The Divorced Duchess

Chapter 14: DISTRESS AND BETRAYAL

PRINCESS Stella’s expression changed when her nephew mentioned Hiraya. The curiosity was growing within her about knowing that the Duchess was the person who could save the emperor. Every second, she would pray that one day his curse might be lifted and Kallixto would live comfortably. Ever since the emperor’s mother died, she became his guardian and treated him like his own.

“Does she want to help you lift the curse?”

Kallixto shook his head and sighed heavily. “I need your help as your nephew and Emperor of this Empire.”

Princess Stella’s eyes were dazzling with delight, and she unfurled the fan to cover half of her face. This etiquette implied that she was interested in or accepting someone’s favor. “With reverie, I will accept His Majesty’s request. May I ask what my role will be?”

“The Princess is known for hosting events. Please organize an Imperial party. In this way, I can introduce myself to her. I want to push through this plan before the Empress competition.”

She wrinkled her nose as if she had heard unpleasant news from the emperor. Empress competition? How far do these nobles desire power for their interests? It was a bunch of trash ready to stain other people’s lives. As a deposed Queen, she hated nobles dictating to the Imperial family what they must do. This was how she felt when she married a prince from the Eastern Kingdom.

“Your Majesty, I’m against your idea of choosing an Empress through competition. These women will be used against you and the Imperial family. What if they became puppets of our enemy? I hate to see my father’s Empire fall into the dark pit.”

“Do not fret over this matter, Aunt. As the Emperor, I will not allow anyone to overthrow me and manipulate the Imperial family.” Kallixto leaned back on the chair, trying to reassure her with a sincere smile.

“If His Majesty came to a decision, then I would not oppose your plans, but I’ll be here to assist you.” Princess Stella could see the emperor’s gratitude in his eyes. He admirably trusted her, even though those who had called her the deposed Queen.

****

Alice halted near the librarian's desk and heard the librarian arguing with a man. Her inquisitive nature sometimes caused her trouble. She closed her eyes to the fact that she had to mediate them. Alice doesn’t want to pry into them.

“Ha!” She sighed, disappointed with herself. As Alice was walking towards them, she recognized the man, though he was wearing a shabby hood and an eye patch.

“I know him.” The two people bickering were now looking at her. “Madam, I know this man. We are acquaintances, so what can I help with?”

“Do you know this insolent man?” The librarian scoffed. “And he is pretending to be the great Mage.”

“Madam librari－

“It’s Madame Luwig.” Madame Luwig cut her off as she was corrected by calling a proper title. Alice frowned, then scanned the man who was silent and pursed his lips annoyedly. “And this crooked fancied to enter the forbidden library without the emperor’s permission.”

“How many times have I told you that I am the great Mage and the emperor has permitted me to enter the library!” The great Mage burst out angrily.

“But you don’t have an imperial card as a key?!”

Feeling left alone as if she did not exist with them, Alice showed a silver card with the engraved symbol of Claverence. “We will use my card instead.” Luckily, she always had the card with her just in case she needed it. To have a silver card for a forbidden library was a privilege. Few noble households were permitted to access the forbidden library, though some of the materials were tightly restricted and heavily guarded. Madame Luwig had no choice but to allow them.

“I’ve been thinking about whether you are the great Mage or Kayne, as some close subordinate calls you,” Alice said, incredibly scrutinizing him.

“If you are unsure about my background, you shouldn’t have assisted me in the first place.” Kayne sneered in response.

“What’s wrong with helping a lost puppy? Assuming the great Mage would be a handsome fellow, but with your scruffy clothes… I doubt if he is even taking a bath. I guess my expectations are thus far from reality.” Alice insulted him freely, but Kayne ignored her.

“We’re here.” Kayne was about to retaliate when Alice distracted him. Almost palpating with excitement, she positioned the silver card directly in front of the door. Never in her life would she imagine entering the forbidden library despite numerous attempts.

There were a few shelves aligned to the right side of the library, while on the left were chairs and tables visibly organized. What caught her eye was the lectern in the center aisle. Kayne walked into the center, but a huge barrier sprang up, and the alarm ignited her adrenaline.

“Stop breaking the barrier!” Alice shouted in panic. And a group of knights breaks into the Forbidden Library. She almost cursed as they surrounded her while Kayne successfully penetrated the barrier. “One wrong move and all of your heads will be detached from your bodies.” Though the knights didn’t listen to her threats, rather pointed their swords at her. There were tiny regrets she felt at the moment, and fury rose when she found Kayne had vanished like a bubble. That was the only time she believed Kayne was a great mage.

****

Thalia was in the middle of an assembly with the Chauverthier vassals when she received news from the first district. The urgent message was sent by the Imperial Library and the interrogation department. She couldn’t believe how they could detain Alice, if that young lady from Chauverthier was the role model in their academy. As soon as she arrived at the Imperial law department, Minister Coudmir, the family’s chancellor, greeted her.

“Your Grace, I’m relieved that you have arrived even though you’ve been busy. The young lady requested you to release her from the interrogation room.”

“Where is she?” asked Thalia and followed Lord Coudmir to where Alice was detained. She even saw the chancellor of Earl Paschal with a problematic expression. It could be that the Emperor had already known the earl’s secrets of embezzling from the funds of the empire’s budget. Thalia was the person who sent a piece of evidence to the Emperor’s Intelligence Alliance. On her part, she didn’t investigate her. There was a chance that she had met an unknown person and imparted evidence.

Alice was immediately released from the room when Thalia revealed the statement given by the court order officials. She grimaced and walked past them. Thalia dismissed Lord Coudmir, then followed the young lady Alice. They stopped in a park and sat on the long bench as they were both contemplating. “I would not ask you about what happened, but, hope that this incident will never happen again.” Thalia reprimanded Alice as a little sister.

“It’s not my entire fault if they caught me. If only I hadn't gone along with Kayne, then I wouldn’t have been detained.”

Thalia c****d her head in confusion. “Mage? Kayne?”

“Yes. The cunning mage. He was looking for something, maybe a book in the Forbidden Library, but he suddenly vanished because he couldn’t find it.”

It leaves a puzzle in Thalia’s head about Kayne looking for a book, and remembering the book in Princess Stella’s house. To have that book again, she needed to enter the mansion without anyone suspecting her. Maybe after she mastered Hiax’s strengths and weaknesses, she could use them to find the truth.

****

The carriage suddenly pulled up from moving, Thalia got off, and saw a huge commotion at the gate. Is that her brother Aston? He was losing his rage in front of everyone, and that made them back away. She also noticed the two people who were now making her life wretched. Klarine was hiding behind Noxton and sniveled, looking sad and stunned.

“You jerk! Bastard! Why did you cheat on my sister? What did she do to you to make her life pathetic? You are a coward, Duke! That woman is a p********e in the second district, hiding her secrets from her beauty.” No one was willing to appease her brother from raging. Thalia felt an ominous wind blowing through her thoughts. Staring at Noxton, his face turned darker, and veins popped out in his neck. In a heartbeat, the duke punched his brother in the face, countless times. Noxton sat on Aston’s body while punching him, heavily panting, and his hands were balled into fists with blood. Her poor brother was now lying on the ground, and his face was swollen as well as his cracked lips. Thalia couldn’t continue seeing her brother beaten up by her unfaithful husband. When the Duke was about to give another punch to Aston, she instantly held his hand from moving.

“Let go of my hand, now!” Noxton yelled at her, but she didn’t back down.

“You stain my family’s reputation and my dignity, Noxton. I have my limits too. Now, move your body away and let him breathe.” As Noxton moved away, she attended to her brother. Selia was late, yet she managed to help Aston get into the carriage. But before Thalia hopped in the carriage, she turned to them with a mocking smile. “Your Grace, the divorce papers are on your desk. With due respect to our family’s relationship, please sign the paper as soon as possible.”

“What are you saying? Divorce paper? I didn’t think you were confident about divorcing me, did you? Remember this, Thalia, I am the ruler of this house.”

Hearing her husband’s mockery, her blood boiled, and her patience reached its limits. She raised her hand and then gave a slap on his cheek. Everyone who was there was stunned and couldn’t dare to react. “I don’t care if you are the ruler of this house, but without me, you are nothing to the elder Chauverthier.”

Noxton was taken aback as he realized what he had done to her. He gripped her arms and furiously stared into her eyes. “What do you want me to do for you to withdraw the divorce? If you want me to end my relationship with Klarine, I will accept it as long as this incident never spreads and reaches my father’s grasp.”

Thalia smiled bitterly, then glanced at the damsel Klarine. “Nothing. It’s too late to ask for a treasure that you have thrown away.” Thalia paused and laughed ironically. “Please, let go of my hands and forget our memories for my sake. And this might be our last. We can only see at the Imperial court for the proclamation of divorce.”

"Please, I still need you by my side." Noxton pitifully pleaded.

"Stop pretending, Your Grace, look at your lover, she has been waiting for you, yet you betrayed her in front of everybody." At least, Thalia could read Klarine's expression of feeling betrayed by the person she was in love with. As she turned her back away from them, unexpected news shattered her again.

"I am pregnant!" Klarine had blurted out the wonderful news at the wrong time, and no one saw that coming. Thalia needn't look back just to see their expressions. Today was enough, and she had to draw a limited line between the three of them. As she sat in the carriage, her tears began to well up in her eyes. She wanted to end everything or sleep forever to forget the pain and heartache she had been keeping from the past up until now.