Chapter 26: On My Way To You
1427 Words
“SO YOU are really crowning Lady Catherine as your Empress?”
I nodded. “Yes. By the end of next month. I would have done it this month but there are still so many things the employees need to prepare. And then there’s her birthday party, too, which is a month from now. I have to make this quick. So many men are after her, Len. I don’t want to give her a reason to change her mind.”
“I went to your office this morning to report but Matthew told me you would be here. He also said that you’ve been acting strange. I mean you have always been strange. But I have been informed that that personality of yours has tripled this time. Well, whether or not Catherine is really worth the shot, I will find out myself. Enough about this for now.” Lennon suddenly became serious. “Let’s talk about your plan to let this young spy go. Why the sudden change of heart, brother? If it’s because of me, then you better stop this. You can’t keep letting the Jilrans go just because of my mother’s connection with them. They are wrong this time. They ought to be punished.”
“It is not just about your mother. Our father also made me promise not to wage war against them if I could. Jibril is important to both of our parents. But don’t worry, Len. I will only let them go this once. This is their third try. I have given them too many chances before. I will not be lenient the fourth time.”
Lennon’s face hardened. “Screw that promise. Your life is more important than that. They tried to kill you twice already! If I get to be the one to catch any of them here, forgive me but I don’t think I can give them the same leniency that you are giving them, Malik. They should be thankful that you haven’t attacked them yet. It’s high time they learn their lesson.”
“You talk as if Prince Benett is not your cousin.”
Lennon was speechless for a while. As much as possible, I did not want to put him in a tight spot that’s why I did not want him to find out about this. He just returned from his honeymoon. Dealing with this on his first day of work might ruin his mood.
“I am deeply sorry about my relatives, Your Majesty.” He said in a gloomy voice. “This is such a shame. I doubt if Prince Benett is even aware of the underhanded tactics his father had committed against you. I never thought that he would dare to infiltrate Morven. I will find him and will try to talk to him about this. This is the main reason why I followed you here as soon as I heard the news.”
I shrugged. “Calm down, Len. I’m still alive, am I not? Don’t let something as trivial as this gets to you. They can infiltrate as many times as they want but they would not get single information from us. I made sure of that. Our military strength is strong enough to fend us. If the Jilrans knew what’s good for them, they would not attack us recklessly.”
“Right. They might plan a sneak attack but we are prepared anytime. The number of the weapons they bought is quite alarming, though.”
“It’s a trap.” I winked at him. “I had a hunch that they would do that. Those weapons are all fake. They paid triple the amount of the money for those weapons and I get to acquire that money. There are also reports about the Imperial Castle Knights’ losing their weapons. It was a part of my plan, too. Last night, I’ve heard that all those weapons had been sold out. But I’ve tampered those weapons so they would not work as effectively as what the buyers thought. Only the samples are working well but they can’t even be compared to the original weapons of our Knights. Once the Jilrans find out that the weapons that they bought from their trusted Morvenians are fake, it would put a rift in their relationship to one another.”
“So you ended up making a profit out of it instead. You are using your opponent to fight your other opponents. Amazing!” Lennon shook his head in awe. “As expected of the brightest man in the entire Empire. Why did I even worry in the first place?”
“I told you so. I will use the money to give bonuses to the outstanding employees in the Castle.”
“I won’t be surprise if I find out that you also have something to do with the imperial secrets that the aristocrats have been discussing about lately.”
“That’s right. I’ve also ordered someone to leak those secrets. By now, I’m sure different stories about me and my supposed to be war strategies can be heard in different parts of Morven.”
“And I supposed that out of the countless stories, none of them are true?”
“Precisely.”
Lennon chuckled. “You made the aristocrats think that the Imperial Castle is in chaos right now because of the leak of the war strategies that’s why they would lower their defenses for a while which would make it easy for our men to do their job. Some would also try to sneak in the Castle and attack to make the most out of this crisis.”
“And that’s when I’ll use them. The Castle will be ready for them anytime. Even when I am not at the Castle right now, I am confident that things will go smoothly with Matthew there.”
“You are as wicked as ever, Malik. There is no way we would lose as long as you are the one sitting on the throne.”
Lennon remained calm. If the other Ministers heard of those things, some would have panicked by now. I’m sure that Matthew already found out about the Jilran spies, too. But considering that he had not sent a messenger dove to me yet, it just goes to show how much he trusts me. Lennon and Matthew chose to stay still because then and now, their faith in me never wavered. They never questioned my decision, not even once. Their loyalty can be overwhelming at times.
We were interrupted when someone knocked on the door.
“General, I have something important to report.”
“Come in.”
I remember the guy who entered the room. He was Oliver, one of Catherine’s Escorts. His face was pale when he talked which made me uneasy.
“General, pardon me for intruding. But there is an emergency. Lady Catherine jumped off the Falcon bridge.”
Now, that was the real emergency. I did not get to say goodbye to my brother anymore. I dashed out the complex as quickly as I could. This is why I did not want to leave Catherine’s side earlier. I was gone for only a couple of minutes and something unexpected happened again.
Once again, Catherine put me in a situation when I feel like my heart was about to jump out of my chest. “What the f**k just happened?”
“According to the witnesses near the area, there was this teenage boy who jumped off the bridge, General. It looks like Lady Catherine jumped as well in order to save him. But the water in the river is too cold. The Escorts still hadn’t caught her yet. Her female servants informed us that the Lady cannot swim.”
I scowled at Oliver who was running behind me. “Start praying now that Catherine is safe because if she is not, I am going to crush all the bones of all the useless Escorts who were supposed to be guarding her today. And that includes you, Oliver.”
Hang in there, Catherine. I am now on my way to you.
- Writer
