Once Alex left, Luke fell to his knees and immediately begun vomiting blood while coughing uncontrollably, causing him to collapse.
'Shit, this curse is acting up again.'
"Once I get to the thunderbird academy, I will cripple that bitch." Luke said, remembering that he was in this current condition because of her.
While lying on the roof, Luke's body started to spasm out of his control as he reverted back into a beastman. Anger in his eyes, Luke vowed to eradicate Rachel and her whole entire family.
(Back to the scene after Alex and Luke left)
Theodore and Duke Liam Reid POV
Amelia eventually stopped crying after being comforted by her husband; she looked at Laurel with nothing but hatred. Amelia was mana-less. All she wanted was to have Alex's work for her, nothing more. She realized that her decision was stupid and costed the lives of those four men.
The duke placed his wife on his horse. Once she was calmed, he and two other men marched towards Theodore.
The two-man marching with Liam Reid wore different clothing and armor than the regular guard, with a confident swagger even after hearing about Alex's battle performance.
"so you couldn't detain them until I arrive," Duke Liam Reid shouted at Theo.
Before Theodore answered Reid, he spat at the floor, close to Reid's shoes.
/hock-tu (Theodore spitting)/ "When the fuck did I start working for you."
The calm, lazy demeanor that Theodore had evaporated and was replaced with the persona of a rouge itching for war.
There was bad blood between the Duke and Theodore. More precisely, there was bad blood between the noble factions and royal mages.
If there was ever the chance that either party could kill each other without getting caught, they would do it. The duke belonged to the noble faction that would consistently find faults with the current king. And as the king's most loyal subject, Theodore wanted to erase the duke from this planet.
To Theodore, the duke was an uprising time bomb waiting to go off, but he could not just kill the duke or he would be the time bomb to set off the noble faction's uprising.
"Pretty, you still have a filthy mouth," replied a man standing beside Duke Reid as he blew an air kiss at Theodore.
This man was the duke's brother, Morgan Reid, he was dressed as a priest in all-white clothing with blonde locks. There was no need to guess which he preferred if he had to choose between a late-night with Brittany or Theodore.
Liam ignored Theodore's actions and asked, "Isn't it the duty of royal mages to apprehend criminals?"
"Fuck. What do you take me for?" /hock-tu( Theodore spitting)/
"How could we apprehend those criminals when your smelly wench kept interfering?" /hock-tu/
"You piece of shit" /hock-tu/
" you should be happy I don't write an official report citing her for her interference and hindering us from executing the king's orders." /hock-tu/
Theodore Rebuked as he spat on the shoe of the duke after each sentence. While Inwardly pleading for the duke to attack him.
The duke's face changed from white to red, seeing Theodore's actions and hearing him cruse his wife. The veins in his neck and head kept pulsating from pure anger.
Theodore was itching for a reason to wipe the floor with the duke and kill everyone here who wasn't a noble.
Brittney had already begun recording the encounter with a recording stone, should something happen. This would serve as proof that it was Reid that attack first, and Theo was just justified in defending himself when he killed fifty-plus men.
The duke ignored the insult like it never happened; he knew what Theo wanted, and he wasn't about to fall for it. At least not now.
"On the official report, it says that you are here to help quail the beast tide." Liam said before turning to the other royal mage, "Ms. Sapphire, I did not know you would also be here?"
"But it behooves me, why would the king send the head of the royal mage, his most trusted subordinate, to this backwater city? Wouldn't protect-ing the king and the capital be more suited to your skills?" the duke inquired, but Theodore did not reply to the duke's probing, and he was tired of this farce.
It was clear that the duke showed no intention of starting a fight with him. A blinding white light appeared under Theodore's feet as he and Brittney levitate in the air, followed by a green circle under Brittany's feet as the wind carried them away. Theodore had no interest in bringing laurel with him since it was clear which side she belonged too.
"Brother, do you really think he is here for the Staff as well?" Morgan asked Liam.
"I am sure he is! The king is desperately trying to hold on to his power. What that staff who would dare to go against him?" Liam replied.
"Then shouldn't we stop him here?" Morgan said as he made a throat-slitting gestured with his hands.
"There is no need to hurry, the mercenaries already know who has it, it's only a matter of time, and if Theodore gets the staff first, I will know. With the group of mage apprentices he brought with him, a few are our allies. But I did not anticipate that the white witch Sapphire would come too. If he truly gets the staff before us, You and Dexter will have to deal with her while I handle Theodore." Liam said, explaining to Morgan and the third man, dexter.
Once the three finished their brief conversation, the duke turned his attention to Laurel. He planned to berate her for the situation she created and for wasting his time, but that was as far as he would go. There was no need to make the marquess his enemy, considering the fool already lost one daughter. However, if the royal mages had not seen her alive, he would most likely have killed and tortured her. His wife may be gullible, but he was not.
"Lady thorn, do you care to explain your actions?" Liam posed as his voice carried a thin trace of anger.
Laurel resigned to her faith and spilled everything to the duke; the most he would do is scream at her, and she knew this. There was nothing else he would do to her especially considering who her father was. But to her surprise, the duke did not scream at her. Unbeknownst to her, what she told the duke was extremely valuable and troubling.
The duke ran to his brother's side as he whispered something in his ears before they both approached laurel.
"Laurel, you know my brother, Morgan, he's with the church," Liam introduced. "He will escort you back to your estate and stay to protect you."
"Lady thorn, it's a pleasure to meet you again," Morgan said while showing the charms of an honest priest.
Laurel nodded her head at his greeting. To her, something about the duke's reaction did not seem right, but she did not probe since, again, her father was a madman who was also part of the noble faction. Considering that the mages saw/left her in the duke's company, there was no need to worry. Should anything happen to her, the duke would be blamed!
While everything was happening, Alex was in the void, watching like a venomous snake waiting to strike.
*Ding*
[time remaining: 0:30:12]
[quest] Kill the bitch laurel, for dreaming too hard. Time limit, two hours.
[reward: The rest of your debt will be forgiven. No evil deed goes unrewarded]