Chapter 235: Childish Reasoning

Silence filled the room as Isis finally got her breath back. Staring at Justinian, he continued to look down at her, his smile never breaking or fading. It was strange. Isis wasn’t sure, but she felt she could be a little bolder at the moment with what she said or did. It wasn’t based on his actions, but on the way he smiled and the look he gave her. She was used to all his fake smiles, every single variant of that thin smirk he wore. And right now she knew it was his real one, the kind she had seen many times.

The amused, almost childish grin that took delight in what had just happened. It was disgusting in that it was almost adorable on his face, bringing out the dimples that never appeared when he gave a fake smile, making him look much younger than he actually was. Her skin crawled that she even thought such a thing, still able to feel the pain in her neck that caused such a smile.

But it was real. Slowly rising, her glare intensified, making the smile grow wider. "You never answered me?" Although she was certain in her mind that she needed to kill him, she needed to know the answer to the question he couldn’t give before. It had to be clear; she had to know if there was even a fragment of good inside Justinian that would allow her to leave. It wouldn’t shake her resolve if it existed, but she was merely curious.

Tilting his head ever so slightly, his hands fell on the back of the chair as he leaned forward on them. "You didn’t ask anything."

"Not now." Her hatred masked the fear in her voice, to the point that she internally praised herself for not stuttering. "Back in the carriage, I asked you what would happen after the war is over. You gave me no answer." Justinian chuckle.

"I don’t know." He lied as easily as he breathed, but Isis could tell it was, lacking the same doubt he spoke with in the carriage.

"You are a better liar than that, Justinian." Raising an eyebrow, he moved away from the couch and walked around, coming to a stop before her. There was an amused but shocked look in his eyes as he stared down at her.

"You have never called me by my name before. I just realised." Covering his mouth to hide his smile, he chuckled, "That is funny."

"Why?" Isis took a half step back, hoping that if he did anything to her, she would have at least a second to react to it. Justinian, however, didn’t move quickly, striking like a viper; instead, his cold hand moved slowly, touching her chin and tilting her head back just enough to keep her eyes on him instead of his hands. When she tried to look back down, he did it again, forcing it.

"It’s funny." As he did that, he spoke, "Because it means you are initiating a conversation. And not like before, when you spoke from exhaustion, not realising you spoke aloud, but real engagement." A shiver ran down her spine, seeing the glee in his eyes, and her thoughts went back a few minutes ago, back to the story of the dog. That glee and excitement were real. He truly, even knowing that she wanted nothing more than to kill him, couldn’t resist enjoying her engagement.

’He likely even enjoys that I wish to kill him. Because that way I am still returning to him... oh my God. He’s just a kid still, who is chasing the love of the dog he killed.’

It finally clicked. The man before her continued to chase the love he had for his old pet. It was a warped and completely reprehensible love, one that originated from a need to dominate and test the limits, but it was real. Taking a deep breath, she didn’t fight the urge to look away from his eyes.

"Are you going to answer me?" Pulling his hand away and seeing she wouldn’t break eye contact, Justinian thought for a moment, his face going blank, expressionless. The silence lasted for five minutes, Isis unsure if it was purposeful to keep her in suspense or if he truly needed to think.

"Part of me," He finally spoke, taking a deep breath. "Feels like it would be a waste to let you leave, as I had said before. Maybe I take you as a mistress for myself or give you to my son. Or maybe I give you to someone to become the first in my new enterprise." Her body recoiled at the mere thought of such a fate. "Part of me finds that a waste as well. Because whilst I do realise you are a beautiful woman, I do not lust for you like the beasts I must dine with, and should I give you to another, well, my fun would be over. I didn’t lie at dinner; you are under my care."

Stepping back, he began to pace back and forth. "Part of me wants to see how far I can go with you. Part of me wants to keep you locked up, and part wants to let you go. You see, my answer hasn’t changed. I am still confused. But it’s not the same confusion as before. Now it is because I have far too many ideas and need to sort through them and decide which is best."

Isis took a deep breath and another step back. "So..." her voice shook with rage, "You have considered..." Covering her mouth, unable to believe what she was about to say, she forced the words out, "You would honestly sell me into sexual slavery as one of the choices, or force yourself upon me." He didn’t say anything, just shrugged casually in reply.

A chuckle of disbelief escaped her mouth. She already knew how casual he and the others he worked with were in regard to treating people, but to directly hear the statement said about herself was something far worse. She didn’t even need to ask if he would do anything else, knowing the reply would be the same. A casual shrug.

The room went silent again as Justinain stared at her, waiting for her to say or ask anything more. Her mouth opened and closed over and over, the many insults and curses she wished to say to him trapped in her mouth, scared to say them, wondering if they would be the things that dammned her to such a fate. Lowering her head, she closed her eyes and clenched her fists, doing everything she could to suppress the boiling anger.

"May I leave?"

"You always could," Justinian replied, and without waiting, she turned and nearly ran out, dashing to her room once outside his room. Running in, she slammed the door behind her and fell against it, covering her mouth, holding back the scream of emotion she wished to let out. It was unexplainable; the emotions she felt were a grand mixture of everything. Fear, hate, anger, strange joy at the thought he might let her go freely afterwards. All of it was overwhelming, and all she could do was sit still and let it vanish on its own.

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"Master." Justinian turned, seeing a butler bowing towards him, before looking back out the window. He didn’t know how long he had stood unmoving, staring out the window. The butler continued, "The Evangelist is here. He had asked to see you."

"Send him in." The butler bowed again, and as his footsteps retreated, another pair followed. Feeling Augustus gaze, he turned and smiled, being met with a cold expression. "Lord Evangelist."

"Justinian," Augustus spoke without his usual charm, staring directly into Justinian’s eyes with confusion. "I have asked around after the funeral, and rumours have reached my ears."

"Oh." Justinian moved, going to a cabinet at the side of the room. Opening it, he pulled out a few brown leaves along with a kettle covered in runes. Grabbing two cups after, he dropped the tea leaves inside both of them and activated the urn on the kettle, power being absorbed into it, followed by steam flowing out the top. "Do tell me?" Saying that, he waited for the water to boil inside the kettle before pouring the tea, placing two cups on the small table at the centre of the room and taking a seat.

Augustus stared at it for a moment, taking a seat after a moment and pulling out his fake jewelled teeth, revealing a pair of pristine white ones underneath. Taking a sip of tea, he gave a slight smile at its taste. "Those who died the other day were not well-known merchants, bar the survivor, whom we can no longer find."

"Every day someone new tries their luck at becoming wealthy, my friend. Is it strange they are not well known?" Smoothly replying, he took a sip of his drink.

"Of course, but the issue you see is that those who died had no clients. Of course they could have been lost, strangely enough, but they would have definitely existed. This city lacks a lot of things, but one thing it does not have is good record-keeping. Me and you both know this." Justinian didn’t reply straight away, taking a sip of his drink. Putting the cup down, he smiled and chuckled.

"Augustus, just ask what you wish to ask."

"Did you do it?"

"Let me answer with a question." Leaning forward, his smile widened. "I’m not going to say I couldn’t do such a thing; you wouldn’t believe me. Instead, do you think if I did that, I would make the foolish mistake of not covering my tracks? I have both the resources and foresight not to make such a mistake. You know this." Augustus didn’t reply, instead taking a sip of tea.

"I know that much. I just felt the need to ask."

"Anyway, what does it matter. We have our villain. The merchants fear travelling west now, worried Cras will kill them on sight. The people call for war, and your Pantheon is poised as the righteous sword of it all. For a handful of dead merchants, I say this is a brilliant victory for us."

"They are still dead." Justinain rolled his eyes.

"This is war. People die. Now if Cras did this or someone else, it doesn’t matter anymore." Taking a sip of tea, he leaned back into his chair. "I’m sure you didn’t come just to question me."

"No. Those in charge of maintenance of the Pantheon have brought forth worrying news." Raising an eyebrow, Justinian gave his full attention. "The titan has begun to show wear. Rapid wear. If it continues, it could collapse on the city."

"Sudden and rapid wear."

"I am unsure if it’s sudden, as it was only recently noticed. It could have started years ago and we only have just seen. After all, it is a massive structure." Justinian frowned and looked down.

"But it is rapidly wearing down."

"They say it gets worse by the day."

"It’s man-made, then. You may not know much about construction, my friend, but I do. You learn a thing or two in endless meetings about building materials and projects. Such things aren’t possible on their own, unless done by weather conditions. We have not had the weather conditions to cause it, and therefore it can only be a man-made issue."

"The Brotherhood?"

"Maybe." Grabbing his chin, Justinian thought for a moment and sighed, "Maybe, who knows. Keep me informed. If it begins to look serious, do let me know."