The words Reyna intended to say died on her lips the moment she heard Bixton’s voice.
A sudden wave of shame and guilt had blindsided her, leaving her speechless.
“Hello?” Brixton repeated, without a hint of impatience in his voice.
She snapped out of her daze and said, “It’s me.” There was a pause before Brixton asked, “Did something happen?
Are you hurt?” “No, I’m fine, but I had to change plans.
I encountered a trafficking ring in the forest and left before I was caught,” she said, combing a hand through her hair.
“Are you sure they didn’t see you?” he asked, his tone taking on a sharp edge.
Reyna grimaced before saying, “Not exactly.
Someone did mention my appearance to them, but none of the criminals saw me, I think.” Did an informant count as one of them?
She wasn’t quite sure, but it definitely was true that none of the criminals in the forest saw her while she was there.
If they had seen her in town, however, she wouldn’t know.
“I’m in the middle of something.
I can’t come over to where you are right now.
Can you stay there until I arrive, or do you plan on taking the proper route to Harlow?” he said, which she had expected as much.
“No, you don’t have to come get me.
I can head over there myself.
I just wanted to inform you in case this might be a problem for you,” she said as she shook her head.
“Thank you.
Is there anything else?” Brixton said.
She was about to say no when she recalled her earlier idea and said, “Actually, there is something.
I don’t think these criminals are the ones holding Phoenix captive, but I’m not completely sure.
Is it possible for you to deal with them?” Brixton was silent, and for a moment, she thought he might have hung up the phone when he said, “I can, but why are you heading for Harlow if you think that these criminals might have Phoenix?” “I don’t think they do, but I don’t want to take a chance on it.
If they don’t have Phoenix with them, I want to at least be on the way to Harlow, where he might be,” she said.
“And if he is among these criminals?” he asked.
“I’ll just turn around and meet back up with you.
I know I’m asking a lot from you, but I can’t do this without you,” she said in a pleading tone.
He considered her words and said, “Very well, but you owe me one.” Reyna winced but didn’t dare to disagree and said, “I’ll definitely repay you for this.” “Good luck,” Brixton said before hanging up the call.
She pulled the phone away from her ear to stare at it.
Did he just tell her good luck?
What did he mean by that?
Was it a threat?
After staring at her phone for several moments, she put it away and searched for another taxi willing to take her the whole way.
If not, she would try to get as far as she could before switching to another taxi.
Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to take many taxis to get there, but she fully expected to at least transfer between three of them.
While she was trying to find a taxi, Brixton was silently staring at his phone, not moving a single muscle in his body.
The people around him watched him nervously, unwilling to say a single word in fear of offending him.
After several moments of no movement from him, one person finally dared to speak up.
“Sir, regarding the matter—” the man started, only to choke when yellow green eyes landed on him.
Brixton remained silent as he set his phone down with a quiet thud.
Then he folded his hands in front of him.
“Gentleman, let’s finish this discussion quickly.
I have some matters to attend to,” he said.
Everyone shared a glance, wondering who had been on the other end of the line.
They had only heard his part of the conversation, but it was clear to all of them that Brixton valued this person if he was willing to stop in middiscussion to speak with them and end things early.
It was no small task for all of them to gather undetected by the kingdom to have this meeting.
“Sir, I understand that you are quite busy, but this is a serious matter that can’t be rushed,” someone protested with an uneasy expression on his face.
Rather than get upset, Brixton calmly stared at the speaker.
Suddenly, the man burst into flames.
Those nearby scrambled to get away as the person rolled around in agony, his screams filling the room.
No one dared to help him, staring with fear etched into their faces.
Then, just as quickly as it happened, the flames disappeared, leaving a trembling man on the ground.
He looked completely unharmed despite being on fire moments before.
Brixton stood up as he said, “Gentleman, I think we have a misunderstanding here.
I only came into the kingdom for personal reasons and decided to humor you by hearing you out.
Whether or not you successfully overthrow the current king is none of my business.
I’m not obligated to help you out.
If there’s nothing else, I will be taking my leave.” Seeing that no one was willing to speak up, he turned and headed for the door.
His hand just gripped the doorknob when someone said, “You will regret this.” He paused before looking back and spotted the speaker in an instant.
Those around the man had backed away as if afraid of being caught in the crossfire.
“What do you think would happen if word got out that the empire infiltrated the kingdom with intentions of interfering with the monarchy?” the man challenged, seemingly unafraid of the consequences of speaking out against him.
Brixton just smiled and said, “I think you should be more worried about yourselves.
After all, if the current king were to learn of the identity of the rebels, what would happen to your families and the rebellion?” Then he walked out without a second glance back.
His smile immediately fell, leaving a blank expression.
“Send some people to deal with those criminals that Reyna mentioned.
I want every single one of them dealt with,” he said, and someone abruptly appeared behind him.
“Understood, sir.
It will be done,” the person said before vanishing.
Once he was alone, he muttered to himself, “Reyna, what am I going to do with you?
Getting into danger the moment I look away.
Once we return to the empire, I’ll have to speak with the Hursts about her current arrangements.”