The novel [I Shall Save My Knight] was a romance novel telling the tale of love between Crown Prince Nathaniel and Paisley Deor. Many people challenged their relationship and acted as obstacles.
Majorly it was Adrianna, the villainess' role to do so, but there were other antagonistic characters in the story.
The Emperor had strongly opposed the relationship between Paisley and Nathan in the story. His exact reasons as to why, is hard to recall in detail, but it was obvious from the contents of the story, the Emperor deemed Paisley as an unsuitable candidate for Crown Princess.
So what is this letter I read?
{To Marquis Deor,
It is with confidentiality that His Majesty, the Emperor, discloses this information to you. Three weeks after Crown Prince Nathaniel's debut, there shall be a selection for his Crown Princess.
By royal order, your daughter Paisley Deor has been nominated as a candidate for the position and shall participate alongside other suitable candidates in the upcoming selection.
Emperor's Decree.}
The official insignia of the Imperial family was stamped at the end of the letter alongside the Emperor's signature, boldly displayed beneath the text.
In the novel, there had been no such thing as a Crown Princess selection. It seemed my actions in changing some things had brought this about. Nathaniel's debut had happened when he was eighteen in the novel, but I had it delayed.
I had even made society believe that he was dead for some time. It seems that my decisions in the past have come back to bite me.
'If anyone from the Deor family is selected as a candidate for Crown Princess, shouldn't it be me?'
Gently, I set down the letter on father's desk while wondering what could be on the Emperor's mind to make such a decision.
It was good I had this much information. The letter said the crown princess selection would be held three weeks after Nathan's debut. But it didn't state the day of his debut.
That was because Nathaniel hadn't reported back to the Emperor and had been following my orders.
The war led by Nathan, between our Empire and a neighboring kingdom had already ended. Nathan was just prolonging the process for my sake because I hadn't finished planning our wedding.
It seems like time wasn't on my side.
But no matter. I could work with this. Three weeks after his debut gave me enough time to execute a plan which began to formulate in my head.
I couldn't help it, but have a little laugh burst out of my lips. How happy I was knowing that I was a step ahead of everyone else.
"Pfft. Haha!"
Father raised an eyebrow at my behavior. I smiled at his confusion and said.
"You think Paisley has what it takes to be Empress? Besides it's a Crown Princess selection. Other lady's will be there. What makes you so sure my stupid sister will win?"
Father took back the letter and kept it in his drawer as he answered me.
"She'll win. You have to understand Adrianna, I always have my way"
"We'll see"
Truly, I felt excited with this piece of news. Father didn't know my relationship with Nathan. In the past, he had never gotten a clue that the mysterious Crown Prince Nathaniel had grown up with me here in the Deor mansion.
The element of surprise is one of my favorite aspects of an attack. At this point of time, even the Emperor couldn't stop my success.
The setting sun caught my attention. It shone on father's desk, illuminating the documents which lay on it. Ah, evening had come.
Suddenly, the gates of mansion opened. Father stood up and looked out of the window, obstructing my view of the carriage which wheeled into the manor grounds.
"It's time to go. Our guest has arrived"
He moved slightly, and it was then I saw the familiar looking carriage.
***
I could imagine how elegant I and father looked as we descended the stairs, with me holding unto his arm.
"Better behave" Father said in a low whisper, as we got to the dining room.
"And if I don't?"
"Then you'll bear the consequences that follow"
The servants who seemed to have disappeared a few hours ago, were all lined up in the dining room, attending to a man who sat on a chair adjacent to the head's seat.
I searched the faces of the servants, some familiar, but none were Harper or Henry.
With a quiet sigh, I glanced at the guest who sat at the dining table.
This man before me, had brown hair which was rather long seeing as it was shoulder length. Black eyes which looked at me gently. He seemed so calm with a gentle smile on his face, but from the way how his eyes scanned the room, you could tell he was calculating his next move.
I was even more wary of him because he had arrived in a carriage with the Belv Duchy symbol. Also, his resemblance to a certain scumbag ex-fiance, was rather uncanny.
As I sat on a chair pulled back by a servant, he reached for his utensils in front of him, eyes focused on me, saying.
"It's nice to finally meet my esteemed daughter in law"
That was all the confirmation I needed. The man seated to my left was obviously Duke Belv. I had only seen him from afar, a few times in the past, so I wasn't very familiar with him. He possessed a regal presence which could only be befitting of his status.
My mental defense was raised as I straightened my back on the chair, and picked up a glass containing wine and took a small sip.
"Marquis, I appreciate the hospitable service I've received" Duke Belv said, his gaze still on me even as he spoke to father.
Father grinned and clasped his hands together. "Of course. The Duke is an important partner. But I'm afraid for our discussion, the servants will have to leave"
On father's queue, the servants all exited in an order and within seconds only I, father and the apparent Duke Belv reamined in the dining hall.
Silence pervaded in the room. All three of us, studied the other two keenly. I glanced at father who wore his usual smug smile then stared directly at Duke Belv who possessed a gentle demeanor I didn't quite like.
I swirled my wine glass in silence, waiting for somebody to speak up. It was father's deliberate cough that ended the sharp quietness.
"Duke. Now that you've studied my daughter, what do you think?" Father asked.
"I have to say, she truly does resemble you, Marquis" The Duke smiled, as of he were greatly complimenting me.
"Yes" Father glanced at me, as he replied to the Duke.
"But she doesn't seem to talk much"
Intensely staring at me, Duke Belv seemed to beckon me to speak. Swirling my wine glass one more time, before setting it down on the table, I smiled kindly at the Duke.
"Such a meeting has truly interested me. Very interesting that I've been silent waiting to here everything" I said, then proceeded to sip from my wine glass.
I didn't plan on saying much. The Duke was not the only one who was good at masking their true intentions. With this, I passed the mic back to him, waiting for somebody to talk about the intentions behind such a meeting.
The Duke chuckled. "Oh my. How rude of me not to state this evening's agenda. First of, let me introduce myself to you"
He placed a palm on his chest, as if he were about to give a solemn pledge. His long brown hair pushed away from his shoulders. "I'm Duke Franklin Belv of the South. Your future husband's father"
"That's something that's also interesting. Marriage to Ronald Belv" I looked at father, with an eyebrow raised. "It would be lovely if I were enlightened on the whole marriage matter"
Even with my sharp tone, I still maintained my gentle and kind image, which I was widely known for in the South. While putting on my own play of actions I carefully watched the Duke's expression.
"Of course. To put it simply, you have greatly piqued my interest" The Duke said.
Again, I glanced at father, but he remained silent, as if he left the whole situation to Duke Belv.
"How so?" I asked.
"The Marquis told me you're a beholder of one of the historic powers. Everybody would find you interesting. Magic possession is truly a talent, anyone would kill to have"
Seeing as he had told the Duke this much, it seemed that father had a close relationship with the Duke. I wondered why they associated with each other, but I'd probably soon find out.
The Duke continued. "With your power of hypnosis, young girl, you can accomplish great things....that is, when you work with the right people"
At this point, I solely focused on the Duke who looked excited as his black eyes gleamed and the grin on his face grew wider by the second as he began to tell me his findings.
He said. "I returned from the capital today. The Emperor is currently suffering from an incurable disease and the old man probably has a few months to live. That's why he's eager for Crown Prince Nathaniel to debut and establish his power"
The Duke seemed to know a lot. The Emperor's sickness had only been disclosed to a few, so the Duke's knowledge gathering had to be praised. If not for Nathan, I would have not known.
But to the part of the Emperor being eager for Nathan to ascend the throne, that was false. The Emperor was quite antagonistic towards Nathan. That was the reason why Nathan had ended up here with me on the South, twelve years ago. Maybe some of the Duke's facts needed some checking.
Finally, father spoke up, continuing from the Duke's pause. "Nobody has ever met the Crown Prince. The people are wary of a future leader who has never performed his duties throughout all his life. Why live in the shadows? It's obvious there's a problem with Crown Prince Nathaniel — a weakness"
Duke Belv nodded. "A weakness that we will take advantage of when we rebel against the imperial family"
Following Duke Belv's words, a heavy silence enveloped the room. Talking boldly about a rebellion, against the imperial family of the Empire could get you executed on the charges of treason.
However, before me was Duke Franklin Belv, who relayed his plans for the rebellion calmly, and my father, Marquis Samuel Deor, who was completely confident in succeeding with their plans.