Chapter 42: The Arrival Of Vultures
The letters lay scattered on the table while
Esme paced the solarium room, her mind already putting together the puzzle pieces.
"It’s brilliant, honestly," Esme said. "Julian knows he can’t beat you in a physical fight. But the Imperial Church? That is a completely different battlefield."
She turned and looked at Eveyr, who looked ready to murder someone.
"If the High Clerics declare that you are magically manipulating me they have the authority to annul our marriage. They can legally drag me out of this house with an army of holy paladins. And if you fight the Church, the whole kingdom will descend into holy war. Julian wouldn’t even have to lift a sword; the clerics would do his dirty work."
Eveyr’s reply didn’t come with his mouth. The ambient light in the solarium abruptly dimmed as the shadows in the corners of the room snapped towards him, drawn to his catastrophic rage. He didn’t move a single finger, but the glass windows behind him began to groan under an invisible pressure.
Crack
The glass splintered in a spiderweb pattern.
"Let them declare war," Eveyr snarled as he walked towards Esme. "I will kill every paladin who dares to step within a mile of my house’s gates. No one is taking you away from me."
"No," Esme replied back quickly. "Why are you always thinking about starting a war without thinking about consequences? We are not going to start a war. You understand? We are going to play my game, Eveyr."
"What game?" he asked.
"In which I need to play the victim if we want to win."
Eveyr frowned in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"The only way to prove to the High Clerics that I am not under your mind-control spell is to willingly agree to see my family," Esme explained. "If I meet them acting like the Duchess of Aldric who is confident, defiant, and brave; Julian will say, ’Look! The Duke’s magic has completely overwritten her personality!’ We will fall right into their trap."
Eveyr thought about her words.
"So," Esme continued. "I have to act exactly like the old Esme Sterling. The one who was scared and fragile."
Eveyr physically recoiled. His upper lip curled into a sneer of disgust. He grabbed her waist and pulled her against his chest, trying to shield her from her own plan.
"You want to pretend to be a trembling coward?" Eveyr almost growled.
Despite his possessive grip. Esme nodded calmly.
"Yes!" she replied, looking directly into his eyes. "And you need to stand back, keep your magic completely suppressed, and watch them insult me."
"Esme..."
"And you cannot kill them, Eveyr," she didn’t let him finish. "No matter what they say or what they do. You have to let them think they have the upper hand."
Eveyr sighed in frustration. He rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes tightly.
The thought of watching his fierce wife submitting to anyone even because of a plan made his skin crawl with anger.
Asking him to stand down and watch her be belittled was asking a starving wolf not to bite. And Eveyr wasn’t ready for that. But then it was Esme’s decision, her wish. And her every wish was his command.
Immediately, the system’s interface appeared in Esme’s vision.
[OPPORTUNITY DETECTED: RESTRAINT AGONY]
[Condition: Target must endure psychological distress by restraining protective instincts.]
Making an overprotective and intensely devoted yandere watch his wife be abused in front of him without him being allowed to intervene was the ultimate psychological torture for him, and the system was enjoying it.
"I know it goes against everything in you," Esme softened her voice a little and gently stroked his jawline. "But I need you to trust me. Can you do that? Can you hold yourself back for just one afternoon?"
"I will hold myself back," Eveyr replied though his whole body was burning with anger. "But if they push you too far, Esme... I will paint the walls with their blood."
Esme smiled and pinched his cheek playfully, surprising him. Eveyr didn’t know what to do. He was used to her sharp tongue and fearless defiance. This playful side of her was unfamiliar to him. But he loved it. Because she was Esme, and he loved everything about her.
Esme then went to her room and stood before her vanity mirror. She took off her beautiful gown and wore a simple, old gray dress that belonged to original Esme.
Eveyr stood behind her, leaning against the door, crossing his arms. He stared at the dress with open hostility.
"Did you really have to wear this? Even our maids’ uniform are better than this," he said as he walked towards her.
"That is exactly the point," Esme replied as she unpinned her hair, letting her hair fall around her shoulders in messy waves.
Then she grabbed a handkerchief and wiped her lipstick, that made her face look pale, and exhausted. Eveyr immediately lowered his eyes. He couldn’t bear to look at her looking like that.
"I don’t want you to do this," he said. "They’ll tear you apart."
"Let them try," she answered with a wicked smile. "They don’t know who they’re dealing with."
Later that afternoon, the gates of the Aldric townhouse finally opened for the outsiders.
Esme’s father Lord Sterling and his eldest daughter, Lady Maria, stepped out of their rented carriage and entered Aldric townhouse.
For the world, they were the concerned family members coming to rescue their innocent little girl. But their expressions and body language couldn’t hide their true motives. They looked like vultures coming to eat their prey.
As they stepped inside the gates, they looked around the dark building of the Aldric estate with unabashed arrogance, completely entitled by the Imperial Church’s backing. They considered themselves untouchable.
"Gods, it’s so scary," Maria complained as she adjusted her overly ruffled pink gown. "How she hasn’t thrown herself from a window yet is beyond me."
"Keep your voice down, Maria," Lord Sterling muttered. "We just need to get your pathetic little sister, collect the annulment bounty from the Prince, and leave."
Esme watched everything from the window above.
So...these two had made your life living hell, and sold you as a spy to Julian!!
Taking a deep breath, she dropped her confident posture. She pulled her shoulders inward to make herself look small. She lowered her chin, averting her eyes to the floor, and forced her hands to tremble as she gripped her simple dress.
"F-Father?" Esme stammered as she descended the stairs. "Maria? You... you came for me?"
Eveyr was standing on second floor balcony watching everything. The monster inside him rebelled. Seeing his brilliant wife dim her light to appease those pathetic rats sent a wave of agony through his veins. He gripped the balcony railing, squeezing it tightly to hold his unrestrained magic back.
Meanwhile, another system notification popped in Esme’s vision.
[SYSTEM ALERT: RESTRAINT AGONY TRIGGERED]
[Target is enduring critical psychological distress]
[Reward: 1500 Points]
