Chapter 90 Assault Incidents
Prince Caspian left the Duke of Drea’s residence with his companions and made his way to another party. His breathing was ragged from the anger he still felt, and his companions were nervous of sparking unnecessary fires.
One in particular, Count Louis Farren, the man who had started the whole affair, was getting restless, and he raised his voice when he caught Caspian’s eye.
“It’s all because of that bitch Frida Mitchell or something, and I’ve unnecessarily tangled myself with her… I’m sorry, Your Highness.”
“I know. This is all because of her.”
Caspian said through clenched teeth. Actually, the ‘bitch’ Caspian was referring to was Veronia, and her interruption had put him in a bad mood with Killion.
‘I applauded her… and cheered her on, and this is how you repay me. How dare you!’
He felt like his image had been tarnished by her, and his stomach churned again.
He thought to himself, ‘Come on… I’ve been in the papers with her before, and being compared to her has only made me look worse!’
Caspian’s thoughts had gone so far that he could no longer stand it, and he slammed his tightly curled fist down loudly on his thigh.
The Earl of Farren, who had climbed into the carriage with him, rolled his shoulders even more nervously. Somehow, some way, he had to ease Caspian’s mood. The Earl of Farren smiled slyly.
“She’s a very unscrupulous woman who ignored my best intentions when I tried to make her pretty. I can’t let her get away with it. I’ll have to show her the error of her ways.”
“How?”
Caspian asked, his eyes widening. They were like the eyes of a viper facing a fluttering prey.
***
Sandra’s condition was not much different from Caspian’s. After a brief stay with the party, Sandra left the mansion early and returned to the palace.
Seeing Sandra’s flushed face as she stepped out of the carriage, all the maids of honour at the Empress Dowager’s palace tensed and shook their shoulders.
As they had expected, Sandra began throwing things around as soon as she reached her bedroom. The jugs, cups, and vases on the table shattered with a loud, sharp crack.
After a few minutes of smashing everything, her anger finally seemed to dissipate. Sandra straightened her disheveled hair and ordered her maid.
“Clean the room. Prepare a bath. And call Tate immediately and tell him to come to the palace.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The maids moved in unison at Sandra’s command.
Sitting in the steaming bath, Sandra had many thoughts.
“The Duke of Drea and a silver-haired healer…?”
Things were getting very strange. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it was strange. She had a strange feeling.
“Nia Lampert…?”
She was going to use her to rebrand Caspian, and she thought it was a pretty good plan, but with Killion standing by her side, it all went down the drain.
“Then our Caspian will never be able to shed his image as the Prince of Violence.”
She didn’t like that. It would take a powerful device to pull the image back up once it had fallen, and she couldn’t think of anything other than a silver-haired healer.
“How could it not? I could see her again?”
For a moment, Sandra’s eyes lit up. But the glow didn’t last long. She sighed heavily and shook her head.
Killion would stand in her way. She longed to tear the rascal to shreds.
How dare he disobey her orders as Empress, how dare he lie to her, how dare he banish her from her presence.
“But… you said you wouldn’t ask me to sin in front of so many people, so…!”
The more she thought about it, the more furious she felt. As a noble and dignified member of the imperial family, she didn’t like the idea of being pushed around by a lowly nobleman.
“Ha! To think that I have to be pampered by such a foolish noble! I’d better get rid of him as soon as possible!”
She couldn’t continue to live a life of servitude to Killion’s prying eyes; it was a disgraceful life. She was the Empress, and she would no longer have to endure this humiliation.
She had to take action before his influence grew stronger, before the current power structure became entrenched. To defeat such a powerful opponent, the formal arts are too risky. It’s too risky to try to defeat a powerful opponent.
‘I need to learn more about her.’
She is Killion’s precious fiancée, his only weakness. Sandra’s eyes glowed dangerously.
***
A few days later, Killion visited Emperor Jonathan.
“In half a year,” he said, “I intend to take a break from central administration and politics and live a manor life.”
Jonathan, taken aback by the unexpected remark, narrowed his eyes.
“Does that decision have anything to do with the duke’s marriage?”
“Yes. I think an estate would be a better place to raise a child than the capital, and I thought it would be valuable to have the experience of running an estate before trying to run an entire country.”
“Am I to take it, then, that you intend to return to the capital at some point?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Hmmm, Jonathan thought to himself. It was clear that Killion was not a threat to his political position.
A powerful man so uninterested in power, Jonathan coveted Killion all the more; to have him as an ally, to have him at his feet, would be like having a thousand horses.
‘For the next half year… I must prevent him from descending into the realm at all costs.’
Jonathan’s mind began to race.
***
Caspian was flirting with his mates again today, this time in a secret social club. The dark, cigarette-smoked room reeked of dancers’ powder and alcohol.
In the midst of all the excitement, the Earl of Louis Farren came in, smiling broadly, and whispered in Caspian’s ear.
“Princess Espin and her maids are attending the Earl of Macquarie’s party tonight.”
“Really?”
Caspian’s eyes gleamed dangerously. So did the eyes of his friends, including the Earl of Farren. Snorting, Caspian chuckled pleasantly.
“Well, then, why don’t we make our way over to Earl Macquarie’s party? I’m sure there’s something fun to be had.”
Caspian sprang from his seat, and his friends followed.
***
Late at night, the Duchy of Drea was shaken to its core. The party’s attendants, the Princesses Espin, had returned in tears.
Killion, Veronia, her godmother, and Countess Miller had gathered in the annexe. Espin explained her situation slowly, tears streaming down her face.
“Huhuhu… Frida was walking in the garden with a young lord, when all of a sudden a group of masked men gathered around them and kicked them out of nowhere… Huhu…”
The indiscriminate violence continued for about five minutes, after which the masked men mysteriously disappeared.
“Oh my God!”
“How could this happen…!”
It was horrifying to see such a random assault at a party in the centre of the capital. The godmother and Countess Miller’s faces contorted in pain as they listened to Princess Espin’s explanation.
Meanwhile, Veronia and Killion chewed on their lower lips, waiting for Princess Espin’s next words.
“Huhu… Seeing as we didn’t hear any footsteps when he disappeared as we did when he approached… I’m guessing he used a teleportation scroll…”
“It’s okay now, Your Highness, you’re safe here.”
Veronia comforted, wiping away Espin’s tears with a dry handkerchief. Killion asked in a worried voice.
“How is Lady Frida?”
Out of breath, Espin wiped her tears with her handkerchief and took a deep breath. When she had regained some breath, she spoke again, with difficulty.
“Her right arm is broken, and she has bruises all over her body, which were treated at once at Count Macquarie’s, and I’m back now, she’s sleeping on painkillers and sedatives.”
“I see, Your Highness, you should also take some sedatives and sleep well tonight. I’ll go over to Count Macquarie’s right away and see what I can find out about the situation.”
Rising from his seat, Killion hurried to his feet. Veronia followed him.
“I’ll come with you.”
“You shouldn’t. It could be dangerous.”
“No. I must go too.”
Killion tried once, but Veronia would not listen. He sighed as he saw her eyes burning with intense light. He knew he would not be able to persuade her.
“Okay, but you must stay by my side.”
“Okay.”
Veronia nodded vigorously. Killion had to swallow hard at the worry still creeping in.
The two of them had chosen horses over carriages. Horses were better when they needed to travel quickly.
As he helped Veronia mount, Killion asked.
“Do you have any suspicions about anyone?”
“Caspian. He’s always been like this.”
Veronia replied with almost certainty.
