214: The Puppeteers - Claude's POV (part 2)

The Puppeteers - Claude's POV (part 2)

"Yes. The Archduke of Lanark. The Shield of Emoria. The almighty warrior who slaughtered the last Emperor and all of his descendants!" Emanuel muttered as he moved his sword up and down, as if seeing it for the first time, "Extermizer gets all the glory, but this nameless sword of mine is just as cursed as my brother's sword."0

Claude's heart pounded in his chest as he observed Emanuel's actions.

"Send for our finest and most prestigious champagnes," Emanuel smiled ominously. "I must celebrate the decision of my niece. The one, unlike her sister, who does not grace our palace with a visit."

Claude felt a sickening feeling in his gut. This must be an attempt on Adela's life, one earlier than anyone had ever anticipated.

The Crown Prince maintained a stoic expression. He had already sent word to Rauul about his suspicions regarding the King's intentions, and Rauul must have alerted Kaiser about them.

Claude clasped his hands behind his back and tightened his grip. He absolutely must! Kaiser would have ensured that the Dukes were informed and prepared for whatever plans Emanuel might have in store, for the alliance of the Dukes was crucial in countering the King's schemes and protecting Adela.

Emanuel moved his blade, allowing it to reflect his own face, oblivious to Claude's counter plans.

"That stubborn little girl, had she agreed to become your wife, I would have ensured her safety. But she had to go and openly betray me like that! This cannot be Kaiser's doing. Aldric of Varinthia must have improvised,"

Claude struggled to maintain even breathing, carefully hiding his emotions from Emanuel de Lanark. He couldn't afford to show any weakness or fear in front of the cunning King.

Rauul had already pledged allegiance to Adela, but Latora was as always, too slow to respond to the changing tides brought by the unpredictable and sudden involvement of Varinthia. In this rare instance, Claude found himself in agreement with Emanuel. Kaiser's ally's actions, by announcing a weapon production establishment in Lanark, were indeed gambling with Adela's life.

Emanuel clicked his tongue.

"Despite our hopes, my niece did not turn out as obedient as her father, and with no strings to pull on her, what good would she ever do us, Claude?"

"Nothing, Your Majesty," Claude finally responded. Surprisingly, he found himself in agreement with Emanuel on this matter—Adela was nobody's toy.

Adela's ambitions and alliances would do neither Emanuel nor Claude any good. That much, Claude knew already. It was inevitable that those with their eyes on the throne of Emoria considered Adela a threat, and she would undoubtedly include Claude in that equation.

None of them wanted her to gain strength, none wanted her to become a Queen. The competition for power was fierce, and Adela's rise to the throne would only complicate matters further, potentially leading to chaos and instability in the kingdom.

"We must stop her," Emanuel said, his voice filled with genuine distress.

In his twisted plot to destroy the land, Emanuel had long since asked Claude to seduce Adela and take her to Kolhis to demand the throne, effectively eliminating both of them from the equation. The plan had been set in motion long before Adela's coming of age, with steps taken once Emanuel's spies confirmed her talent, leading to the final moves once she had fully awakened as a Healer recently.

Kaiser's debt, and even his deteriorating health, were all part of the King's scheme. It was all under Claude's control up until recently.

For the longest time, Claude had believed that Emanuel was Adela's only enemy, and he went along with the King's plan, motivated by his own selfish desires to have Adela all for himself. Those were the times when Egon von Conradie was not in the picture, but now, upon learning Egon's true identity, everything changed.

It was all because of Kaiser's benevolence. If only he had been more ruthless in dealing with the remnants of the previous regime, these malevolent plans against his own daughter could have been averted.

It took Claude a lot of digging up to do, mostly in Kolhis, but he finally came to the realization that Adela had an enemy far greater than he had ever expected, a mutant being, something that should have never been left alive.

It went by the name of Egon von Conradie.

Only the direct descendant of the Empress and the true Monarch next in line for the throne possessed the ability to summon the Alpha of the shapeshifters. And Egon von Conradie went as far as commanding the werewolves into capturing Kaiser's mercenaries in Lanark's forests, effectively allowing Emanuel to get rid of them with one blow once they had all become sitting ducks in Kaiser de Lanark's dungeon.

He hated it in theory, he hated it when he implied that Egon's obsession with Adela could solely be because she was his mate, but when an oblivious and heartbroken Larissa finally confirmed Claude's suspicions about it, he wanted to personally go and extract the creature's beating heart then stomp over it.

But wasn't that the only reason why Egon let Adela live for all this time?

Mate or not, Egon was manipulating events to benefit Emanuel's dark schemes in order to ascend the throne himself once again. Claude was now certain of Egon's true intentions and the extent of his malevolence. 

The sudden thud on the side of the throne did not surprise the Crown Prince in the least. He had anticipated that the tension in the room might escalate, and it seemed that Emanuel's patience was wearing thin.

"What are you calculating so hard in that bird brain of yours!" Emanuel shouted, his voice filled with fury. "Don't fool yourself! Her blood is on your hands! Not mine!... Me? I gave her options that she forsook with her inherited idiotic pride! You? What did you do for her? Answer me!"

The King's rage finally erupted, and Claude knew that he would learn more about his plans now. 

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