CASSANDRA: The Unfavored Princess-Chapter 92: Expanding His Knowledge

Duke Salvador walked into the meeting room.

The hall was colored in a darker tone and as soon as Aiden entered the room an unknown feeling filled his body. It was as if a barrier was crossed.

’Something is missing here.’ Duke Salvador looked around. He looked around in amusement as he imagined a darker color inside.

’Is there a barrier?’

’What all things are they hiding from us?’

’Do I have to investigate it further?’

’But Princess Cassandra said that she wants to go to the Vivere Kingdom. I have to imagine a way to make it happen under my terms.’

’And why is Achard Bentham involved in these things?’

’Why does he want to go to the Vivere Kingdom? For expanding his knowledge.’

Duke Salvador sneered. ’Impossible. There is something brewing. And he even told Princess Cassandra that he will not marry her. But why would he propose marriage in front of the Emperor?’

’But according to the report, even Duke Bentham was there when Achard asked the EMperor. So is the Duke involved in it?’

Duke Salvador looked around as he saw Prince Carl sitting on the chair along with all the other Dukes. Aiden made his way towards them as if lips curled up.

’I cannot deny the possibility.’

’Duke Bentham might be involved in it. No wonder the Vivere Kingdom’s Prince decided to stay here.’

Prince Carl smiled as he tapped his finger on the table. "Now that Duke Salvador is here, we can start our meeting."

Duke Crawford moved forward as he rested his hand on the table. "We would also like to know why the Prince had called us here?"

"And why did Duke Bentham not look surprised?" Duke Garfield added.

Prince Carl smiled as if he already knew that such questions might come his way. "Why don’t we have a drink before we start with the questions."

A servant came forward as he served the drink to everyone. The dukes look at one another before they took the glass in their hand. As they drank every Duke looked at one another in hope of getting the answers to their questions.

"Now the Prince should reply to our answer." Duke Crawford said in a soft tone. His gaze narrowed.

"Of course." Prince Carl smiled as he kept his glass on the table. "After all, I have called you all here."

"Then why is there a delay?" Duke Salvador said in a serious tone. "The Prince should get on with it. We all are busy as well."

Prince Carl smiled in a sly tone. "Duke Salvador is a little angry it seems." Prince Carl laughed. "We should not make the Duke wait."

Prince Carl’s eyes narrowed. "Now that we are all seated here, I will like you all to concentrate your attention here." Prince Carl smiled as he added. "As you all know that I am here for a peace treaty but when I came here I saw how the people are treaty."

Prince Carl looked at all the dukes one by one. "I know that you all are the pillars of the Empire who are loyal to the people and not the Emperor. I was wondering why the Duke’s have ignored such an important thing, but not as well."

Prince Carl gave a knowing smile as he added. "When I reached Duke Bentham’s Mansion I realized that the situation was not as I had interpreted. I understood that you all do help the people but it is unknown to the Emperor. I do not want to interfere in the Empire’s internal matters but soon I realized that you all are following Lord Bentham’s suggestion."

Prince Carl smiled as he looked at Duke Bentham. "Achard Bentham is a gem in Duke Bentham’s house which I want to acquire. I know that this matter is between the Duke and Lord Bentham but when a genius is taken away from the Empire, all of your opinions matter."

"I do not want to put pressure nor do I want to show my desperation but Achard Bentham had already said yes to my offer. He said that he would like to enter Vivere Kingdom and learn something new." Prince Carl smiled as he looked around before drinking the wine as if it was a done deal.

"The peace treaty will only take place when the conditions are met. And the main condition of the negotiation will be us taking Achard Bentham away for a few years." Prince Carl said in a soft tone as if he was not threatening at all.

"Of course, Prince Carl is not putting unnecessary demands at all." Duke Salvador chuckled. He looked at Duke Bentham. "Did you know about these things from the start? Did you agree to keep him here because you already knew about it?"

Duke Bentham looked down as he said in a low tone. "I had no idea that Prince Carl would stay here but when he talked about it with Achard, my son agreed. I am in no position to come in between Achard’s decision. After all, he does not want to inherit the title."

Duke Garfield laughed as he took a sip of the wine. "So you decided to send him to the enemy’s Kingdom."

"We are not your enemy. We never wanted to fight with you all, it was you who attacked us and are always trying to conquer our land." Prince Carl rested his head on his hand. "We are only defending ourselves."

Duke Crawford rested carefreely on the chair. "Even though what you are saying is true we cannot ignore the fact that initially even you wanted to attack us. The past records show that the Vivere Kingdom had tried killing our fire mage from time to time."

"Yes, because we hate fire mages." Prince Carl’s eyes narrowed. His tone was dangerously low. "Fire really does not jell well with us."

"I think so too." Duke Salvador laughed as his eyes narrowed. "We might never be friends."

Prince Carl smiled but did not reply. His gaze softened as he turned to other Dukes. "I ask you to consider the offer. We will give a huge sum of our land to the Elvira Empire but we need Achard Bentham’s help for a few years."

"So much for a man." Duke Salvador said as he tapped his fingers on the table. "Are you taking only one man with you?"

Prince Carl’s gaze narrowed. "No. The fifth Princess will also come with us. After all, they are engaged."

"Taking a Princess away from her Empire is a whole different story." Duke Salvador narrowed his eyes. "You would need the Emperor’s opinion on it as well."

"Of course. But a huge piece of land in exchange for a powerless Princess for a few years is a good offer." Prince Carl blinked. "The Emperor is a practical man."

"Of course he is." Duke Crawford smiled. "So you want us to agree to this condition as well."

Prince Carl did not reply but the implication was simple. The answer was a yes.

"We need to think about it." Duke Garfield looked at all the Dukes. "Even though Duke Bentham might have no problem with this, we surely have. It is not a simple issue to give an answer in a single meeting."

Prince Carl nodded. He got up from his chair with a smile. "I will leave the room for your discussion. Think about it. It is a matter of a few years and we will definitely not put your Empire at a disadvantage. We need his help so we are ready to pay a prize for it."

With those words, Prince Carl left the room.

Duke Salvador’s gaze followed the movement of the Prince as he saw that the servants also went but the uncomfortable barrier was still there.

’Am I the only one who is feeling this?’

’Why?’

Aiden looked around. ’The other Duke’s does not seem bothered by this. But why do I feel watched?’

"We should start the discussion." Duke Crawford said. "We do not have a lot of time. The negotiation will take place after tomorrow’s ball."

Duke Garfield nodded his head in agreement. "We still don’t know why they want Lord Bentham. What help will he provide them that is equivalent to their land which they have defended all these centuries."

All the three Duke’s looked at Duke Bentham. He shook his head as he explained. "Achard is my son. Be at ease, he will never do something that might harm the Empire."

"But why does he want to go there in the first place?" Duke Salvador argued. "What knowledge will he acquire there?"

Duke Bentham was silent as he had no answer. But he knew that he had to provide a satisfactory explanation to the Dukes. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Duke Bentham took a deep breath as he looked up with a determined gaze. "Achard had come across a book that tells about the origin. But it is slightly different from the version we have in the Empire. The interpretation is different."

"So?" Duke Crawford raised his eyebrows.

"The book has a second part and that is in the Vivere Kingdom." Duke Bentham smiled. "He feels like understanding the second book will change our belief."