Chapter 25

The sound of glass shattering echoed through the quiet mansion. In a rage, the Duke hurled books from his desk at Ronald. Anything that reached his grasp was thrown at Ronald's direction. His eyes were blazing with madness. It was only when he felt blood from his hand drip unto the floor, that he paused his rampage.

The butler remained quiet at the back, wanting to avoid getting injured by the angry Duke. After thirty years of working in the Belv manor, it was the second time the butler had witnessed the Duke's violent fit of anger. Usually, his master upheld a calm demeanour and it was on rare occasions like these that he let his emotions show in such an unreserved way.

But it was expected. From the very moment the Duke hurried inside, with Ronald at his back, and began questioning the butler about Ronald's silence on the refinery, he knew an ugly scene would unfold. Quickly, the butler had summarized the situation to the Duke and handed him the reports hidden by Ronald along with the warning left behind at the burnt site.

Upon confirming everything from the documents, the Duke began to angrily wreck his office and hurled all forms of abuses at his son, who could only watch in silent fear.

The Duke stared at his bleeding hand for a second, before clenching it into a fist.  The pain brought him back to reality for a moment. He realized that the damage had been done and no matter how much he wrecked, his investment had gone down the drain.

Still, all these thoughts couldn't suppress his bubbling anger. In order to stop himself from doing more damage, he turned around, crossed the hallway and went to his room.

With shaking hands, he searched through a container on a desk in his room, then picked up his long pipe then lit it. It was only then that his thoughts began to get organized.

Ronald and the the butler, who weakly followed him into his room, were harshly dismissed.

"Get out. Leave me for now"

Not wasting a minute, the two disappeared from the door. The Duke then relaxed on his bed, smoking the pipe while thinking. He looked outside and saw the night had gone by and it was almost the break of dawn.

Plans for the rebellion circulated in his mind. In a matter of months, the Belv Duchy would finally rewrite it's position in history as the Imperial family's dog.

The foolish Emperor had taken the bait and had fallen right into his carefully laid trap by including Paisley Deor into the Crown Princess selection. Furthermore, the stupid Emperor was even going as far as personally supporting Paisley as a candidate.

Watching the Emperor put personal feelings before matters concerning the Empire's rule, Duke Belv felt bitter that such a simple person had eluded his schemes for years. In fact, the Imperial lineage all seemed unwise, considering the actions of each member occupying such a mighty position. And he was sure the unknown Crown Prince Nathaniel would be no different. Probably, the boy would be the least of his problems.

Although the Crown Prince's military prowess was renowned these past years, physical strength could do so little in the face of fierce political threats posed in imperial courts which required cunningness and impeccable wits to survive. In short, brains were more desirable than brawns.

So the Duke imagined it would be easy to make a puppet out of Crown Prince Nathaniel once he made his debut. And with Paisley Deor, they'd finish them off completely.

That would be the fate of the distant future. In the meantime, there were some operations the Duke had to carry out in the South. The first of many plans was for Adrianna Deor to marry his son. According to the magic guild he was affiliated with for the past few years, their experiments and research had led them to find that the first child born to a power inheritor in this era, would wield a very strong magical power.

The magic guild, although powerful for now, had stated that there powers began to diminish and what they needed was a power source — the child of a power inheritor. Unlike the strange magic they used, the special powers bestowed upon descendants of selected noble families were unique and everlasting. The Duke knew that much, because he spent years studying magic and powers that existed in the realm. Since Adrianna Deor was the only power inheritor he knew, and the most accessible, he'd make sure her first child would be his grandchild.

A powerful magic wielder of hypnosis and other powers, under the family name of Belv. The child, would be his perfect puppet and act as leverage over the magic guild. In such a situation, the rebellion would go even more smoothly and he'd rise as a great Emperor having a powerful magic guild and grandchild as his underlings. Citizens of the Empire would quickly succumb to his rule.

History books stated the first Emperor had given gifts to families loyal to him, in each region. Though it wasn't stated, Duke Belv assumed these 'gifts' were the magic powers possessed by loyal families. Even if it was solely a speculation at first, slowly he began to believe it was so. After all, it sounded more likely than the folklore of a witch giving powers to some families in the South.

No family had ever openly come out to declare that they could wield a mysterious power. He was sure that some families in the West and East were even living while being unaware of their inherited powers, since those regions didn't believe in mystical phenomenons. Some power inheritors, even here in the South, could go all their lives being clueless about the powers they possibly possessed. This was because of certain conditions had to be met for each power which wouldn't just manifest on its own.

Reading so much history, made the Duke's resentment towards the Imperial family to grow. If it were so, why didn't the Emperor bestow powers unto Belv, which was said to have been his most loyal aide? Such a question would probably never get an answer. The first Emperor had after all died four hundred years ago. This anger continued to grow and grow until one day he decided to stage a rebellion.

Belv Duchy, the loyal dog to the Imperial family would be no more, was his vow as he worked towards gathering formidable allies. It was then that memories which seemed foreign, began to enter his head. Supposed memories from another life. A life which he had long forgotten.

His name had been Marcus Harvey. From what he could remember he was a man who was always trampled upon and had his dignity lost.

"How could I have been someone's dog for two of my lives?" He had soliloquized to himself, feeling ashamed.

Working for others as a minion wasn't the only thing he recalled from his first life. A novel which seemed to reveal various events in this life, had appeared in his mind. It seemed to him that world he lived in now, was merely a novel he had read.

Although he didn't know how it ended, the plan was simple enough and he took important information he needed. With this, his rebellion plans progressed smoothly.

From his pipe, he took a long draw from it before exhaling it harshly. Going a trip down memory lane as he sat in his room, had drastically made him cool down. Thoughts that the imperial family's destruction was near, made him even more pleased.

Being so loyal to the Imperial family and having knowledge from his past like, did have its perks. From it, he knew about the ancient 'midnight curse'. And he knew the hidden weakness of the imperial family.

The novel in his memory was titled [I Shall Save My Knight], and with the female lead, Paisley Deor, under his control as a Crown Princess candidate, he'd manipulate her to do the opposite of saving the Crown Prince, her knight in shining armor.

Suddenly a frown appeared on his face as he looked at a wooden plank given to him by the butler, which was the only clue left behind by the destroyer of his refinery. He also turned to the analysis documents of the sales of his business.

There was a strong competitor called 'wine' which had emerged nine years ago and had grown to be a powerful business Empire in the South. Their products were always competing with his company's. 'Wine' had become a thorn in his eye as a lot of his customers were lost and went on to patronize the competitor.

While in thought, his eyes turned back to the wooden plank.

[A villain is a bringer of destruction, so next time, don't mess with one] 

Angrily, he threw down the wood plank, vowing to destroy whoever had targeted him.

To the Duke, he was an unstoppable force. Whether it was the imperial family, Adrianna Deor, the person who had destroyed his refinery or the owner of this 'Wine' business, he would succeed.

'After all, I've already read the story of this world in a book' He thought to himself while joyously recalling his scheme to rule the Empire.

With knowledge from the novel, Duke Franklin Belv was confident that he'd work his way through this fantasy novel world and would emerge victorious.

Who in this world could stop him?