How To End This Marriage-Chapter 93: The Fall of a Knight

"Duke, what are you doing? Is this why I helped you escape from here? Is this how you’re repaying me? Such a betrayal, I didn’t expect this from a knight as great as you," Sylvia shouted, her voice seething with anger, as Duke uttered words that he shouldn’t have. His sinister smile remained intact on his lips, which only served to infuriate her further.

"Princess, don’t be naive. You wanted me to save His Highness as well, and that’s precisely what I did. Why are you getting angry now? I simply followed your wishes," he smirked.

"Such a disloyal knight. Now I can’t help but wonder if you were involved in your own wife’s demise," Sylvia taunted. As the words left her lips, Duke clutched his chest suddenly, his face contorting in pain. He crumpled to his knees, his agony evident.

"Yeah, now you’re putting on an act? Impressive! You should be awarded for your incredible acting skills! You should be on the stage, not in this dungeon, you son of a..." Sylvia’s tirade was cut short as the guards forcefully dragged her away. She resisted vehemently, screaming and struggling, but her efforts were in vain.

"You son of a bitch! You’ll rot in hell. I curse you this very moment. You’ll face even greater betrayals than the one you’ve perpetrated now. Everyone will turn against you, and you’ll become the ultimate traitor, scorned by all, rather than a victim, you sly bastard," Sylvia shouted, her fury and frustration uncontainable.

"Get this crazy princess out of here. She’s getting on my nerves," Duke said, his face still devoid of emotion.

"She may have realized her mistake in trusting you bastards, but I haven’t. The prince won’t leave this place until the Emperor himself comes to negotiate with me," the ruler declared.

"The Emperor will come for you? Ha, stop making jokes. You’re not worth that much," Duke tried to provoke him once more.

"You think I’m joking? Then come and see for yourself," the ruler responded, leading the knights and Duke to a dark room. In the center of the room stood a tub filled with clear water, its surface reflecting the image of Crown Prince Maximus, who was trapped and appeared to be bleeding profusely.

"Can you see your prince? Doesn’t he look magnificent bleeding so profusely? No, it’s not ordinary blood, but royal blood. My mistake was calling him normal. So, how does it feel? Is it enjoyable to see him in this state, or do you want more?" the ruler inquired, displaying the harrowing reflection of Maximus. The Crown Prince’s hands were bound, and he was suspended by them, on his knees with his head bowed.

"How dare you force royalty to kneel?" one of the knights advanced, sword in hand.

"Calm down! Control your anger unless you wish to see your prince perish," the ruler’s voice turned ice-cold, and his resolve was palpable. The tension in the room was palpable, and the fate of the Crown Prince hung by a thread.

"Release him now unless you want to witness the demise of your entire empire!" Duke warned, his voice laced with urgency.

"Demise? Go ahead and do it. I have no issue with it, and neither do my people. But if we get a chance to provoke your Emperor, it’s worth taking the risk. So go ahead and kill whomever you want," the ruler taunted, his provocation effective. Duke proceeded to carry out the threat, slicing through anyone in his path, blood splattering across the surroundings. The ground became stained with a deep, bloody red, but he showed no signs of stopping. His sword moved relentlessly until it finally spoke. The sword, named Noxua, unleashed its voice.

"Alexavier!" the voice wasn’t affectionate but filled with anger.

"Who is this? Who is trying to disturb my work?" Duke shouted at the voice, momentarily forgetting that his sword had a name and was no ordinary weapon. Noxua was a powerful sword, gifted by his parents to protect humanity, but now he had failed in that task.

"Alexavier Agnes, how dare you raise your voice against me? I am not your bloody slave to be spoken to in that manner," Noxua retorted, causing everything around Duke to momentarily vanish.

"You’ve broken your promise, Alexavier. You’ve failed in the task you promised to fulfill. You are not the child I was assigned to follow. I am now breaking the contract that bound me to you, and I will no longer serve you," Noxua declared before vanishing from Duke’s hand, leaving him to realize the gravity of his actions. He looked around, his hands trembling, stained with blood.

"Duke, they were innocent. What have you done? Have you lost your mind on the battlefield?" one of the knights said.

"I... I did this?" Duke stammered, his voice filled with disbelief.

"Yes, all of this chaos is your doing. You killed these people, including children," the knights explained, their words sinking in.

As he comprehended the horror he had wrought, Duke’s memories came flooding back. He recalled how he had treated the princess, his momentary lapse into cruelty. He remembered his desperate search for his wife, and how he had kneeled before the emperor who had concealed her whereabouts.

"Noxua, where are you? Come back!" Duke called out, gazing at the sky, but there was no response.

"Noxua, I know I made a mistake. I don’t know how I did this, but I never meant to break our promise or sever our bond. I have no idea how all of this happened. Please, return!" he pleaded, kneeling in the blood-soaked ground.

"Satisfied already? Didn’t you say you’d destroy the entire empire? Then why stop now? There are more. Do it," the ruler goaded, his anger evident as he ground his teeth. The scene was a nightmarish tableau of chaos and despair, with Duke realizing the devastating consequences of his actions.

Alexavier called for Noxua, desperately searching for the sword. Suddenly, Erios appeared before him.

"Now you’ve ruined everything," Erios accused as he materialized in front of Duke.

"From the moment I saw you, I always thought you were dangerous. Now you’ve proven it. You should be finding my master, but instead, you’re killing innocent people. This is who you truly are. It was my master’s mistake to fall in love with you."

"It was the biggest mistake Bernice Balliol Agnes has made," Erios declared. Alexavier, shocked, stuttered, "Madam, she likes me?"

"No one in her right mind would want to marry such a monster, and you are the monster my master kept falling for repeatedly. But your feelings were never reciprocated. Now, wherever my master is, she should know how recklessly the man she loves has treated her," Erios stated before leaving. Alexavier remained on the ground, speechless.

"Duke, where have you lost yourself? We need to find the crown prince. We can’t return without him," the knights urged, trying to rouse him from his daze. However, he remained seated, tears streaming from his eyes.

"All this time, she loved me?"

"All this time, she wanted me to love her?"

"All this time, she waited for me to come to her?"

"All this time, she smiled at me, her heart beating for me?"

"And I couldn’t understand her? How? How could I make such a big mistake, not realizing what she wanted?" he lamented, imagining Bernice running to him, calling him Duke, showing anger despite knowing he wouldn’t get mad, slowly losing trust, and how he hadn’t reciprocated her feelings.

"Bernice!"

"I’m sorry."

"Forgive me for being such a fool."

"I’m sorry for being such an idiot, for not being able to understand you properly."

"I’m sorry for everything. But come back now. I can’t do this anymore. I need you. I need you with all I have. Just return to my side. If you want, I agree to give you the divorce you’ve always wanted. Just come back to me. I’ll fulfill whatever you want," he declared, tears flowing, surrounded by the aftermath of the carnage. The knights were locked in battle with the enemy forces, the empire resembling a bloody battlefield.

"Duke, support us. This is what you’ve called upon us for. You can’t retreat this way. You have to fight. We have to free the royal highness from these people," one of the knights implored while struggling to break free from the grasp of an opposing knight.

"I will take back the prince; you guys can return," Duke ordered, standing up resolutely on the blood-soaked ground.

"But—" the knights began to question.

"I said it! I will take him back," he stated firmly. Duke, determined to rectify his grave mistakes, prepared to rescue the crown prince and restore his honor.

He rose from the ground, but his hand was empty; he no longer held the sword. The knights began to withdraw, while the ruler observed Duke closely.

"Is this what you intended to do?" the ruler inquired once more.

"I knew it. You truly are a monster. A monster who can never be retrieved as a human anymore," he declared.