Chapter 62: Treasure
Inside the majestic Royal Palace, symbol of the strength of the Dorell Kingdom, several high officials could be seen walking in the corridors with hurried steps toward their next meeting. Some had stacks of papers in their hands while others simply talked with each other but none dared to slow their steps to appreciate the luxurious furniture around them.
Such agitation was common in this place where the entire policy of the kingdom was decided.
It wasn’t a strange sight in the middle of the day, with the sun still shining strongly on the white walls of this majestic building.
However, a single place was strangely devoid of any kind of activity.
In one of the wings of the palace, inside the luxurious office reserved for one of the King’s advisor, a man was quietly waiting behind a large wooden desk staked to the brim with various reports none attracting his attention.
Even if he was silently waiting as if lost in his thought, Dano Calrimann wasn’t calm. On the contrary, his mind was on the brink of rupture.
The last chance to revive the Waldemar house and save his life from the greedy and cruel hands of the other Great noble houses entirely depended on the result of Vated’s mission.
After a productive talk where they combined their respective informations about Arthur Waldemar’s last actions, the decision to carry on his will and bring back his granddaughters was taken.
On one part, Vated was deeply attracted with the potential wealth he could gather from a rich noble house desperately in need of his services, while on the other hand, Dano needed to bring back the girls to act as representatives of the Waldemar house. This was the only way for him, who was safeguarding a massive amount of treasures and funds in the name of this noble house, to survive.
With his humble birth, poor talent in magic and lack of relations, no other noble house would ally with him, so the secret informations about the Waldemar house that he possessed were like a dangerous poison for him.
Therefore, Dano had no other choice but to rely on the King’s authority inside the palace to survive.
However, if the girls bearing the noble and strong blood of the Waldemar House could be safely brought back then everything would be different.
The mission to bring them back was to be carried out last night. However, it was almost midday but no news had been received from Vated.
With his rational mind, it wasn’t hard to understand that something went wrong. However, with Seledia gone it was unthinkable that Vated would fail especially considering the white pendant on his brutish neck that he proudly exposed to him the other day.
“...”
With his feet tapping nervously on the ground, Dano continued to silently wait for his last ally to return with good news.
His face was already covered with sweet but Dano didn’t know if this was because of the nervousness plaguing his mind or simply because of the bright sun illuminating his back through the large window behind him.
However, after wiping his forehead for the third time in less than five minutes, Dano reached an answer.
Unable to bear the growing heat making his entire body uncomfortable, Dano stood up to open the window before closing the curtain to protect the vast room from the unusually hot rays of the sun.
He sloppily put his hand on the handle of the window with his thoughts still completely preoccupied with his previous worries.
“Ouch!”
Dano couldn’t repress a scream of pain in front of the surprise heat assaulting his hand when he opened the window. The contact didn’t last more than a couple of seconds, but it was enough to leave a burn mark.
Dano looked at his burned palm with a bewildered expression before turning his eyes toward the window whose handle had still been lowered. It was made in metal so it was understandable if it was hot under the bright rays of the sun, but no matter how he looked at it, this kind of heat was still abnormal.
*Bam*
Before he could react, the window was violently opened by a gust of hot wind.
The sudden assault of the wind during this bright and dry day surprised Dano and scattered the papers on his desk.
The numerous important papers flying freely in the room under the influence of the wind attracted his attention and made him turn his gaze away from the window.
However, Dano didn’t have the leisure to care about this for more than a few seconds.
His previous muddled state was gone the moment the window was opened.
The sharp intuition he cultivated along the years as a warrior told him to disregard anything irrelevant to focus his mind.
“Who is it?” He suddenly screamed in the apparently empty room.
He was previously alone and the large door of his office was still completely closed, but nevertheless someone took a step forward from a corner of the room after his scream.
Dano, with one of his hands raised ready to attack, watched as a tall woman slowly walked toward him.
She was young and beautiful.
These thoughts were the first to cross his mind when he noticed the delicate face and beautiful blue eyes of this woman. Her bright red hair attracted his gaze and gave her a unique kind of charm that Dano never experienced before.
Everything about this woman appeared exceptional especially her tattered appearance that sharply contrasted with her natural beauty.
One of her hands was horribly swollen and obviously unusable while her entire body was covered with blood and various wounds. Her clothes were already beyond repair especially a large portion missing near her stomach and revealing her flat belly.
Regardless of her unfit appearance in front of a man, the woman stopped her steps a few meters away from Dano and silently watched him with her deep blue eyes.
A glance was enough to understand that she just went through a harsh battle but it’s only when she stood still in front of him that Dano noticed that her face was abnormally pale while her entire body was shaking.
However, even with her apparent weakness, a sense of pressure was still emitted from her and warned him that she was dangerous.
“You’re Seledia, right?” Finally asked Dano breaking the silence between them.
Even if he never met her, it wasn’t difficult to deduce the identity of a woman who could effortlessly enter his office inside the royal palace.
“You know why I’m here?” She dryly asked while trying to repress the shaking of her limbs.
At this point, Dano was unable to understand the reason for these spasms coursing along her body but something told him that her apparent anger wasn’t completely foreign to this.
“I can guess. Vated failed, didn’t he?”
“He’s dead.” She coldly replied.
“I see.” Simply said Dano while feeling his strength leave his body.
He couldn’t understand what could have happened to lead to this failure. Without Seledia inside the town, this was supposed to be an easy mission, especially for Vated. However, her presence was more than enough to understand who came out on top. He didn’t know how she managed to find him inside the royal palace, but he could only curse at Vated for his failure and for revealing his name before his demise.
The fear and impatience that kept him tense throughout the night and the day suddenly disappeared and left him with a feeling of powerlessness.
He was all alone.
No one could save him anymore.
As Dano started to despair, a thought crossed his mind while he was looking at Seledia.
Hope reappeared in his heart when he finally saw a possibility for another future.
“Arthur Waldemar is already dead.”
“I know.” Cut Seledia.
Dano was surprised by her statement, but considering that Vated even told her his name, it wasn’t that surprising that he would also disclose this information.
Therefore, Dano didn’t hesitate to continue and didn’t let the crushing and growing pressure emitting from her prevent him from talking.
This was his last chance of survival.
He knew that he wasn’t this woman’s match. Her reputation was enough to understand this reality, on top of the fact that she had defeated Vated. However, more than anything else, the way she entered his office through the window without his notice was enough proof of her superiority.
Even if Dano screamed for help, he had no doubt that she could kill him and leave the palace before any guard could enter his office.
He couldn’t win against her, he couldn’t expect any help and he couldn’t run away either.
There was only one way remaining for him to survive.
“Arthur Waldemar hated you. He also resented Millodas for abandoning him to his fate all these years ago. I respected him but he was stubborn and lost sight of what was truly important along the years. He let his feelings and his pride obstruct him. However, with him gone, none of that matters…”
The hand he previously raised to prepare for his attack against a mysterious opponent had long been put down when he realized that he was confronting Seledia. However, Dano once more raised his arm but it wasn’t to threaten her this time.
“Join the Waldemar House.” He said with his hand opened to welcome her.
“Millodas is the rightful heir, with his father gone no one would oppose this. Your entire family can enter this house. No… as nobody else remains, it’s probably better for me to say that your entire family can become the Waldemar family.”
In front of his proposal, Seledia stayed silent neither agreeing of refuting his words.
Dano wasn’t able to read the expression on her face but the fact that she didn’t voice any objection was clearly a good sign from a woman known for her short temper.
“Millodas will be the head of the house while your daughters and you will also wear this name. You will gain a colossal amount of wealth and influence. Of course, finding Sillath will also be possible and…”
“Don’t say his name!!!”
The sudden and surprising outburst from Seledia broke his speech and left his entire body shaking in front of her imposing presence and anger. It wasn’t possible to read the expression on her pale face previously, but the simple mention of Sillath’s name was enough to trigger her rage.
Dano could feel drops of sweat freely flowing from his forehead while the temperature of the room was slowly but surely rising.
He gulped down and clenched his fist to gather his courage because he knew that he couldn’t stay silent if he wanted to convince her.
“It’s Arthur Waldemar who ordered Sillath’s kidnapping. I only became aware of his existence recently. I have no idea where he was all these years or what was done to him.”
Knowing fully well that his life was hanging by a thread, Dano quickly discarded any responsibility in Sillath’s kidnapping four years ago.
“You will also tell me that you have nothing to do with Vated’s attempt to kidnap my daughters?”
The temperature of the room was quickly becoming unbearable, but Seledia’s words were never as cold as at this moment.
Even so, Dano didn’t stop his words.
“I made a mistake, I should have proposed this to Millodas and you earlier. However, don’t misunderstand, I need you just as much as you need me.”
“What do you mean?” Asked Seledia while repressing her anger toward this man.
“For better or for worse, Millodas is still the rightful heir of the Waldemar house. When his father’s death will be announced, the other Great noble houses will share his territories and wealth. Don’t think that you will be able to hide or run away from them. They will want to eradicate the Waldemar bloodline once and for all.”
After his words, Seledia didn’t immediately answer because she knew that he wasn’t lying. Finding someone in this kingdom was a very difficult matter even for a noble house.
However, it wasn’t impossible.
With Arthur Waldemar gone, the other Great noble houses will shift their focus to Millodas.
The possibility existed that someday someone would attack her family. This possibility existed and terrified her because she knew that they probably wouldn’t be as lucky the next time.
“Join me Seledia, this is the only way to protect your family.”
Seeing the hesitation on her face, a small smile emerged on Dano’s face, sure that he finally convinced her.
To live a life without the fear of a Great noble house discovering them.
To live a life of riches and power.
To live a life with her entire family reunited.
There was only a single solution for her.
“I lived these last four years in fear. I don’t want to live like that anymore.” She slowly mumbled.
“I know.” Replied Dano with his hand still raised to welcome her.
“I want my son back.”
“I know.” He continued while taking a step toward her.
“I want to protect my family, but...”
Dano took another step forward.
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“I don’t want fear to dictate our lives!” She strongly said while rejecting his stretched hand that was about to touch her shoulder.
Surprised by her reaction, Dano took a couple of steps back.
Unable to utter a single word in front of her deep blue eyes that seemed to see through his soul, Dano stayed silent and waited for her to continue.
“Millodas left this house because he wanted to be free. I pursued strength to also be able to live the life I wanted. If we follow your wish, if we forget everything we ever wanted just because of our fear of the future, then what will be left of us?”
“You will be alive, that’s all that matters. To survive and live for another day!” Screamed Dano in anger.
“To sacrifice everything I care for. Our freedom, the future of our children, can you really call that living?”
Seledia knew that entering the Waldemar house will give them an influence and wealth enough to protect her family from the other noble house’s threat. However, she also knew that they would lose their freedom. They will have to marry their daughters to other noble houses to seal alliances while Millodas will have to taint his hands with the blood and tears of innocents to rule this house in this corrupted and cruel kingdom.
The innocence and future of her children will be lost.
Their freedom and freewill will be taken away from them.
They probably won’t live in fear, but Seledia knew it from the bottom of her heart.
They would never be able to be truly happy ever again.
“It’s your duty to protect your family as their mother. No matter the sacrifice, but you won’t be able to protect them on your own! Look at you. Vated failed but a single look at your appearance is enough to understand that you nearly lost. Don’t think that you will always be this lucky...”
“... Life is never so merciful.” He concluded bitterly after a short pause.
After several long seconds of a heavy silence, Seledia finally opened her mouth to give her answer.
“You’re right. Things will probably never go as I want. I won this time, but it came at a terrible cost. Numerous good people died.”
Vated’s last words continued to circle in her head like a curse.
He promised her that Sillath will never truly return. He told her that her son was gone just like Dano told her that the only way for her family to live together was under the banner of the Waldemar house.
Seledia was never an optimistic woman who blindly believed in the future. Her life when she was only a child never allowed for this kind of thinking while her days as a lonely adventurer only strengthened this trait.
If this had happened fifteen years earlier, her choice would probably have been different.
However, she wasn’t the same anymore.
Millodas and her children changed this belief and showed her what true happiness was.
She would do anything for these happy days to return
That’s why she wanted to believe.
Like her husband believed in her.
Like the inhabitants of Tegralle believed in them.
She wanted to believe in the future.
“Numerous good people died. However, they died to protect the future and freedom of my innocent children.”
“...”
“They sacrificed their lives to repay a past kindness, but also because they knew that this kind of future wasn’t fair. They knew that it wasn’t right to give up on these young girls and their belief because of their fears.”
“...”
“So I will also do the same.”
“…”
“I won’t let fear dictate my choices. I will bet my life on the small possibility that the future you and Vated promised won’t come true. I will trust that Sillath will truly return and that our family will be able to live in peace together.”
“...”
“That’s why I won’t take your hand no matter what.” She finally concluded with determination.
Dano was unable to utter a single word throughout her long speech.
He understood that he had to convince her to survive, but in front of her deep blue eyes expressing her unwavering determination, Dano understood that he would never be able to shake her belief.
Fear started to replace his determination when he realized that he couldn’t change her mind.
Dano wasn’t a coward but he was weak.
His body forged by his past as a soldier was strong but his heart was weak.
He lived decades under Arthur Waldemar to stay away from the battlefield.
He didn’t want to die or return to these uncertain days.
That’s why he accepted the idea to kidnap her daughters to save his life. This plan never appeared cruel to him. No, he knew that taking these girls away from their parents for his own interests was bad, but he never cared.
However, faced with Seledia deep blue eyes devoid of any compassion for him, he deeply regretted this choice.
In front of Dano’s frozen expression, Seledia slowly raised her right hand that started to glow with an ominous red light. The suffocating temperature of the room seemed to concentrate on her hand and slowly made it difficult to look at her straight.
“What are you doing, Seledia?”
In front of her movement, Dano put his thoughts back together. He squinted his eyes to look at her despite the abnormal light and heat from her magic and desperately tried to interrupt her.
“If you kill me, you won’t be able to become a member of the Waldemar house. I’m the only one left who knows where Arthur Waldemar hid most of his wealth and treasures. Without me, you will neither have the wealth nor the relations of the Waldemar house. Millodas will only become the heir of an empty noble house.”
The red light showed no sign of disappearing despite his pleading.
Despair replaced the fear in his heart and made him forget his past pride.
“Spare me Seledia. I will leave, you will never hear from me again.”
The light of her hand glowing brighter than ever was her only answer.
“I didn’t know about Sillath! I…”
“I already told you not to say his name!!!” She growled in anger.
“I can give you the treasures of the Waldemar house! A fair trade! You spare my life and I will give you the entire wealth hidden by Arthur Waldemar years ago. I’m too weak to take it for myself, but you are strong and not under surveillance by the other Great noble houses. I just have to tell you about the location…”
Seledia cold eyes seemed to finally react and renewed his hope of survival.
“A wealth beyond your imagination, hundreds of precious books and dozens of artifacts. I can give you all these treasures! All you have to do is spare my life!”
Seledia stayed silent in front of his desperate pleas.
The entire hidden wealth of the Waldemar house for his pathetic life.
This was more than just a fair trade.
The red glow around Seledia’s hand seemed to have dulled making Dano breath a sigh of relief when Seledia took a single step forward.
For a second, she vanished from his sight.
“Ahhh”
A scream of pain escaped his lips when Seledia reappeared just in front of him.
Dano’s didn’t have the time to react or scream for help when her hand clenched in a red fist went directly through his chest.
His legs lost their strength, and only Seledia’s arms still in his chest allowed him not to fall.
Dano slowly raised his head to look at her beautiful but cold blue eyes devoid of any kind of doubt about her choice.
The entire wealth of the Waldemar House.
Treasures beyond her imagination.
Something like that wasn’t what she truly desired.
“There is only a single treasure in this world that I want…”
She abruptly withdrew her arm through his chest and allowed Dano’s body to powerlessly fall to the ground.
“... and you can’t bring him back to me.” She said while her head was filled with the memories of her lost child.
All the wealth in the world didn’t matter to her.
All she wanted was to have her family finally reunited.
With those final words, Seledia quietly left the office without anyone being able to see her disappearing figure in the blue sky.
------------------------------------------------------
Several hours have passed since Seledia defeated Vated and went to eliminate his last employer. The sky was losing the light of the sun while the warmth of the day was slowly dissipating like any other day as if the previous bloody and gruesome fight never happened.
Seledia used her new powers as a Master mage to ignore her injuries and to enter the Royal Palace without being noticed. This kind of feat would have been very difficult even at her previous peak. Several strong true mages were hired to protect the Palace, but fortunately, no Master mage chose to do this bothersome task.
With her new superiority, she accomplished her goal and put an end to Arthur Waldemar plan once and for all.
However, she finally hit her limit.
She was lying with her back on her large bed while Millodas was beside her holding her hand. The tremors of her entire body couldn’t be controlled anymore and prevented her from walking. Using magic also became impossible while the changes inside her body continued to happen.
This was the price for her evolution as a Master mage.
In theory, she was already a Master mage as she was able to draw the mana from the world around her to strengthen her fire magic but in reality, her body wasn’t yet ready to completely bear this new ability.
Just as Millodas previously said, the complete transformation of her body will continue for several weeks, maybe more.
It wasn’t a completely safe process either as there was a risk to die especially considering her previous injuries.
However, Seledia didn’t care about that at this moment.
She tightly squeezed Millodas’ hand with her own shaking hand still covered with Dano’s blood. She wasn’t afraid for her life, but she was still frustrated beyond reason.
It took Millodas his entire strength to convince her to renounce to go fetch Sillath immediately.
Even if they knew where he was thanks to his letter, he was still inside the wilderness. Reaching this Advanced town wasn’t something to take lightly especially since its exact position wasn’t known.
Their friend Rob, owner of the inn of Shaisal, had enough connections with the military to give them this information in a few days but Seledia won’t be able to wait until then.
She already repressed her transformation to go deal with Dano Calrimann but it wasn’t possible for her to delay it anymore.
Seledia didn’t want her daughters to see her like that so only Millodas was left by her side trying to reassure her after she accepted her current state.
Seledia was trying to calm her breathing and the rampaging mana inside her after her long flight while Millodas was slowly stroking her long hair that lost their fake silver color after the release of her entire mana in her last fight.
This was the only thing Millodas could do in this instant.
“You always overdo it…” He slowly mumbled while he continued to soothe her despite the tremors and the pain coursing through her body.
Immediately after confirming their daughters’ safety, Seledia flew away to deal with the mastermind while she still had the strength. This action to intrude inside the Royal Palace to kill a King’s advisor was incredibly rash and dangerous but Millodas knew that she couldn’t let this man get away and remain a hidden threat.
While she went to deal with him, Millodas was left to deal with the aftermath of the attack.
He brought back his crying daughters to the town. Even though they underwent a terrible experience and had never been so scared in their entire lives, exhaustion still overwhelmed them. Millodas already put them to bed a couple of hours ago. Fortunately, except for a small concussion and a few bruises, they were completely unharmed.
However, the same couldn’t be said about Gaya.
Millodas didn’t see what had happened but according to his daughters, Gaya fought Vated on her own and delayed him long enough for Seledia to intervene. Millodas had troubles to believe this truth, but reality left little room for interpretation.
She risked her own life to protect his daughters and nearly died in the process.
Millodas was incredibly grateful toward her, but he didn’t have the chance to convey his feelings to her as she remained unconscious. She had received emergency treatment by the mayor, but her condition showed no sign of improvement.
Even with the mayor’s healing magic, her life was still at risk after sustaining such grievous injuries.
Seeing her covered with blood, desperately fighting for every breath of air shocked Millodas even further than what he initially thought. After four years living with her, after Aten’s departure to find his son, Millodas and Seledia both considered her as their adopted daughter. Her tragic appearance only served to strengthen this belief.
After he got the girls to safety, he lent his help to the mayor and his apprentices to rescue the people who fought Vated’s mercenaries.
After, several hours of arduous work, all of the people who participated in this battle were retrieved from the devastated plain.
None of the guards and inhabitants who came to fight the mercenaries on the plain got out unharmed. Most of them had broken bones while the most serious injured still hadn’t regained consciousness.
Even with the fast intervention of the mayor and his disciples after the end of the battle, twelve people still died.
Millodas was assaulted by guilt when he heard this sad truth even if the number of deaths was a lot less than what he initially expected.
Another small consolation was that Idlan, Brit and Hammiel, who went to rescue the girls and hid in the hideout, were alive. Vated caused the entire hideout to collapse on them, but as it wasn't dug deep, they got away with only a few broken bones.
Even if their losses were less important than what he had feared, they were still tragic. He knew each one of them and could only fear the moment he would have to confront their grieving family.
However, it wasn’t time for that yet.
It wasn’t possible to know how long Seledia would remain unconscious, but considering her weakened state and her injuries, it wasn’t reasonable to think that she would wake up anytime soon.
With her shaking hand still in his grasp, Millodas understood that he only had a single choice.
He knew that Seledia was the only one strong and fast enough to cross the wilderness on her own in a few days without relying on a vrapy carriage. Millodas could probably survive on his own there but escorting safely their son back was beyond his ability.
Therefore, he had no other choice but to rely on Aten who remained their faithful ally all these years.
He continued to search Sillath for four years and made sure that he wasn’t secretly brought to the Western continent. Even if his task was almost desperate, he didn’t give up on them and continued his search to keep their last hope alive.
With these thoughts crossing his mind, Millodas gently kissed Seledia on her forehead while slowly whispering near her ear.
“When you wake up, our son will be beside you.”
With these last words to reassure her, the shaking on Seledia’s body finally stopped. Her delicate hand lost its grip and slowly fell on the bed while her eyes finally closed with the hope that she would be able to see her son’s face when they reopened.
It didn’t take Seledia long to succumb to the relief of a dreamless sleep.
Millodas already sent the letter to Aten and took care of everything he could. There was nothing more for him to do for now.
Therefore, he used his time to gently watch over Seledia. He continued to look at her for long minutes until a light knock was heard on the door. This sound brought him back from his thoughts.
“Enter.” He softly said.
The wooden door of their bedroom immediately opened to let an old man enter. His previous white outfit covered with fresh blood and dirt was already replaced by an immaculate long gray robe. However, even his clean clothes couldn’t completely hide the weariness of his face after using so much of his mana.
“Go rest Millodas.” The mayor’s deep voice was unusually firm and surprised Millodas who slowly turned his gaze away from Seledia to look at the mayor standing behind him.
The old man immediately furrowed his brows when he saw Millodas’ face.
“I knew it…” He mumbled with annoyance at his own correct prediction.
Millodas didn’t ask him what he was talking about because he didn’t need a mirror to know what triggered this reaction from this usually calm and composed man.
“Yeah, even the potion couldn’t heal that.” Finally said Millodas with a sigh.
The deep blue veins, symbols of the magic that the mayor used to artificially replenish his mana pool, weren’t gone.
They receded and didn’t extend to his neck anymore but they didn’t disappear nonetheless.
“Even the elven potion you used to heal your injuries wasn’t able to counter the effect of my spell, but it still seems to have healed most of the damage.”
“How can you tell?”
“Simple, after using your mana so recklessly, you should be dead.”
A long silence followed after the mayor confident words about his promised doom.
“So, what will happen to me?” Finally asked Millodas.
He didn’t regret his decision. If he hadn’t taken this risk, Seledia would have lost and his daughters would be gone. He was ready to give his life to save them, but now that his family was safe, he still hoped to escape his promised fate.
“Honestly, I don’t know. The most probable possibility is that you will die tonight or tomorrow at the latest.” Simply said the mayor with gravity.
Millodas didn’t answer but his face immediately lost some color after these words.
“There is also a chance that the stigmas will disappear on their own and let you live if you endure the next few days. However, even if you successfully endure, I already told you, didn’t I?”
Millodas didn’t need the mayor to remind him of his previous warning.
“There will be consequences.” He simply said.
"..."
“Even if you survive, your body went through incredible hardship. As I said, you should be dead and, at this point, it’s impossible to know the effect the combination of my spell and this potion will have on you. Whether these changes will be positive, negative or disastrous, only the future will tell I’m afraid.
Millodas took a few seconds to absorb what the mayor revealed.
“Please, don’t tell anyone.” He finally said while turning back his attention toward the tranquil sleeping face of Seledia.
With this silent promise, the mayor quietly left the room.
The situation of his body, the transformation of his wife and the fate of his son completely in Aten’s hands occupied his thoughts for long hours.
All these situations could turn for the better or for the worse.
With these thoughts plaguing his mind, it’s only much later that Millodas finally allowed himself to rest beside his sleeping wife to enter in turn into a world without dreams but with many hopes and fears.