Varrel because we were looking for someone named Orland. That name eventually led us to one of the women working there. But when we tried to meet her face-to-face, she suddenly couldn’t be reached. She just vanished," Adam said, sighing with clear frustration. "Some even said she stopped working there completely and moved abroad," Chasey chimed in. Lethia handed Chasey’s phone back and let out a quiet sigh. She glanced at her two friends, who looked completely absorbed by the case, and a soft smile curved her lips. "Thank you. You both did a good job helping me." "We did, but we still can’t bring you solid results, Queen. That pisses me off," Chasey whined. "Don’t be upset. If anything, this proves to me just how big this thing really is. If the woman disappeared right after you contacted her, it means they know you two are digging into it. And that also means they’re ready to take serious measures to keep it buried." Lethia slowly walked to the railing on the second floor, her gaze falling to the hall below, filled with fake laughter and beasts in their clown masks. "Going to a brothel isn’t even a scandal in this society, especially since Varrel’s already divorced and single. But if they’re working this hard to cover it up... something’s definitely cooking. Something rotten enough to destroy him." She turned back to Adam and Chasey with a calm smile. "I’ll talk to Zeran about it. Come on, let’s go back to the party." But just as they stepped toward the stairs, Lethia spotted Renar ascending—and her heart nearly leapt out of her chest. She spun around sharply, eyes wide, which made Adam and Chasey stop in their tracks, confused. "You two go ahead. I need to be somewhere," Lethia muttered, then quickly walked in the opposite direction down the hallway, not even caring where she ended up, as long as it wasn’t near Renar. She ignored Chasey’s voice calling her name and focused only on her half-jogging pace, one hand clutching her stomach. Once she felt far enough, and her legs started to ache, Lethia finally stopped. She leaned against the wall, panting hard, her heartbeat hammering in her ears while cold sweat trickled down her temple. She gasped, trying to steady her breath, then let out a bitter laugh to herself. ’What the hell am I doing? Why did I run from him? Why am I hiding? Oh Lethia... you’re so silly.’ Lethia glanced around, trying to figure out where she had ended up. She shouldn’t be avoiding Renar like this, and yet... his words from their last encounter still echoed in her mind, making her chest tighten. Part of her even felt guilty. But for what, exactly? She didn’t know. All she knew was that something about Renar made her heart go soft. She didn’t want to hurt him, and she sure as hell didn’t know how to push him away when he got all clingy. She pushed open a door that led to the garden. Maybe she’d just stay there until the party ended. Her dress was already ruined anyway. Just as she was about to sit on the bench, a gentle hand landed on her shoulder, making her turn around. "I’ve been looking for you."