Rebirth of The Villainess Princess

Chapter 25: Duke's Intuition

The duke went back to Perse, his dukedom, one kilometer away from the imperial capital.

He looked calm but inside he was upset.

‘’Cloyd,’’ calling upon his right-hand man as he climbed the spiral stairs up to his chamber. Cloyd was following behind him. ‘’Tell me. What the princess will do?’’

Cloyd was more than an assistant, he could be a strategist who helped the duke defend a fortress from the enemy at war.

‘’My Lord, I apologize but my insight, for now, falls short. Her Highness, Princess Catherine was unpredictable,’’ his voice was mellow and a bit hesitant as he spoke.

The duke halted in his tracks. He tilted his head and looked at Cloyd, frowning. ‘’I understand.’’

He lifted his hand in the air, then pressed his temples as he proceed to ascend towards his chamber upstairs. ‘’Cloyd, I can’t believe I am marrying a cunning woman like her!’’

‘’My lord, do you have any choice?’’ he asked but it was more like a statement, shaking his head in restlessness.

‘’If not for the promise of the empress to me, I won’t accept this marriage,’’ the duke said. ‘’It’s the will of the emperor? I know they’re lying to me.’’ He grabbed the doorknob and opened the large door, painted in white with a meticulous carving of a lion, each on both sides of the door.

A large luxurious room came within the view as the door opened. Like the door and other parts of the mansion, the chamber was painted in white. One of the most distinctive features of the spacious chamber was the ceiling painted with angels and nature. It was so surreal and captivating.

‘’What is the promise of the empress?’’ A silvery voice of a woman welcomed them.

‘’Mother? Why are you here?’’ the duke asked surprisingly, but it was obvious he was pleased to see her as his ever serious face broke into a gentle grin.

‘’Why? Can’t I see, my son?’’ his mother said, and wiped an invisible tear from her eyes, acting as if she was hurt.

‘’Of course, my beloved mother is always welcome at home!’’ he smiled, even more, filled with warmth. He opened his arms and embraced his mother.

And in the middle of their motherly affection, seemed felt be left out.

Cloyd coughed to gain the attention of a loving mother and son. ‘’My lord, My lady, I’m…still here.’’ And then he succeeded.

The former Duchess of House Larenz gave him a soft smile and walked closer to him, ruffling his silvery ash hair. ‘’I’m glad to see you again, Lord Cloyd Trevelyan.’’

Cloyd is the closest friend of Duke Larenz since childhood. They were always playing together and even attended the same classes under the same tutors. And until college, they were still inseparable. They literally grew up together. The duchess dowager witnessed how they grow and treated him like her own son.

Cloyed performed a bow and kissed the back of the duchess dowager’s hand. ‘’My lady, I’m honored at your presence.’’

‘’Come again. Will you tell me what Serina had promised to you?’’ she asked his son and then glanced back at Cloyd, expecting an answer.

‘’Mother, I know I hadn’t informed you about my marriage,’’ the duke said, not even thrilled, as he made himself sit on the couch. Settled down, he patted the space beside him, inviting his mother to sit with him.

‘’Marriage?’’ she frowned. She sat beside him and looked at his son worriedly. ‘’Is that what Serina promised to you?’’

The duchess dowager knew his son. There’s no way he would easily move on after what happened with Melody. She saw how he treated her in a special way. He loved her and his feelings might still be the same until to this moment.

‘’No, mother. It’s not what Her Majesty promised to me. It was what she asked of me to do in exchange for a promise.’’

The duchess dowager felt bitter. ‘’Cloyd, is my son telling the truth?’’

‘’Unfortunately, yes,’’ he responded with a nod.

‘’How unfortunate it is?’’ Her frown got deeper.

‘’Very unfortunate, mother.’’

‘’Then don’t marry,’’ she flatly said.

‘’Mother, I can’t!’’ He said, feeling frustrated. He decided to lean his back on the couch and closed his eyes.

‘’Why you can’t? Serina can’t force the Duke of Larenz even though she is the regnant empress!’’ Her silvery voice was getting sharper.

‘’That’s true, mother but…’’ he trailed off.

‘’But?’’

‘’Mother, I need what she promised to me,’’ he pressed his temples again as he felt his head throbbing.

‘’What did she promise to you? I asked about it how many times today, Isaac!’’ She became even more worried.

‘’I can’t mother. It’s dirty politics, I can’t drag you down to this because you’re important to me. I hope you can understand me,’’ he said, his voice getting lower.

‘’I don’t want to lose another person that I love,’’ he opened his eyes and looked at her lovingly. His lavender eyes traced the aging lines forming on her beautiful face. ‘’I don’t want to get you hurt, mother.’’

‘’Isaac, you’re already hurting me,’’ she sighed hopelessly. ‘’Then I don’t have a choice. I will directly confront, Serina.’’

‘’My Lady, please don’t do this. The duke is right. Involving yourself might bring harm to you,’’ Cloyd pleaded. His deep voice was shaking. ‘’My lady, remember that you promised the duke you won’t interfere with his affairs.’’

‘’Cloyd, I won’t come to Serina as the duchess dowager. I will face her as her friend, her sworn sister, and as a mother,’’ she defended, knitting her crescent beautiful brows.

‘’Mother…’’

‘’Isaac, tell me. I’m your mother who is genuinely concerned about your happiness.’’

The duke sighed. Just like what she would always do, she defeated him again and again.

‘’Fine, we will tell you.’’

The duchess dowager nodded, ready to listen. Then stirred her son to keep speaking.

‘’The empress wants me to marry Princess Catherine and help her…sire an heir. After an heir was born, Her Majesty would declare him as her successor,’’ he explained, avoiding his mother’s gaze.

The duchess dowager paled, ‘’Se-Serina, what are you…planning to do?’’

‘’Mother, listen…’’

‘’My son, doesn’t she have Princess Catherine? Why won’t she proclaim her as a crown princess?’’

‘’It’s simple, mother. Her Highness is a big threat. The empress won’t put her on the throne. Instead, she wants to eliminate her,’’ he said, not showing any sympathy towards the princess.

The duchess dowager knew her beloved friend could do any malicious things but she didn’t imagine she could do the deed to her own flesh, her own daughter.

‘’Poor princess. Her mother merely treated her as a breeding horse.’’ She disbelievingly shooked her head. Covering her lips with her hand, the duchess’ eyes glistened.

‘’Don’t pity her mother. I didn’t believe in the saying, ‘like mother, like daughter’ until I met the empress and the princess,’’ the duke said.

‘’What do you mean?’’ the duchess asked, quizzical.

‘’My lady, the duke felt restless after Lady Agnes’ death and as well as the deceased Princess Ivanna’s execution. So, he investigated by himself to find out if the so-called truth about the death of the lady was all true. The investigation was yet to be done and unfortunately, we failed to collect raw evidence. However, somehow the duke’s intuition says that Princess Catherine was probably involved in the crime,’’ Cloyd intervened as he felt the duke was having a hard time.

‘’Are you saying the princess killed Lady Agnes?’’ the duchess' eyes widened as she looked at him.

‘’We couldn’t say that. We have no proof,’’ Cloyd replied. His jaw tightened.

‘’How could you say that?’’ the duchess found it disagreeable.

‘’Mother, Stefan Agnes is missing and the last person he met was Princess Catherine. He is not the only one who is missing but also the maid named Cynthia Miral. Both are reported who had gotten close to Princess Ivanna before she died,’’ the duke added, as he ran his fingers on his midnight black hair.

‘’But Princess Ivanna was close to several people, not only them,’’ she retorted back.

‘’Mother, don’t defend the princess, anymore. I already had a glimpse of her true nature, today,’’ the duke became more serious, remembering how the princess received the marriage contract. ‘’Besides, Cynthia…that maid, helped the deceased princess to humiliate Princess Catherine, days before Lady Agnes died followed by the rushed execution of Princess Ivanna and then the disappearance of Stefan and Cynthia. I don’t think they’re merely a coincidence,’’ the duke continued.

‘’That’s true, my lady,’’ Cloyd expressed his opinion. ‘’Even the Duke of Agnes was doubting what truth the court gave them about Lady Agnes’ death after Lord Stefan disappeared without a trace.’’

The duchess turned silent. Her face became distant.

Yet what broke the silence was a few knocks on the door of the duke’s chamber.

Cloyd strode to the door and opened it for someone who was seeking an audience, interrupting their deep discussion.

‘’My Lord, I need to carry out a report,’’ It was a knight. His voice was throaty but urgent.

‘’Come in,’’ Cloyd immediately let him enter and led the knight to the duke. He had to be careful since it was true the imperial palace have ears and eyes throughout the empire. If someone would got the wind of what they were just discussing lately, even how powerful the House of Agnes is, it wouldn’t be able to save itself from downfall.

‘’What is it?’’

The knight kneeled in one knee with a hand on his chest. ‘’Greetings, My Lord, My Lady.’’

‘’Report!’’ The duke was getting impatient. He kept his cool externally, but internally, he was getting irritated for some reason he didn’t know yet.

‘’My Lord, the Printing Press was burned recently. What is worse is they failed to save even a single document,’’ the knight candidly said.

The duke pressed his lips together.

‘’My Lord…’’ Cloyd opened his mouth to say something but close it in the end.

‘’What is happening here?’’ The duchess frowned, her eyes filled with concern and pity for her restless son.

The knight on his knees hadn’t received his dismissal yet when another one came at the door.

‘’What are you here for?’’ Cloyd narrowed his eyes, looking at another armored knight before him.

‘’My…my Lord, I-I have something…something to report,’’ he stammered as he felt pressured at Cloyd’s narrowed gaze.

‘’Ýour fellow had already made a report,’’ Cloyd said, he was also getting frustrated at how people were gradually flooding the duke’s chamber. It was his private space.

They were originally not allowed to give reports at the duke’s chamber unless it was urgent.

‘’Yes…yes, My Lord. But…but this one is…is just recent. It’s urgent as well, My Lord,’’ the newly arrived knight gulped when he saw how upset Cloyd looked. It was scaring the hell out of him.

None of the duke and Cloyd could be said as ‘kind’ and ‘gentle. They are both fearsome.

‘’Go,’’ he commanded coldly.

As soon as the night got in, he fell to his knees beside his still kneeling companion.

‘’What do you have?’’ the duke asked. His tone sounded monotone.

‘’My Lord, the…the…the…’’ the newly arrived knight stammered as he started talking in front of the duke. If Lord Cloyd was scary the duke was scarier!

‘’Hey, man. Calm down,’’ his friend beside him muttered, low but enough for him to hear it.

Then he nodded and started reporting again. ‘’My Lord, the… Minister…the Minister of Law was…assassinated, three…three hours ago,’’ he gulped once he finished speaking.

‘’What!?’’ The duchess screeched.

‘’Mother, do you know who did these?’’

His mother merely looked at him. Her face paled.

‘’It was Princess Catherine,’’ he said. His voice was lean and low. However, a hint of anger could be traced. ‘’It was a clear message that no matter what happens, she will get what she wants.’’