"What!?"
The Duke was taken aback by Selene's claims of knowing the cure for her daughter, when the top doctors of the empire didn't. How could a fourteen year old girl possibly know the cure for a parasite that even the best of the best gave up seeing the condition Violet was in?
"Please don't give me false hope Princess, I understand you are my friends with my daughter but such a claim shouldn't-!"
Selene abruptly interrupted the Duke before he finished speaking.
"Are you questioning me right now Duke? Do you think I'm a joke to you? Look into my eyes right now and see if I'm joking."
Selene took a step closer to the Duke, intimidating him
"Is this how you treat people who are here to save your daughter? Where's your honor as a noble of the empire?"
Selene glared at the eyes of the Duke with blood curdling eyes.
"...."
The Duke clenched his hands in frustration. If any other person had done this, the Duke wouldn't have hesitated on putting them in their place, but the person in front of him was of imperial blood.
His experience told him not to trust the words of a mere child who barely lived a third of his life, but his intuition screamed at him, telling him to bet everything to the person he was looking at.
He glanced at his daughter filled with concern and looked back at Selene.
With a big breath he decided, while kneeling.
"Please, I beg you. Save my daughter. I will do anything the Princess ask of me."
The Duke placed his right fist on his left chest, swearing, still kneeling down.
"I swear by the name of Rosenburg and our God Thanatos".
A black cross appeared on The Duke's forehead before fading into nothing. A symbol that appears when someone swears by their name and god.
Selene crossed her arms and nodded
So, This is how they made the Duke join forces with that bastard Campbell.
Staking your name and swearing by your god is one of the ultimate vows one can do. Taking it lightly would likely end or destroy your life. Going back on your word would lead to dire consequences. It can lead to a coma, getting crippled and worst yet, even death.
"Sigh, get up, follow my instructions and everything will be solved with time" Selen, her face softening a bit after The Duke's promise.
"Yes" The Duke getting up with an expression of resolve
"And tell Duke Campbell to go back home, his most likely the reason your daughter is in this condition."
The face of the Duke after hearing what Selene said shocked him and made him radiate an aura of hatred as laughed in realization.
"That bastard's been buttering up to me in the past few years the emperor was gone. Now that the Emperor is back, stronger than ever of course he feels like his back is now against the corner. Of course who else would he hold hostage but my daughter?"
Holy sh*t he pieced that together quick....
Selene was impressed by the quick uptake of the Duke. She thought he'd doubt her for a second but Selene was lucky the bastard was already making suspicious moves beforehand, making it easier for Duke Florian to pin the culprit to Duke Campbell.
"I would like to ask for more details, but I hope to cure my daughter of the parasite that's sucking away at her life. Please give me your guidance Princess"
This is unexpectedly going smoother than I thought.
She planned multiple scenarios that she would use if the Duke remained stubborn and suspicious, but she'll take it if everything ended sooner.
"Well for one....."
****
"She is in a good condition, Duke Rosenberg. She will need a day or two of good rest and she'll be back in pristine condition as if nothing happened."
One of the top physicians of the empire leaves after bowing.
Violet was breathing normally and sleeping peacefully.
The cure was simple. You take a monster higher tier than the person infected by the parasite. Take their heart, which needs to be around the same size as the person infected.
Open both chests to expose both their hearts then you take the open wound of the monster or beast close to the patient or beside the bed and the parasite will react and detach from the victim's heart and leap to the other higher tier heart.
The only way to get rid of the parasite is to have the parasite leave at their own volition by tempting it with a higher tier heart than the victim.
The Healer needs to be fast and cast a medium tier healing spell or douse a medium tier healing potion on the heart of the victim to prevent bleeding of their heart, taking them back slowly to perfect condition.
Simple but complicated if the person can't knock or restrain a beast that was higher tier than the victim. But with a Grandmaster right beside her, that job was easily solved. The Duke even prepared himself to fight a Grandmaster tier beast if it took that much to cure his child. Violet was in the start of Adept tier so getting a monster of Astute only took moments to get for a Grandmaster, especially a Grandmaster of Vitoten, which are stronger than normal grandmasters.
"Once again, I, as a Duke and as a father, can never thank you enough for saving my daughter, your highness. I also greatly apologize for my unforgivable behavior earlier"
The Duke once again bent down and knelt in gratitude and remorse towards Selene.
Is this guy really a Grandmaster? A Duke to boot? He really loves kneeling without hesitation.
Selene smiled wryly and told him to get up once more.
"Now for my reward, I trust you that you'll keep your word no matter what"
Well he has no choice. He literally swore on his name and god.
"Of course, Please tell me your highness' wish."
Selene sneered in excitement and spoke
"I want you to...."
******
"My Lord, the Princess Selene Aventus has departed"
A butler with white hair and aged and refined looks bowed to the Duke looking out of the window.
"Bring me, Baron and Baroness May. And remember to keep everything that transpired today a secret." The Duke said with a vital tone.
"Yes your grace"
The butler left in an elegant manner and softly closed the office door.
"Sigh, Today is a mess"
The Duke sat back down to his office chair and sighed in exhaustion.
Florian was finally freed from the terror of losing his loved one.
The thought of losing his daughter broke him. He lost his wife years ago and moments ago his daughter was on the brink of dying. He wouldn't know what to do.
He would probably be a slave to the Campbells not for the fact that the Princess swooped down like a miracle and saved everything from crumbling.
His gratitude knew no bounds. Relief was so overwhelming that his legs gave after he found out that the process of curing his daughter succeeded.
Selene on the other hand was calm and collected and was even drinking tea, confident that her method would work wonders.
He wanted to question further but he knew that doing so would only be met with refusal.
"Another Imperial blood has blessed another unbelievable individual"
The emperor was in a league of his own when he was young, a Prodigy only seen once every five hundred years. The eldest child and heir to the Throne, also a Prodigy who set a record for being one of the youngest masters to even exist.
He didn't hear anything from the eldest daughter that much, but from the rumors he happened to hear that Selene Aventus was an unremarkable child and the one of the weakest children in the history of the Aventus Bloodline.
All of it are unfounded and lies.
Selene Aventus was at the start of Adept tier, almost mid Adept tier. A pace that was comparable to her father and elder brother.
And he felt it. An unimaginable power sleeping within Selene.
"A bunch of f*cking monsters"
Not only that Selene was also cunning. More cunning than most of the people he knew.
"And this item is genius. How can Thanatos bless a family more than the Aventus family?"
Florian was holding a circular metal container.
"Hand cream was it? This will definitely sell like hot cakes."
She also has other ideas in mind.... that child is definitely more terrifying than the emperor when he was a child.
But Duke knew that Selene Aventus would definitely rise at the top of the world stage, asserting herself as one of the Legends that would leave their name in history.
******
"Hehehehe, I'm going to be rich"
Selene was kicking her legs on the bed, giggling.
Not only did she stop Duke Florian from joining the anti-imperial faction, he also gained a new ally and a new friend.
She was confident that Theo wouldn't be able to beat her with the amount of contributions she's made.
Not only that she also gave a business opportunity to the Duke giving her a source of income, needed to fund certain things she and Theo needed in the future.
They have to remain as covert as possible, so having the Duke as her proxy was the best possible result.
"Kekeke, that Duke bastard is probably going bald in frustration."
Selene was swaying her legs left and right in glee.
Thank Thanatos that Elsa didn't question me further.
She trust me a lot
I should probably give her something for everything she's done for me, she does have her birthday soon.
.....
*******
A man with a burly muscular build sat on his desk. His hair tinged in black with red streaks all over his head. His eyes blacker than the night sky and the atmosphere that was radiating from the room was enough to suffocate anyone weak enough to stay inside.
"Florian somehow found a cure for his daughter for a parasite that has never been seen before? Even the best physicians in the empire didn't have an idea how to get rid of it....."
Duke Campbell leaned over his desk and looked at the shadow on the corner of the room with an evident disappointment and coldness.
"Looks like this plan failed, fool. You swore that no one knew the cure for that thing"
The shadow bowed his head, speaking in a pleading tone.
"Forgive me your grace, I hope you give me another chance to prove ourselves."
The Duke narrowed his eyes and scoffs at the hooded shadow
"Hah! Show me results and we can talk again!"
The shadow disappears from the room and the Duke is left in his lonesome, contemplating yesterday's and today's events.
"Reports said that the princess visited the day my invitation got rejected..... It can't possibly be.."
...