Capítulo 50: 'What you have for her is an obsession'
Stunned, the young duke couldn't wrap his mind around what had just happened. He couldn't leave empty-handed either. He would be a laughingstock by his council and those in the Order after all the careful planning he did with them.
No.
Alexander won't take no for an answer. If tonight's an unsuccessful one, tomorrow might not be. He will try again until he's said all that he has to say. Until he receives the emperor's blessing. Alexander will stay for as long as he's permitted.
It might not be as long as he hoped but it should be enough to turn the tides in his favor.
Mentally and physically tired, the young duke trailed his way out of the maze of a hall and to where his men and his carriage had been waiting. Alexander didn't want to sneer at almost every other face that pissed him off, but he couldn't help it. He'd get into a brawl if he wanted just to take the edge off, but he didn't have the time. Instead, he should be thinking about how to get the emperor's attention tomorrow and make him listen to what he has to say.
But morning came the following day and still nothing. He was only up to the door of the throne room when Morne approached him and said that the emperor scheduled for the day was tiring enough for his current health.
The day after the next came and Alexander was stopped at the gate. The guards told him that Morne had instructed them to tell him that the emperor's on an early day trip to one of the towns in the Capital and didn't specify what time they would be back.
Third day since he last saw Augustine, a letter sent to the inn they were staying at arrived and was handed to one of Alexander's knights. The young duke has been expecting it, but it was still earlier than he thought.
Work has piled up and he has to go back to Thuenia.
Alexander sighed. He massaged his temple and crumpled the paper, throwing it at a nearby bin but he missed exceptionally. He already knew that there's no way the emperor would give his blessings now. He knew it wouldn't be so easy, but he was hopeful at the least. The frustration brought by it wasn't one of the things that he thought he'd feel but it's poured down on him like a waterfall getting stronger by the day.
"I wouldn't be so easily defeated this time around," Alexander said, grabbing his shirt and pulling it over his head. He came down for breakfast at the eatery adjacent to the inn then he was off on his horse again to the palace.
As the duke thought, he was stopped once more at the gates. For the past days, he would demand that Morne be summoned to a point that he's gathered quite an audience. But this day would be different.
Hearing that the guards denied him entry, Alexander clicked his tongue and turned around. When he was at a great distance to be ignored by them, he slowly guided his horse around the residential areas and paid a household to take care of his horse for the day. Then Alexander braved the chilly morning and went through the sparse forest near the high cliffs that surrounded the palace.
It would've been more dramatic if he climbed the palace walls, but Alexander knew a much safer way to get inside.
West of the imperial palace, the Northern Mountains can be seen, east of it lies the deadly cliffs with humungous rock formations and their pointed peaks. If that's not deadly enough, add the violent crashing waves surrounding it. Inside the walls of the palace were barracks on the east, and two separate gardens delicately maintained on the west. Both sides have gates for purposes such as covert missions and guests that needed hiding—or Duncan coming back drunk from his escapades.
Clutching on the small pouch in his pocket, Alexander casually strode towards the eastern gate.
It's relatively smaller than the main gate with only two guards sitting on a wooden stool on both sides.
"Halt. Who are you and why are you here?" a rough voice welcomed Alexander as the guard stood straight in front of him; his hand unsheathing his sword slightly.
Instinctively, the duke dangled the pouch between them and as the contents clinked, the guard glanced back at his companion who also stood up and walked towards them.
After Alexander had their attention, he fished another thing from his pocket. As light struck against the crystal-studded brooch, the guards' eyes widened.
"Duke Clement," both of them took their hands from their swords and gave a proper salute to the duke. Alexander waved his hand and said that they didn't need to bother with the formalities.
"I have some things I need to investigate. The emperor instructed me to do it silently. If you keep your mouths shut, I might consider giving you another," he said, lightly tossing the brown pouch to one of the guard's hands. Inside were twelve gold jeras, enough to buy both of them two high-quality stallions, or maybe buy a small entertainment house just for the two of them.
"As if you're never here," the guard sneered as he shoved the pouch into his pocket. The other one nodded at him and he took that as approval that he could enter.
It was midday. Most men were busy patrolling the Capital and those left in the barracks were either too old or high-ranking or being punished. Either way, they wouldn't care much if Alexander were walking through them. He could just show his brooch, and no one would bother him. And if anyone did ask, the duke would reason to them that he was looking around and got confused along the way.
As expected, no one approached Alexander aside from the judging glares that he reciprocated equally. Walking around some more, he spotted Morne standing outside a small villa behind the palace near the western gardens. He was looking around, so the duke did what most people would do—hide.
After a few minutes, the door of the villa opened, and out came the emperor followed by someone who looked like a maid. She handed the cloak over to Augustine and curtsied low before bowing her head to the secretary.
Wanting to know where the emperor would go next, Alexander stayed where he's at. When he saw that the emperor seemed to be going back to the palace, he declared himself and went out of the shadows.
"Greetings to the Great Dragon of the Empire," Alexander quickly bobbed his head and proceeded to glare at the secretary. He didn't like how Morne looked at him and remembering the embarrassment when he was denied entrance to the palace resurfaced and didn't taste well in his mouth.
"What are you doing here? We're already done discussing." Augustine flatly said.
"No, we're not."
"Oh? What is it this time?"
"How about what happened seven years ago?" Alexander bluffed, and he was good at it. Looking straight at the twisted expression on the emperor's face made all the trouble he's gone, worth it.
Alexander didn't want to use the card Vance gave him, but he has no other choice. Whatever he chose to lay on the table for the emperor seemed to not work.
"What?"
"You heard me. Seven years ago. House Florence. The fire—I know what happened." The duke's eyes narrowed at the emperor.
"Leave us," Augustine finally said to Morne.
"But your Majesty…" the secretary's eyes shifted but the emperor was adamant. "As you wish, your majesty. I'll excuse myself then."
Augustine nodded to Morne before he turned his gaze to Alexander and told him to follow at a nearby gazebo.
"What is it that you know about what happened seven years ago? Who told you? Was it Vance?" rather than forceful, the emperor was careful and spoke in a low voice, almost a whisper.
"Why do I need to tell you when you already know?"
"Don't play with me, boy. You're too young to be fooling me. Was this all to receive my blessing?"
"That, and the fact that what happened to House Florence some few years back was not merely an accident." He pretended even more. Since Vance didn't tell him specifically what it was about, Alexander squeezed in some information that he theorized before to test the waters. "You should know by now what kind of House my family has."
The emperor's jaw visibly tensed and with every minute that passed, Alexander's curiosity rose even higher. A sense of wanting to know the truth of what Vance knew that could put the emperor in such a predicament boiled in the pits of his guts.
He needed to know.
No. He will know about it.
"Give your blessing and you will have Thuenia's loyalty and all that comes with it. You know how generous my duchy can be. Osmea will follow suit afte—"
"How sure are you that Osmea will be loyal to the throne? They're loyal to the people. They don't oppose the crown, but they don't entirely support it either. You have no idea how cunning that House is. And if you know this much already, albeit you know the powerful men that reside there as well and the things they're willing to put in line to protect the Florences. How can you say that the duchy will follow whatever you said after marrying their duchess? I don't believe she's that head over heels for you to follow blindly."
Alexander tilted his head. Was this what the emperor wanted all along? Was the fact that Osmea won't completely submit to the crown be one of the reasons that Vance's holding in his hands? Did the old secretary know what happened seven years ago? The one who started the fire, was Augustine involved?
Questions after questions bombarded the duke's thoughts. He tried to dismiss most of it, but it was just so intriguing not to pay attention.
"Amelia—I mean the duchess—also wants this marriage to come through. She's willing to come into agreeable terms with Thuenia and I will personally make sure that she supports the endeavors of the empire." Not entirely true. Alexander could barely make her follow him, and the duchess' very headstrong. There's no way she would let someone order her around. But he's come to a point of no return. It's either he plays all the cards in his deck now or dies trying later. There's no in-between. Either way, he's willing to go through a few sacrifices along the way.
"You're bluffing. Of all people, Vance will never give you his blessings. I know him. You should vie for his favor first, not mine."
"Grand Duke of Pradour—or will be Grand Duke once he's through with his cousin. I'm not here playing games with you, Your Majesty. Your blessing is truly the last one I have yet to gain," the confidence in Alexander's voice was back. He straightened himself and looked directly at the emperor.
"Preposterous," Augustine murmured under heavy breaths.
"And also, for the record, I talked with Duke Mulford a few days ago about this matter too. He's like a father to Amelia so I had to get his blessing as well." The duke plainly answered, and the emperor's fingers stopped tapping on the round stone table at the gazebo they're staying. He slowly lifted his gaze and Alexander met his gaze halfway. "Yours is truly the only one missing."
The emperor's unexpressive gaze slowly turned stern. He blinked fast and shifted uncomfortably from his seat. Augustine leaned back then leaned forward again. Alexander met his eyes a few times waiting for the words to roll out of his mouth but not a peep came out.
Then one thing entered the young duke's mind—'could it be possible that the emperor wanted his son—no, by the looks of it, he looked like a man suddenly deprived of his maiden.'
'Does Augustine want to marry Amelia too?' Alexander almost choked on his saliva at the sudden thought.
"I can guess why Amelia wanted to marry you, but what about you Clement, why do you want to marry the duchess?"
"To protect her from the people who tried to kill her before and are trying to kill her again this time. Rumors of our marriage have been going around lately. It's time to put a firm foot about it."
"Well, all this trouble for the duchess started when those rumors got out. Don't you think the duchess' problems will be solved once you erased your presence behind her?"
Alexander only let out a short laugh and let the emperor's opinion hang. The duke, of all people, knew firsthand the real reason for the assaults. He doesn't know how much information the emperor has on the matters regarding Pradour but it seemed that he's not as informed as the Order about it.
"It's what's best for the both of us and for our people."
"What's best for your people is to follow the rules set to protect them, the duchies, and the empire. What's best for them is to have a ruler who respects the decisions set by our ancestors and obeys them. They created such rules with the welfare of the people in mind. It's not something someone can just change."
"What's created is bound to be destroyed one way or the other. Whether by force or by the changing times. And what do the people do with the ruins? They make it a framework for something even stronger and firmer. Rules are meant to be broken so they can be molded into something that fits the current times. Old seeds won't grow into new trees. The people are changing, so why still bound them to these ancient rules?"
"You're going about this in such a roundabout way just to get my approval, boy. You're not making a very good point."
"Did I hit a nerve?"
Augustine glared at him for a moment before he looked the other way again. He cleared his throat, then stood and said, "It's getting late. Go back to your duchy. You've been gone for too long. And in case you ask again, my answer is still no."
"Don't tell me that you're thinking of getting into her dress yourself. You did mention during the Gathering that—" Alexander wasn't able to finish his sentence when he felt a burning sensation on his left cheek after a loud smack left his ear ringing. He lifted his gaze and saw the emperor's clenched jaw and menacing gaze. The young duke looked at the dragon of the empire with questioning eyes, but Augustine was too preoccupied with his own emotions to even care about explaining.
"Your audacity to disrespect the emperor knows no bounds," Augustine said between gritted teeth; his hands shaking a little for another go.
Alexander was silent. Confused. His hand on his warm cheek, trying to find where the stinging was coming from.
"Let me just ask you this one thing, boy. Do you even love her?" When the young duke failed to answer right away, the emperor continued, pointing a firm finger toward him, "What you have for her is an obsession. Obsession to protect her because you failed to do so years ago. Grow up, Clement. Go back to your duchy before I have my men drag you out of here and contempt you for malicious thoughts against the emperor."
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