They passed through the window with agility. Passing the passages while dodging all the servants and guards as they were very skilled.
They stood in front of the big door in which there target was having a meeting in. And took out the guards stationed there.
He slowly opened the door as they both entered.
Harim put on his usual happy smile as he waved to the two people in the room who sat shocked at the unexpected appearance of uninvited guests who were technically intruders.
"Hello, Lady Sonia! Beautiful as always~ Lord Perluntan, have your grey hairs increased since the last time I saw you? Well it was last night while spying for the Duke that I had seen you, so…you age quickly!" Harim said with his bright smile.
"Watch your mouth, slave boy" The man who seemed to be in his sixties growled at the rude remark. He was Lord Perluntan.
"Now, Harim, old people don't like to be called old" Crinoel said as if correcting a child then making himself comfortable on one of the four couches in the room. "Good thing you're here, Lady Sonia"
"Noel dear, why so formal with your aunty. I am your mother's sister, aren't I?" The lady with blonde hair and brown eyes who was named Sonia said with a sly smile.
"And is this old geezer in front of me not your father? If he is your father, then you can't be my mother's sister" Crinoel said.
"I warned you to watch your tongue. You sure can hold a grudge. That little incident with Anabelle, that's why yo-
His words were cut short as he could no longer feel his breath. His throat was squeezed with Crinoel's right hand as he stared murderously into the old man's beady little brown eyes.
"How dare you say my mother's name out of that filthy mouth of yours? And you dare call her DEATH a 'little incident'" Sonia and Harim came close to Crinoel urging him to let go of the man's neck, but he further strangled the man's wrinkled neck with his big hand. "It seems you think reaching this age is a big accomplishment as its obvious you want to die. But, since people say when someone gets old they slowly lose it, I'll take it that it's a mistake as your brain is damaged" He let go of the man's neck. The man wheezed for air as he held his chest in shock at the unexpected move. "But if such rubbish is spewed from your mouth. I won't take it as a mistake. And then you'd pray for me to strangle you"
He plopped back on the chair as Sonia rushed to his side holding the man's hand "You shouldn't have said such a thing, father"
Lord Perluntan kept quiet at Sonia's scolding and straightened up his shirt and faced Crinoel.
"I have a fiancée. Lady Erionella Josephine Renowarin. You've probably done your research and spying and you've seen she's reached all the requirements" Crinoel said trying to shake the anger that boiled inside of him, off.
"No she has not reached all the requirements. I don't know if Harim has told you, but I said your fiancée has to be beneficial in the invasion. In what way is she beneficial?" Lord Perluntan asked haughtily trying to maintain his pride.
"In what way is she beneficial? Well, she is a mage. So I think that is very beneficial"
"…..!"
"…..!"
Sonia and Lord Perluntan were both alarmed at the unexpected use of the girl. Lord Perluntan could not believe his ears so he asked back confused "What?"
"I'll repeat it since your hearing is that bad. Erionella, my fiancée, is a mage."
"Impossible!" Lord Perluntan gasped in shock.
"Impossible? When it is what is" Crinoel said smugly.
"Before I give you the men. I have to see for myself if what you say is true" Lord Perluntan said in disbelief at Crinoel's words.
Harim and Crinoel left at that and saddled their horses with the Garcia territory as their destination.
As he rose through the forbidden forest. His mind roamed to the past along with memories of his mother.
The great Empire which he lived in, had stood strong for thousands of years, as record through history.
It was a place of gender inequality as males dominated the world and females didn't have a strong stand in the society.
Males had an easier life as most jobs were only given to men and only men could inherit their family's property or be a successor.
If a woman was to have a firm stand in the society, it would be by marriage to a man of high social standing.
Even for a woman to survive and not be a slave, she had to get married.
But to him, marriage was just a elaborate name for slavery.
His mother's life served as proof for his point.
Edgar Perluntan. The fifteenth heir to the Perluntan family who had faithfully helped the empire in a war. Perluntan was once a tribe of warriors who had a head governing them.
Edgar was the descendant of the leader of the Perluntan tribe. And as the Perluntan tribe had done a great feat, their head was bestowed with the title 'Lord'
Edgar Perluntan, became 'Lord Perluntan'.
Just like men during that time. His days were filled with pleasure seeking and bringing in lots of concubines.
He had countless number of children that he didn't even know their names or even know about their existence.
He only knew of a few children. Those who came from women who were the daughters of high aristocrats or those who came from beautiful women.
His 28th child was a girl who was a striking beauty. Her mother had died during labor so he used it as an excuse to keep her close to him. He thought she would be able to be sold off in marriage to a very powerful aristocrat.
With white hair and golden eyes, he named her Anabelle. By each day her beauty grew alongside his immense faith of selling her to a high ranked aristocrat.
She made her debut in the society at sixteen and he hit an unimaginable jackpot as the young Duke Garcia sent a marriage proposal which he happily accepted.
He ruthlessly sold of his daughter who begged as she had heard of the stories of the madness in the Garcia blood. He was well aware of the stories but he sent her off in marriage regardless.
And from that point was were a new phase of her life began.
Crinoel looked up to the sky as he remembered the vision of his mother's past he had seen with magic. It wasn't something pretty to watch and it was rooted in the depths of his brain, never to be forgotten.
Right in front of him, the vision he had seen with magic replayed before his eyes.
"Father, I don't want to get married. Right now I dream of exploring the world!" The innocent Anabelle who knew nothing of the cruelty of her father, begged.
"You insolent child! Don't say such rubbish unless you want me to kill you. Duke Garcia wants your hand in marriage and you say such.
You fool, don't appear in front of me until the day of the engagement, guards take this brat out of my sight and whip her.
But make sure it doesn't scar too much. I can't afford for her to be scarred or the marriage might not happen" Lord Perluntan, Ananbelle's father mercilessly had her flogged and starved for a week until she collapsed.
"Feed her! I can't have her die before she marries into the Garcia family" All he cared about was selling her off in marriage.
After a month the wedding took place and Anabelle, whose golden eyes once contained happiness was dull and lifeless. Like a puppet controlled with strings she was married to the Duke and became 'Duchess' Garcia.
Her time at the Garcia territory was painful. She was just an object to the Duke. Servants never respected her and she was even bullied by them as ordered by the Duke who said "Anabelle shouldn't feel special. She is just a toy. Don't give her any special treatment. Show her the fangs of the Garcia family"
The Duke was a sadist in which he took joy from people's misery.
After five months of being married to the Duke she became pregnant. For the first time since she came to the Garcia territory she felt hope as she held her stomach which swelled each day.
She made plans of running away with the child to take it away from the Garcia family which had proven to be wicked and dangerous place.
Seven months with the pregnancy she successfully escaped and ran to a little village where she prayed to start a new life.
But her prayers seemed to be ignored as men of the Perluntan army led by her father raided the village in search for her.
She was personally dragged back by her father to the Garcia territory as she cried tears of bitterness towards him.
"Why, father?! You've gotten te bride price and marriage presents when I got married to the Duke, why do you still take me back to that hell?!"
He slapped her with his big hand and dragged her hair "You stupid brat! Tsk. Don't you see if my daughter is married to Duke Garcia I will naturally be favored and respected!"
"If you want to be respected, why don't you marry him yourself and see how it feels?!"
She was taken back to the Garcia territory and whipped by the Duke right in front of her father's eyes. She didn't want to accept it before, but she swallowed the bitter truth of her father only seeing her as an investment.
Some days she was tired of life, but the baby in her stomach gave her strength to carry on. It was nine months of the pregnancy and she had a safe delivery.
A baby boy with dark blue hair which was inherited from the Duke, but with her golden eyes.
She named him 'Crinoel' which meant 'happiness will follow you all your life'
He grew up as a healthy child who looked like her and a bit like the Duke. She loved him with all her heart and cherished the child.
"Noel" was the nickname she gave to him from cutting part of his name.
When he was six years old, she was pregnant with another child. Around that time, another woman was brought into the house.
Though she knew the Duke had numerous affairs with other women, he had never brought a woman into the mansion.
Estrella, was her name. With spotless pale white skin, red eyes and black hair, she was well known in the empire for her promiscuous acts.
Duke Garcia was not the first person she had an affair with. The one year old child she carried around with her was proof of that.
A little boy which had the same red eyes and black hair as her. His name was Max
Anabelle's overly kind heart made her not to hate the woman or her child. Sometimes, she took the little boy with her on walks with her and Crinoel.
However, Estrela had a different heart.
Sometimes, the little Crinoel suspected she was a witch, with the way his father was wrapped around Estrela's finger.
"Hic, Anabelle insulted me for not having any beautiful dresses!" Estrela cried in his arms while she lied and he commanded for Anabelle to be whipped like he always did.
It didn't make any sense! The way how she lied and his father loved her even though she already had a child for another person.
Once again, Anabelle went into labor and delivered successfully. This time, it was a girl.
The girl had light blue hair which was probably the result of the Duke's dark blue hair and Anabelle's white hair with golden eyes which were inherited from Anabelle.
She named the girl 'Mareeonel' which meant 'having the freedom your mother could never get'. She prayed with all her heart and taught Crinoel to protect his sister however he could.
A month when she heard the scandal of the Empress' younger sister bearing a child for her father, Lord Perluntan.
"Disgusting." She said as the Empress' sister was just sixteen which was seven years younger than herself, who was his daughter. The Empress' sister had given birth to a girl that they named 'Sonia' "I hope father doesn't sell her off the child in marriage as it seems he has a recurrent habit of doing so"
Technically Sonia was supposed to be Crinoel's aunt as she was his grandfather's daughter, but he was older than her with almost seven years.
Anyways, by this time Anabelle had almost been completely shut out from the world even though she was the mother of the future Duke Garcia.
And Estrela took advantage of that fact.
Mareeonel was exactly three months and six days when Crinoel was carrying her to his mother as she cried for food.
The image of Estrela rushing out of nowhere with a knife towards Crinoel and Mareeonel caused Anabelle to act on defense as a mother.
She held the hand that Estrela held the dagger with and twisted her wrist trying to collect the dagger.
"Noel, go outside!" The young boy immediately obeyed his mother's command, rushing to the garden in which the balcony where the struggle between the two women were happening.
Estrela attacked Anabelle who was defenseless with the dagger, but she successfully took the dagger out of Estrela's hand, but in the process, she used the dagger to cut the skin on Estrela's hand.
Blood was on the dagger and at that moment, Duke Garcia appeared. His silver eyes were cold as his dark blue hair blew in the wind.
"What is happening here?"