BXBX NOVEL Chapter 288 The Vesala's Decision
Das and Visam did not know how to explain this matter to the Duke because they were sure that they would be the ones who would receive his wrath upon learning it.
"Visam go tell him…" Whispered Das who was wiping beads of sweat because of the nervousness he felt at the moment.
"No… I was the sacrificial lamb earlier during Hasta and Igor's disappearance! It's your time now!!" Visam retaliated, he could still feel the pain and torture that he experienced when he received the wrath of Duke Maxim on Hasta and Igor's case.
"Hey… don't forget, we were all punished and hit that time!" Das reminded. Although they were evil knights, no one would be willing to subject themselves to the torture of their master who was a hundred times more sinister than them.
"But I was the one who took most of the damage! Now it's your turn, we will get punished both anyways…" Visam continued to defend himself.
"What are you two discussing?! It's already evening! How incompetent were you two!!! You're wasting so much time!" Duke Maxim's extremely angry voice interrupted the two's discussion.
His shouts sent cold shivers to their spine, but looking at Duke Maxim's blazing amethyst eyes, they had no choice but to answer. Visam raised his elbows and gestured for Das to speak on his behalf.
"You!! M-master…" Das, who was caught off guard by Visam's actions, could no longer retaliate and prepared himself for the Duke's reaction as he explained,
"We have tried to repeatedly feed cursed power into the teleportation array, however, the receiving end does not react to our request. We are afraid… that… the receiving array on the Eastern side… was already destroyed…"
Crash!!!!
Visam and Das closed their eyes and clenched their teeth, what came next was their bodies receiving a heavy blow from Duke Maxim's wind attack that was infused with curse power. It was fortunate that they were fellow curse users too, if not, the curse they have just received would immediately eat their life force as to how it would on a normal person.
"Useless fools!" Duke Maxim could not contain his frustration and anger.
After he saw Das and Visam violently crashing against the brick walls of the underground teleportation station, he turned to let out his wrath on the rest of the knights who were supposed to be his army upon arrival in the East.
But before he was able to injure the men, the butler stepped forward and bowed with a pleading tone.
"Please, Your Grace!!! Calm your wrath! What use would it be if your people would be injured by you?
What we need right now is force! It is clear now that the East has already been compromised and the Emperor was adamant to see your Duchy down!
My Duke! Open your eyes and see, what needs to be done is not to hurt our own, but to fight the oppressor!"
The butler was already of old age but he was the one who painstakingly took care of the siblings when the previous Duke died on Empress Carolina's behalf. He believed that he still could talk sense to Duke Maxim who was now blinded by his anger, panic, and frustration.
True enough, upon hearing the butler's pleading, Maxim paused and listened to his words. After contemplating for a while, he closed his fist which was about to deal a blow to the knights.
The butler's words are true, the picture was now clear to him. From the move to restrict all nobles up until this moment, the Emperor used the 'chaos' that he, the Duke of Vesala started, to go and bring down his family and revenge for all his plottings.
Now he understood how secretly cunning and smart the Emperor was, and he did not see it coming. It was probably why his sister had already taken the risk to mobilize her strongest knights just to create a way out for him and their family at this moment.
There's no other way but to fight their way out to survive in this circumstance. The only choice that they had right now was to fight and rebel.
"You two… heal yourselves and prepare everyone, we are to fight in a moment. Prepare everyone and go all out. We will move as soon as the sun rises!" Finally making his decision, he looked at the two dark knights with a dead and serious expression. His voice echoed finality and determination, making everyone in the vicinity understand the gravity of the matter.
"We hear your orders, Master…" Das and Visam dared not to let out a groan in pain and just answered dutifully. The Duke's emotional state right now is like a volcano that was trying its best not to explode untimely.
"Butler, as I head to the study, prepare everything we need to fight. I'll be contacting the Empress to inform her of the situation. As for Madam… I'll have to ask you to keep her safe, you will be in charge of keeping her safe, take as many knights as you want, just make sure she survives."
Duke Maxim headed towards his office and as he entered, he saw the Vesala family portrait hanging so conspicuously on his wall.
He remembered his wife and his three children. The war that they were forced to create right now will greatly endanger their future.
He was so relieved that his eldest daughter had invited the siblings to the Vanderford territory. At least he knew that they would be safe no matter what happened in the Empire. But his wife was still by his side here in the Capital, and she had no idea what danger was ahead of them.
He was unsure if he could protect his wife from all the chaos, his wife was a pampered lady of the cross family. She had not participated directly in any of their activities but in socializing with the nobles alongside the Empress. Although she was quite knowledgeable of their plans, her abilities as a caster were only limited.
He could only ask the butler to keep her safe away from their impending battle with the Imperial Family.
"I understand, Your Grace. Rest assured, I'll be preparing the guards and immediately find a way to sneak the Madam out of the estate as everyone engages in the battlefield." The butler understood Duke Maxim's concern and he sincerely answered.
"En… I'll be talking to the Empress at this moment, and proceed with the preparations." Duke Maxim nodded with a calm expression but his heart was thoroughly shaken at the moment.
The butler sensibly exited as Duke used his communication stone to contact the Empress.
"Brother…" Empress Carolina's anxious voice was heard on the communication stone.
"Carolina…" Maxim this time had dropped all of the formalities and talked with Carolina with a heavy and grave tone. "The teleportation array on the other side was already destroyed… there's no other way for us to come back to that place immediately…"
"No! It can't be! How was that possible!!!" Empress Carolina panicked as she heard Duke Maxim's news. It was like the heavens suddenly decided to put its gigantic weight on her shoulders that her legs gave out.
Thud… she fell on the floor with her emotions causing extreme turmoil in her entire being. Anxiousness, disbelief, unwillingness, confusion, and panic, were some of the emotions that were invading the siblings at this moment. Suddenly the air around her became thin and it felt like her body had suddenly forgotten how to breathe.
"Calm down Carolina and listen to me…" Duke Maxim knew what Carolina was experiencing at the moment but they needed to keep their composure and have a clear mind. They needed this to be able to determine what was the right move they had to do for this situation. "Now do as I say… Breathe… 1… 2… 3… exhale… 1… 2… 3…"
He guided Carolina to calm down and overcome the anxiety attack she was experiencing at the moment. After he could already hear that Carolina was breathing steadily, he just went to pause for a few breaths until it was Carolina, herself, who hinted that she had recovered.
"Are you alright now?" Duke Maxim carefully asked to which Carolina answered, "Yes, brother… I am fine… Tell me what would be your move?"
Duke Maxim held a soft sigh as he replied,
"We will fight… There's no other way but to reveal ourselves now. The Emperor was determined to see us down with all that happened and we are too late to realize…
Now recall Calan and Roman to be by your side. At sunrise, I will move on my end. Try to get yourself and Kazimir out and go to a safe place.
Remember, you must stay alive to keep our family from entirely falling."
As Carolina heard Maxim's voice, she remembered the moment when she was reading the last letter her father left for the two of them. Bearing the same responsibility as his late father, her brother Maxim was doing the same now.
Carolina clenched her fist and replied in a determined tone.
"Do not worry brother, you will not be alone. I have the lord's permission to use the grimoire. With this, we can ensure the victory on our end!"