Lucian blinked at the rings around the man's fingers.
The A's noticed Lucian's gaze and began to remove them, "You want them? Here, take them," he threw them on Lucian's desk, "Now, fix the chaos you created!"
Lucian motioned for him to sit down on the chair across the table, "That's not how you conduct business, Lord Ashtor."
It was a shame that the A's didn't know how to make a proper bribe. He suddenly approached Lucian's ship, barged into his office, throwing things at him and demanding things in return, thinking he had no leverage to demand anything from Lucian.
The A's sat down, his foot tapping on the floor rapidly and his hands clenching and unclenching. When Lucian kept looking at him without saying anything, he began to speak again.
"The news about what happened today can't reach the board! The deadline is tomorrow. I need to show father that I can handle this, but the riot is ruining everything!" A's spoke in a hurry, his voice rising.
He was nervous and agitated. It was obvious that the situation was not under his control. But what made him think Lucian would be on his side?
"You're a fair man, right? I didn't have a choice! Everyone's been praising you, saying how great you are at running your business without any backing. Do you have any idea what it's like to live in your shadow? To be constantly compared to you?!"
Lucian shook his head innocently in response, "No. I have no idea what that's like."
"Of course you don't! You don't have a father who's breathing down your neck, waiting for you to make a mistake, and if you do, he'll rub your nose in it. You don't know what it's like to have a father who's always telling you how much better than you everyone else is!"
"And you think I'm the source of all your problems?" Lucian asked.
"No. I don't think. I know!" A's stood up abruptly, slamming his hands on the table. His face was flushed with anger, and his eyes were wide, showing that he was on the verge of a breakdown, "Turn down your hiring offer! That's all I'm asking. Then, the riot will stop, and I'll be able to deliver the goods on time. Simple."
"Simple," Lucian agreed.
"You don't understand!" A's got even angrier, "I need those guys to return to work or father will kill me! You know what they say about him! The Mad Hatter!"
The Mad Hatter was a ruthless merchant, known for his brutal business tactics. He had a reputation for crushing his rivals and taking over their businesses, leaving them bankrupt and destitute.
His nickname came from his signature hat, which he always wore in public. It was said that he would remove his hat and place it on the table whenever he was about to make a particularly ruthless decision. It was a signal that he was not to be trifled with.
He had many children wIth different women, and was rumored to have abandoned them as soon as they didn't take after him and his talent in business.
"Well, the harder the challenge, the sweeter the victory," Lucian said, inspecting the rings one after another. "Wouldn't defeating me make you worthy of his recognition? Don't ask for my help when you can just work harder than me and take what's mine."
That's what A's had been aiming at! Remove Lucian from the game and then replace him to become the Mad Hatter's successor.
"..." A's broke down, not knowing what to do. He couldn't handle the pressure of being thrown out of the house and left on his own. His world was collapsing around him.
Lucian returned to his work, leaving A's to his misery.
"If I die...my death...will be on you," The A's said, pulling his dagger, and pointing it at his neck, "I can't go back. Father will kill me. I have nowhere else to go. You…you will be responsible for what happens next."
Lucian looked up from the papers, "..."
"Father might even take revenge on you," A's eyes widened in realization, "Yes, he might!"
"..." Lucian kept looking at him.
"There's no point in living if I can't even keep my head up around my own father," A's steeled his resolve, and the dagger got closer to his neck.
He was getting crazier by the minute. Lucian could see that A's was at the end of his rope. He could snap at any time if someone gave him the last push.
"..." Lucian looked at him, then at the dagger, and then he returned to his paperwork, "Your death will not be on me. Everyone will know you gave up your own life because you couldn't face your failures, and tried to take an innocent life down with you. I will personally make sure of it."
A's eyes twitched, his grip on the dagger tightening, "Then I will take you down with me!"
He lunged at Lucian, his dagger ready to strike. But Lucian's left hand grabbed his wrist, and twisted it, while his right hand grabbed the hilt of the dagger, and pushed it in the other direction.
A's let out a cry of pain, his hand going limp as Lucian snapped his wrist like a twig.
"AAaahh!" He screamed in agony, his hand hanging uselessly at his side, as he fell to the ground, "Aaaah!"
Lucian took the dagger and placed it on his shelf, out of A's reach, before returning to his seat. "I just saved your life from that dagger."
"You broke my wrist!" A's screamed, his face contorted in pain, his voice hoarse from yelling.
"Because you tried to kill yourself and me," Lucian replied, picking up the pen and resuming his paperwork.
A's continued to cry in pain but didn't move from his spot, "My wrist...my wrist...my wrist...a physician...I need a physician...a physician..."
Lucian thought A's would finally run away from his office, but A's didn't move from his spot, still holding his hand, asking for a physician, and crying in pain. He dreaded going back so much that he would rather die it seemed.
A's eventually fell asleep on the ground. His loud snores continuously interrupted Lucian's work, who couldn't get anything done with all the noise.
Lucian had to drag the sleeping man outside his office to get some peace and quiet.
All his Vices except Lorano were packing their bags and preparing to return to their positions on land when they saw the snoring A's outside the narrow corridors, blocking their way.
"...the heck is this?"