217: Clash of Monarchs (part 2)

Clash of Monarchs (part 2)

The noblewomen of Emoria, normally composed and refined, now found their poise tested to its limits.2

King Emanuel, his royal attire bearing the creases and smudges of what appeared to be a tiring journey, showed signs of exhaustion alongside his evident anger at the insult he was subjected to by the man who oozed regality across from him. It was only when he looked behind him that Adela, along with every other noblewoman in the room, remembered that their King had not arrived alone.

The Crown Prince, standing tall with an air of composure, positioned himself in front of two servants who were stationed next to a wooden box they had brought along with them. His demeanor did not betray any shock, unlike the King himself, and his attention became fixed on Lady Larissa, following Egon's gaze that was directed towards her hand resting over Claude's arm.

"Lady Larissa," Egon spoke with a grave tone, "I hope your trip here has been less than bothersome. You have only missed your betrothed, he had urgent business to attend to in Kolhis." His words were composed and polite, though there was an underlying tension in his voice.

A speechless Larissa, looking as surprised as the King, flushed beet red with embarrassment. She was about to curtsy for Egon when Claude's obvious tug on her arm stopped her in her tracks, she hastily opened her lips to say something, stuttering, "Th-Thank y-.."

"Hahaha!"

Larissa's attempt to speak was interrupted, and she fell utterly silent. The noblewomen present, apart from Adela and Grace who remained composed, flinched away when Emanuel de Lanark laughed hysterically. However, his laughter died down abruptly, leaving an awkward silence in the room.

The King's amusement vanished, replaced by a serious and stern expression. "Since I value your money, Sir Egon, I shall give you one chance to explain yourself! Have you lost your marbles? Saluting a noble Lady when the King and the Crown Prince of this Kingdom are present?"

Egon's hard gaze fell on Emanuel again, and his hawk-like brown eyes darted between the King and the Crown Prince. "I thought the walls have ears in all of Emoria," he said, his tone cool and composed. "But apparently," Egon smirked, "The only holes in the walls are the ones the two of you use to eavesdrop on each other in Destan." His words carried a hint of slyness, alluding to the royal family's secret habits in their own kingdom.

"Guards!" Emanuel shouted, directing his eyes toward the guard standing by the door.

The only guard nearby took a step inside, his eyes steady on Egon, and in a gesture that Adela had witnessed in Kolhis before, he touched the tips of his fingers against his lips and then his forehead, bowing his head deeply.

Emanuel looked up at Egon with a pale face, his voice dripping disbelief, "Who the hell are you?"

Egon grinned.

Adela took a step forward, her concern evident in her eyes when she noticed Claude holding the handle of his sword in a tense manner. However, the firm hand of the Archduchess held her back once more, preventing her from intervening in the escalating situation.

Claude's cold green eyes, always vigilant, did not miss the unfolding events in the background. He let go of the handle of his sword and drew closer until he was glaring up at the taller Egon.

"I would like to remind you that you are on Emorian soil and in the presence of royalty and noble women. You will conduct yourself with due respect, Sir Egon, and explain yourself as the King has asked you to, or you shall be imprisoned and stripped of your title," Claude threw a menacing stare at the guard, "Him, on the other hand, has absolutely no immunity and will be sent to the dungeons immediately."

"You do not have the authority to touch any of my men, Crown Prince."

Claude's gaze flickered to Adela, his face contorting with an unfathomable mix of emotions before he glared up at Egon once more.

"Bow like a true knight, and I shall send you our best physicians to treat you, though a mind doctor might suit you better," his light green eyes blazed, the accusation in his words cutting instead of his sword. "Mental illness seems to run in your family."

Adela bit her lips, desperately pushing down the scream she felt building in her throat.

In a gesture that took everyone present in the room by surprise, Egon nodded at Claude, his expression calm and collected.

"You are right, Crown Prince. Etiquette is of the essence when nobles greet each other since this is Emoria and not Kolhis. A commoner kneels for a nobleman, and a nobleman bows for a royal… Now enlighten me..." He grinned sinisterly, "What does a royal do when he is faced with an Emperor?"

"Egon!" Adela squealed his name out, unable to contain herself anymore.

Egon's eyelids closed slowly, if only for a fleeting moment, he did look remorseful.

Emanuel's face snapped towards Adela. "Do not address him so casually!" he reprimanded. "The Crown Prince is right! This man has gone insane!" He took a menacing step towards her, his eyes seething with a different emotion all of a sudden. "But even insane people can be sentenced to death for treason! Or do you wish to defend him?"

Egon scoffed.

"She wishes no such thing, for she is a single Lady of House de Lanark, and I, I am about to get married, not as a man of House von Conradie, but the opposite."

Muted shocked gasps were let out by the Duchesses, who were failing to follow Egon's logic and were taken aback by the unexpected revelation.

"The opposite," Claude repeated as if a student reciting a lesson after his tutor. He shook his head repeatedly. "Your Majesty, I implore you to think carefully about this man's words. I have personally never made that conclusion myself, but it is the most peculiar thing... His House's name in reverse...If you reverse the word Conradie, it spells..."

"Silence!" Emanuel roared, his right hand rising up, stopping Claude from completing his thought.

Adela's head quickly reversed the letters of Egon's surname, disbelief surging through her as if somebody had told her that the sun has risen from the west.

The letters in reverse spelled a forbidden word, the name of the Empire that had persecuted her ancestors, the very name that King Emanuel had erased from the books of history, erasing its legacy to continue what the Archduke had started by executing all of the last Emperor's descendants.

She shook her head in disbelief.

Could it be possible that her father, the Archduke, had spared the descendants of the Emperor, contrary to what history books had taught her? And if that were the case, was Egon one of those descendants?

Adela's gasp caught in her throat, stifled by the sheer force of Egon's commanding voice as the words spilled forth from him.

"I am Egon, the firstborn of Atticus, and the grandchild of this continent's murdered Emperor, and I do not bow to you or to your Crown Prince, Emanuel de Lanark."

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