The Web of Knightspur-Chapter 70: Labeled

Duke Felix sat on the chair with the letter in hand. His eyes were glowing as he crumpled the letter in rage.

"Duke.." The butler said as he brought one more letter on a plate.

"I remember I told you not to disturb me." Duke Felix said. His tone was filled with disappointment and annoyance. Something was bothering him and the butler could tell as he saw the ness of letters on the ground. The paper were crumbled and thrown down.

"Please forgive me, but this is a letter from the Roulux Empire," The butler said in a soft tone. He wanted to add that it was him who had asked him to deliver the letter from the Roulux Empire no matter how busy he was, but the butler also knew that he could not say those words out loud. He looked down as he waited for the Duke to give his order.

"A letter finally arrived," Duke Felix murmured as he smiled. He extended his hand as he waited for the butler to place the letter in his hand. "Give it here and you can leave. I do not want any disturbance."

The butler soon delivered the letter and left the room, leaving the duke alone.

Duke Felix’s eyes stayed on the letter as a smile formed on his face.

’I knew that you would write to me soon.’ Duke Felix thought as he opened the letter. The familiar handwriting filled his vision as he felt warm inside, ’So you have not forgotten me.’ 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Duke Felix read the letter again and again but he was not satisfied with it. He could not get the gist of anything. It was all too generic as if it was a daily report.

’So nothing happened to them,’ Duke Felix crumbled the letter as he threw it against the wall. Her eyes narrowed as he took a deep breath trying to figure out what needs to be done next.

"Things will get more difficult but I need to do something soon." Duke Felix said as he ran his hand over his hair, "I cannot let things go down. I had tried hard to be where I am. The power I hold should not be lowered."

Duke Felix looked at the letter lying on the floor, crumpled up. "At least, Princess Eleanor is only injured. But that also means the enemy failed. Will they attack soon?"

Duke Felix took a deep breath as he tried to control the doubts in his heart. There are things he wants to do but he also knew that he needed to find peace with himself first. He needed to be calm and think rationally.

"Princess Eleanor and Nia are too far away. They are in the Roulux Empire. What will they do if they get hurt there?"

Duke Felix shook his head. He did not want to think about such things anymore. He knew that he needed to report it to the King. He was the one who would help them now.

—-

"Your Majesty, the King," Duke Felix bowed as he looked at the king who was smiling down at him.

"What is the reason for the Duke to come here this early," the King said as he looked at his soon-to-be son-in-law standing in front of the table in his study room.

The King was suddenly informed that Duke Felix wanted to meet with him regarding something urgent and important.

"I got a report that Princess Eleanor’s carriage was under attack." Duke Felix looked at the King as he continued, "She is seriously injured in the process."

The King did not react. His eyes narrowed for a brief second as if he was in deep thoughts, but he soon came back to normal. "It is a good thing that the princess is only injured and not killed. If anything had happened to her before the selection then things would have turned worse for the Kingdom. What if the Roulux Empire had asked us to send the other Princess in her place."

The King rested his chin over his hand as he leaned forward. His eyes looked straight into Duke Felix’s, "We should expedite the wedding now. All the arrangements are made, I do not see any reason to wait any longer."

Duke Felix did not reply but he said in a small tone, "Everyone knows and Princess Mayla and I are going to get married. No one will come in between it. But what does the King think will happen if Princess Eleanor becomes the Crown Princess?"

The King laughed as if he had heard an unexpected thing. "You think she will be? Will Eleanor be the chosen one? She is a Princess who is labeled as someone who killed her family. A black star of the Angevin Kingdom. Although people sympathized with her they also blamed her for surviving, they said she brought bad luck to the Royal family."

The King’s eyes were sharp as he continued, "What do you think will happen in the Roulux Empire? The rumors have their way to travel across borders, especially the bad rumors. Trust me, by this time the temple would be well aware that Princess Eleanor brings bad luck, the attack can be used as proof."

Duke Felix did not reply but he closed his eyes in annoyance. He knew that what the King was telling him was the truth. There was no other way around such things.

"I just hope that things do not turn worse." Duke Felix said in a small voice. His eyes looked at the King whose smirk grew deeper.

"Nothing will go wrong. Princess Eleanor can enjoy her life safely in the Roulux Empire and forget about her claim to the throne. Anyways to the rumor she cannot be the Crown Princess. So let’s stop talking about her and start talking about you. Mayla is happy that she is finally marrying the man she loved. I hope the feeling is mutual?"

Duke Felix’s eyes narrowed as his throat ran dry. He narrowed his eyes but he knew what the King was getting at. Maybe like everyone else, he also thought that he and Princess Eleanor were having an affair.

Duke Felix took a deep breath as he continued. "The feeling is mutual."