Who got poisoned? (Civ)

Inside a spacious work room, Civ is seating on a leather chair and reviewing a report that has just recently delivered by one of his aides. The report has a big CONFIDENTIAL word written on the cover, but Civ do not hesitate to scan through it like a hyena thirst for blood.

[The target has not encounter any life threatening events so far, we will still be keeping our eyes on her. A couple of guards accidentally poisoned while guarding her from close proximity. While we are not sure how lethal the poison is, the effect is quite slow. We would like to believe our guards are strong enough and has considerable poison resistance, thus they should be able to endure it for a few more days. If everything went smoothly, we estimate the quest will be completed soon]

After reading the short confidential report, I lit the report on fire to make sure every trace of it is gone. I am not too worried nor care about the poisoned subordinates, after all they are my personal guards, so they should be strong enough to withstand some poison. If they do get poisoned to death, it might be easier for me to get rid of all the traces that can link them to Arcadia. Besides, I know that I am the one who ordered my personal guards to protect her, but I am slightly annoyed that they are not so careful to be in a close proximity and can actually be poisoned by her.

'How the hell did they got poisoned? I thought she can only poison directly with her blood', I thought, starting to get a annoyed but a little proud of her,

'The quest should be completed soon, huh? Good, I should start to plan for a meeting'

I pressed the button on the side of the table to call for one of my aides. Instantly, someone appears after a knock on my large wooden door.

"Schedule a meeting as soon as Ivy is back from her mission" I said lightly

"Yes, sir. Is it a private meeting?" The aide named John asked back

"No, call for the whole elite 9 meeting" I replied

"Yes, sir"

"That will be all- oh wait, I want you to schedule me a meeting with a member candidate"

"A member candidate?" John asked, clearly confused

"She has the potential to be one of the most valuable member of Arcadia. Ivy asked me to make sure we recruit her no matter what" I lied. A necessary lie, not that it mattered if anyone found out. Ivy would take my side, anyway.

"Of course, sir. When do you want it scheduled?" John asked

"Within this week. Just make sure my schedules for this week are not too hectic" I said casually

"I understand, sir. Consider it done"

"You may leave now" I said finally

I can tell John is slightly surprised and confused to schedule not one but two important meetings. I have told him many times that It is not good to wear your expression so clearly on your face, but today I let him be. After all, it is just an excuse to finally meet Ivy and once again brag to everyone that work of art of a woman is mine. Suddenly remembered that I need to give my personal guards the antidote pills that Ivy handmade herself to heal from Katarina's poison made me furious. Angry at myself that it is because they are 'my' personal guards thus qualify them to receive Ivy's pill.

Angry at the guards to be so stupid to be poisoned, and angry at Katarina to accidentally poison them.

"I should just leave them to die. Who are they to dare to think they deserved Ivy's pill" I decided as I said out loud.

I clenched my fist, trying to control my rage. 'It might be good if they die. They should blame their lack of skill' , justifying myself.

'Let's just hope that when Ivy finds out, she will not hand her pills to them directly. They do not deserve it. No one deserved it. No one deserved her except for me. She is mine and anything of hers is mine'

Slowly, I start to think about how short the report was. The guards only indicate that no life threatening events occurred, but there are no mention of any of her injuries, her progress nor her current situation. The rest is just some stupid report on how the guards got poisoned, which infuriates me. I tapped my fingers on the table, slowly taking a big long breath as I calm myself. I reckon I should work on other things to settle everything so that I can give this week a little more freedom.

A couple of hours passed. I did not realized I have worked a quite a lot until I heard a knock on my door.

"Sir, your dinner is ready" John the aide said respectfully

"You can have it. I am almost done" I said to John

"Mr. Beaumont, you have worked the whole week worth of work. Surely you can stop and have dinner" a voice belonged to someone standing from behind John emerged.

I take a quick glance at the man who just barged into my work room. Not because I do not recognize his voice, but because I found it odd for the sixth seat of the elite 9 to come into my work room unannounced.

"Connor, what are you doing here?" I asked without stopping from what I am doing.

"I heard you call for the elite 9 meeting", Connor replied with his smug

"Then you must know I said the meeting is scheduled for as soon as Ivy is back"

"Well, how do I know when is our princess coming back? Heck, how do you know whether she is coming back? The two of you are scary, it's like you have some kind of telepathy or something"

"Because it has been 2 weeks and she is competent that I believe her mission must be finishing soon" I said flatly and quicken my work so I could finish soon

"Believe? ha! Are you sure it is not because it has been 2 weeks and you are at your limit to fuck the brain out of her?"

Now this, needs my attention.

I stop what I am doing and sit back leisurely to take a good look at Connor. With my back against the chair, I crossed my arms, finding this conversation tedious.

"You are not wrong. Now that I think about it, I did not get to fuck her before she went for her mission. Now my horny self is at the limit and holding everyone in jeopardy. Now listen, I would love nothing more if we could talk about Ivy for hours and brag about her, but we both know you are not here to do that. So before I loose control and start… fucking everyone in this tower, it would be better for you to tell me why the hell are you here for?" I said calmly, unamused.

I thought he'd start talking, but all I hear is silence. I have never liked Connor. His sixth seat in Arcadia is the result of his meticulous planning, so I acknowledge that. He is smart and cunning, but also a coward. I may acknowledge his achievements, but it does not mean I have to like him. Not after I saw his jealousy towards Ivy when she take her place as the second seat in Arcadia. I find it funny when he thinks Ivy sat in second place just because she slept with me when I am pretty sure that Ivy could rival my strength and take my seat. I'd bet the whole Arcadia tower that Ivy could end Connor in less than 5 moves.

"I just came back from my mission, and I found a new dungeon that needs to be explored. So I came for permission to take command for an intelligence group" Connor said finally after a long pause

"A new dungeon, you say?"

"Yeah I estimate that it belonged to the giants, given the proportion of the portal door size. So I need a group 20 or so intels to explore and collect data, and then we can-"

"Let's discuss this in the elite 9 meeting" I cut his sentence mid-way

"But Civ, we don't even know when will the meeting held"

"Soon. She is coming back soon."

"Civ, this is time sensitive. If other tower find and explore this new dungeon we will-"

"Within this week. And that's final. If you do not wish to wait, you are free to hire or gather intels on your own without using Arcadia's name. Now if you have nothing else, you may leave" I said sternly, tired of people who just wanted to use Arcadia's resources for their own gain.

"She'd better be, Mr. Beaumont. It has been awhile since the last time I saw her. I would love to challenge her again for her seat, if she is up to it. Well then, I will take my leave now. I will see you soon, Mr. Beaumont" said Connor. His voice turned cold, like he is plotting something sinister.

I stared at him unamused, when he turned around and left, I did not miss to notice his evil smirk. I glance at John who is still standing as stiff as a rock and said,

"Leave now, and I want you to schedule me a private meeting with Ivy directly after the elite 9 meeting is done. That son of a bitch need to be put to place"