Chapter 45: Prison Guard

She is literally the only woman whose elegance and beauty no one would dare to question; so much so that many conspiracy theories circulated claiming she was the emperor’s secret daughter at the time, and some still believe these theories to this day. Even I, for a while, had my doubts, but I dismissed the idea after little Yevfrosiniya caught my attention.

It’s impossible for both parents of this tragic heroine to be mere ordinary people.

Since the Grand Duke is just an ordinary person, that means the legendary figure with the mysterious background must be the Grand Duchess!

And now look at this beautiful thing in front of me.

Are you telling me that our Korvekar is brilliant enough to have gathered all this information? If they really could access the secret passages and chambers in the royal palace, why didn’t they just plunder it!!

So it’s very clear that this information came from a different source, and the only legendary figure I can think of is the Grand Duchess of Korvekar

because it’s obvious that the person who drew these maps... or at least the person who provided the information, is someone who lived there and knew every geographical detail of that kingdom by heart. This also explains why the Grand Duke was so interested in that kingdom’s legacy – because it is his children’ legacy! And perhaps that is also why he wanted one of us, her children, to go there!

So the question is

who was Zinoviya the Grand Duchess of Korvekar really?

Was she a princess or a queen of that kingdom?

Why did the kingdom fall, why did she flee it, and how did she survive?

In the end, I think the best decision I made was volunteering to go there

I couldn’t help but feel proud and amazed at my extraordinary intelligence

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Over the past few days, whilst Alexander had shut himself away in his room, a great deal had changed outside.

The Grand Duchy of Korvekar had withdrawn all its overseas forces and suspended all its projects outside Korvekar, it even granted foreigners and civilians a fourteen-day grace period to complete their business and settle their affairs,

and travel costs using teleportation station were reduced to half the original price, in an announcement that, once the grace period had ended, the Grand Duchy’s borders would be closed and teleportation services suspended

Naturally, with Korvekar failing to clarify the situation for itself, rumours began to spread of a readiness to rebel.

The Emperor even sent an envoy, but for some reason this envoy disappeared halfway there, before even reaching Korvekar, which fuelled the rumours, cast Korvekar under suspicion and, for some reason, ignited the fervour of its people! A deranged people...

But what was even more intriguing was when Ivar Korvekar, the Grand Duke’s eldest son, and Miroslav Korvekar, the Grand Duke’s fourth brother, appeared at the palace of the Marquis Olyzhar.

That evening, Empress Nastalia, daughter of the Marquis Olyzhar, submitted a request to the Emperor to go to her father’s house with her children

Naturally, the request was refused, and a summons was sent to Ivar to appear before the Emperor

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In the evening, having finished all his official duties, Grand Duke of Korvekar, Serafim sat in the conservatory, enjoying a cup of tea whilst watching the rain patter against the glass

His gaze wandered quietly and seemed vacant; he wasn’t really thinking of anything. He had already thought a great deal, accomplished a great deal, done a great deal, and regretted a great deal—to the extent that his mind would occasionally go on strike and simply stop working like that.

"Grand Prince Serafim"

A voice interrupted his empty musings. It took him a full two seconds to register the presence of an intruder who had broken his solitude and snapped him out of his reverie.

He blinked several times, then his eyes fell upon a middle-aged blond man with a massive, bear-like build—but one packed with muscle rather than fat— with a square face and hair carefully slicked back, wearing a combat uniform: a black quarter-sleeved shirt, a sleeveless coat over it, and black military trousers. As soon as their eyes met, he bowed towards him

"What is a prison guard doing in my house?"

" I apologise for intruding, but the higher authorities are worried about the Grand Prince’s some decisions so that there is no interference and we do not jeopardise matters for the Grand Prince."

Serafim picked up the teacup again and raised it to his lips, but found it empty, so he set it back on the table. He then picked up a second one and placed it on the table, inviting the man to sit down, and gestured for him to pour tea for both of them whilst he replied

"What do you need to know?"

The man stepped forward and began carefully pouring the tea, but he grimaced at the smell and then suddenly spoke out of the blue:

"This tea is poisoned, Your Highness."

"What does the prison guard need to know?"

When he saw that Serafim showed no reaction to the poison, he poured into both cups but wasn’t sure whether he should drink it or not... The problem was that he knew this Grand prince had a somewhat eccentric personality.

"We’ve received information that the Grand prince wants to marry the heir to the princely crown to the Witch."

"Is the prison Guard spying on my Korvekar? Shall I commend your courage?"

"We wouldn’t dare, Your Highness, but the news has already spread in the shadows and our ears could not help but pick it up. Moreover, these rumours all lead back to Lady Roxana, so we neither rejected them nor quashed them.

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Serafim raised his gaze calmly to the sky and, after a moment’s contemplation, replied

"You may proceed with the operation to kill the witch. Do not worry about Ivar; after all, even if he is not the heir, he still carries royal blood and will be immune."

"We do not doubt the heir, Your Highness, nor Your Highness’s wisdom. What we fear is that the princely household will become the witch’s target."

Hmm, he tilted his head and looked thoughtfully at the fair-haired man, then asked calmly,

"The report."

"Yes, Your Highness. The witch possesses a domain specialising in curses. Although we have already ensured she can never access her domain and destroyed the key to it when she was nine, but according to the data and analyses, there appears to be a harmony between her domain and her nature as a witch, creating a synergy between them that penetrates the effect of the seals upon her, and her curses are able to actually affect reality. According to our latest investigations, the plague was indeed a curse she cast upon her husband’s estate."

"Hmm, I see. Very well. I grant you permission to contact Ivar and provide him with specific information about race of slaves. You may coordinate with him to complete your mission."

"As you wish and command. Thank you for your kindness, Grand... Prince..."

Suddenly he fell silent, then raised his head and looked towards the conservatory door, where he saw a pleasant-looking blond young man entering the conservatory, dragging his pillow whilst yawning and bickering with his servant.

He stood up immediately and strode over, under the gaze of Serafim, who watched calmly but with a hint of pity, sadness and guilt at the scene.

Alexander stopped abruptly when the terrifying uncle suddenly appeared before him and knelt reverently.

"Your Majes..." He felt the cushion strike his head as Alexander cried out in terror and frustration:

"What on earth is this? As if that terrifying dream wasn’t enough—who are you?"

"Oh, I apologise... Your Ma... I mean, young master... young master... This is your humble servant, Valentine."

Alexander looked at him strangely for a moment, but in the end decided to ignore this eccentric creature. When he looked more closely into the conservatory, he saw that the Grand Duke was already seated there, so he decided to return to his room.

He didn’t even know what had brought the Grand Duke to the castle’s south garden, but the Grand Duke’s voice stopped him

"Alexander... come here."

He hesitated for a moment but eventually yielded to the Grand Duke’s orders... After that strange dream, he once again felt he really needed to have a row with someone, and who better to have a row with than the Grand Duke?

So he stepped forward, whilst for some reason the eccentric Valentine was holding onto his pillow with such care that it sent a shiver down his spine; so he signalled to Vilen to rescue his pillow.

Vilen nodded solemnly, reached out cautiously and grasped the edge of the pillow, but before he could stow it away in his storage ring, he received a slap on the hand.

He blinked several times as he looked at the red mark on the back of his hand, then whispered silently a single word:

"Order"

He then reached out again and stowed the pillow away, a strange sense of pride in his victory and achievement evident on his face. Valentine clicked his tongue and looked away.

In any case, Alexander sat down in front of the Grand Duke and, when he saw the cup full of tea, reached out to drink from it; but strangely, the cup suddenly flew out of his hand and crashed to the floor, leaving his hand awkwardly raised, whilst Serafim continued to drink calmly as if he had done nothing wrong

Behind him, Valentine and Vilen wisely backed away, pretending they’d seen nothing... when Alexander began shouting, cursing and swearing—no one even knew where he’d learnt such things! This prompted the Grand Duke to make a mental note to give that useless manners tutor a good flogging so that he might take his duties more seriously

And Rolan certainly wouldn’t escape a flogging either; Serafim was well aware that it was this little rascal who was picking up swear words from the soldiers and using them in front of his brothers, thereby corrupting their morals... A hundred lashes would suffice as a warning for the time being...