Chapter 50: “You’ve changed a lot “

"My lord, what shall we do now? Prince Ethan has openly challenged us. Shouldn't we make a move against him?" asked Duke Eddart's advisor.

Duke Eddart boarded the carriage and sat in his seat, smiling ruefully at his advisor. "Do you truly believe we have the power to do so? That boy wields his acquired power, much like a seasoned leader would. If we make a move, we'll all be wiped out, and I definitely don't want to be a foolish loser." the duke said.

As the horses galloped swiftly, the duke pondered silently. The advisor turned to him, saying "What about an assassination? All we have to do is make it look like an accident. After all, anything can happen in life, like being struck by lightning and dying, or maybe the neighboring countries are uncomfortable with the power Prince Ethan has achieved and want to kill him. What do you say my lord? I think it's a workable plan," said the advisor.

The advisor was an old man who had served the ducal family for many years. He was an advisor to Duke Eddart's father and did a lot of the duke's dirty work. Duke Eddart's father was quite cunning and ruthless. In fact, Duke Eddart's significant power owed much to his late father, who had ensured the prosperity of the duchy through politics and intrigue. However, this should not mislead you; Duke Eddart was not a foolish child who squandered his father's legacy. Otherwise, he would have already destroyed his father's legacy by now. In fact, Duke Eddart's father had a major flaw, which was making too many enemies. Yes, he had increased his family's power, but he had done so aggressively, thus making many enemies.

These enemies had later caused Duke Eddart a great deal of trouble. Duke Eddart, however, had cunningly plotted to reduce these enemies over the years and successfully maintained his duchy. Duke Eddart was definitely a shrewd man, unlike his father. He knew when to back down. If his father were alive last night and faced with Ethan, he would probably have attacked Ethan, risking both his duchy and his life.

"An assassination attempt would be a grave folly. Besides, Ethan possesses great skill in both magic and swordsmanship. If the assassination were to fail, I would lose everything. Moreover, I have known King Richard for a long time. Despite his efforts to conceal it, I can see that he values Ethan greatly. Even if the assassination were successful, there's always the possibility that King Richard would come after us." the duke said.

"But sir, Prince Ethan openly provoked you in front of everyone, and do you wish to remain silent about it?" the advisor said.

"Sometimes I wonder how you've remained as my advisor for so long. Yes, Ethan tried to provoke me, and by not responding to his provocations, I'm not giving him a reason to destroy me. Do you understand? Now, what we need to do is what the best hunters would do in such a situation: wait patiently" the duke said.

As the carriage sped along, the duke looked out of the window, focusing on planning and evaluating the situation. He now had a formidable enemy to fear. 'I wish it were you, Ethan, instead of Karl. Then the whole world would be at my fingertips.' With these thoughts, the journey continued.

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"Ethan, where are you going?" Anna asked, hurrying to catch up with Ethan.

"I'm going to cut someone's head off. Wanna come?" Ethan said.

"What!? Oh, you're talking about Cedric. Anyway, I want to talk to you," Anna said.

"Talk to me. Nothing's stopping you."

"Why did you do such a thing in last night's incident?" she asked.

"Because I have power, and power needs to be wielded," Ethan said.

"Ethan, you've been attracting too much attention lately. Maybe we should conduct our affairs a bit more discreetly. Otherwise, we'll become everyone's target," Anna said, trying to keep up with Ethan's pace.

"The main character who secretly runs everything? That's quite cliché Anna, try to be a bit more original." said ethan.

"What? What are you talking about? Ethan, I understand you want to quickly eliminate your enemies, but you can't do it without a plan," she said.

"Who said I didn't have a plan?"

"Do you have a plan? Then why didn't you explain it to me? Or is it that you don't need me anymore?" Anna said, pausing.

Ethan turned around and approached Anna. "It's not like that. I didn't tell you because I didn't have the chance. Okay?"

Anna's expression changed, showing concern and a hint of hurt. "Okay, I understand," she hissed. "But please, no matter what, don't shut me out. We should share everything as long as we're together, right?"

Ethan continued walking towards the carriage. "Yes, you're right, but do you want to talk about this here and now?" he asked.

Anna quickened her steps to catch up with Ethan. Because of her short stature, she had to exert more effort. "Yes, I want to talk about this now," she said.

Ethan stopped in front of the carriage. As Anna hurried to catch up, she accidentally bumped her head on his back. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said.

"No problem, come here," Ethan said, pulling Anna close and embracing her. The sudden embrace surprised Anna, but she tried to enjoy the moment. She realized how comforting it was to hug Ethan again. When Ethan began to pull away, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness. Ethan then helped her into the carriage and closed the door.

"Now, let me summarize the plan. First, I wanted to diminish Duke Eddart's power with the royal seal I acquired, and then I tried to provoke him. It would have given me a chance to destroy him, but that cunning man successfully avoided the danger. "said ethan.

"I understand, but it was already certain that Karl wouldn't become king. Wouldn't it be better to attack Henry's side instead of Duke Eddart?" Anna asked.

"No, Anna, only my father said Karl couldn't become king, but that's only valid as long as my father is alive. Nevertheless, Karl becoming king is highly unlikely, but underestimating Duke Eddart would be foolish. As for Henry, we'll gradually attack him and we need to be cautious," Ethan explained.

"I see what you mean. But let's say you defeat Karl and Henry. What about Isabella? You know she really wants to be queen. How will you handle her?" Anna inquired.

"As you said, Isabella wants to be queen badly, but unlike my other siblings, she does love me. We'll deal with Henry and Karl first. During this time, my sister, who is away from the capital, will have to make a choice between me and the throne. Even if she chooses the throne. it will take time for her to make that decision, and by then, we will have consolidated our power. Our next step will be to defeat her in a war," Ethan said.

"I understand and I accept that the plan isn't bad. But I think we need a backup plan, even a Plan C," Anna suggested.

"You're right. We have plenty of time. We can make contingency plans during this period," Ethan agreed. They both agreed and a few minutes later silence fell between them as they watched the rain outside the window.

Anna was sitting next to Ethan at the moment, so she leaned her head on his shoulder. Ethan then held her waist and pulled her closer.

Anna's cheeks turned red

"You've changed a lot Ethan. I don't know if this is good or bad, but I hope there will be times in the future when we will have such quiet and pleasant moments." Anna said.

"You know what they say, the only constant is change," Ethan replied.

"I don't think I've ever heard such a thing. Did you just make that up? If you did, I must say it was a pretty good one," Anna said with a chuckle.

"Also, I promise we'll have moments like this in the future," Ethan said, holding Anna's waist tightly.

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We've reached 50 episodes 🥳🎉🎉

I want to thank the readers who have followed me so far. When I started writing this novel, I didn't do it expecting money or popularity. But last night, I watched "The Thing" movie, and it was simply amazing. After watching the film, I looked into how it was received at the time of its release, and I was shocked. Can you believe that one of the best and most terrifying alien portrayals I've ever seen was unsuccessful at the box office and even disliked by critics? Of course, I'm not comparing my own novel to a masterpiece like "The Thing." Anyway, before I go, I want to suggest a few things for the continuation of this novel. First of all, I recommend not hating the character Alpshar. After this, we'll see another time jump. The events I've been thinking about since starting this novel will start after this time jump, although they won't happen immediately in Chapter 51.