"So what do you say Lady Adrianna? Are you going to stand against us, or join us and be on the winning side?"
The Duke grinned at me. He seemed confident that I'd accept his offer.
"I'll be on the winning side"
"As expected. You're making the right decision joining us-
"I'm not joining you" I cut in. "But I will succeed. I have no reason to be allies with anyone, or become an enemy...yet"
I lied. The two had already been considered as enemies and would be executed once I became Empress. Their power hungriness marked them as threats on my list.
The Duke's gentle smile froze on his face, immediately falling and forming a frown.
"It's either you're with us and help us, or against us and die" He said.
"Speak quickly. We don't have the time!" Father added.
I had wanted to stand on neutral grand, just in case this whole rebellion thing succeeded. But the Duke was determined to me under the classification of either enemy or ally.
In that case....
"I can't assist you with what you asked for... marrying Ronald and giving birth to a child is out of the question"
I even used my nicest tone to speak to the Duke, but he set down his utensils rather loudly then glared at me vehemently and said.
"Tsk. I thought you were wise"
"Wisdom entails that I decline your offer"
I was starting to get annoyed. The desire to get up and walk out gnawed at me. Or maybe hypnotize the Duke into spilling all I needed to hear? No, father was here seething in rage.
Call me egoistical, but I wasn't willing to work as a puppet for anyone. I also knew better than to make an alliance with father and someone as cunning as the Duke. I'd probably be disposed of once I had been used. Father hated me to the bone, my death would be orchestrated if he seized power
And who wanted to birth Ronald's child? Certainly not me. I wouldn't exchange Nathan, the great male lead for a man who was regarded as a useless entity, even by his own father. And what if the Duke didn't keep to his words?
After all, if he could plan to get rid of his own son, who then was an exception? Not me, who would give him a grandchild possessing great magic and there in be deemed as useless.
So, no, I wasn't going to be part of a rebellion whatsoever. My marriage with Nathan was already assuring me the seat of Empress.
Confidently I'd refuse the offer of a furious Marquis and the Duke who looked at me with pity.
The Duke shook his head, staring at me.
"You're making a mistake"
"Oh really?" I questioned, with a smirk.
"So, are you going to kill me tonight?"
"No. I said I'd let you live to see us succeed then kill you when regret is tormenting you"
Father hit his fist against the table angrily. He shouted. "No! I'm killing this b*tch tonight!"
"Marquis, I said we're not killing her. She's still wedding Ronald tomorrow. We've invited some important guests"
"B-but th-
"I make the decisions. Her wedding with Ronald will still proceed"
Father gritted his teeth, his hand balled into a tight fist. He was shaking with anger, looking ready to land a punch on either the Duke or I. I was probably at the receiving end of his anger, as I couldn't help but burst into a fit of laughter.
"Pfft. Haha"
I laughed because it was so funny watching father take orders. My proud, arrogant and commanding father who I probably took after, containing himself and being controlled. There was obviously something wrong. Maybe the Duke was holding something over him? Still, the situation was funny.
In the nearest future, father would probably have no choice but to obey me the way how he currently did to the Duke. Oh wait, in the nearest future I'd have to kill him....how unfortunate.
No, there's a solution. I'll make him bow to me then lick my shoes before executing him. There, problem solved.
My fantasizing was cut short as I snapped out of my thoughts at the Duke's words.
"See you tomorrow at the wedding, Adrianna"
The Duke pushed his chair backwards, then got up.
"You didn't even finish your meal, Duke"
I said to the Duke who walked out the way he came. He turned around for a moment and said.
"I've had enough food. I'll be eating a lot, tomorrow at the wedding of the century"
I glared vehemently at his exiting back. My list of enemies seemed to grow longer by the day.
***
Father and I walked back inside. Angrily, he walked ahead of me. Each step he took was heavy.
The head guard trailed behind us at a small distance. I wondered whether to go to my room or follow father as he trudged to his office.
Out of curiosity, I decided to go with the latter.
The moment we got to his office, father plopped unto his chair, then ruffled his hair.
"You!" He finally faced me with a glare.
I smiled kindly at him in return.
"What about me?"
His hand formed into a fist, and forcefully hit the table.
"You're getting quite bold. Why can't you be obedient and quietly follow along?!"
"Quietly following long isn't quite my style. You should know that by now father"
He was so pissed, the veins on his forehead angrily bulged as he looked moments away from strangling you.
The room was silent for a moment, until he took a deep breath then commanded the guard head.
"Go and get the box"
The guard standing me, bowed then exited the room. I and father had a glaring competition, which didn't last long as the head guard returned with a box.
"My wedding gift for you. Get lots of sleep. Tomorrow is your big day"
The head guard held the box to his chest, and displayed it before me. Next, he opened the box and showed me the gory content inside.
"You think you have power here? Let me remind you. I hold all the power in the Deor mansion" Father said tauntingly, while beckoning at the open box.
In the box, was a horrid bloody sight of a body part. Three tongues, which looked like it had belonged to humans. I suddenly had a thought.
'Mother, Henry and Harper?'
For a moment I was shaken, but regained myself when father spoke again.
"Those foolish peasants should have obeyed my orders and not said a word"
It was then that I realized that the body parts in the box belonged to the three maids from before.
Was I monster for feeling relieved knowing that the tongues in the box belonged to the maids I had been trying to extract information from, and not three of my allies?
Well, now was not the time to dwell on my morals.
"So you severed the tongues of those maids? Should I clap for you?" I said sarcastically.
Father gritted his teeth, possibly annoyed at my indifference towards his 'wedding gift'
"This is a warning, telling you that you could be next"
That was what he said to me finally, then bid me a good night.
***
I slumped unto my bed, the head guard still following me.
"Get out. I want to rest"
He stopped for a moment and glared at me, before containing his expression and setting down the box of tongues on my bed, then exiting my room.
I pushed the eerie box containing the maid's tongues aside, then reached for under my bed. I had kept the magic stone from earlier today there, since I had nowhere else to keep it. Thankfully, it was still laying there.
I clasped the cold blue stone in my palm, then closed my eyes and concentrated. I muttered all sorts of apparent spells I had learnt from books.
The cold magic stone, began to radiate heat, but still, nothing happened. I sighed.
'I guess I should make another plan to get out of this ridiculousness. How can mum, Olivia, the twins, Paisley and Cardin all disappear from the mansion in one morning of me going out? And who gets married so suddenly?'
My head ached from all the absurdity and my solution finding. It was then that I recalled that Henry always kept important letters in a file under the bed.
Making sure the door was locked, I checked under the bed and found the file.
Good. The things in my room were still in place. How careless of father.
I opened the file and brought out various letters.
Quickly, I scanned each of them and the one with the symbol of the Farret County, caught my eye, since it had been brought in four times. An invite had even been sent to me this morning, while I was out.
That meant, Henry had been in the mansion since and had only disappeared a bit before I returned.
My attention was turned to an invite which I had received numerously from the Farret County. Henry had probably not told me about it since I had said I planned to be absent from social gatherings for the next few months.
But how could I have forgotten? It was almost summer. It was a month to the wedding planned between Olivia and Count Thomas Farret.
Mother, Cardin, Paisley and Olivia were all probably at the announcement party.
Then Harper and Henry? They couldn't just vanish into thin air! It was so annoying to make guesses and not being able to take action.
Just recalling as the Duke looked at me with pity a few moments ago, made me want to strike immediately.
"You're making a mistake"
He was totally wrong. They were the ones making a mistake by marking me as their enemy.
"No. I said I'd let you live to see us succeed then kill you when regret is tormenting you"
It may be hypocritical for me to say, but the Duke was rather arrogant. He seemed to believe I was harmless, thinking that my only power was derived from being the daughter of Marquis Deor and probably the hypnosis.
Unknown to him, once I've resolved this marriage nonsense, my business 'wine' will attack all his businesses so greatly.
With time, I'd catch his tail, then trample on it. There were so many ways that I could use to destroy them.
Let them rebel against the current Emperor. Now that I knew of their movements, Nathan and I would observe quietly and when the time was perfect, we'd strike.
I had the upper hand finding out and knowing their weak spots. Eliminating Paisley from the Crown Princess selection would be easy.
With that thought, I stood up, and went to my wardrobe and pulled open a secret drawer.
I chuckled seeing the contents in it were left intact. What amateurs. I bent down, then reached out for a tiny bottle from a crate.
In the bottle, was a transparent liquid which could pass as water, while destroying someone's life immediately.
Happily, I raised up the bottle to the moonlight and swirled the poisonous contents in it.
I can already feel the victory. The crown of Empress on my head and the perfect ending for the villainess.
Over confident? Oh, I know.