Chapter 17: the meeting between Mark Oscar and the man in black

Just as Hughes completed the third element baptism, a man covered in a black robe sneaked into the house of the Duke of Bauhinia.

This man did not miss a step and found the study room of Mark Oscar with great accuracy.

Bang Bang Bang!

Three knocks on the door attracted the attention of Mark Oscar from the desk to the door.

"Friend, the door is not closed. Please come in and talk."

Oscar was not afraid at all. There was not even a hint of surprise on his face. He seemed to know that someone would come to look for him.

With a creak, the door was pushed open from the outside.

The man in black didn't act too polite. When he heard that Oscar invited him into the house, he pushed the door open and walked in.

"Your grace is in quite the mood. Why are you practicing your calligraphy in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"

Pulling over a stool, the man dressed in black sat down on the chair in a bold manner. He grinned and began to tease Mark Oscar.

"I was waiting for your glorious arrival wasn't I?"

Mark stood up gently, picked up the kettle and teacup, and slowly walked to the front of the man in black.

Opening the lid of the kettle, Mark slowly poured a cup of tea for the man in black.

"Sir, you may not know this, but my tea can be considered hard-earned. If I didn't guess that you would come today, I definitely wouldn't have taken out such a precious collection."

The man in black's pupils constricted, and his entire body tensed up, but he quickly relaxed.

He knew that Mark was only reminding him.

I know your background, and I know who sent you here. I can give you the person, but after you are done, you must return the person to me in one piece.

However, the black-robed man could not agree to Mark's request.

He had come today with the orders of his superior. He could not make any decisions at all.

"Duke Mark, we can't make the decision on this matter. You have to agree regardless."

Mark's expression changed drastically. The reason why he had tested the man in black earlier was because he wanted to decipher that person's attitude on this from the man in black.

Now that the black-clothed man's answer with adamance, it instantly made his heart turn cold.

The black-clothed man sighed

"Duke Mark, thank you for your kindness. I won't drink the tea. My mission is only to bring two things and a word over."

"I've already met you. I'll take out the things and give them to you right now. After you've seen them, you can decide whether you want to listen to my words or not."

After saying that, the black-clothed man took out two things from the alternate dimension.

The first thing was a square box, and the second thing was a bottle of magic potion.

With a trembling hand, Mark Oscar picked up the box and opened it gently.

Bang!

The box fell to the ground with a soft sound.

Ten black stones jumped out of the box. It was the anti-magic stone!

"This! This!"

Looking at the anti-magic stone on the ground, Mark Oscar's lips could not help but tremble.

"How could it be this thing? No matter how much of a genius that Hughes is, my son does not have to pay such a huge price for it!"

The man in black looked at Mark helplessly. He walked gently to Mark's side and said in a low voice,

"I watched that child Hughes grow up. He is a stubborn and proud child. If he does not have full confidence, he would not have signed up to participate in the examination of the Royal Academy of the Hiro Empire."

The Man in black patted Mark's shoulder lightly. He looked up at the distant royal palace and said in a low voice,

"These are His Majesty's original words. I should not have told you these words, sir, but I still decided to take the risk and tell you."

"His Majesty has been on the throne for more than twenty years. For so many years, the military nobles have always been a thorn in His Majesty's heart!"

"Now, His Majesty is in his prime and his prestige is grand. If we don't get rid of this group of imperial pests now, I'm afraid the price we have to pay in the future to get rid of these people will not be as simple as it is now."

As he spoke, the man in black lifted the black cloth covering his face and revealed his true appearance in front of Mark Oscar.

This man was Baron Orloway, who was discussing plans with Mark Oscar in the study not long ago.

"Now, the Empire has finally emerged from the years of war and is in a short period of peace. It is a good time to eliminate these military nobles."

"Moreover, His Majesty has already taken the lead in attacking those people this time. If we want to obtain the final victory, we must stand firmly on his majesty's side. No matter what price we have to pay, we must carry on this war."

It would have been better if he had not said that last sentence. As soon as the man in black finished speaking, Mark Oscar slammed the table and roared angrily,

"That's a nice way of putting it. Why didn't you send your son up? Why didn't you let your son refine these ten anti-magic stones?"

"No matter how much of a bastard Lucian is and no matter how stupid he is, he is still my son. He is my youngest son!"

Right now, Mark was extremely regretful. He wanted to go back to the past and return to that side hall. He wanted to slap that greedy face of his!

But now, he was already on Napoleon VII's boat. There was no chance for him to get off the boat.

Once he left Napoleon VII's faction at this moment, what awaited him was death.

Napoleon VII could tolerate his opponent, but he would never tolerate traitors!

"His Majesty said that after this matter is successful, the Norton family's fiefdom in the South will become your Oscar family's territory."

"We have been friends for many years. I won't keep you in suspense. This is His Majesty's sincerity. If you agree, after this matter is completed, your Oscar family will become the empire's top noble."

With that, the man in black said self-deprecatingly,

"Be content, Mark. I just don't have a son. If I had a son, I would make him swallow these ten stones into his stomach."

The man in black picked up the bottle of potion on the table.

"Don't worry, His Majesty doesn't really want your son to die. This bottle of anti-magic potion was left behind by His Majesty during his early years of training. Remember to hand it to your son along with the ten anti-magic stones."

"If you agree to His Majesty's conditions, not only will the Oscar family be able to live, they will be able to live vert well. If you reject his majesty, I think you should be clear about the price of that matter."

Baron Orloway walked to Mark's side again. He patted his shoulder lightly and said gently,

"Old pal, agree. You already have no other choice."

"Get lost! Get lost!"

Mark Oscar glared at him, tears streaming down from the corners of his eyes.

Mark did not want to agree. After all, Lucian was his son. He was not willing to let his son to take such a big risk.

However, he had no choice but to agree. Because once he refused, the one who would pay for his decision would be the entire Oscar family.