Chapter 116 - The Phoenix is Talking

"I can’t read your thoughts. Did my adult version really do that?"

"She did..."

"Hehe," she giggled.

"Why are you laughing?"

"I thought it was cool."

I sighed.

"I think it’s cool too, but it’s a little scary. It’s hard to face someone who can know what you’re going to do because they read your thoughts."

It’s almost like facing the Goddess of Strategy...

"We’re sharing a mental space. Isn’t that the same as reading thoughts?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"You have to speak for me to hear you, and I’m also speaking, but the sound I make is a frequency only you can hear. I’m not talking in your mind, I’m producing a sound for you. It’s called a mental space because your brain interprets the unique sound I produce for you."

I did a test: I put my hands over my ears and asked her to try speaking. The sound came out a bit muffled.

She really does produce a sound, and my brain interprets it, but I still have to hear it.

"If you talk to me near someone, can they hear it?"

"They might hear some grunts as I grow, but generally, only you will hear my voice."

"What is this incubation period?" I asked.

She seemed to think.

"It’s the time when my powers fluctuate, like what happened with your eyes. During this time, my body is adapting to the Body Aspect, but now I’ve learned to control it better. I’ll stay like this for a while, but I’ll keep growing like before, in that quadrupedal form with a jaw. I’ll just stay small like this so I don’t struggle as much with the changes from the progenitors’ traits."

"What is that? What are the progenitors?"

"They are the three great beings who gave power to my race. They’re also called World Destroyers. Do you want to know their story?"

Nikolaus Wolves:

I was in the black fortress, standing near a round table. Gathered with a small council of nobles, the circulating news was far from good.

"What do you mean our soldiers were killed and some captured? They were supposed to leave the area after the attack and hide somewhere else!" I shouted, frustrated.

Our plan was perfect; we had even mapped out hideouts throughout the Evenhart territory.

"We don’t know what happened. After returning to the base, they should have moved to another location, and we would have activated more teams. We had to send two men to check their whereabouts, but they were also either captured or killed," reported Count Laurence.

I put my hand on my head, trying to understand.

"By the time anyone tracked that base, they should’ve been long gone. It was impossible for anyone from the castle to reach there in time; it would have taken days!" I exclaimed.

Could it be that...

"Maybe one of you has betrayed us," I suggested, as I scanned the faces around me.

"I’m from outside this duchy, so it hardly matters to me. Look at my hands! Do you think I’d betray you after everything?" grumbled Baron Gideon.

He had been attacked by bandits a few years ago and never fully recovered. His hands were partially healed, but they were still in a terrible state. Whenever we asked how it happened, he would say it was the work of evil incarnate.

I'm certain it wasn’t Gideon. He’s interested in becoming the main supplier of slaves in the territory. Once I take over the duchy and legalize slavery, he would become a powerful ally, helping to further boost the economy of this place. With the number of commoners in these lands, I could raise taxes, and if someone couldn’t pay, I’d benefit by seizing their farms and turning them into slaves.

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"Our faction may be fracturing, but the few who agreed with your plan wouldn’t betray you," said another noble.

"I was already forced into accepting that deal years ago, when the engagement with the little Duchess came up, and now this. Ever since that brat appeared, my plans have been failing."

There was no way anyone from the castle could have reached that place so quickly on horseback. The earth mages should have destroyed the base, and everyone should have disappeared by now.

"But this is strange. It would take days to get there, it’s really impossible. But it had to be someone from the castle; none of us would have sabotaged ourselves," said Baron Franklin, thoughtfully.

I slammed my hand against the wall, irritated.

"How did they track the base so quickly? It would take days for the farmers to reach the castle, and then they’d still need time to return to the village and start tracking the base. Unless those bastards learned how to fly!" I laughed. "The only option left is that we were sabotaged." I watched their reactions, trying to identify a traitor, but we were all committing the same crime.

Our mercenaries, after attacking the village, were intercepted and killed. Someone massacred our men at that base! From what I’ve heard, it’s related to a fire mage.

"Could it be that some of those who didn’t accept the plan ratted us out?" one of the nobles asked.

"They helped us with resources, so it’s possible. Which leaves us with the only option of trusting those in this room..." I responded, analyzing the situation.

"Do we continue with the plan?" someone asked.

"Forget it. I only have a few more teams, and I can’t afford to sabotage the lands of those who didn’t agree with us, or we’ll really be exposed. The goal was to attack the autonomous villages, but I can’t act recklessly knowing that one of the other nobles might have betrayed us. You know how hard it is to move this amount of resources without drawing attention?"

It had to be that. Someone sold us out, and that’s how a mage was able to attack us in the hideout. There was no way the farmers could have alerted the Evenharts and gotten to the base so quickly. Unless they pulled an Asalon out of their asses and flew there before my men could escape. Someone definitely betrayed us.

I paused to reflect on my objective, realizing there was a loophole.

"Our previous plan, before the male heir appeared, was to undermine the Duchess’s administration and force her to give us her daughter’s hand in marriage, but that superior engagement ruined things. However, I know something that can turn everything in our favor. I’ll reveal to you why I decided to take this risk again, even with such an engagement in play," I said, smiling.

An engagement between superior nobles was irreversible, as they were equivalent to kings in their lands. No one could go back on their word with a king, especially in an arranged marriage. That’s why a marriage between superior nobles, once announced, couldn’t be undone. But I knew a loophole.

"Finally, your magical solution," one of them said, with anticipation.

Everyone looked at me, waiting eagerly for what I had to say. When we began planning the sabotage of the territory, I promised them that there was a way to win the hand of the future Duchess. However, I said I would only reveal that strategy at the right moment.

Now, with this group gathered and after the blow we suffered with the failure of our plan, I can no longer risk losing supporters. I will tell them—I know how to break this type of marriage because I am in a position below a superior noble.

"There’s a way to break an engagement between superior nobles," I said, watching their reactions.

They exchanged glances, intrigued.

"What way?" one of them asked, eager.

"A child! If the superior noble’s wife has a child outside the engagement, it’s annulled."

They all looked at me, a little shocked.

"Your plan is..."

"Obviously, I’ll wait until she’s older, you idiot! We’ll offer this option to the current Duchess at the right time to break the engagement. We’ll do this when I make this duchy bleed and sabotage its economy, but until then, I’ve thought of another solution..."

"What solution?" asked another, curious.

"We’ll kill the boy."

They burst into disbelieving laughter.

"You want to kill the boy? Are you insane to lay a hand on a superior noble? You want to start a war? It was one thing when he wasn’t officially the heir, but now he’s recognized as a superior noble. If we do that in his lands, they’ll know it was us. I’m not part of this. The punishment for that is death, not just for us, but for our families, if they find out. There’s no forgiveness for those who raise a hand against a king. We’d become enemies of the duchy and the kingdom."

"We don’t have to do it here. In a few years, the boy will go to the Apsalon Magic Academy. That’s neutral territory, free from any suspicion of us. We’ll send assassins after him there."

They scratched their heads, thinking it over.

"Trusting this blindly is madness. That place is frequented by superior nobles, and only the elite mages and knights study there."

"But the city is still a common place... We’ll send real assassins, from organizations specialized in this kind of thing. Until then, I’ll suffocate the Duchess’s administration. If the boy, by some miracle, survives, I’ll still have the option to break the engagement... but it’ll be a greater benefit to us if he dies."

They exchanged looks, pondering the proposal.

"Making the population angry with the Duchess’s administration is one thing... but this is overkill," said the Count.

"The boy will be exposed in the city or on missions from the Academy. We’ll act in a place outside our jurisdiction, and no one would suspect someone tried to kill a superior noble there. Everything will seem like a simple accident. Cheer up, after all, what is that brat besides a damned boy?Think of all the territory you’ll have when I take over and can use all those forbidden areas."

They seemed to consider the idea.

"Are you sure? He’s a superior noble..." one of them said, still hesitant.

"We’ll make it look like an accident. While we suffocate the Duchess’s administration, we’ll leave the Evenharts completely disoriented. At that moment, I’ll act and win Chloe’s hand. This entire duchy will be in our hands. Think of the amount of land and wealth we’ll be able to exploit in the forbidden areas. We’ll have total control of the laws, control of everything," I said, trying to convince them.

They exchanged glances, still a bit uneasy, but seemed more inclined to agree.

"Then send the best mage assassin after him. We can’t afford to take chances," said the Count, decisively.

After the Count spoke, the others nodded in agreement.

"Don’t worry. I have contacts in the nobility who can help me know everything about the boy when he’s in that city, and we’ll act at the best opportunity."

"And if the boy survives?" someone asked.

"We’ll have two plans in motion. There’s always the option of impregnating the future Duchess Chloe."