Chapter 114: Indulging My Son’s Whim
Cordelia Valois, with her tea in hand and her hair tied up, lifted her head when she saw her guest arrive.
"I thought you weren’t going to come."
"Why not?" Caelia asked, her voice soft and amused.
Cordelia set her teacup down on the table and looked at her seriously.
"Would you care to explain what you’re doing?" She hurled the question like a challenge, maintaining eye contact, while Caelia remained unfazed.
"What’s the problem? I’m simply indulging my son’s whim," she replied with a mischievous smile.
Those words did not calm the duchess; on the contrary, they only fueled her irritation.
"You do know my daughter is engaged to him, right? But that’s not even what surprises me the most. Caelia, you’re destroying your real son for a stranger."
The empress frowned.
"Leonardo doesn’t give me what I need."
"And what exactly do you need, Caelia? Since when is a pretty face and a good cock enough to cloud your judgment?"
"I don’t want to argue with you, Cordelia. I came here to have a good time. If we’re starting like this, I’ll leave."
"I suppose I’ll just have to get to know Cassian again," Cordelia said coldly.
Caelia didn’t like her friend’s words. She shot her a suspicious look that clearly marked her territory.
"Can’t I even have a meeting with my son-in-law now?" Cordelia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You should talk to Morgana and tell her to stop trying to get close to what’s mine."
Cordelia sighed, exhausted. She began preparing the tea, poured a cup for Caelia, and gestured for her to sit.
The empress smiled.
"I’m glad we’ve reached an agreement."
...
Meanwhile, the two assassins from Lucratis who had managed to escape from Fengyue had already sent their report some time ago.
When the Emperor received the news of their failure—and in such an illogical manner—the only thing he could do was sit on his throne and stare at the woman who seemed to have nothing to say about the death of her own son.
"Vivienne..." the man’s voice sounded hoarse. There was a certain weakness in it, as if the power it once held no longer existed.
The woman merely gave him a brief, disinterested glance.
"I hope you’re not believing what that paper says."
"Then what should I believe? If this is true, it doesn’t just mean those boys killed Lucas—it means the youngest transcendent in history will soon emerge in Demor. We’ll be lucky if she doesn’t hold a grudge against us once she finds out. As if Sylvia wasn’t enough."
Vivienne ignored his lament and turned to her servant.
"Dominic, take the Emperor to rest. Clearly, all of this is too much for him."
The butler obeyed immediately, while the sovereign seemed to want to resist, but failed.
Powell, the informant, stood frozen as he watched how the Empress treated the Emperor.
"Bitch..." he whispered under his breath, fearing for his life the moment he realized what he had said.
However, Dominic and the Emperor had already left the room, and Vivienne showed no signs of anger.
On the contrary, a wide smile spread across her face, sending a chill through everyone present.
"You may leave. There is nothing more to discuss today."
Although some ministers wanted to speak about the resources lost by sending the prince to his death, or about the lack of an heir, no one dared.
Just as everyone was beginning to withdraw, Vivienne’s voice stopped them:
"Powell, you stay. I want to discuss a few things with you."
The informant’s legs trembled and he collapsed to the floor, seeing his end approaching.
"Why so afraid?" Vivienne asked with pleasure. "I’m not a monster, Powell. I can understand why you said what you said. And I suppose you also understand that I cannot allow that kind of disrespect."
"Your Majesty... it was a mistake. Seeing the Emperor like that clouded my judgment."
"Mmm, that loyalty is admirable, but it won’t be necessary once I hold all the power," she declared.
The informant’s head rolled with those final words.
With no one left to witness it... or perhaps someone did.
...
Meanwhile, Cassian had just returned to the academy, planning how he would spend his days.
Although he really wanted to visit Elara and tease that Ancestor, he was also thinking about Margery and Cassane, who had pleasantly surprised him the other day.
Or why not, repeat what happened a few days ago with his three favorite women; maybe he could even bring Caelia into the fun and see if that would make the woman stop being so possessive.
Problems like Eleanor, or more serious matters such as the throne and the legacy, were at the back of his mind. He was simply looking to relax.
But that would have to wait.
Upon arriving, the first thing he encountered was little Bethany looking at him with concern.
Adela soon appeared, and upon seeing my expression, she assumed I had already found out.
I kept calm so that Bethany could relax as well. Once she seemed to understand that everything was fine, she returned to her room with her maid.
Meanwhile, I headed to the room with a grim expression.
I turned to look at Adela, and she didn’t need me to say anything to begin explaining:
"Master, there are currently two ninth-circle mages and one transcendent warrior accompanying Miss Margery and Cassane. Even if they’re heading to Pradiles, nothing should happen to them that they can’t handle or that we won’t learn about in time."
"I understand that, Adela, but... why so suddenly?"
The maid lowered her gaze.
The silence stretched on as her shoulders tensed.
She avoided eye contact, gripping her uniform with both hands while searching for the right words.
"It was an order from the emperor," she finally explained. "Margery didn’t put up much opposition. I think she had already planned to go to Pradiles at some point anyway. Cassane was with her and decided to follow."
I raised an eyebrow and rubbed my forehead, trying to dispel the annoyance beginning to grow in my chest.
"Elara... it’s getting harder and harder not to just kill your father," I muttered to myself.
I threw myself onto the couch and looked at Adela to ask:
"How is everything going with Caelia?"
"Leonardo has lost almost all his support. His credibility is currently in the gutter. If it weren’t for Duke Vitalis and some elders still backing him, there’s no doubt the complaints against the emperor would have already resulted in Elara being named the new heir."
"I see... Vitalis, huh?" I remembered that little tsundere who always stared at me too long only to then pretend she hadn’t. I sighed. "Do you think they’ll cause a lot of trouble? Though once we’re done with Leonardo, I don’t think they’ll have much choice."
"I don’t know, Master. The information I have on them is somewhat unclear. Lucius Demor seems to be the one pulling the strings, but at the same time I get the feeling that’s not quite the case..."
"Well, we’d better finish things in Demor quickly. It looks like I’ll have to make a little trip to Pradiles sooner than I thought."
"Also, Master..." Adela hesitated for a moment. "I don’t know if it’s really important considering what we were talking about, but Thalassa completed her mission, and Rosalind met with her mother this afternoon."
I raised my eyebrows in surprise as a smile began to form on my face at the news.
"I guess some things can wait..."
