Chapter 223: 223

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty, Empress Belice!” The pounding on the door occurred as she was about to extinguish the lamp and turn in for the night. She donned a robe and called for the visitor to enter.

“My apologies, Your Majesty,” Karune said as he entered and bowed. “May I approach?”

Belice motioned for him to rise and Karune went to Belice to speak softly into her ear, so that the news could not be heard by any possible spies.

Belice’s eyes widened. She clenched her fists in anger and yelled, “Where is he now?”

“Sir Gerald Artin is escorting him to the palace.” Karune said.

“Gen is personally taking care of the situation?” Belice asked. “That means he will make sure no one interferes with the duke.” She rubbed her temples with her fingers. “Tell a group of trusted soldiers to quietly retrieve the High Priests’s corpse, and make sure they inform the deputy priest to keep quiet on this situation until further notice.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

“As there will be a trial, inform Sir Roden. But make sure not a word of this reaches the common people until the verdict is told.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” They both knew how the nobles would react. They would demand execution. The news of this, plus the news of the High Priest’s death, could cause riots across the entire kingdom.

“Lastly, make sure that no one has access to the Duke except me while he is in his cell.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Karune bowed and left the empress’ chamber.

As the door closed behind him, Belice collapsed on her bed. Alexcent, what have you done? she thought. Are you really that eager to die? You killed Amethyst and now you wish to spend eternity with her?

Belice gazed out the moonlit window. The silver light shone upon a land that was now completely different than the day before, yet it was the same moonlight as it always had been. “Why is this world so cruel?” Belice whispered into the night.

***

“We’ll take it from here.” Palace guards from the empress were already waiting when Gen returned to the Skad manor with the prisoner. “On the empress’ order, no one will have contact with Duke Skad except her.”

Gen willingly let them take Alexcent, unable to argue a command from the empress. He watched as they took the duke away to be placed in a cell in the farthest corner of the dungeon, devoid of light. There he would sit, alone.

The palace cells were reserved for nobles, which usually meant they held the people who had committed treason against the empress. Because of the severity of the crimes, the cells were cold and rough. It was simply a stone chamber, without a bed or even a blanket. The cells had been designed and constructed by Alexcent’s family. He laughed at the irony of being a prisoner in them himself.

A flicker of light in the darkness indicated that he had a visitor. He squinted into the sudden brightness to discern the identity of the human form in front of his cell.

“Your Majesty.” Gen had made his way to the dungeons, despite the orders of the empress. Gen always had a way of getting around the rules, which is what made him such a good aide. “It’s hard for me to keep cleaning up after you if you continue to act without thinking.”

Even though Gen liked to make jokes in serious situations, Alexcent did not have any humour left in him. “Don’t,” he said sternly.

“Don’t what?”

“Do anything.” Alexcent would not look up.

“Your Majesty!” Gen could not believe that Alexcent was giving up.

“You don’t have to do anything about me. Go back and declare a state of emergency. Try to keep the Skad house from falling, that is all.”

Gen did not know what to say. The state of emergency measures had never been used before. He didn’t think there would ever come a time that they would be needed. And now…all because of one woman. He secretly wished he could turn back time and destroy the moment he introduced Amethyst to Alexcent.

“Gen?” Alexcent finally looked up, having not received an answer from the man.

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Gen had no choice; he always followed his master’s orders.

“As you wish, my Lord.”

***

Gen immediately called upon Hill and Pon when he returned to his office. There was much to discuss, and this meeting could have serious ramifications.

“Duke Skad will be put on trial as quickly as possible.” Both men nodded. They had heard the news already. “The empress has claimed that this event was not sanctioned by the rest of the Skad family. The nobles may not believe this.”

“This is the best opportunity for the nobles to take down the Skad family,” Hill said.

“Correct. So immediately, the Skad Family will go into a state of emergency and close all doors.” This was an extreme option, meaning that they cut all ties with the outside world. No business, no visitors, no contact. They would be completely isolated from everyone and everything.

“We have to be prepared for whatever the result of the trial ends up being. Pon, choose the necessary employees to allow us to survive and terminate the rest of the contracts.”

“I will do that right away,” Pon agreed.

“Sir Hill, every knight, including yourself, is now ‘fired’.”

“Of course.” Hill accepted this command without any hesitation. Being fired was to show the other nobles that they were no longer in the command of the Skad family and therefore not a threat. In truth, it was all a ruse. Being unemployed, but considered highly skilled, the other noble families will scramble to hire them. Once they ingrain themselves amongst the competing noble’s armies, they will act like spies and monitor the situation from inside. If there is any sense of treason or attack by a competing family, they can sabotage it instantly. Once you were a soldier with the Skad family, you are always a soldier with the Skad family.

“Gen, what will you do?” Pon asked.

“I will prepare for the trial.” He had not been asked to be Alexcent’s representative, but he couldn’t let him go down without a fight.

“You’ll have your work cut out for you,” Hill mentioned with a shake of his head. “The duke does not have much of a chance.”

“Yes, the result doesn’t seem like it will be good, but I’ll have to try my best. You have your orders. I need to run one errand before we close our doors for good.” Hill and Pon nodded and left the office.

***

The carriage carrying Gen rumbled down the bumpy road towards its destination. Gen watched for the stone wall that indicated they were close to the spot. He tapped on the sliding window, indicating for the horseman to stop. Gen exited the carriage.

“I’ll go alone from here,” he informed the driver.

“Are you sure? There is nothing around here,” the driver asked, looking at the surrounding forests.

“I’ll be fine, and I can make my own way back, so please return to the manor.”

“Yes, sir.” The carriage turned in the clearing and made its way back to the manor, leaving Gen alone amongst the shadows of the setting sun.

Gen walked down the roadway some time before coming to a large mansion. A high wall surrounded the building, indicating that someone important lived there who did not wish to be disturbed.

Gen found a spot where a tree had grown right next to the wall and used its trunk to scale to the top of the structure. He could see light coming from the windows of the house that stood inside. He watched for movement until the shadows had taken over and darkness fell. As the wind rustled the trees quietly, Gen made his way into the yard surrounding the building.

To everyone, Gen only appeared as the duke’s aide. Very few knew that he was skilled in techniques of stealth and shadow. He was only one of a few people who were strong enough to face Alexcent on a battlefield without the use of magic. Hill may be the captain of the knights who fought in the day, but Gen was the captain of the shadow warriors who fought at night.

Preparing himself, Gen headed towards the mansion and the person he was here to see.

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