"My lady,” Lily called while knocking on Ingrid’s door. But no one answered. “My lady, are you okay?”

There was a moment of silence before a soft voice spoke from within the room. “I’m fine, Lily. I’m just tired. Please tell everyone not to disturb me. I’ll call when I need something.”

“Then, if ever you need someone to talk to, just call me, my lady.”

Ingrid did not respond. She simply curled into a ball and buried her face on her knees.

Hearing no reply from her mistress, Lily pursed her lips and retreated. But she was met by the captain of the Red Squad, Leon, as soon as she turned around.

“Miss Lily, please come with me.”

///\

Lily looked around the room curiously, unaware of why the grand duke summoned her with all the captains around. She nervously fidgeted with her fingers as she felt the powerful pressure coming from the group.

“Lily,” the grand duke called. “Diem said he previously asked you to deliver a message to me.”

Lily’s eyes wandered towards the corner of the room where Diem was standing with his head bowed. As though she suddenly remembered something, her eyes went wide.

She quickly bowed and said, “Forgive me, your highness! Last Thursday, I did remember coming across Sir Diem. He asked me to deliver a message to you about a child named Regor who left a letter on your office table. But while heading to your office, I met the courier who brought an invitation letter for the lady. I got so excited that I snatched the letter from him and ran off to tell Lady Ingrid the news, but I completely forgot about it. Please forgive me!”

One second…two…

A minute…

Lily did not hear a response from the grand duke. Sweat trickled down the side of her face. Her hips and legs began to feel numb because of her position, but she did not dare lift her head. It was her fault for forgetting, so it’s only natural for her to suffer the consequences.

“That’s all. You may now leave.”

Lily was stunned for a moment. She swallowed the urge to explain herself and exited the room without raising her head.

Once the door of the meeting room shut, the grand duke said, “Calix. For the meantime, focus all your effort on cleaning our own backyard." His eyes then turned towards the other captains. "All captains are to cooperate with Calix. I want whoever these vermin are to be rid of before they can cause more damage.”

“As you command, your highness,” the captains said in unison.

////\

A heavy atmosphere enveloped the entire grand ducal residence. People would often be seen eyeing the grand duke’s palace, their eyes filled with anxiety and worry. Despite the reassurance of the captains of each district, the citizens couldn't feel at ease. They could sense the brewing storm within the palace of their ruler.

The grand duke decided to hold a grant funeral for the fallen members of the Purple Squad. It was held in the central square of the grand dukedom and witnessed by thousands of people.

The event caused an uproar throughout the entire empire.

When Augustus' group escorted Ingrid home, they did not use the main road and instead used a secret passage that Ingrid told them. So no one knew that such an unfortunate event happened to the jewel of their empire until the grand funeral.

Everyone began to wonder and speculate about how such a tragedy occurred. And as the news spread far and wide, fear followed.

The citizens of Learia see the grand duke of Lennox’s army as a strong pillar that shields them from harm's way. To them, they are invincible. That is why, despite being surrounded by enemies from all sides, they could live in the safety of their homes without worry.

The impact of the deaths of the most elite soldiers from the Grand Duke's army on the morale of the entire empire was extremely huge. A lot of the citizens began retreating to their homes earlier than usual.

Compared to usual, the streets now gradually became empty and deserted whenever the sun set, affecting numerous businesses. The once bustling night streets of the numerous city centers turned into a scene of desolation.

Crimes and robbery also began to increase, all except in the grand duke of Lennox’s dukedom. Ironically, the one place whose economy was unaffected by the tragedy was the very place where the tragedy originated. Although citizens of the dukedom are also worried, their worry is not for their safety but for the grand duke and their young lady.

Only they know how much the grand duke suffered when his daughter was abducted by that evil king.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Meanwhile, the rest of the empire of Learia was in chaos. Every day, several merchants and nobles would come to the palace to ask for an audience with the emperor and demand a solution. Some also came knocking at the doors of the grand duke of Lennox’s residence, including those who had previously cut ties with them in support of the emperor. But the doors of the grand dukedom were completely shut for them.

The situation made the emperor’s head ache. Because of his previous disagreement with Grand Duke Rasmus that still hasn’t been resolved, Emperor Mattias has been trying to postpone summoning the grand duke to the palace. But with the letters piling up on his desk and the constant urging of the members of his court, he was finally forced to write an edict.

His chamberlain himself brought the edict to the grand duke’s residence. However, when he arrived, he was met by Diem, who told him that the grand duke wasn’t around before he could even tell him he had brought an edict.

“'Because of the current unrest, his highness the grand duke had to visit the borders in order to ensure that the giants and the barbarians would not take advantage of the situation and attack.' Is what he said."

Emperor Mattias was furious when he heard this. He knew the grand duke was doing this on purpose. That despicable brother of his was the source of the unrest, and he even had the audacity to act like a valiant hero!

“Your highness, if this goes on, the economy of the empire will surely collapse!”

The emperor glared at the chamberlain, displeased. “Do you think I don’t know that? Instead of stating the obvious, why don’t you offer a solution!” Emperor Mattias bellowed angrily.

The chamberlain bowed his head in fear. Then suddenly, an idea came to his mind. “What about the lady, Ingrid? Her beauty might be capable of soothing everyone’s worried heart. Perhaps we could let her appear in public and tell the people that there is nothing to worry about. They would surely believe her!” he said, remembering how the commoners revered Ingrid as though she were a goddess.

Emperor Mattias nodded his head approvingly. “Hurry! Summon my beautiful niece to the palace!”

The chamberlain did not waste any time and went back to the grand duke's residence. However, Diem met him by the gate once again, as though he had been expecting him.

“The emperor wishes to summon Lady Ingrid, his dearest niece, to the palace,” the chamberlain announced, all dignified.

But as soon as he said it, Diem’s face darkened, as though he had said something he shouldn’t have. “I’m afraid that cannot be done.”

The chamberlain’s eyes narrowed. "Sir Diem, are you trying to disregard the words of his majesty the emperor?” He asked in a threatening voice.

Head Keeper Diem bowed his head deeply and said, “That is truly not my intention, your Lordship. However, two weeks ago, our lady received an invitation to the new duchess of Pembroke’s tea party. As you know, because of our lady’s unmatched beauty, she never gets invited to tea parties, so she was really looking forward to it. She even began to meticulously pick clothes to ensure she wouldn’t upstage anyone.”

The chamberlain frowned, wondering why Head Keeper Diem was telling him this.

“However, a day before the tea party, we found out that the invitation did not come from the duchess of Pembroke. Someone else sent it in order to embarrass our precious lady.”

The chamberlain’s eyes went wide. Who is actually bold enough to pull that kind of prank on the most powerful house in the entire empire?

He began to feel anxious. The young lady is their only hope right now. His majesty will surely skin him if he returns empty-handed. But he had a bad feeling about where Diem's words were heading.

"Luckily, we discovered it beforehand, or it would have really ruined our lady’s reputation,” Diem continued, ignoring the pale complexion of the Chamberlain. “But the news still hurt Lady Ingrid, and she has locked herself in her room ever since. Unfortunately, we were all helpless in persuading her to come out.”

But the chamberlain, desperate and unwilling to give up just yet, suggested, “How about you tell Lady Ingrid that her uncle, the Emperor, wishes to see her? Perhaps she will agree.”

Diem forced a smile to hide his irritation. He didn’t know, which in his words did he not understand, that he was not welcome in their residence, nor was his hen-pecked emperor.

“Very well, I shall tell the lady. Please wait here, Lord Chamberlain,” he said, leaving the Chamberlain waiting by the gate.

The chamberlain was left standing outside under the glaring sun. No one bothered to offer him as much as a chair or a refreshment. The servants coming to and fro ignored him as though he weren’t there.

This made him furious. But he held it down, knowing it wouldn’t be good to pick a fight with mere servants. After all, he is the emperor’s chamberlain; he should act like a bigger person.

An hour later, Diem returned to find the chamberlain covered in sweat. His face was extremely red from the heat, and his clothes were soaked, with the moisture even seeping through his outer robe. He could have gone to his carriage to escape from the scorching heat of the sun, but he was too restless to sit idly.

“Forgive me, your lordship. I did my best to convince Lady Ingrid, but to no avail,” Diem said with a defeated expression.

The chamberlain's face became redder than it already was. He did not stand under the scorching heat for an hour only to receive such an answer!

“Take me to her. I will speak to the lady myself!” He commanded annoyance evident in his voice.

“I’m afraid I cannot allow that,” Diem said firmly. “Because of the tragedy that happened to our lady’s personal guards, the Dhalia palace was placed in lockdown. Visitors are barred from entering. Even if the Emperor himself comes today, I'm afraid he won’t be permitted entrance.”

“How dare~”

“His highness the grand duke also instructed us before he left that anyone who tries to force entry into our residence while he isn’t around is to be considered hostile. In such a case, we are given the freedom to use force to protect the residence and the lady regardless…” He paused and looked at the chamberlain directly in the eyes. “... of who the enemy may be.”

The chamberlain's face turned purple. However, he knew that Diem was not joking when he said that.

The people serving the grand duke are only loyal to him alone. This arrogant man doesn't even respect the authority of the emperor. Nothing good will come out if he provokes them.

Unable to find any words to counter Diem, the chamberlain angrily flicked his robe and departed.

Diem watched the departing carriage with his hands behind his back, a placid expression carved on his face.

“Did the grand duke really say that?” Captain Calix, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, asked. His hand unconsciously reached for his beard but ended up touching the stubble on his chin. He totally forgot that he shaved them this morning.

“By any chance, if the grand dukedom or the residence is attacked while the grand duke isn’t around, what do you think he will have us do?" He asked back and left Captain Calix, who was still rubbing his chin.