185: [Bonus chapter]The warrior king's secrets (final)

[Bonus chapter]The warrior king's secrets (final)

"I... You..." Adela was rendered speechless, her voice lost in a mire of emotions.1

"What I am proposing is that I take you as my second wife,"

Their gazes locked, hers filled with horrified disbelief, and his with a knowing smirk.

"I thought as much," he commented, a self-assured tone coloring his words. "Consider it an open offer, one that will never expire."

"...I will never entertain such an idea,"

For a fleeting moment, she caught a glimpse of hurt flickering in his eyes, intensifying her own sense of horror.

"Sit down," he snapped, annoyance seeping into his voice. "Only a deranged individual would dare harm a Healer, let alone a woman whom I hold in respect and admiration... Don't look at me like that! I had to jolt you out of your complacency, parading around like a basket of ripe apples in a land of perpetual fasting."

"All of this... It was to teach me a lesson?" Her eyebrows arched, her fear slowly transforming into anger. Her head felt hot, as if it could erupt at any moment. "Do you think I will tolerate this savage treatment without consequences? Do you believe Emoria will ever welcome you back to its soil?" Her voice squealed with indignation.

"Adela..."

"It is Lady Adelaide to you!" she shouted with righteous fury. "Consider our partnership null and void!"

She flinched as he rose to his feet, but he quickly raised both hands, palms pushed forward, and eased back into his seat.

"...You can't do that," he stated firmly.

"Watch me!" she snapped, finally acknowledging the throbbing pain in her clenched fists from pounding on the metal door, the heat surging through her veins like fire.

"That industrial zone I am investing in, its strategic location near Latora, Egon's involvement which extended far beyond the lands he possesses in the forest. Do you believe it's all mere coincidence?"

Her head throbbed, "Say what you mean, Aldric," she spat out his name with pure disgust.

He cracked his knuckles, intertwining his hands and placing them firmly on the table. Leaning forward, his midnight blue eyes traced up and down her figure.

"Say it!" she snapped, her impatience growing. She wanted to end this encounter as swiftly as possible.

"Ask me what we will be manufacturing there,"

She furrowed her brow and bit her lip, the realization slowly dawning upon her. Every interaction, every word she had taken for granted, every act she had perceived as genuine, all of it had been meticulously orchestrated by those around her.

"From the very beginning, you had it all figured out, didn't you?" She fought against the urge to slump down, "...Pray tell, what is it that you plan to manufacture in that place?"

His gaze held steady, "Weapons. Gunpowder weapons, to be precise,"

A chill crept into her bones, but her thoughts aligned, like a constellation of stars forming a pattern in the night sky. A sardonic smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "You intend to arm the mercenaries and orchestrate a coup, with Lanark at its core?"

The stillness of his expression confirmed her suspicion.

"Over my dead body!"

"Stop gambling with your life so recklessly," he warned. "Healers have long lives and prosperous ones."

Her lip quivered, a coiled spring of defiance seeking release, but something else took precedence in her mind.

"...How much does the Archduke know about all of this?"

"I need you by my side before I reveal anything to him," he replied, his voice carrying a sense of urgency.

Relief washed over her then intermingled with a renewed wave of doubt. She couldn't bring herself to trust his words. Perhaps her father was aware of Aldric's plans and was using him as a means to arm his mercenaries.

"Adela! Stay focused!" he admonished, his tone brimming with impatience. "You must never divulge a word of our encounter to anyone, especially your father, or are you that much of a child?"

"Who do you think you are, calling me a child? You...You savage, vulgar, obnoxious man!"

"That is enough!" he thundered, rising from his seat in a sudden burst of anger. With a swift motion, he swept the plates from the round table, causing Adela to raise her hands and cover her ears. 

"You are still within Varinthian territory and I am a King! Thanks to what has transpired here, you will never let your guard down again! Not with your father's allies! Nor with those who wear deceitful smiles to conceal their conniving schemes!"

His fists pounded on the table in a series of resounding thuds, as if he had completely lost control.

"I will protect you! No one will use and discard you! You will not meet the same fate as her!" His voice gradually softened as he locked eyes with her, his gaze bloodshot and his face flushed with emotion. "Emanuel de Lanark will not sink his fangs into the Healer this time as well..." He gulped down, "My mother would not have died in vain... Raul... Egon and I will not allow it."

Her eyes grew misty, tears silently streaming down her face. Before her stood yet another broken man, his actions driven by his tragic loss.

He wiped his running nose with his sleeve, his demeanor shifting from anger to vulnerability. "She told me I would protect you, and everything she said has come to pass. I gave her my word, and I will honor it with my life."

A mixture of pity and loathing swirled within her as she continued to stare at him.

"I stand as one of your allies, arguably the most formidable, as you witnessed just now... When the coup unfolds and you ascend to the throne as Queen, commanding an army at your disposal, only then will she find solace. Not a moment sooner..." He inhaled deeply, his words laden with conviction. "Of course, you are free to proclaim it to the world or whisper it into your uncle's ear, I won't impede you... But remember this," he lowered his gaze, his stare penetrating. "Whether in your homeland or mine, you will become a Queen. That is non-negotiable."

In that moment, she found herself bereft of witty comebacks. Her tongue felt bound, her voice silenced by the intricate web of the circumstances before her. All she could do was feel the rise and fall of her chest and maintain her gaze upon him.

"These words will not be uttered beyond these walls, so commit them to memory... If you ever find yourself here again, rest assured that I will whisk you away permanently... I will unlock the door once you summarize your understanding," he concluded, reminiscent of a stern tutor from her distant past.

Clearing the burning sensation in her throat, she gathered her resolve to speak. "...I see two paths before me: either to persuade my father of the weapon manufacturing scheme and rally behind the coup against my uncle, seizing his position with the support of my allies, or you forcefully abduct me, making me the second queen of Varinthia."

As she uttered the last words, a faint click reverberated from behind her, confirming that he had indeed unlocked the door.

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