Chapter 33: Coup

(Chapter 33 Coup)

'It's been four days since we returned to Stormwind from Poisson. My wounds are still healing, but thankfully they don't bother me that much. I can manage. By now, Constantine should be meeting with the Spina di Rosula to discuss their next move and receive the shipment of weapons and Meka.'

Tempest thought to himself as he watched a carriage escorted by the Knights of the Golden Hand approaching the gates of the Proudmoore mansion from his window.

'It won't be long until I can finally get rid of you...'

Tempest thought to himself as he crushed the card Crucabena had given him when they first met. His Pyro Delusion activated, turning the card to nothing but dust in his hand when he opened it.

'Lately, I've been having strange dreams, but I can't seem to remember anything when I wake up. The only thing I recall is seeing a ball of light. It's strange.'

Tempest thought to himself as he placed his hand on his forehead, trying to recall anything from his dreams. In the end, nothing came to mind except for that strange ball of light.

*Knock knock*

A knock on his door came, bringing Tempest back to reality.

"Young Master."

"Mm?"

Constantine entered his room holding a book

"Teacher? Shouldn't you be guiding the Spina di Rosula to the village?"

Tempest asked Constantine, confused as to why he was here.

"Rohan is doing that, Young Master. I've met some friends of yours, who told me to give you this."

Constantine said as he handed him something that was wrapped.

"Friends? Whom do you mean?"

Tempest asked him, as he took the wrapped book from Constantine.

"Two girls: one with pink hair and green eyes, and the other with white hair and black stripes, with strange eyes."

Constantine described Clervie and Peruere, whom he encountered earlier.

"Clervie and Peruere? They were here in Stormwind?"

Tempest asked Constantine, his face serious and concerned by the fact that those two were here.

"They were. It seems you three have become closer since you know their names."

Constantine said, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

"We're not, Teacher, those two were the ones I played Snezhnayan Roulette with, anyways, what is this?"

"Only one way to find out, Young Master."

Constantine replied, Tempest then tore off the wrapping of the book.

"Oh right, the pink-haired girl told me it might help you with something, though I don't know what. She also mentioned that the House of Hearth has promised not to interfere with our uprising."

"Good."

Constantine informed Tempest, and finally, he unwrapped the book.

"It's a book?"

Tempest muttered to himself as he looked at the title of the book: 'The General's Gambit', written by someone from Snezhnaya.

"Do you know anything about this?"

Tempest asked Constantine.

"No, unfortunately. Never been to Snezhnaya."

Constantine replied to Tempest, he gestured to Tempest to give him the book, and he complied shortly.

"Hm... She mentioned it might help you with something. You've never been much of a reader, have you, Young Master? How about letting Penance read it? She loves novels."

Constantine suggested to Tempest, he then give him back the book.

"Hm, very well then, let's go greet them."

Tempest said, and Constantine nodded in agreement. The two then left Tempest's room, making their way through the mansion's corridors toward the entrance.

Outside maids and butlers were lined up 

to greet Mengsk and Penance.

The gates of the mansion swung open, and the first to enter were the knights on horseback, led by Commander Pierre. They were followed closely by a carriage carrying Mengsk and Penance.

Shortly, the carriage arrived at the mansion's doorstep. Pierre dismounted from his horse and opened the carriage door.

"Welcome home, Your Grace! And Lady Penance!"

The maids and butlers shouted in unison. Shortly after, Mengsk was the first to step out of the carriage, followed closely by Penance.

"Take those gifts to her room."

Mengsk addressed a nearby maid, then made his way to the mansion's door, followed closely by Pierre.

"Tempest."

"Father..."

Mengsk stopped in his tracks to greet his son, his eyes darted to Constantine, who was standing right beside Tempest.

"Your Grace."

Constantine said, bowing his head slightly.

"I trust you have been well when I was away? Tempest?"

Mengsk asked his son.

"Yes, Father."

Tempest replied, his face emotionless and unreadable as ever.

"Good, go greet your sister."

Mengsk said before walking past Tempest, and entering the mansion, with Pierre following closely from behind.

"Right."

Tempest muttered, he then walked to Penance.

"That's a lot of gifts..."

Tempest said as he saw the maid carrying many gifts wrapped exquisitely.

"Hm? Brother!"

Penance turned around to see Tempest.

"Welcome home, dear sister."

Tempest said with a smile.

"I'm home... Brother."

Penance hugged Tempest, happy to see his brother again, after a week.

"Welcome home, Lady Penance."

"Constantine!"

Penance broke off from the hug to see Constantine.

"Did everything go alright? Penance? Nothing weird happened right?"

Tempest asked Penance, his face serious, but there was concern in his tone.

"No, thankfully. I actually only met him twice. The first time was when we arrived, and the second was when we left. He was always busy talking with Father. I'm not complaining, though."

Penance explained to his brother, a smile formed on her face as her brother was concerned for her. Tempest sighed in relief, thankful, that nothing inappropriate happened with his sister.

"Penance, can we talk later in your room?"

Tempest requested Penance.

"Mm, sure, there's actually something I want to talk to you about as well. Let me change first."

Penance said to Tempest, he nodded in response.

"I'll see you later then, brother."

Penance made her way inside the mansion, followed closely by the maid who was carrying the gifts she received.

"I'll check back on the Spina di Rosula, Young Master."

Constantine whispered to Tempest.

"Mm, you do that, Rohan might have a hard time."

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*Knock knock*

"Penance."

Tempest said as he was standing on the doorstep outside his sister's room.

"Come in! Brother!"

Penance said on the other side of the door.

'Thankfully, she doesn't seem to be in a depressing mood as I originally thought she would.'

Tempest thought to himself, he then opened the door, entering Penance's room with her permission.

"What do you want to talk about? Brother?"

Penance said while brushing her hair near the mirror.

"Let's talk about what happened when you were away first."

Tempest said while he sat down on Penance's bed. There was a brief silence before Penance started speaking.

"At first, I was really scared. When we arrived at Lumidouce Harbor, he was waiting with his entourage. I thought that the moment I disembarked the ship, he would come running at me and start groping me, and that Father would just allow it. But none of that happened. Instead, he gave me a box of chocolates from Snezhnaya and treated me with respect rather than as an object."

Penance explained, and Tempest's eyes widened.

"Penance, are you say-"

"N-No! I'm not falling in love! He's old Tempest! And I don't want to be near him! I know it was just a display all along, but I had to act grateful because Father was watching!"

Penance stood up from her seat and shouted at Tempest, he breathed a sigh of relief at her reaction.

"It's good that you knew, you shouldn't trust people quickly, especially because those people work with the Fatui."

Tempest said, and Penance sighed, as she sat down beside his Brother.

"The rest of the week was just me dressing up and acting gracefully. Every time Father and he would eat, I had to sit beside him. Thankfully, he didn't do anything that made me uncomfortable. When we attended a ball, I sat in the corner, waiting for it to finish. Thankfully, he didn't ask me for a dance."

Penance continued, and Tempest beside her was listening intently.

"The thing I wanted to talk to you about was this guy named Zandik who approached me while I was sitting alone at a table in the corner, his face was half covered, only revealing his left crimson eyes, and his hair was bright teal."

Penance explained the person's appearance, before continuing.

"He addressed me as 'Demoiselle' and told me he was honored to meet a Proudmoore. He asked why I was sitting alone on such a beautiful night. Of course, I couldn't tell him that Father had instructed me to sit in a corner and wait. Instead, I simply said that I couldn't dance."

Penance said recalling everything that happened on that night clearly.

"We made some small talk, and eventually, he revealed that he was a doctor. He expressed a deep fascination with the history of the Proudmoores and shared an intriguing theory he had. According to him, the Proudmoore's power wasn't a blessing, as commonly believed, but was instead something that was passed down through generations through their blood."

Penance explained, and Tempest couldn't help but be interested in this theory.

"I couldn't help but listen intently as he explained his theory. He said that only the first Proudmoore was truly blessed by Ra and that his power was simply passed down through his descendants. According to him, the power within the blood remains dormant, and the conditions required to activate it are unknown. His theory was both intriguing and unsettling, leaving me with many questions about our heritage and the true nature of our strength."

"He also mentioned that House Proudmoore lost their power because of Egeria, not because of Focalors. According to him, Egeria was supposed to be the final condition for awakening our power. Additionally, he wanted to meet you one day, Brother. His theories and insights seemed to hold a deeper significance, and I couldn't help but wonder what he might reveal if given the chance to speak with you."

Penance turned her head to Tempest as she concluded.

"That's stupid, Penance. House Proudmoore, lost their power because we refused to serve the Hydro Archon. It's as simple as that."

Tempest replied, not buying the theory of a complete stranger.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right about that. I never saw him again that night. When I left the table to get water, he had vanished, and I didn't see him at all when we left at the harbor ."

Penance said.

"Curious... Well, enough about theories that hold no proof, Penance. I want to ask you a favor."

"Hm?"

Tempest gave her the book, Constantine gave him earlier.

"I want you to read this, and tell me the important details, once you finish."

"The General's Gambit, that sounds cool, but can you do it on your own?"

Penance said as she took the book from Tempest.

"I have something to do, plus, you like reading, right?"

Tempest smiled.

"Augh, fine, just this once, Brother. What do you want to know about this book anyway?"

Penance said as she opened the book and started to read on the first page.

"A little bird told me, that it might help us on our uprising."

Tempest said, and Penance's eyes immediately widened, her eyes darting to Tempest.

"I'll finish this as soon as possible, Brother."

Penance said determinedly with a smile.

"Thank you, dear Sister."

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It was midnight, and Tempest sat at his desk, deeply engrossed in brainstorming strategies for their uprising. He aimed to ensure that their plans would not lead to them being tried and sentenced to the Fortress of Meropide. The room was shrouded in darkness, illuminated only by the flickering light of a single candle and the soft, silvery glow of moonlight that filtered through the window.

*Knock Knock*

"Brother, you awake?"

"Hm?"

Tempest got up from his seat and opened the door to see Penance.

"Penance? Can't sleep?"

Tempest asked her sister, surprised to see her awake at this hour.

"Ah, no, well, yes, technically. I've finished the book. Would you like to hear about it now?"

Penance replied, holding the book in her hand. Tempest glanced cautiously into the hallway, checking to see if anyone was around. Thankfully, there was no one in sight.

"Come in."

Tempest spoke, and Penance nodded in response. She entered his room and then sat down on his bed.

"So, what's it about?"

Tempest said as he sat beside Penance.

"In short, the story is about a general who had been loyal and faithful to his king for years. However, when the king wished to marry the general's daughter, the general's loyalty was put to the test. The general's daughter was already in love with someone else, and the general supported her unconditionally. Enraged by the general's refusal to allow the marriage, the king threatened to destroy his family."

"Determined to protect his loved ones, the general planned a coup. He invited the king to his daughter's birthday celebration, scheduled four months later on the 28th day of the previous month. As the festivities unfolded, the general and his allies struck swiftly, overpowering the king's guards with precision and force."

"Additionally, in the book, the original dates have been obscured by ink and replaced with 'four months' and '28th day.' At the bottom of the page, someone has intentionally altered these dates."

Penance showed her the book, and Tempest's eyes widened in surprise. He quickly got up from the bed and returned to his desk, his mind racing with thoughts.

"Brother?"

Penance said with a concerned tone.

'Your Father invited me to his name day celebration in Stormwind, four months from now.'

The voice of Lady Furina echoed in Tempest's mind.

'The calendar on Father's office that was four months ahead and a knife stabbed on the 28th day...'

Tempest thought to himself, as he slowly puzzle the pieces together.

'The general planned a coup for four months later, specifically on the 28th day of the final month.'

Tempest thought to himself, and finally, he realized it.

"Coup... My Father is planning a coup..."