Chapter 86 STAND IN HIS PLACE

Its been a month since Darius and Mystica left Aerouant Kingdom.

Vladimir and Antonia remained steadfast searching for them while Arthur fufills his position at the Empire as the acting CEO.

Since he wasn't used to stay in the office, he find it hard to deal with some documents that needed his constant approval from time to time.

Unlike Darius, he was frequently sent to deal with some ruckus in the field which he always did with succession. However, most of the times, he felt curious about Darius', dealing with some office stuff and he admitted to himself that he also wished to be on that position.

But now that he was sitting in his brother's chair, he felt somehow conflicted. He desired to be in this place for a long time and now that he was already given the chance to prove himself, he didn't feel satisfied.

For him, sitting in his chair for the whole day while facing some papers are more exhausting and it made him realize one thing.

*"How the hell did you manage to deal with these crap all this time?"* He grumbled under his breath while his eyes rammed to every contents of the piece of paper written in it. *"How could you make it so easy when it was freaking hard for me?"*

Arthur never thought that this day would come for him. The day where he would despise the seat that he yearned to have all his life!

He shut his eyes for a brief moment as he felt them getting heavy. He hadn't been able to sleep properly these days because the schedules left by Darius are piled up. From the meetings to gatherings. They were all needing his presence and he can't afford to slack off otherwise Vladimir would nag at him for being incompetent.

He was about to doze off when the door burst open, revealing Philip.

With snappy eyes, he stared at him asking. *"What is it this time?"*

Dropping the pile of documents in front of Arthur, Philip replied in a playful tone. *"To give you a lot more surprises."*

Arthur scoffed. *"Huh! Why do I have the feeling that you loathed me so much?"*

*"Come on,"* Philip couldn't help chuckling, amused at the latter's joke. *"Its been just a month. You still had a lot to swallow before giving such kind of horrendous conclusion towards me!"*

Arthur sighed in desperation. *"I should have tried to search for him instead of sitting here. I felt so useless!"*

Philip recalled the conversation he have with Darius before he vanished. The latter had asked for his favor to assist his brother whenever he can as he had expected that he would be acting like this because he wasn't used to this kind of stuff therefore, he promised to do as he wished just to make him feel at ease while he was away.

*"You should try to get rid of those thoughts, you know."* He pacified mildly. *"You know Darius. He would never leave the Empire if you're not good enough to manage it. He trust you more than anyone so you should began trusting yourself as well.*"

*"What if I made mistakes? What should I do then?"* Arthur said albeit doubtful of himself. *"The entire Empire would collapse because of it."*

Philip shook his head, laughing in amusement. *"If Darius hears you, he would definitely pass out."*

*"Why is that?"* Arthur asked curiously.

*"You used to compete with him to everything with confidence but now that he was nowhere to be found, you became like this. Where was that personality of yours?"* Philip replied askance. *"Don't you think that was what we are needing now?"*

Arthur lowered his head sighing. *"Perhaps I'm not just used to Darius' absence."*

Philip frowned in disbelief. *"Don't tell me that you missed him?!"*

Arthur coughed awkwardly, saying. *"Ahem! Don't talk nonsense!"*

Philip was about to tease him but Vladimir barge into the door with a sullen expression plastered on his chiseled face which caused the latter to keep silent.

*"My Lord,"* He greeted, lowering his head.

Vladimir just nodded and the latter exited the office in silence.

*"You could have reached me through mind link. Why do you have to come here?"* Arthur asked with sarcasm evident in his voice.

*"I'm here to discuss something with you."* Vladimir said indifferently, taking the empty seat across his son.

*"If you want to convince me into giving up this seat, then I would be more glad to do that."* He replied in a nonchalant manner. *"I know you hate me sitting this seat that only belongs to Darius so I'm giving it up. You just need to say it."*

Vladimir's face hardened, displeased with his son's words. However, since he still couldn't track Darius' whereabouts, he refrained himself from lashing out. He kept reminding himself that this isn't the time to get hyped with his impudent son's behavior. What he needed right now is him, to save their whole clan as he believed that he could also be that creature written in that prophecy.

*"I'm not here to pick a fight over a trivial matter."* Vladimir said seriously, *"...there's something important that you have to do."*

*"More important than running the Empire?"* Arthur asked, sounding uneasy. *"And what could that be?"*

Vladimir took a deep breath before he spilled out. *"You have to carry on to bethrothal in Darius' place."*

Arthur was swarmed with office matters since Darius left thus he totally forgot about this matter. Now that Vladimir mentioned it again, he also felt like running just like his brother as he also despised being involved in an arrange marriage.

Displaying a cold look, he asked. *"And why do I have to do such a ridiculous thing?!"*

*"You heard me loud and clear!"* Vladimir spoke in a firm manner. *"You have to be bethrothed as Darius otherwise..."*

*"Otherwise what?!"* Arthur asked his father with clenched jaws. *"Otherwise you will cast me out of the clan?!"*

*"There would be no more Aerouant Kingdom to compete with in this Realm if you refuse to."* Vladimir stated honestly. *"Everything we build will turn to ashes in a couple of days and not just that. Even our existence will vanished in the history."*

Arthur stared at his father in disbelief as he noticed that he had a sudden change of expression in his face. *"What... What do you mean by that?!"*

Vladimir stared at his son for a brief moment before he spoke.

*"See me in my chambers and I'll explain everything to you."*