Chapter 23.1 : Consequences of Power

We were an isolated part of the castle, a perfect place for no one to hear, no one to interrupt, and no one stop us.

I sat on one of the chairs there, thinking… of what the hell was Clovis thinking! Approving that farce of a decree they call law.

I was baffled, really baffled at what this boy, this green boy was doing. I knew from the start he is bad news, I mean I fully understand of him not understanding our world, this is not his world after all, but… the audacity he has on turning our world, my world, the world I knew of to his image…

It was… frustrating, he even got Amadela to join his outrageous plan… by Lux…

"Margrave Ramon… you ask for me?" Geoffrey finally came.

"I think he ask for us, Sir Geoffrey." And Lady Diamant, as usual, teleported here.

"Wait… us Maîtres are here, except for Lord le Láidir…"

"Forget the Fada, he's not even that involved with this realm." I said to them.

"Huh… so why is the best friend of our majesty, gathered two Maîtres here, in a very isolated part of the castle even!" Geoffrey said suspiciously as he sat down on one of the chairs I prepared.

"This is a matter of the realm, a matter that Clovis is blind to, it's about the Lord Protector."

"Ahh… Lord Wulf…. Quite the theatrical performance he did to you vassal there!" Geoffrey was getting a rise out of me. "And I assume you must have some plight against this law he just decreed."

"This is more than just that law, he is changing this world to his image, and I don't like it."

"Well… the image he has is quite pretty Ramon! It's beautiful even… for his eyes only." Geoffrey said vexingly. "You were right, we should have never given him power, he is changing everything to be harder for us."

"Hmm…"

I knew from the start that Geoffrey only has eyes on Clovis' throne, he is ambitious, too ambitious for his own good, but he can be used, as young man like him are drunk on the power they might get.

"You're awfully quiet, Lady Diamant…."

"Indeed, as I already smell high treason from the both of you." She said.

I rose from my seat, went to her, standing tall to engulfed her with my shadow.

"Then what do you say, to stopping this delusional alien."

She stared at me, piercingly, as if she was looking at my soul, trying to determine if I was after power. But no, this is for the realm, cutting a tumor before it spreads.

"…I'll see what I can do." Lady Diamant, joined us.

* * *

It was the usual morning for Londini, with the smell of shit always seeping in indoors, the sight of hard working commoners on the dirt, and of course, my Wolves reporting in.

"And that's all of it, we'll be taking our leave now Grandmaster." James, one of my lieutenants, finished his reports.

"Yes, you may leave." I dismissed them, but I then remembered something. "Wait… Tancred! Stay."

"Yes Grandmaster?" Tancred asked.

"When I interviewed you, you said you were a cartographer right?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll need you to stay! The Lord Protector will be in need of your expertise and while you're employed under him, I am assigning you to be his secret guardian as well as my ears if he does something out of the ordinary."

"Will do Grandmaster, is there anything else?"

"No, just that, you may do whatever you want Tancred before the Lord Protector returns."

He then nodded in compliances as he leaves the room.

"Are you seriously still doubting his words, Áron?" Acier asked.

"Yes and no, I already knew from the start that Lady Florens is Stella's daughter and Lady Maynard is her younger sister." I answered.

"What gives it away?"

"Their hair, it's as silky as hers."

"Ha! Grandfather was right, you are a creepy old Fada." Hearing this, I stared piercingly at him. "Sorry, sorry… then what about the others?"

"Lord Svard was a hard nut to crack, but his conviction was really similar to Luther's, so… yes, I believe he is his nephew."

"Then the Lord Protector?"

"Him… I can admit that he very much, inherited Henry's sense of humor and sharpness, but…"

"But?"

"I refuse to believe what he said about Henry."

I couldn't believe it, enfer, I don't believe any single word what Ruith heard in her study room, what Chloé heard from his drunken ramblings, and what Amadela found out about him… There's no way Henry would abandoned his blood, let alone anyone!

Our time maybe was short, but it was enough for me to know who he was to the core, the very base of what makes him, him.

I refuse and is appalled to every single thing his son said about Henry.

Whatever it is, wherever he is, I know for a fact that he didn't do it voluntarily nor with an intention to harm his son.

"Hmm… well, whatever floats your boat Áron." Acier dismissively said to me.

"Floats my boat?! The man he is defacing is Henry, Acier! The very man that inspired your grandfather to make this sad of a Chivalrous Order before I came! Henry is not that man, I know him! He must have a reason! He-" I stopped.

"Áron?"

"I…" I was breathless, something was flowing inside of me, overflowing might be.

"What's wrong?" Acier was concerned.

"It's…" I didn't know what was going on inside me, but… I felt a surge, a surge of… power.

Knowing what was surging inside of me, I jumped from the window, down to the ground, the dirt that covered the roots of this world.

I touched it, trying to grasp and be connected to the root, trying to confirm if what I am feeling is not only exclusive to me.

And I was right…

The roots when it surfaced, touching my hand, connecting me to my brethren shows exactly what I hoped for from this sudden surge of power.

I was a ghast, awed at this new senses of power, senses of strength, but… I was confused on why this happened. He couldn't possibly be the one behind this, as there's no free handouts from him, he is too damn obsessed with the balance of this "story".

Though In the end really, nothing but him could answer this sudden surge, he is the only one who could do this to us, to everyone!

But then… mist suddenly formed around the sea, then the docks, then Londini itself.

I had a bad feeling something horrible was about to happen, but it all fades away like the mist when I saw an island, that island… the island where all ten of us rested and met him… and I saw him, Wulf, from a distance made a land bridge out of dirt.

I realized then… this mist, this surge… the surge that could tip the balance in favor to my brethren… is his doing…

Athar… who in the enfer did you brought to your world?!

I then rushed from Acier's tower, back to the castle. Though it was quite long, as his tower is in the northern walls, I could always teleport myself to my royal apartment, where I did so.

I rushed from my apartment, to get into the main hall of the castle, passing the servants, the guards, even some of my assistances who were searching for me.

But when I reached to where everyone was, I saw… a tragedy unfolding in front of me.

"MARTYN! MARTYN!!! WAKE UP!!!!" I heard Lady Florens, wailing, panicking, crying.

I've seen this face, the exact same face when Stella saw those bodies… the face that only screams dread and nothing else…

And I saw the one who Lady Florens were dreading, it was him, the Lord Protector, Wulf… unconscious on the ground, being held tightly by his lover, and looking like a corpse.