Chapter 420: The First Lead

Grayson’s eyes flickered with a quiet moment of hesitation before he forced an impossibly handsome smile onto his face.

"I have a few... business matters to check on," Grayson lied smoothly, holding her hand softly. "Just checking in with my city managers. I shall return before lunch."

Mailah narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at him with quiet suspicion. "Business matters? You didn’t mention any meetings yesterday."

"It is merely routine work, my queen," Grayson said, leaning down to press his forehead against hers, using his swoon-worthy closeness to distract her. "A very boring human task. I promise you, my heart aches at the thought of leaving your side for even one hour."

"Ew! Gross! Stop doing that!" Chloe yelled from the table, throwing a piece of bread crust at them. "I’m trying to eat!"

Grayson caught the crust in mid-air with two fingers without even turning his head. He glared at Chloe over his shoulder, his eyes flashing with a brief warning.

"Behave yourself while I am away, Chloe," Grayson growled softly. "If you stress my wife, I will have Mrs. Baker burn your fuzzy slippers."

"Try it and I’ll paint your car pink!" Chloe yelled back.

Mailah sighed softly, but a gentle smile touched her lips. She patted Grayson’s broad chest. "Go handle your business, Grayson. But remember what you promised me about being nice."

Grayson dropped down onto one knee right in the middle of the dining room floor, holding Mailah’s hand against his heart. He looked up at her with big, soulful blue eyes that could make any woman’s heart melt.

"I remember every word you say, my love," Grayson rasped out, his tone dripping with intense devotion. "I will be gentle. I will be polite. I will return to you as fast as the wind."

He kissed the back of her hand with deep, dramatic care, stood up, and walked out of the house like a dark king on a mission.

Chloe stared at the empty doorway, her jaw wide open. "Is he always like this with you? It’s terrifying. He looks like he wants to build a shrine for you."

"He’s just sweet," Mailah laughed, taking her seat at the table.

"He’s crazy," Chloe corrected, taking a huge bite of her toast. "Totally crazy."

Thirty minutes later, Grayson walked into a quiet, high-end tea room hidden in a side street of the city’s business district.

The room was dim and quiet. Sitting in a corner booth, sweating nervously and wiping his glasses with a napkin, was Jasper Smith.

Grayson walked over, the heavy soles of his polished shoes clicking sharply against the floor. He slid into the leather booth across from Jasper, his broad shoulders filling the space effortlessly. He folded his long hands together on the table, staring at the investigator with cold, sharp eyes.

"Well?" Grayson commanded flatly. "What have you found?"

Jasper swallowed hard, his throat making a loud gulping sound. "L-Lord Ashford! Thank you for meeting me! I spent all night trying to look into this ’Chloe’ girl!"

"And?" Grayson pressed, leaning forward slightly.

"I didn’t even know she existed until you called!" Jasper whispered frantically, leaning across the table. "She was never listed in any public royal registries or court news! I had to pull major favors just to confirm her name. But here’s what I found: her banishment wasn’t a normal family punishment. It was ordered directly by the High Elders!"

Grayson paused, his sharp jaw tightening. "Directly by the High Elders? Why would the Council step in for a girl you’ve never even heard of?"

"That’s what makes it so strange." Jasper whispered, adjusting his glasses. "Usually, a royal family handles their own children. But the High Council sealed her exile records with top-level dark magic. My informant said even mentioning her case name can get a guard demoted. She did something that made the Council personally furious!"

"And you still do not know what that action was?" Grayson asked, his deep voice dangerously quiet.

"I’m working on it!" Jasper pleaded, trembling slightly under Grayson’s glare. "My informant is meeting a retired vault guard tonight at a private club in the lower city. The guard was actually on duty the night this Chloe was stripped of her title! But bribing a retired guard takes careful maneuvering. If I rush it, he’ll get scared and run!"

Grayson stared at the nervous investigator for a long, heavy moment. His dark pride wanted results immediately. He wanted to know every single detail so he could decide whether Chloe was a threat or just an idiot.

But as he sat in the quiet booth, he remembered Mailah’s gentle face from that morning. He remembered how she had smiled when he promised to handle things calmly.

Grayson let out a slow, heavy breath, leaning back against the leather seat.

"You have three more days, Jasper," Grayson said, his deep voice carrying a firm, cold weight. "Buy off the guard. Get the file. Find out what she did and why the Elders sealed it. But do it quietly. If the High Council realizes I am digging into their sealed records, it will draw unnecessary trouble."

"Understood, My Lord!" Jasper bowed his head frantically. "I will be like a ghost. You’ll have the full story as soon as my informant gets that guard to talk."

Grayson stood up smoothly, buttoning his dark suit jacket. "See that you do."

He walked out of the tea room and back into the bright city sunlight. Though he was annoyed that he didn’t have the answers yet, he felt a strange sense of quiet calm. He had Jasper working on the case, and in the meantime, he could return home to the only thing that truly mattered to him—his wife.

When Grayson arrived back at the Ashford estate an hour later, the house was remarkably peaceful.

He handed his coat to Thomas and walked down the quiet hallway toward the sunroom. As he pushed open the glass doors, he stopped in his tracks.

Sitting on the soft sofa was Mailah. Sitting on the floor right beside her, resting her head against Mailah’s knee, was Chloe.

Chloe had taken off her oversized sunglasses. She was sitting quietly while Mailah gently brushed out her long hair with a soft silver brush.

"You have very pretty hair, Chloe," Mailah said softly, her voice full of warmth as she worked through a small tangle. "You just need to take care of it properly."

Chloe didn’t yell. She didn’t snap her gum. She was sitting completely still, looking down at her hands, her sharp attitude totally gone for a brief moment.

"My father’s servants used to pull my hair when they brushed it," Chloe muttered quietly, her voice sounding small in the large room. "They said I was annoying for having so much of it."

Mailah’s heart ached for the girl. She leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss onto the top of Chloe’s head. "Well, I will never pull your hair. You can come sit here whenever you want, and I’ll brush it for you."

Chloe blinked fast, her eyes shining with sudden, unshed tears. She quickly coughed and looked away, trying to hide her face. "Whatever! It’s just convenient because my arms are tired! Don’t make a big deal out of it!"

"I won’t," Mailah smiled warmly, continuing her gentle strokes with the brush.

Grayson stood in the doorway, watching them silently.

He still didn’t know the truth behind Chloe’s exile. He didn’t know what crime she had committed or what secrets Jasper would find in those sealed Council records over the next few days. Chloe could still be hiding a massive disaster for all he knew.

But as Grayson watched his gentle human wife care for the lonely demon girl, he felt his own dark, defensive aura soften completely.

Whatever secret she is holding, Grayson thought, his chest filling with an overwhelming wave of love for Mailah, she will never be able to harm us here.

Grayson stepped into the room, his polished shoes making a soft sound against the rug.

Mailah looked up, her eyes lighting up with a bright, radiant smile. "Grayson! You’re back!"

Chloe instantly sat up straight, grabbing her sunglasses off the coffee table and shoving them onto her face. "Ugh! Great! The dark prince is back to ruin my peaceful beauty nap!"

Grayson didn’t make a cold comment. He didn’t threaten her.

Instead, Grayson walked over to the sofa, dropped down onto his knees right beside Mailah, and wrapped his broad arms around her waist. He buried his face into the soft crook of Mailah’s neck, holding her tight against his broad chest.

"Grayson?" Mailah laughed softly, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders. "What are you doing? How was your business meeting?"

"Boring," Grayson murmured against her skin, his deep voice dripping with romantic devotion. "Terrible. Every second away from you feels like a thousand years in a cold desert."

"You were gone for two hours!" Chloe complained loudly from the floor, gagging dramatically. "You two are completely hopeless! My eyes are burning again!"

Grayson lifted his head slowly, looking at Chloe over Mailah’s shoulder. For the first time since her arrival, his eyes didn’t hold pure coldness. They held a quiet, watchful calm.

"If your eyes are burning, cousin," Grayson said smoothly, a tiny, handsome smirk touching his lips, "you are free to go eat Mrs. Baker’s warm apple pie in the kitchen."

Chloe paused. She blinked behind her sunglasses. "Wait... there’s more pie?"

"Mrs. Baker baked a fresh tray twenty minutes ago," Grayson noted flatly.

Chloe didn’t waste another second. She scrambled off the floor, adjusted her hoodie, and ran out of the sunroom toward the kitchen as fast as her fuzzy cat slippers could carry her.

Mailah laughed softly, running her fingers through Grayson’s thick dark hair. "Look at you being nice."

Grayson looked up at Mailah, his eyes burning with pure, undivided love. He pulled her down for a deep, breathtaking kiss that made Mailah’s heart hammer against her ribs.

When he pulled back, his sharp lips curved into a swoon-worthy grin.

"I am merely keeping the peace, my queen," Grayson whispered softly, his thumb gently tracing her jawline. "Until I have all the answers in the world... my only job is to love you."