Chapter 41

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The next morning, Luana got up in her room, took a bath and got ready before having her breakfast which her maid brought her.

"Good morning, Your Highness," the latter greeted, bowing to her.

"Good morning, Agnes," the princess replied, smiling at her.

The maid put the breakfast tray on the small table near the patio door and put a white colored envelope next to it which caught the girl's attention.

"What is this, Agnes?" she asked, confused.

"It's a letter that just arrived this morning, Your Highness. It's for you."

"A letter? From whom?" she wondered curiously.

"It's not marked, Your Highness. It's an anonymous letter apparently."

The young princess took the envelope and opened it to find a letter folded in half inside.

"Thank you very much for the breakfast, Agnes. I'll call you back if I need you," she said smiling.

"Understood, Your Highness. Bon appetit to you," replied the maid, bowing again before leaving the room.

The young girl drank a small sip of the delicious tea that was served to her on a pretty cup before unfolding the piece of paper and reading it.

┌─────── ∘◦❁◦∘ ───────┐

Good morning, Your Highness,

I hope you're doing well and that you're in good health.

I know that the content of this letter may seem shocking or even absurd to you, but I simply cannot hide the truth from you.

I was informed, not long ago, that the Grand Master is preparing to attack you again. This time, instead of sending one person to take on this mission, he sent three, one of them is someone that you and I know personally.

I can't tell you more than this, but be very careful. This army is, for the moment, getting prepared in their headquarters. Once I have information about where it is, I'll let you know about it.

I hope that by doing this, I would have been useful to you. Take good care of yourself.

Greetings from a friend.

└─────── ∘◦❁◦∘ ───────┘

After having finished reading, the young princess put the letter back on the table with a small sigh.

'Cecilia... It's her... I'm sure... I don't know if what she's saying is true or not... It might be a trap... After all, why would she want to help us when her own father is one of the order's leader?'

After a short moment of reflection, she got up while taking the letter with her before leaving her room.

'I'm going to show this to Lucas and Dad. They'll know what to do,' she thought.

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

Back to the house of the former captain of the Imperial Army, the latter was preparing himself to leave before hearing someone knocking softly on his door.

'Who could it be?' he wondered, very confused.

He left his bedroom, going towards the corridor which he crossed before arriving in front of the front door and opening it.

He was taken by surprise when he saw Hastia in front of him, dressed in a long black cape that hid her head.

"Good morning, Captain Arminel," she greeted coldly.

"Good morning, Hastia," he replied with a puzzled look.

The two people remained silent for a short moment, looking at each other.

"Are you going to leave me at the door?" she asked sarcastically which made Hector come to his senses.

"Of course not. Come in," he replied, stepping aside to let her in.

Once inside, the old woman took off her hood and walked down the long hallway to the small living room. She sat on one of the armchairs that were next to the window while the former captain sat on a chair opposite to her.

"You were about to leave, it seems," she said, looking at him insistently.

"Yeah. I was going to the palace to collect some information regarding my mission," he lied.

"Mmm... That's good..." she whispered, not entirely convinced.

A heavy silence fell between them again. It was Hastia who broke it by clearing her throat.

"Listen to me, Hector. Let's not beat about the bush," she began.

"What do you mean?" wondered the former captain.

"I know very well that you did not betray the emperor and that you work as a double agent for him," she declared.

Hearing those words, Hector's eyes widened in shock. He felt his blood freeze in his veins.

"What are you talking about? You must have hit your head somewhere on your way here," he asked, frowning.

"I only told you the truth, my friend."

"Listen to me, Hastia. If you came here to talk nonsense to me and waste my time, you better leave because I have much more important things to do than hear nonsense like these," he growled in displeasure.

"You're the one who's going to listen to me, Hector. I didn't come here to threaten you or anything. If I wanted to tell the Grand Master everything, I would have done it long before coming here to see you. But I didn't and I don't intend to do so."

Arminel looked at her with very surprised eyes before letting out a long sigh while massaging his temples.

"What do you want from me?" he asked with boredom.

"I'm on your side, Arminel," the old woman declared.

"On my side? But which side are you talking about? You know very well which side I'm on," he replied, chuckling sarcastically.

"You may deny it, but I know everything. If I came here to see you today, it's to inform you that I'm no longer part of the order," she said with determination.

"How come you're not part of the order anymore? No one informed me of your departure," he wondered.

"It's not a departure but a betrayal, my friend. I will join His Majesty's side because that is where I was meant to be from the start."

"What made you change your mind so quickly? You were so devoted to the Grand Master."

"I just woke up from a decoy I was living in. Now everything is clear to me. Both good and evil."

"So you're telling me indirectly that we're enemies now," he deduced.

The old lady smirked as she looked at him with a knowing expression on her face.

"No... I think that, now, we're really allies," she replied.

With these words, she got up from the armchair and walked towards the hallway to leave the house. Arrived at the front door, she stopped and turned around to look at the former captain of the Imperial Army.

"I almost forgot the most important thing. I came to inform you that during your absence, the Grand Master gave a new mission."

"To whom?"

"To the brothers Jonaral and Dogadar and Marquis Kalmiv."

"And what is this mission about?"

"Like Velthur's. They will attack His Majesty and the Imperial Knights again," she answered.

Captain Arminel froze in shock as cold sweat ran down his back.

"How are they going to attack them?! When is this going to happen?!" he asked insistently.

"Not yet. Marquis Kalmiv is tasked with discovering the secrets and weaknesses of the Imperial Knights. Once he discovers something, they will attack them by surprise. Meanwhile, the army of the twin brothers is getting preparef in the headquarters which are located in Veritas."

"Veritas? It's not very far from the capital," he remarked.

"It's a few days away, yes. Between us, Arminel. I think the Grand Master wants to know if Marquis Kalmiv is a traitor or not by entrusting him with this mission. It's a chance for us not to miss to eliminate another member of the order without doing it ourselves," she offered.

"What?" he asked, very confused.

"The Grand Master can be made to believe that Kalmiv is working for His Majesty. That way, the latter's doubts will be confirmed and he will get rid of the Marquis with his own hands. We will only have to watch from afar," she explained.

The former captain remained silent while looking at Hastia which made the latter shrug.

"It's only a proposal after all. If you don't want to do it, I will do it without your help. Goodbye, dear friend."

With these words, she left the house, leaving Arminel more perplexed than ever behind her. He stood frozen in place trying to figure out what had just happened.

'What was that? Could it be possible that Borislav sent her to test my loyalty to him? No... No, that's impossible... Otherwise, if he didn't trust me, he would never have displayed his identity in front of me...' he thought.

After a few minutes, he put his cape and hood on his head before leaving the house as well.

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

"So you got this letter this morning? And you suspect it's from Marquis Kalmiv's daughter?" Arthur asked.

"I don't suspect it. I'm sure if it," the young princess replied confidently.

They were all together in the latter's office, accompanied by Lucas, Angus and Edgar. The latters sat on the armchairs while the emperor stared out the window, deep in thought.

"It's very possible that this is a trap," Edgar stated.

"That's true. After all, Count Kalmiv is our enemy and the person who sent this letter is none other than his daughter. It's very possible that she is his accomplice," Angus confirmed.

"Unless she's against what her father is doing," Lucas retorted.

"That's what I thought too... But then, what should we do now? Should we believe what is written in this letter?" asked the young princess, very confused.

With these words, someone came to knock softly on the door while the others turned their heads towards it.

"Come in," Arthur ordered.

It was Gardner who entered the room before bowing to them.

"Your Majesty, someone has come to see you," he informed.

"Who is it?" asked the emperor, confused.

"It's just me, Your Majesty," a male voice answered.

Captain Arminel entered the room while removing his hood from his head, a big smile on his face before bowing.

"Good morning, everyone," he greeted.

Seeing him, the emperor couldn't help smiling back at him before dismissing his butler.

"Good morning, Hector. What brings you all the way here?" he asked.

"Let's say that the amount of information I have to bring you is very big and I couldn't wait any longer," replied the former captain.

"Have you discovered anything new, Captain?" Lucas asked.

"Many new things, My Son. I will start with the most urgent ones. The Grandmaster is about to attack you again. He has entrusted this mission to the Marquis Kalmiv and the twin brothers Jonaral and Dogadar."

Listening to these words, everyone looked at each other in amazement except for the former captain who was puzzled by their reaction.

"What's going on? Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?" he asked, very confused.

"Luana received a letter this morning telling her exactly the same thing you just said," Angus explained.

"A letter? From whom?" he asked, confused.

"The letter was anonymous. But I know it is from Marquis Kalmiv's daughter," the young princess replied.

"Dale's daughter? How is that possible? At first, I thought it was Hastia who sent it to you," he wondered.

"Hastia? Why would she do such a thing?" Arthur asked in confusion.

Arminel told them what happened to him with Hastia earlier that day and told them everything she had told him.

"It's unbelievable..." Edgar muttered.

"Does she really intend to betray the Grand Master?" Angus asked.

"I don't know... I'd rather not trust her for the moment... We'll see what happens and then we can judge..." offered the former captain.

"And for the army of the twin brothers?" Edgar asked.

"I suggest we take care of it as soon as possible. The more members of the order we eliminate, the sooner we'll approach the Grand Master," the young captain suggested.

"I agree with you, Lucas," Arminel asserted.

"Me too. So we'll start the preparations right away," Arthur said.

"There's also something else that is very important, Your Majesty," added the former captain.

"Which is ?"

Arminel smirked as he looked the emperor straight in the eye.

"I have finally discovered the identity of the Grand Master."


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