AHEIAID Chapter 22: An Assassination Attempt
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This attack was massive in scale.
Before long, the sharp-eyed rulers received the news: A group of radicals had arrived in an unidentified spacecraft equipped with advanced cloaking technology. They rammed through the protective shield of District 13 and destroyed the "signal tower," attempting to assassinate the district governor—Garius Heine.
The assassination, of course, failed.
But whether the young Imperial Overseer—Garius Heine—was truly safe, and where that advanced spacecraft had suddenly come from, remained a mystery.
After witnessing the explosion with their own eyes, citizens flooded the official forums with panic and speculation, filling the space with unfounded theories. Amon, in particular, was bombarded with communication requests from various news agencies and government officials, all trying to subtly probe for information about their superior’s condition.
The existence of District 13 was sensitive—its stability was the cornerstone of the Empire, a symbol of peace. Any unrest would inevitably lead to a chain reaction of instability.
This assassination attempt on Garius left more than just civilians shaken. Even the Emperor of the Empire secretly used a private line to call Garius’ personal communicator. Only after receiving confirmation of his safety did the Emperor breathe a sigh of relief, offering a few words of comfort before ordering District 13 to track down the origins of that mysterious spacecraft as soon as possible.
"Boss, at the same time you were being attacked, an infiltrator did manage to break into the archives."
Amon placed a data chip, as transparent as a piece of glass, onto the desk. With a light touch of his fingertip, a compiled report was projected into the air.
He continued, "They wiped out the entire B-1 section of the archives. The deleted files included private military records of several district governors, intelligence on a few underground organizations, and investigation reports on an arms factory accident allegedly involving the Third Prince."
"All the data in the B-1 section consisted of ‘pending verification’ records that had yet to be backed up. Normally, they would be transferred to a higher-security storage room, but once erased, they cannot be recovered—only recollected from scratch."
The floating reports, almost tangible, were flipped through one by one by Garius’ long fingers.
When he reached the end, he pressed down on the data chip, instantly dismissing all the projections.
"Even if we recollect the data, some evidence will have already been lost. We won’t find anything substantial again," Garius said flatly. "Their goal wasn’t to assassinate me. What they truly wanted was to erase someone’s incriminating evidence."
Amon nodded in agreement.
Actually, everyone knew what was really going on—it was just a matter of covering up the truth. No evidence, no conviction.
Even Garius himself could vaguely guess who the mastermind was.
His half-lidded, narrow eyes showed no anger. Even after an assassination attempt, for Garius, the loss was ultimately nothing significant.
He simply raised his head and looked directly at Amon, instructing:
"Increase surveillance on the Third Prince. Move all information about him to section C-3."
"Understood."
Amon nodded seriously, tidied up the data chip, and left in quick strides. As the first assistant, he still had a lot to do.
Once everyone had left, Garius, still deep in thought, unconsciously reached toward his chest, yearning for the soft, fluffy curls that usually brought him comfort—only to grab at empty air.
The young "god" snapped back to reality.
His golden-green slit pupils, encircled by a faint iridescence, regained their clarity as he scanned the room, finally stopping at the farthest corner.
Perhaps bothered by the noise in the office, his obedient little human had somehow dragged its nest all the way to the most distant corner, curling up and sleeping soundly. In its arms was an unopened fruit can. Its soft pink lips, pressed against the cushion, were slightly parted, and a small droplet of drool had seeped into the pillow beneath its chubby cheek, leaving a dark stain.
Garius: …
After a brief silence, the esteemed Lord Heine stared at that not-so-elegant sleeping face for a long, long time.
Strangely enough, though the scene was utterly ordinary, just watching it filled him with a peculiar sense of contentment. His entire body relaxed, breathing in rhythm with his pet’s steady inhales and exhales.
Garius thought his little pet was truly adorable.
Adorable when it acted spoiled.
Adorable when it hoarded food.
Adorable even while sleeping.
Thick black eyelashes rested quietly on its pale face, like a butterfly with still wings—so delicate that his fingers itched to touch them.
For a while, Garius simply watched. Then, as if drawn by some unknown force, he slowly stood up and walked over, lowering himself onto one knee by the wall. His brows furrowed slightly in doubt—had humans always looked this... appealing?
Cool fingertips gently pinched those dense black eyelashes, rubbing them lightly between his fingers before tugging them upward just a bit.
Perhaps he pulled too hard—because the little pet’s eyelid lifted, revealing a fleeting glimpse of lifeless fish eyes before rolling back down.
Garius: …
Ah. Not so appealing anymore.
After a few moments of silence, Garius, still holding onto those few eyelashes, stared at the little pet’s pouting lips and half-rolled eyes. Then, all of a sudden, the corners of his lips lifted, and a quiet chuckle echoed through the office.
He scooped up the little pet from its nest and cradled it in his arms before making a brief call to Amon.
"Amon."
"Do you need coffee, Boss?"
"No. Push all my work to tomorrow."
"...?"
"Joey fell asleep. I'm taking it home first—it needs a softer bed."
"…………"
Oh.
Expressionless, Amon stared at the disconnected call, then turned to look at his colleagues, who were practically flying around the office with how busy they were.
Amon clutched his chest.
A soft bed. Haha. A soft bed…
Dear Boss, after just surviving an attack—while the entirety of District 13 is drowning in chaos—you, our great leader, are not only leaving early but also using "taking my little pet home to sleep" as an excuse. Is that really okay?!
Does your conscience not ache? Huh?!
Amon pounded the desk in frustration. Damn it, we want a soft bed too! Waaaah…
Joey had no clue what Garius and the others were talking about. He got bored halfway through and dragged his cushion to a quiet corner to take a nap.
And yet, when he woke up—holy crap—why was he in the mansion’s bedroom?!
His face was pressed against a familiar chest, his ears filled with the steady rhythm of a heartbeat. Joey quickly called out to the system for an explanation. It’s not even nighttime yet! Why did the poop scooper bring me back?!
System: *[Your poop scooper dad saw you sleeping and was afraid you’d catch a cold, so he brought you home.] *
"Holy crap, that nice?"
Joey was stunned. "I’ve fallen asleep plenty of times before, and my dad never pampered me like this!"
The system puffed up proudly. [The past is the past! We’re at a 49 affection level now! And that’s a 49 from someone as cold and serious as Dad!]
"Wow…"
Joey sighed in admiration. He never realized affection levels were this powerful. He stared at the number 49, flipping it over and over as if he couldn’t get enough of it.
At this rate, with only a month gone and already at 49, wouldn’t he easily complete his mission within a year? The dream of reaching the pinnacle of life—marrying a rich beauty—was within reach!
"My dad is so good to me! I’ll definitely be filial to him! Waaaah! When I have a son, I’ll make sure he calls my dad ‘grandpa’ and takes care of him in his old age!"
Joey looked up at his poop scooper’s sleeping face. Thinking about how Garius had provided him with food, shelter, and a way to complete his mission, his heart swelled with gratitude—almost as if he were facing a second parent. A tide of filial piety welled up inside him.
Teary-eyed with emotion, he smacked two kisses on Garius’ sharp, defined jawline. The slight pressure woke the man up.
Joey, unfazed, kept showering him with affection, using his little paws to knead his legs and shoulders.
"Daddy, Daddy, you’ve worked so hard~!"
The system cringed. [Gross~]
Unfortunately, before he could finish his massage, two cold hands clasped his dog-like paws, lifting him face-to-face into a firm embrace.
The large hands that had been holding his paws shifted, cupping his cheeks instead.
Before Joey could react, golden waves of hair slipped past Garius’ elven ears, creating a small, enclosed world around them. The man’s breathtakingly handsome face drew close, their noses touching. Their breaths intertwined.
So close that Joey could count every single one of his eyelashes. So close that he could see the beautiful iridescent rings in his slit pupils.
So close that, after a moment of stunned silence, Joey’s social anxiety kicked in. His face turned red—violently red. From his collarbones to his neck, up to his earlobes, there was nowhere spared from the spreading blush.
"D-Daddy?"
"Why not kiss here?"
…Huh?
What?
Big, round, black eyes stared at Garius' furrowed brows in confusion. The man’s half-lidded eyes carried an air of puzzlement, and his voice—flowing in smooth Osmanian—sounded like a god's whisper.
"Why don’t you kiss here?" he repeated.
…Uh.
K-Kiss where exactly?
Joey’s brain short-circuited. It took a while before he realized—wait, was he talking about the mouth?!
Maybe, after experiencing the joy of pet affection, Garius now craved more. And now, like a clueless first-time pet owner, he was just bluntly asking his little pet: Why’d you stop kissing? Keep going.
Pffft—
Thinking about it that way, Joey suddenly found his dad adorable.
Holding back laughter, he accepted his role as a pet rather than a human. The embarrassment of pleasing his owner had long since faded.
So, he reached up and cupped the North-European-god-like man’s face.
First, he kissed his furrowed brow, smoothing it out.
Then, he hesitated for a second, but with twinkling black eyes full of mischief—
He pressed a firm kiss against his dad’s soft, full lips.
"Daddy, I love you so much!!!"
"Mm."
Garius pressed his lips together, as if savoring the lingering sensation.
A peculiar warmth filled his heart.
So this was the joy of having a pet.
Lord Heine thought—
Not bad at all.
T/N: Please give support on my ko-fi page, thank you🍊🍊🍊
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