{TRIGGER WARNING: The scenes in this chapter may depict sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, physical violence, and identity-based discrimination and harassment. Please read at your ownRISK!!!}
[Dravenhart Empire]
Emperor Aurelius Dravenhart V, son of the late Emperor Aurelius IV and his favorite concubine, Rosalinde Evercrest. He was originally third in line to the throne, but because of the sudden death of the crown prince at the age of 4 and the refusal of the second prince to be involved in politics and choose the life of priesthood, he became the crown prince and eventually the emperor after the late emperor's death. He was known as the benevolent king to his subjects, a just ruler to his officials, the savior and commander to the Empire's military, and to his enemies he was known to be ruthless.
He led the empire at the age of 15, and ever since then the empire's been peaceful and at its peak. He was every woman's dream, but above all of the noble families who've been offering marriage proposals, he chose to marry Marquess Ronan's only daughter, Lady Seraphina. The Sebastienne household had been growing massive influence in court as of late. And given the Marquess' ambiguous personality, he intends to keep them in check by marrying his daughter.
"Your highness, don't forget the engagement next week that will be announced on the day of the banquet. I've already requested the imperial dressmaker so she can make a suit for you," Count Vaelyn reminded him as he was standing in front of his desk, telling the emperor of his future engagements.
Vaelyn Solmyr, also known as Count Vaelyn, was the sole successor of the Solmyr family and the childhood friend of the Emperor. They are rather close to each other, like a brother, since they typically grew up together and went to the same academy for 3 years as well.
They were 14 when they received a letter informing them of the last emperor's death. The crown prince was forced to quicken his studies for the remaining 1 year as he was needed to ascend to the throne. There was civil unrest after the sudden death of Emperor Aurelius, but after Aurelius graduated, the first thing he did was quell the revolutionaries.
After Count Vaelyn finished his 4 years in the academy, he followed his best friend's track and became his right-hand man and advisor. He witnessed the sleepless nights of his friend in his first year of being the emperor, quenching the rebels, investigating his father's death, protecting the empire against the foreign invaders, and stabilizing the empire's falling economy. He didn't have any time to mourn his father's death.
Count Vaelyn always pities the emperor, his friend. Though he was not showing it, he knew that deep down, the emperor was lonely.
"Do I need to? I have a lot of unused suits that I can wear instead. Just donate the money to the orphanage and the church," the emperor said without even looking at him. He was busy signing papers on his desk.
Count Vaelyn rolled his eyes when the emperor was not looking. He knows that the emperor doesn't like Marquess Ronan; that man is full of greed. You can definitely tell it just by how cocky he can get and how he talks. But the emperor shouldn't show his displeasure so much, especially to the public eye. It will give a huge backlash on the future Empress' image. Lady Seraphina is young, even though she has a bad reputation with her fellow ladies; he knows that she's still naive to her father's greediness.
"Please don't be like that your majesty! You have to remember that she will be your future empress, and we don't want to deal with gossips as soon as she'll be engage to you. Don't forget your true purpose in marrying her as well. If the Marquess thinks you're not treating his daughter right, it might cause great problems in the future. It will defeat the purpose you have now if that happens". Count Vaelyn tried to explain to the emperor.
"But didn't the rumors say that the Marquess treated his child badly, while the Marchioness was indifferent to her as long as she just presented herself well, like a true noble lady?" The Emperor asked, finally looking up to him and stopping writing.
Count Vaelyn sighed. There's just no convincing the emperor when he has already set his mind to something.
"But your majesty, it's the more reason why you need to treat her right! If you do that, she might fall for you and she will be a great asset to spy on his father. And who knows, if you both end up falling to each other, you might be finally happy again, and live happily ever after!" he answered dreamily and playfully, he received a death glare from the emperor, to which he responded with a smirk.
"I am not the type of person to fall for such a cliché story," he retorted defensively. "Just do what you have to do and get lost. I'm a busy person; I don't have the same luxury as the emperor's assistant," he said dismissively, even insinuating something to which the Count immediately reacted.
"I'm a busy person as well, your highness. I have more paperwork than all of your paperwork combined,"
"Well, I guess it's time already; I have to go, your majesty!".
Count Vaelyn immediately retreated back from the room, as he knows for sure that any more pestering, he'll definitely see a flying sword without its wielder flying towards him.
'He sure is as salty as ever!'The count thought to himself while walking back down to his own office.
~~~~~~
[THE MARQUESS MARCH]
It's been a week since Lady Seraphina got abducted, and there was still no news regarding her. The Marquess already mobilized his most elite knights to search every corner of the empire, but they still can't find her. Commander Thalion opened up the possibility that the abductor might be from another neighboring country. But since the Marquess doesn't want to let the public know that her daughter is missing, they cannot launch a full-scale search party.
The other servants and workers on the march were informed that Seraphina decided to go on a sudden vacation somewhere far and will be back on the day of the banquet. Ana, the servant who was with Seraphina that day, was found dead not too far away from where the carriage was found. She was decapitated, just like the other knights who were found dead as well. There was no witness; no one even survived to tell what happened.
Commander Thalion realized that they are like a ship trying to navigate on a vast ocean without any guide and direction at all. They don't even know where to start searching, and not even a single clue to who might be behind the abduction. But what he was wondering was, the Marquess was not even fazed by the whole situation. Well, he violently reacted when he first heard the news, but after several days his mood suddenly changed like something good happened. And he didn't know why, but something doesn't feel right.
~~~~
The Marquess was inside his office doing his usual routine. He had been busy these past few days as he was preparing for next week's banquet. Seraphina was missing, and it really did give him a lot of problems for the last week; luckily, Magnar was able to bring him good news. He was actually waiting for Magnar to arrive to receive a report.
Two hours later, he heard a knock on his door and gave permission to enter. There, Magnar did really arrive wearing his usual butler attire. He was slightly fixing his bow and his glasses while entering, his blonde hair tied at the back tightly. He looks so formal, along with his deadpan expression he always shows. Magnar gave a curtsy to his master before standing straight across the table, ready to report.
"So, how're things going on?" the marquess eagerly asked.
"Everything's going smoothly, my lord. She was adapting and learning rather quickly. I believe everything is going according to the plan. No one will be able to notice any difference in the upcoming banquet," he emotionlessly answered.
"Good, good! I know I can count on you!" The Marquess praised him, a greedy smile plastered on his face.
"Make sure everything stays on track; I can't afford any mistakes, especially next week. If she doesn't listen, slap her and lock her up in her room. If she tries to quit or escape, threaten her. We need her as long as Seraphina is still not found," the marquess added.
"She's quite docile, my lord. I believe we will not have any problems now as well as in the future," Magnar said.
"Good. Good!" The marquess nodded, feeling satisfied.
No one would suspect that he'll be fooling the emperor. He already planned ahead just in case something went wrong in his current plan. No one can stop him from having that power he wants so bad.
NO ONE...
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