Chapter 396: Murdered [2]

But the main strength of the D.X wasn’t its numbers or the quality of its soldiers.

It was the presence of Arthur Dimitri... a demigod whose strength was unrivalled in his rank, and well... he was a calamity to be faced against even for the Sovereigns who should have been far stronger than him according to the normal standards of the world.

And now... with the addition of Diana, that power had only went on to amplify itself.

The parasite, which I could say with confidence, was a Divine at its peak... even in its present circumstances had the power of a Sovereign, and not any random Sovereign either.

Being able to face Arthur and fight him while holding back her already limited strength, just went on to prove how competent and lethal the parasite was.

With an abnormal Demigod and a literal God to fight for me... if I was scared of someone at this point in time, then one could only call me a fool.

Those two were enough to go against any major power, but that didn’t necessarily mean that I had to deploy them.

Why fight the war using my forces if I could make my enemies fight against each other?

Conserving one’s strength before landing the decisive strike for victory was what a predator did, and well... I was far better than the best predators out there, or at least I thought so.

Maybe I was being arrogant, but—

Did it matter?

The duchy had now come to a sort of pause, and well... the visit to the forge had been delayed or maybe could even be cancelled owing to the tension that was now permeating in the air.

Arnold was dead.

Being the younger brother of the current duke, his death wasn’t something that could be treated lightly.

And well... it were the sources of the authorities that had declared everything as an assassination attempt done on Matthew Pierre, but seeing the situation from a neutral perspective... none knew the truth.

There was a possibility that Arnold had either gone to meet Matthew of his own accord or had been invited by the latter.

And that itself was enough to change the entire narrative, as the Levaiths might claim that it was Matthew and the authorities as a whole that had plotted to kill one of their own.

Such a claim made by a duchy of the Veltran Empire wasn’t something that the authorities or the world at large could ignore.

Public opinion would be divided, and it could very well lead to a fracture of relations between the empire and the authorities.

The situation going forward could play out in any unexpected way, so the least I could do was to ensure that... I would be the one benefitting irrespective of the outcome.

With that thought in mind, I made my way towards my... target.

***

Swoosh!

Smack!

"Learn to predict the attacks. Don’t just fight with your body... use the brain too."

A girl around ten years of age stood with a wooden sword in her hand, while massaging the top of her head that had just been smacked by her instructor.

The instructor looked at Ashlyn with an impassive gaze, his eyes having no emotions whatsoever.

The duke had explicitly told him to be as strict as he could be so that Ashlyn would understand and feel the reality of the world, and would not remain some pampered child of the Levaiths.

"Let me try again, Sir!"

The smack on her head was painful, but that in no way was enough to undermine the little girl’s spirit, as her wide round eyes stared back at the instructor.

The sight was somewhat comic, but the instructor didn’t let it appear on his face, as he once again took his stance, prompting Ashlyn to do the same.

"Let the princess rest."

Before the training could resume, a very familiar voice echoed in the hall, making Ashlyn turn around in surprise.

"Uncle?!"

Her eyes widened, seeing her uncle Arnold standing at the door.

"Hungry?"

Arnold asked while lifting the packed food that he had brought with him.

"I—"

"Let’s take a short break."

The instructor, meeting Arnold’s gaze, interrupted Ashlyn before putting down his sword.

There was a brief silence, as Ashlyn alternated her gaze between the instructor and her uncle before running towards the latter.

Arnold, seeing the little princess charge at him, opened his arms wide enough to catch her in a bear hug.

"Where had you been?"

"Hm? Did you miss me?"

"No."

"..."

"Hehe... I did."

Jumping into her uncle’s arms, Ashlyn giggled as she let herself relax after the brutal training that she had been through.

Well... the training wasn’t that severe, but for a ten-year-old girl... it wasn’t a pleasing experience either, despite her best attempts to get used to it.

"I have brought your favourite snacks... just promise you won’t tell your father about it."

Ending the hug, Arnold cupped Ashlyn’s small delicate face, as he uttered the words with a genuinely bright smile etched on his face.

"But—"

"You won’t."

"Still, father says that lying is bad—"

"It’s not a lie if he doesn’t know about it."

"Uh... but if he asks—"

"Alright. I will be eating it—"

"No! I won’t tell him."

Ashlyn shouted with a pout before taking away the food from her uncle’s hands.

The instructor observed the exchange from a distance, not bothering to comment on it.

After all, he didn’t dare to say anything to Ashlyn before her overprotective uncle—

"Did he hit you a lot?"

"He did."

Ashlyn admitted honestly, her head slightly turning around to give the instructor a brief glance, before once again diving into her food.

And the instructor... he soon felt an intense gaze on him, though he had practiced enough to ignore it—

"I am sorry."

Still, giving an apology wasn’t that hard for him.

Ashlyn, seeing the silent exchange between her uncle and the instructor, simply smiled, before grabbing her uncle by his arm and escorting him out of the room.

"Ashlyn, hey—"