Chapter 76: Compensation

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Compensation

Nero remained seated.

He looked at Melrose, whose eyes had closed just before his head reached his father’s shoulder, then at Luke, who was staring at the omega with an expression of absolute disbelief.

Nero leaned slightly toward him.

"Don’t talk."

Luke slowly turned his head.

"I haven’t said anything."

"Your face has."

The physician entered and approached Melrose, checking his pulse and breathing while Lord Mynatt explained, with considerable distress, that his son had suffered a severe psychological episode.

Nero watched the examination.

The physician asked Melrose a question.

The omega did not respond.

Then the physician lifted one of his eyelids.

Melrose’s fingers twitched.

Nero pressed his lips together.

This was unbearable.

After another brief examination, the physician recommended moving Melrose into the adjoining medical room for observation.

Two attendants brought a wheelchair, helping the omega into it while his father hovered nearby, issuing instructions to the medical personnel with the increasingly agitated manner of a man who had apparently forgotten that his son was receiving considerably more attention than his condition required.

Melrose slowly opened his eyes.

For one brief moment, the frightened expression vanished.

His gaze found Nero across the conference table, and the glare he directed at him was sharp enough that even Luke noticed.

Nero raised an eyebrow.

Melrose immediately lowered his head again, his shoulders trembling as the attendants wheeled him toward the door.

Lord Mynatt followed, accompanied by the family’s legal representative, who continued explaining that his client’s condition would need to be considered before any further questioning.

Nero waited until the doors closed.

Then he leaned back in his chair and covered his face with one hand.

Luke finally laughed.

Nero turned toward him with an expression of profound suffering.

"That," Nero said, "was embarrassing."

Luke’s shoulders shook.

"He looked at you before he fainted."

"I noticed."

Luke pressed his knuckles against his mouth, apparently attempting to recover enough dignity to remember that he was representing his house in an official meeting.

Nero gave him a warning look before turning toward Idris, who had remained professionally silent throughout the entire performance.

"Have the physician confirm that Melrose is all right, and give his father and legal representative whatever time they need to attend to him."

Idris nodded, entering the instruction into his tablet before looking back at Nero.

"What are you going to do with him after this performance?"

The question was reasonable.

Under ordinary circumstances, Nero would have been perfectly happy to expose Melrose’s deception in front of his father, his legal representative, and every official whose time he had wasted.

Unfortunately, Nero had more important concerns.

"I want this meeting finished as soon as possible," he said, leaning back in his chair. "I will consider their proposal to marry the omega off, but I require compensation."

Luke’s amusement faded.

"What kind?"

Nero smiled.

"The royal house should have the authority to approve his spouse."

Idris slowly lowered his tablet.

"Your Highness."

"What?"

"You intend to involve the Crown Prince’s office in selecting a marriage partner for Melrose Mynatt?"

"His family proposed the marriage as a resolution to the scandal. I am simply improving the terms."

Luke stared at him for a moment.

Then his mouth curved.

"God, you are your father’s son."

"A compliment I receive frequently."

Nero reached for the documents House Mynatt had submitted earlier, his rings clicking softly against the tablet as he opened the family’s proposed agreement.

Melrose’s marriage was not particularly interesting.

His family’s political connections were.

For decades, Dax and Christopher had maintained a royal administration that allowed opposition to exist without treating every disagreement as a threat to the crown.

Nero had grown up watching his father argue with ministers who opposed royal proposals, accept amendments he initially disliked, and occasionally appoint people who had spent years criticizing the government.

Healthy opposition was useful.

Dax knew it.

Christopher knew it.

Nero had no intention of surrounding himself with people who agreed with everything he said simply because disagreeing was inconvenient.

Unfortunately, several newer factions had developed interests that extended considerably beyond ordinary political disagreement.

House Mynatt belonged to one of them.

Its members had begun building alliances with families who resented the influence of the current royal administration, and several of those relationships had become increasingly difficult to explain through legitimate political interests alone.

Nero had been watching them for months.

Now House Mynatt had provided him with an opportunity.

"They want to marry Melrose into another established house," Nero said, turning the document toward Idris. "They also want the criminal proceedings forgotten and the allegations against Vesper quietly withdrawn."

Luke folded his arms.

"And you intend to choose someone who makes the marriage politically inconvenient for them."

"I intend to make certain they cannot use it to strengthen a faction that has already become unnecessarily troublesome."

Idris studied the proposed agreement.

"You would be asking them to surrender control over the alliance."

"Yes."

"They may refuse."

"Then they can withdraw their marriage proposal and allow the proceedings to continue."

Luke laughed quietly.

Nero looked toward him.

"What?"

"Nothing. I am simply enjoying the fact that they attempted to negotiate with you using my house as leverage."

"They should have chosen a less ridiculous approach."

Nero reached for his stylus and began marking the sections he intended to change.

He smiled. He knew several houses whose interests were entirely incompatible with the faction Mynatt had been supporting.

That would be an entertaining discussion.

He had just begun writing the first condition when something moved at the edge of his vision.

Red.

Nero’s fingers stopped.

The polished conference table disappeared beneath an endless dark surface, the walls dissolving into a colorless sky while the distant sound of a single drop echoed somewhere beyond his sight.

His breathing caught.

Sebastian.

The name struck through his thoughts with such force that Nero’s hand tightened around the stylus.

He could not see him.

That was the worst part.

There was no Sebastian in the red sea, no familiar dark hair, no warmth, no reassurance that the man was still lying safely inside the medical suite at Villa Petrana.

Only blood.

And the terrible feeling that something was about to happen.

"Nero?"

Luke’s voice reached him from somewhere beyond the red.

The conference room returned.

Nero inhaled slowly, forcing his fingers to relax before the stylus snapped between them.

Luke was watching him.

Idris had gone completely still.

Nero looked toward the clock.

Nine seventeen.

He needed to leave.

Immediately.

He closed the agreement and pushed it toward Idris.

"Prepare the amended proposal. House Mynatt will publicly apologize to Vesper, withdraw its allegations, and cooperate with the investigation. If they still want the marriage considered as part of their son’s legal settlement, the royal house will approve the proposed spouse."

Idris looked at him.

"And Melrose’s punishment?"

"The competent authorities will determine the remaining sentence under the applicable law. I am not spending another evening entertaining his father’s attempts to make the original offense disappear."

Nero rose.

Luke stood as well.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes."

"Before they return?"

"I have given Idris everything necessary to conclude the meeting."

Nero glanced toward his chief secretary, who had already begun collecting the documents.

"Tell Lord Mynatt that I am being exceptionally lenient. If his family attempts to damage Vesper again, interferes with the investigation, or gives me another reason to revisit this matter, I will not be nearly as accommodating."

Idris nodded.

"Understood, Your Highness."

Nero was already moving toward the door.

Luke followed him into the corridor, his footsteps quickening to match Nero’s considerably longer stride.

"Nero."

"Not now."

Luke caught his arm.

The movement made Nero stop.

His friend studied him, hazel eyes narrowing as he took in the tension across Nero’s shoulders and the unnaturally controlled expression that had replaced his earlier amusement.

"What happened in there?"

Nero looked toward the private lift.

"I need to get back to Sebastian."

Luke released his arm immediately.

"Then go. I can handle whatever remains of this circus."

Nero gave him a brief nod before turning toward Idris, who had emerged from the conference room carrying the amended agreement.

"Have the jet ready. Now."

Idris glanced at his tablet.

"The crew was instructed to prepare for departure after the meeting, Your Highness. They should be ready within—"

"Now, Idris."

The secretary stopped.

Then his expression sharpened.

"Understood."

Nero entered the private lift before Idris finished contacting the flight crew.

He retrieved his phone.

Duncan’s number appeared first.

Then Roberta’s.

For one terrible second, Nero did not know which one to call.

The red sea flashed behind his eyes.

His jaw tightened.

He selected Duncan.

Whatever was waiting for Sebastian, Nero intended to reach him before it did.