"You want us to visit the west?" Izekiel asked when Aria came to his office with the request.
"Yes," she replied.
"But why? It's not advisable for you to travel to distant places while pregnant," he expressed concern.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me. I just really want to see the village in the west," she insisted.
"Is this still about your issue with the Duke? Aria, I've told you it's for redevelopment—"
"Yeah, I know. But I still want to visit it, and I also want to meet the villagers," she stated.
He sighed. "Fine. Let's visit there next week."
"And don't tell this to Duke Wolfsbane!"
"All right." He rose from his seat and hugged her, gently caressing her belly. "Why do you dislike Duke Wolfsbane so much?"
"Because I don't like him." she retorted.
He killed the former Emperor, executed Philip, and played a role in Mikhail's death.
"He's like a father to me, which is why I can't hate him. He has also helped me a lot," Izekiel defended.
She couldn't fault him for his trust in the Duke, but she knew the Duke was using him. She wanted to tell him, but she realized he wouldn't believe her without concrete evidence.
.
.
....
"Why don't we just break it?" Claudius suggested as he examined the small box that Nikolai had brought to him.
The box Hadrian had spotted in his brother's room.
"Well, you're right. Why didn't I think of that?" Nikolai mused. He instructed a servant to fetch a hammer.
With a forceful blow, they shattered the box.
"Whoo! Finally, it's open," Nikolai said, placing the hammer on the table.
They peered at the broken box and discovered a ledger inside.
"What's this?" Claudius picked it up and examined it closely.
"Let's see what's written inside," Nikolai suggested.
Opening the ledger, their eyes widened as they read its contents.
"Aria must know about this!" Claudius exclaimed, swiftly rising from his seat and heading out of the room.
"Hey, wait for me!" Nikolai followed in his brother's footsteps.
.
.
....
Ludwig anxiously bit his fingernail as he observed beneath Izekiel's bed the new medicine he had provided. Izekiel wasn't taking it.
Had Izekiel already grown suspicious? Had he discovered that the medicine was, in fact, a drug?
No, he couldn't afford to let Izekiel stop using it. The Emperor only followed his directions when he was under the drug's influence. If he recovered, he would...
"Argh!" Ludwig pulled at his hair in frustration.
He needed to devise a way to administer the drug to Izekiel without his knowledge. He thought of his meals.
He could lace Izekiel's food with the drug.
A sinister smile crept across his face.
He and the Emperor would be the sole survivors in this empire.
.
.
....
"Where's Aria?" Claudius inquired as he entered her room.
"She's not here, Your Grace. She went to the garden with Cedrik and William," Jenny informed them as she tidied up Aria's room.
"Alright, thank you," Claudius replied, and he and his brother left to find her.
.
.
Ludwig was strolling along the hallway when he noticed the Rembrandt brothers rushing past him.
He furrowed his brow, wondering what could be amiss. Is there a problem?
His eyes widened as he observed the ledger that Claudius clutched tightly.
No!
He recognized that ledger all too well.
Quickly assessing the situation, he spotted some servants approaching, carrying books. It seemed they were destined for Lord Gawain's library.
Thinking fast, he sprinted toward them and intentionally bumped into the servants, causing them to stumble and Claudius to drop the ledger onto the floor, mingling it with the other books.
"I... I'm sorry, Your Grace!" the servants apologized, bowing.
Ludwig berated them, "Are you all blind? How dare you push the Duke!" He then assisted in gathering the scattered books.
Secretly, he concealed the ledger within his clothing.
"I'm fine," Claudius assured the servants.
He scanned the books. Where's the ledger?
Ludwig began to make his escape.
"Wait," Claudius called after him.
Ludwig kept his gaze fixed forward, refusing to acknowledge Claudius.
"Did you see a ledger on the floor? I dropped it, and it got mixed up with the other books."
Ludwig couldn't suppress his grin. "I didn't see it, Your Grace." He turned to them. "You see, I have no books in my hands now." With that, he walked away.
Claudius and his brother inspected the books one by one.
"Tsk... He got away with it!" Claudius chased him.
.
.
Ludwig swiftly concealed himself in the backyard, knowing he had to act quickly.
"I can't let them have this," he muttered. He retrieved a lighter from his pocket and ignited the ledger. "I'm sorry, Duke Wolfsbane, but I have to eliminate the evidence before it's too late."
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"Ludwig!"
Claudius seized him by the collar. "Where's the ledger?"
"What do you mean, Your Grace?" Ludwig feigned innocence.
"Stop pretending! I know you took it. Now return it before I kill you!" Claudius seethed with anger.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. I already showed you my empty hands before I left, and you saw that I wasn't carrying a ledger or a book," Ludwig replied calmly.
Claudius hissed in frustration. He signaled to Nikolai to search Ludwig for the ledger, but their search yielded nothing.
Ludwig couldn't resist smirking. "I told you."
Claudius reluctantly released him. "Tsk. We're not finished with you. You better watch your back next time." With those words, they left him.
But Ludwig's demeanor shifted abruptly. "You're the one who should watch your back," he muttered darkly.
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.
"So what now? How can we find the ledger? Ludwig doesn't have it, and the servants don't have any idea about it either. How the hell did it disappear in the blink of an eye?" Nikolai expressed his frustration as they walked.
"I don't know! I'm convinced Ludwig took it! But he's hidden it somewhere. I'll be watching his every move from now on. I won't stop until I locate the ledger. We need it to apprehend Duke Wolfsbane," Claudius declared, clenching his fists with determination.
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.
....
"Haha! Well done, Ludwig," Duke Wolfsbane praised him and gave his shoulder an approving pat. "You've truly excelled. Fortunately, you managed to snatch the ledger away from them, or we'd be in serious trouble."
"But what about the list? The ledger is gone now," Ludwig inquired.
"Don't fret about it. I've committed every transaction written in it to memory. Even if they burn it, it won't be an issue," Duke Wolfsbane assured, lighting a cigarette.
Ludwig pressed further, "How did the ledger end up in the hands of the Duke of the North?"
Duke Wolfsbane exhaled a puff of smoke. "It was Hadrian." He gazed at the ceiling pensively. "Douglas confessed to me after I dealt with him. He revealed that Hadrian infiltrated my room the night I attended a party. He's the one who stole it and handed it to Claudius."
Ludwig probed, "So, what are your plans for him?"
Duke Wolfsbane wore a malevolent smile. "I initially believed that leaving him alive wouldn't pose a problem, given his crippling injuries. But that meddling brat keeps prying and getting in my way."
It was time to silence him once and for all.