Chapter 87: 'What?'
Vernon, Milly, Maude, that guy that kept on tailing Amelia in Vance's absence—what was his name? Alexander couldn't remember because he was too preoccupied hating the man and getting the duchess' attention.
Stanwinx... that's a surprise. He's an excellent man, but Alexander couldn't think of any notable achievements to warrant an invitation to the Order.
Alexander's eyes wandered some more. The members of the Order have all gathered in a small sitting room, which now looked and felt suffocating with all these presences clashing with one another. Some sat on the couch, some leaning on the wall, and some stayed at a corner—some wore masks, some were people Alexander remembered he came across with earlier. Like the lady in a yellow gown wearing a simple full black mask sitting across the Marchioness... If he remembers correctly, she's Amelia's lady-in-waiting, Christa, Marchioness Maude's only daughter.
Other than masks, some wore disguises, like Milly. Who would've thought she could sing all night in this chilly weather and not a crack in her voice?
"Did she leave?" Alexander lifted his gaze as he trailed his way to one of the cushion seats beside Stanwinx.
"I told her to wait for me, but you know how she is. But don't worry, I sent Jyver with them, and she's with some of Reignold's men." Vernon paused for a second but nodded lightly before he took a deep breath, resting both his hands on either side of his chair.
"I've called you here tonight to discuss a rather unsettling piece of information I've gathered over the months I've been wandering around the continent."
"Is it about Ragalla?" Maude asked.
"Yes, and George Walton's underhanded plan on taking over Osmea."
"Do we have basis for this?" Another pitched in.
The Sapphire Lion gestured to where Milly sat, and the lady smiled modestly. "I'm Laura," she said, and Alexander tried his best to control his surprise. "A close maid to Miss Adora Stanton." Someone from somewhere chuckled followed by a few whispers. Maude and Christa stared at her enough to know who she really was despite the change of hair and eye color, and maybe that realistic looking beauty spot below the outer corner of her right eye—but a maid being a member of the Order? Everybody knows she's not who she says she was and Millicent's sly smile gave away the fact that she's enjoying her little roleplay.
"What have you heard about it, Laura?" one of the masked members leaning on the wall asked, putting emphasis on her name.
"Geor—I mean, his Lordship, Mister Walton..."—Milly haven't even finished her sentence when a sarcastic claim was heard, 'Lordship, huh?' they said—"...he adores and love my mistress so much that he doesn't go anywhere without her. But recently, she's been depressed about being left by his Lordship." She sounded tragically worried about her own self. If she shed a tear or suddenly fell on the floor crying over her master's sadness, her roleplaying would've been complete. "He'd leave for days and come back for a day or two then leave again. Last time, he threw a fit and almost destroyed his private office when the duchess relieved some people from her council." She took a long pause before continuing in a different demeanor, tired of her own little theatrics, "Long story short," Milly leaned back on the couch and crossed her legs, her voice lower. "George has been working with a count the duchess recently let go of. Some mining trade... I've seen the papers, it's small and it's not something to be worried about. But he's going to and from Ragalla recently, saying that he's visiting his family there. He's mentioned his friendship with the crown prince before but every time my mistress brought it up with him, he feigns ignorance."
"So, he has something to do with the rumble that's been coming from Ragalla these days?" Stanwinx asked.
"Could be... but if you ask me, he's probably overselling himself to the crown prince and is starting to get stressed out since the prince wouldn't sign the treaty. His plans must be falling apart right now."
"And I bet he's getting desperate too, but that's not enough reason to pin the guy."
"Who's side are you on? Walton or the duchess?" came a sharp reply from Amelia's new aid.
"I'm on the side of the people. This will not only affect Osmea but the whole empire if Ragalla starts materializing their plans!" the mercenary knight's voice rose a little that it made Alexander worried if they should be discussing these kinds of matters here in Kaerndal, in a regular sitting room, where anyone could slither their way to listen in on them.
Finally looking at an eagle's perspective, there were about fifteen of them in the room and the duke realized that Stanwinx was the only one from his duchy. For Amelia, there's three he knew, considering Milly was originally a part of Vernon's circle. The other masked members he's not familiar with, could be from Vernon's or Amelia's duchies—maybe even from Bruiles.
"Why not just kill the man?" Someone mentioned.
"Things like these are not thought of overnight. Considering the bold moves their making right now, they must've thought about this for months—years, even. And with how sly of a man George Walton is, do you think he doesn't have some sort of back-up plan in case he gets caught or killed? His death might even be the catalyst of this all. We can't be short-sighted and go for the easiest way out. Sir Stanwinx is right, Osmea wouldn't be the only casualty here." Maude almost stood up and applaud her daughter, but she only nodded placidly.
The conversation went back and forth between George Walton, Amelia, Creador, Ragalla, and the things to do in order to stop this. Opinions and suggestion were thrown from different perspectives--rebuttals got heated, calmed down, then heated again. Voice raised and lowered. Wood has been thrown to the hearth again and again as the snow continued to fall outside until white was the only color there was.
When the ideas ran out and everyone was too cold to come up with anything, the meeting ended. When they stepped outside, to each was their own. There wasn't a soul in sight aside from the masked knights in every post. It's too late to travel, so Alexander would have to wait until the sun rises and the snow shoveled away from the pathways. With a distant gaze towards the road going to Calser, the duke closed the curtains in his room and tried to get some shut eyes beneath the heavy duvet and the crackling sound of burning wood nearby.
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Morning. Without Jyver knocking for reports, Alexander woke up a little later than usual thinking that he should leave as soon as possible, but first thing's first—breakfast. He's famished.
Other than being hungry, he also realized that he slept in the clothes he wore yesterday, less his coat, and he doesn't have anything to change with. But just as he was about to give up on having the breakfast he wanted, the door sounded.
"It's me, Elias," the man from the other side said. Without a second to spare, Alexander opened the door and invited him for breakfast in his father's room.
"You didn't have to come here yourself just to invite me."
"I wanted to see how the man who's going to be married to my sister someday looked in the morning."
"And was it to your satisfaction?"
Elias shrugged his shoulders after examining Alexander from head to toe and back up, saying, "You're okay," and the duke almost dropped his jaw, but he just laughed it off.
If he was in Elias' place, he'd say he's more than okay. He's the total package—less the not so squeaky-clean past, but he's changed. That's what matters, right? Then again, Elias is a total package himself, and he's known to stick to his principles.
A perfect husband material.
"I'll just grab my coat. Symon's at Leti's place right now and I didn't think I'd be spending the night so I don't have a change of clothes. I hope you don't mind."
"It's okay. How's Lady Leticia, by the way? I heard she went to Pradour for some business."
"Oh, her? I think she'd be home in a few days. She sent a letter informing me that she succeeded in..." Alexander paused. By Elias' tone, it looks like he's not made aware of Vance's connections in Pradour. It's best to tread carefully. Vance kept his identity a secret this long for a reason. "...what she came there for."
"I see..." was Elias only answer and the way to the duke's waiting room for a shared breakfast was spent talking about their duchies and their men, with Elias casually slipping questions about his sister—enough for him to know that the Mulford heir has it hard for Leticia. Alexander contemplated whether to burst his bubble early or just let him dream a sweet dream for a little while longer.
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Breakfast with the Mulfords weren't so bad. All the way to their room, the duke had prepared himself in different scenarios and conversations, but it was surprisingly light.
Vernon didn't ask him about his relationship with Amelia or badgered him things related to her. Instead, they talked about the problem with Ragalla and what they could do to help Osmea since it will be the one heavily hit when worse comes to worst and other duke-ly matters.
Maybe, Alexander thought, he's acting too much of a child being this defensive and on edge about his relationship with Amelia and forgot that there are other matters to discuss with the duke.
"Are you going to visit Amelia?" Vernon turned to his son.
"I'll stop by her mansion. I have some other business in Calser to attend to."
Business as usual, Alexander thought. He and his father used to have these short conversations too during meals when he was alive.
Since there was really nothing left for Alexander to do in Kaerndal, both him and Elias waited for the carriage after breakfast. Vernon said he'd wait for his son to come back before leaving for Aclador. He has some things to discuss with the emperor, so he told Elias to take his time to which the Mulford heir jokingly said that he'd probably be out for a week but Vernon only brushed it off and flicked his wrist to tell them to get going.
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The thing about Elias, Alexander realized, is that despite his seemingly hard exterior, his insides were all soft and mushy that made all the stories about him spending years in the northern mountains were just fairytales to make him look big and scary like his father. Instead of a knight-in-shining-armor, he's more like a dashing prince charming on a white horse.
He's honest too. Alexander asked him what he liked to do on his free time, and he said he liked having tea while reading a book somewhere in their vast garden. He said hard drinks make his stomach turn.
The duke also asked what he did in the north to past time, and he said he went hunting. Doubtful, the duke asked Elias if he enjoyed some feminine company up north because truth to be told, if it was him years ago, he'd definitely enjoy himself. But no, Elias was like a saint! He told Alexander that he was so mad at his father for sending him off and missing Amelia's return to her duchy that he worked himself so hard until he achieved what he came there for and more.
The Mulford heir did mention that the reason he was there in the first place was because he was coveting another man's wife—maybe not so much as a saint after all, Alexander found himself thinking. Not even him can imagine sleeping with another man's wife. His number one rule--before--was to never sleep with a married woman.
Was this the same man who had that killer look that night he sneaked Amelia out? Maybe he's one of those people who can be both soft and deadly—like Ancel... and Arabella. There's no one more deceivingly deadly than those two.
Alexander mentally shook the idea out of his head.
Yes. He's definitely like those siblings, that's why they get so well together. Unlike him who's always at the sharp end of the knife when he's in the same room as Amelia's lady assassin.
The ride back to the duchess' mansion were full of teasing and laughter, much like any talk between two twenty-something men. Their conversation only stopped when the coachman knocked to inform them that they're entering the town of Calser, where they both leaned on opposite sides and pulled the carriage's window curtain.
"It's been a while since I last came here," Elias whispered, nostalgia in his eyes as their ride eased its way past the mansion's gate. "It snowed heavily too when Lia's parents were buried. Father and Vance hid the fact that she's alive in fear that the person behind what happened might continue to come after her, so she had to watch from afar as people lowered her parents on the ground. She had a very high fever later that night after refusing to leave until the tombstones were placed. It lasted for days, but it felt like an eternity for us. We thought she wouldn't make it. And when she was finally lucid enough to talk to, she doesn't remember anything. And you know what we first thought?" Alexander swallowed discreetly. "We were relieved." Elias looked at Alexander with a rueful smile. "Relieved that she doesn't have to remember that night so vividly and prayed in the Heavens, that if ever her memories do come back, that she'd be old enough to understand... our decisions."
Alexander only managed to blink. There's too many questions and thoughts running through his head to be able to utter a single sentence.
What are those things they wished she would forgive them? By the sound of it, it looked like Elias had an idea who was behind that incident. If he asks—tread carefully with his words—would the Mulford heir trust him enough to share it with him? However, as if fate told him to wait a little longer, just as Alexander opened his mouth, the first sound that came out was muffled by the neighing horse when they made a full stop in front of the mansion. The Mulford heir was quick to get out too, saying that his fingers were freezing that any more minute out, they'd fall off his hands.
"Vance, long time, no see." Alexander heard Elias greeted the old man that was just past the now opened door of the mansion's entrance.
"You're father's not with you?" Vance asked back.
"He's got his hands full. I'm sure he'll want to talk to you before he comes home."
Elias and Vance threw questions and answers at each other, and Alexander remembered being greeted by Amelia's grandfather and answering him back. But it wasn't until Vance asked him a question that he realized his mind's been drifting elsewhere since that last statement from the Mulford heir.
"Is Lia still in the palace with Vernon?" Vance stopped in his tracks to look back at Alexander and asked.
"What?" Was all he could say and, in a heartbeat, his whole world spun and his mind went completely blank.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone