Affinity:Chaos

"I really didn't hope it would get to this," Grey said casually before turning towards the door, to the surprise of Donald.

"Where do you think you're going?" Donald asked with a long face.

"My ride's here, I'm heading back to old man's Gerald's villa," Grey replied before placing his hand on the doorknob.

Donald was about to attack to stop him from leaving before his expression suddenly changed and you looked outside.

Whoosh! Bang!

"Sorry, I had to destroy the window. Master Gerald will cover for the cost of the destruction," A middle-aged man said after flying through the window into the office.

The man stood between Grey and Donald as soon as he came in.

When Donald saw the man, his face turned darker.

"Diluc, what's the meaning of this?" He asked coldly.

"Nothing, I was sent to ensure his safety," Diluc shrugged before pointing at Grey.

"This is the Reiss family compound, do you really think only you can stop me?" Donald asked coldly.

"Of course not, I was only sent to show you how serious master Gerald is. For the safety of the boy, he doesn't mind going against a dying family," Diluc said nonchalantly.

Grey opened the door and walked out of the office to the dismay of Donald, he wanted to stop him, but he knew he couldn't since Diluc was there.

Diluc was regarded as one of the best geniuses Frost City had ever produced. He broke through to the Overlord Plane at the tender age of twenty-six, which was the youngest in the history of the entire city. He wasn't from any of the big families, rather, he was groomed by the Lenz organization, old man Gerald personally groomed him.

He could be said to be Gerald's greatest asset, sending him was a message to Donald. If anything happened to Grey, then he should prepare for a war he definitely cannot win.

Donald stared at the disappearing view of Grey, regret flashing through his eyes. He initially didn't think the relationship between Grey and Gerald would be this close. From his years of contact with Gerald, he didn't think he would take the risk of sheltering someone who the Emperor wanted to kill.

'For him to do this means the boy has someone terrifying behind him. Either that or the boy promised him something,' He thought to himself.

He just created an enemy out of greed, it was just as Grey said, this was time for building bridges, not burning them. But now he burned down a really important one.

'*Sigh* I hope Alice would understand, I only did it for the family,' Donald sighed before sitting down on his chair.

He seemed to have aged a bit just from the fear of who might be behind Grey, and how he would face his daughters again. Had his plan worked, he would've felt it was worth it, but now, he gained nothing from it.

Outside Donald's office.

After Grey left, he saw Sasha running towards the office hurriedly, almost bumping into him.

"You.. you're okay?" Sasha asked in surprise when she saw Grey walking out.

"Yeah, shouldn't I be?" Grey looked at her strangely.

"But… but my dad," Sasha looked behind him, trying to catch a glimpse of the office before the door shut completely.

"He let me go, I said it earlier, he wouldn't dare kill me," Grey waved it off.

"He just let you go?" Sasha asked again, surprise and confusion were very evident in her face.

"Yup, after speaking to him for a while, he decided to let me go," Grey nodded with a smile.

"That's strange, my dad isn't one who would easily change his decision," Sasha said in doubt.

She knew her father all too well, changing his mind was something she had never seen occur before. Once he's made up his mind to do something, especially one that he thinks is for the good of the family, he would never go against it, no matter what.

"I'm a very capable talker, although it was a little difficult, I was able to convince him in the end," Grey beat his chest in confidence.

"That… that has never happened before," Sasha still had some doubts about Grey's claim. She was finding it very difficult to believe.

"What if what I offered would greatly benefit him and your family, do you think he wouldn't change his mind?" Grey said with a curious smile.

"Well, if it would benefit the family, he would change his mind," Sasha nodded thoughtfully.

If it was just as Grey said, then her father would change his mind.

"I'm sorry for how he treated you earlier," She said after a while with her head hung low.

"Even if you managed to convince my father, he wouldn't apologize for what he did," She added.

Grey looked at Sasha before shaking his head wryly, if only Sasha knew he was lying. He could tell she was greatly disappointed in her father, this was why he said this. This was Alice's family after all, he didn't want to be the cause of a conflict between them.

"Don't let Alice know of what happened today, okay, given her fiery temper, I don't know what she would do," He said with a wry smile.

"If she were strong enough, she would attack our father," Sasha said with certainty to Grey's surprise.

"What?!" Grey exclaimed, he didn't think Alice would do that but seeing how certain Sasha looked, he felt she might be right.

"Has she attacked him before?" He couldn't help but ask before he continued walking.

The only reason he stood close to Donald's office while speaking with Sasha a few moments ago was to let him know he didn't really want anything bad for the family. He would get revenge later in the future, well, that all depends on how things pan out.

If Donald continued being the dickhead he currently was, then he wouldn't mind teaching him a thing or few when he had grown stronger than him. But if he changed, maybe, just maybe he might let him go.

Donald's office.

Donald and Diluc heard Grey and Sasha's conversation. Donald's hand was currently shaking from disappointment, he looked at his shaking hands in surprise.

"Thank you," He muttered quietly.

"To think you attacked him earlier," Diluc said before heading towards the window, "Goodbye, I'll send people over to fix the door."