Life in the Imperial palace 6

While Enki was still wondering who was the moron that tried to sneak inside the Supreme Commander's mansion, on the other side of the Imperial palace the Empress got worried. Her son had gone outside earlier today and still hadn't returned. While it was not unusual for her son to stay out late in the capital, he had promised her to return in time to dine together. The appointed time had been three hours ago, and she hadn't heard a word from him, so she had gotten worried and dispatched men to check up on his son, to make sure he was alright.

After checking the places that Darren frequented and other popular areas within the capital, the men had found no trace of the prince or the two guards that were accompanying him. After asking around, they found out that the prince had last been seen leaving the Barca mansion after being denied entry.

They narrowed their search to the area around the Barca mansion but still couldn't find anything. The Empress heard the news that her son couldn't be found and grew worried. She anxiously ordered all the men to search through the capital.

She had just two weeks ago lost her guard captain, and now her son was missing? She couldn't help but feel that someone was targeting her. Of course, her prime suspects were Enki and house Qaveron, both of whom had a motive for getting rid of Darren. The fact that Darren might have caused this upon himself never crossed her mind.

After hesitating for a while on what to do, Empress Anastasia decided to personally visit the Barca mansion to ask them if they had seen her son after he left there.

Meanwhile, Enki had just gotten word of Darren being missing and of his last known whereabouts.

'It couldn't be... no... no no no... Even he can't be that stupid, right?' he thought as the pieces of the puzzle started to fit into place.

"I have to see this for myself. Besides, I haven't visited Elise in a while so this is a perfect chance to catch up with her.", Enki muttered while making his way out of the office. He still couldn't quite believe that Darren was this foolish, even though the more he thought about it the more certain he grew.

Enki quickly made his way over to the Supreme Commander's mansion, and upon arriving noticed that there was already another Imperial carriage parked outside.

'Who else is here? Could it be the Empress?' Enki wondered while making his way inside. The guards didn't bother asking him for his reason for visit or check him for any weapons or other dangerous items. They were all familiar with him and knew that he was always welcome within the mansion.

The servants guided Enki to the great hall where his sister and Violettina were receiving a guest that had apparently arrived unannounced a few minutes earlier.

Upon reaching the great hall, Enki could hear a woman's shrill screaming coming from within. This made him sigh, exasperated. He had instantly recognized that voice.

"It just had to be that damn woman...", Enki sighed. Upon opening the doors, he saw the Empress standing in the middle of the hall, her face red from anger and lack of oxygen, while spit was flying out of her mouth as she kept screaming.

Opposite the Empress at the far end of the great hall, on a slightly raised platform, were two young girls sitting upon chairs. Behind them stood five men with stoic faces, and they were all glaring at the raging woman before them.

The young girls were naturally Violettina and Elise. As the only direct member of the Barca family present, Violettina was technically in charge of the house. The Elders naturally handled most of the affairs, while guiding and teaching her, but in front of outsiders they had to keep up appearances, so Violettina was in charge of this audience.

The five men behind her were all silver-core Warriors and Elders of the Barca house, with one of them being the Grand Elder. The Grand Elder was the one who guided the heir of the house and was in charge of his education, as well as acted as the de facto leader of the Elders. The current Grand Elder was the uncle of Darius.

The Grand Elder was trying his best to suppress the boiling rage inside of him. This woman had no respect for the house Barca. She had arrived here unannounced and demanded to know if they knew where her son was. Violettina had told her he was being held in the dungeons since he had dared to sneak into the mansion grounds and asked for the Empress' understanding since they simply couldn't let such an incident go unpunished.

The Empress had immediately demanded that they release the prince. She had screamed at them how they had no right to keep an Imperial prince locked up. She hadn't bothered to even ask or negotiate with them, completely disregarding Violettina and the others, not placing them in her eyes.

Seeing her blatant disrespect towards a direct member of their house, the Barca Elders had been boiling with rage. How they wished they could teach this arrogant woman a lesson.

Violettina, as a young woman that had lived a sheltered lifestyle ever since she was born, didn't know what to do in face of the screaming woman. She was inexperienced with dealing with nobles, let alone the Empress herself, and was out of her comfort zone, being quite scared of the woman screaming at her.

Seeing the distress of their young lady, the Grand Elder was about to step in, when a cold and clear voice suddenly spoke; "Considering the lack of respect you have clearly shown us, I think it'd be best for us to end this audience for now. If you want to redeem your son, come with an Imperial order signed by Imperial father next time. We have all rights to keep the culprit in custody, no matter his status."

The Empress had been convinced that without the presence of the direct heir and the Supreme Commander the remaining people wouldn't dare to go against her. So it shocked her to hear this sudden declaration, and she didn't at first realize who had spoken.

But when it finally hit her that it was the other bastard child that had hidden herself in here, she was truly enraged. How dare the cur speak to her as an equal?

"Who are you to speak on behalf of the Barca's?", she spat out through gritted teeth, holding back the profanities that were about to slip out.

"I'm the fiancé of Mago Barca. It's part of my bridal training to handle the duties of my future husband in his absence.", Elise smirked while gazing at the Empress. Everyone in the room knew that this was a blatant lie. There was no such thing listed upon the different bridal teachings and the engagement between Mago and Elise wasn't even official yet.

Anastasia was about to point this out when the Grand Elder suddenly nodded in agreement and said; "That is correct. Her Imperial Highness alongside young miss Violettina is in charge of the affairs of the house."

The Elders had long ago taken a liking to this young princess that had grown up in their mansion. They had personally witnessed the bright young child grow into a stunning beauty and were overjoyed when the talks of marriage between Elise and Mago had started and already considered her part of the family. Now that their future madam was standing against the arrogant Empress, how could they not help her out?

Gritting her teeth, the Empress could simply nod. With the Elders backing Elise, she had no way to prove that Elise was lying, nor could she forcefully take her son away from the Barca's with the Elders making their stance clear.

Enki, who had arrived a few moments ago, couldn't help gape at the sight before him. His sister who was usually calm and collected had a domineering air around her while the usually arrogant Empress was forced to grit her teeth and submit.

Turning around, the Empress stormed out of the hall while spitting out; "This isn't over yet. Mark my words, I will surely return to retrieve my son."

"That was truly a sight to behold.", Enki mused after the Empress had left.

"Oh, brother, what brings you here?", Elise asked. She hadn't noticed when Enki arrived.

"I just wanted to see you, sister.", Enki replied with a smile, causing Elise to roll her eyes.

"It has been already two months since you left and not once have you visited, but now that prince Darren is being held captive here, you suddenly decide to show up?", she questioned while slightly tilting her head.

Hearing how his sister instantly saw through him, Enki felt embarrassed.

"Well, that piqued my curiosity, but I truly missed you.", Enki uttered while clearing his throat.

Seeing Enki's plight, Violettina couldn't help but let out a small giggle.

Deciding to let her brother out of his misery, Elise smiled and said; "Glad that you decided to visit, I missed you too, brother."

Hearing this, Enki sighed in relief, he was in the clear.

"By the way, have you heard from my dear future husband? He promised to write me at least once a month, but I haven't heard from him ever since he left.", Elise asked with a smile that gave Enki the chills.

'You poor bastard. Hell will rain upon you once you return.' Enki thought while shaking his head to Elise.

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Meanwhile, within an underground chamber under the Cathedral of Eternal Light, five men were meeting.

"It has been confirmed, the second prince is indeed held captive within the Barca mansion.", said one of them. The man was wearing a red-colored robe with golden trimming. This was the typical attire of the Church's Cardinals.

The Church had five Cardinals all of them only being held accountable to the Patriarch himself. All the Cardinals were Sage rank mages, with one of them having reached Saint rank, like the Patriarch.

Out of the five Cardinals of the Church, three were present within the chamber, as well as the Patriarch.

"Shame. If he would have been anywhere else, we could have killed me off and pinned the blame on someone else causing further chaos and friction within the Imperial family.", lamented the Patriarch.

"This wasn't within our plans, anyway. This would have simply been a small bonus. This doesn't affect us while the Empress will further strain her relationship with the Barca's so it's not like this was complete without benefits.", commented a blue-haired man. He was dressed in luxurious clothes and on his coat was a crest with a blue shield that was pierced by two arrows.

"He is right. How are things going with the poisons? Is the Emperor digesting them frequently?", asked the Cardinal that had spoken before. His name was Harold Fitzgerald, and he was the leader of the Church's branches within the western kingdom, Tavius.

"The poisoning plan is going smoothly. The Emperor keeps finding traces of them after digesting a small amount, takes an antidote, gets healed, launches an investigation, and sometimes finds some of our pawns, and we switch to a new person and poison. Slowly but surely, the strain on his body is becoming clearer and clearer. We estimate he will not live past five years, and sever symptoms will appear in two years' time.", The Patriarch replied.

With mages specialized in healing, staying in the palace, and the Emperor being a blue-core Warrior, killing him with a fast-acting poison was a pipe dream. So the Church had opted to use slow-acting poisons, with antidotes that were almost as harmful to the body as the poisons themselves. While the mages could heal the Emperor, the healing also took a toll on the body.

Slowly but surely over the years, the strain of constantly digesting these substances had caused a the Emperor's body to weaken considerably.

While the Emperor had his suspicions about the culprit, he had no evidence. The pawns he caught never revealed who they worked for and usually committed suicide before he even questioned them.

Thus he had no choice but to uproot them as he found them and continue this slow yet deadly cycle.

"Finally, our labor is starting to bear fruit.", smiled one of the Cardinals. He was in charge of the Church's branches in the republic of Genoes.

"Yes, but the most pressing concern is the Supreme Commander. With him, in place, we can't overthrow the Imperial family. The Church doesn't have the power to oppose the Imperial Armies. He might be tied up north right now but when the Emperor dies, he will surely march back to the capital and ensure a peaceful succession.", the Patriarch declared in a grave tone.

"Yes, we need to get rid of him before the Emperor dies. Otherwise, this all has been for naught", agreed the blue-haired man.

"How are things going in your nations?", the Patriarch asked from the three Cardinals.

"The kingdom of Tavius is not willing to openly aid Raltova, and they are unwilling to send their powerhouses to assassinate the Supreme Commander.", answered Harold. He was the person behind the appearance of the mysterious reinforcements in the north.

"The republic of Genoes is still considering the proposal but has clearly stated that they are unwilling to send more than two powerhouses and not even that if they do not get help from other nations. They fear the wrath of the Empire.", replied the second Cardinal. His name was Scipio Bartoleo.

"The Central Kingdom Alliance is not willing to get involved at all. We have too few allies there and almost none of them are in high places so we don't have enough sway over there.", reported the third Cardinal. His name was Ignatius Varmio, and he was in charge of the Church's branches within the Central Kingdom Alliance.

"Keep trying. The Night alone is a tremendous headache, we have to get rid of Darius or else our troubles will be doubled when the time comes.", The Patriarch said in a grave voice, earning nods of approval from the others.

"Alright, let's end this meeting here. If any of you make any progress, report it immediately.", the Patriarch declared.