NOVPUB
Chapter 248: The Drastic Move of the Devils?
The voice Aldrian hadn’t heard for days resounded in his mind, bringing a smile to his face.
"Danius, my friend, it’s good to hear your voice. To think you called me first—have you finally realized how genuine my feelings for this friendship are?" Aldrian said.
A vein bulged on Danius’s forehead as he felt an overwhelming urge to strangle Aldrian to death. However, pain began creeping into his soul, forcing him to abandon the thought. In truth, he wanted to withhold the information he had for Aldrian, hoping to exploit a loophole in their agreement.
If he didn’t report anything, he wouldn’t be a spy acting against his family. Even if he had some information, he could simply ignore it without passing it on to Aldrian, and everything would be fine, right?
Wrong!
As soon as he formed this intent, the pain in his soul intensified. The excruciating agony nearly caused him to faint, forcing him to give up and decide to report it. He didn’t understand how this slave seal worked, but it seemed capable of detecting even the slightest intent or thought, leaving him utterly miserable. Whether he liked it or not, he had no choice but to report anything of significance to Aldrian.
"Yes, Brother Aldrian, I realize it now. Anyway, there’s been a development in my family," Danius said. "I just discovered that my father seems to be preparing something significant with some other families in Grand Duke Gouvard’s faction. It looks like they’re mobilizing some of their resources to the capital, including spies and soldiers. They’re doing it covertly to ensure their movements go unnoticed by other families."
Hearing Danius’s report, Aldrian fell into thought.
"Mobilizing their resources? Now, this is interesting... Could it be a coincidence that this happened right after last night’s event?" he wondered to himself.
Aldrian then asked Danius,
"When did your family or the other families start moving?"
"Earlier today, before sunrise, I accidentally overheard that my father received contact from Grand Duke Gouvard. He was asked to prepare resources for the capital, and earlier today, they began moving. Even some of my shadow guardians were taken for support."
With this, Aldrian confirmed that the movement of Grand Duke Gouvard was indeed connected to the emperor’s curse being lifted. The sequence of events was too coincidental to be just a mere accident.
However, he frowned at what they might be planning. The fact that they were mobilizing their resources to the capital was not a good sign—it meant they were preparing for something significant. To the outside world, Emperor Durand still appeared fit and healthy. No one knew about his curse except his steward, a fact Aldrian had confirmed last night. The steward was also deeply loyal to the emperor, something Aldrian could sense in him. He doubted the steward would reveal the emperor’s condition to anyone.
For them to move their resources despite knowing that the emperor was still healthy only raised his suspicion that Grand Duke Gouvard had an information source somewhere.
Then, there was only one explanation: the curse caster, or anyone related to the devils, must have informed Grand Duke Gouvard to prepare for their next move. Aldrian thought it would be the drastic move he had predicted, and he began considering what they might be planning.
They must know that the emperor’s curse has already been lifted and that he will soon return to his former state. Despite this, they were still mobilizing their resources to the capital. If the imperial family learned of this, it would raise alarms, as such a movement was unusual and could be misunderstood by them.
There must be something that gave them the confidence to move their resources to the capital, despite knowing the emperor would be fine. Something that assured them their plan would succeed. Did Grand Duke Gouvard intend to overthrow the emperor?
"Did the devils already surround the capital and plan to attack it by surprise? No, they wouldn’t move rashly or recklessly. If Grand Duke Gouvard were found to be cooperating with the devils, he would be shunned by the people of the empire. He would not gain their support, and the other nobles could take advantage of that to bring down his faction. In the end, he would fall. So, this time, I think the devils are only playing a supporting role," he thought.
"Drastic measures, movement to the capital, the emperor’s condition." No matter how much he thought about it, the only reason they would dare to move to the capital was because they were confident that the emperor wouldn’t act against them, even if he knew what they had done. The only way to ensure that right now was...
"To kill emperor Durand."
Aldrian frowned. To kill Emperor Durand—easier said than done, especially now that the emperor knew the devils were targeting him through the traitors in the empire. To kill him, the devils would have to use another method. They needed a way to catch the emperor by surprise, a way that wouldn’t raise his suspicion.
Aldrian kept thinking, but he still couldn’t find any opening through which the devils could kill Emperor Durand. Assassination? If they failed, it would only make things harder next time, and they would expose themselves. A deadly curse? Emperor Durand would not fall for the same trick again. Poisoning? How could they deliver the poison to the emperor when he was on high alert after the curse incident?
The only thing that could catch the emperor off guard was a surprise attack by someone he trusted—someone he never expected would stab him in the back. His wives? His sons? Aldrian didn’t know much about the emperor’s wives, but the first and second princes didn’t seem to have any ill intent toward their father.
"Is it the third prince?"
He didn’t rule out the possibility. After thinking it over, he decided to visit the Alchemist Association. Perhaps he would find some clues there. As he had said, the devils’ web in this empire was so deeply woven that if something was happening, others connected to the devils must know something or be involved in some way.
After making his decision, he walked out in the direction of the Alchemist Association. It was almost midday, and after getting enough rest, he was now fired up to unravel the conspiracy.
Upon arriving at the Alchemist Association, he headed to the upper floor, intending to meet Master Dan or one of the other three grandmasters. As he reached the top floor, he saw someone he recognized.
"Carlo," Aldrian greeted, spotting one of Grandmaster Marco’s students.
"Grandmaster Aldrian? What brings you here? Is there anything I can help with?" Carlo asked.
"Ah, yes. I want to meet with Master Dan. I need to ask him about alchemy. Is he in his room?" Aldrian replied.
"I’m sorry, Grandmaster, but Master Dan left early this morning and hasn’t returned yet."
"You don’t know where he went?"
"No, but maybe my master knows, or perhaps Grandmasters Aberin or Maria might know. They’re all in their chambers right now," Carlo said.
"Alright, thank you for letting me know. I’ll speak with your master." Aldrian nodded and then walked toward Grandmaster Marco’s room, which was located beside his concocting room. As soon as he entered, he was greeted by Grandmaster Marco himself.
"Aldrian, it’s good to see you here. What brings you by?"
"Of course, I just wanted to visit, Grandmaster. I was hoping to have a conversation with you to deepen my knowledge," Aldrian said.
"How humble of you to seek to deepen your knowledge from me, despite your own abilities," Grandmaster Marco replied with a smile.
"Of course, you are much older and wiser than me, after all," Aldrian responded with a smile. "By the way, do you happen to know where Master Dan went?"
"Master Dan? Earlier this morning, he left without informing anyone, so I really don’t know where he went," Grandmaster Marco explained.
Hearing this, Aldrian inwardly sighed in disappointment.
"Last night, he also left the association for a moment before returning, and this morning, he left again. Maybe it’s connected. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I feel like he’s been more mysterious recently, as if his activities aren’t really known to me."
Aldrian pondered for a moment; the information he had was still not enough. He stayed with Grandmaster Marco for about an hour before leaving. If Grandmaster Marco didn’t know, then he would ask the others. However, after speaking with the other two grandmasters, the answer he received remained the same.
In the end, he found nothing and left the Alchemist Association in disappointment. He decided to contact Hector to warn him about the movement of Grand Duke Gouvard’s faction. However, before he could make contact, he paused, his gaze drawn to a certain direction. Something had caught his attention, something that stirred the sadistic side of him.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
