The Grand Duke's Soulmate
Chapter 397: The Grand Duke’s Astounding Achievement

Chapter 397: The Grand Duke’s Astounding Achievement

Eric held the parchment open with both hands as he scanned the content. His grey eyes moved intently as he read the scribbled lines.

"What does it say, Sir Navin?" Damon asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

The knights were eager to know why the palace had suddenly sent an official letter to the mansion. Eli wanted to peek, but such behaviour would be considered a breach of confidentiality.

As the Grand Duke’s representative, Eric was the only one authorised to receive and read the letter; the other knights should not intercept such formalities.

Eric rolled up the parchment and said delightedly, "The palace informed us that His Highness the Grand Duke has submitted a report regarding the situation in the Agathe Islands."

He then told the group about the events on the island, explaining how Kyren had successfully won over Ardel’s army, mercenaries, and pirates to Cassian’s side and how the King of Ardel had been eliminated.

The details about Barges’s planned invasion had also been highlighted to King Kyden, and the Grand Duke was now leading the entire troop to the kingdom to intercept the army.

"Our Grand Duke is ahead of us! It seems he has the whole situation under control! With the large army and support for Cassian, victory will surely be ours! We don’t have to worry about the invasion anymore!" Eric’s announcement brought joy to the group.

"I knew His Highness would be able to resolve the Agathe Islands issue well!" Garin said with a smile. "He has never disappointed us!"

"Yes! Also, there’s one more thing," added the second-in-command knight.

"What is it?" Luke asked excitedly.

"The Ardel’s army has recognised our Grand Duke as the Prince Consort, as he is married to Lady Raychard, the heir to their throne, and they have pledged sovereignty to Cassian. Therefore, upon his return, His Highness would like to appeal to His Majesty to revoke her status as a concubine and elevate her to the rank of Grand Duchess!"

"Hurrah!" The knights shouted happily.

This title change would tremendously boost the Duchy’s morale, and Anna’s unusual status as the concubine would no longer be a source of disdain.

"Oh, goodness! The Duchy will soon have a Grand Duchess! This is great news!" said Eli. The others nodded in agreement.

"Wait, are you saying your lady is the heir of Ardel’s throne?" asked Saures.

"Yes. She’s the legitimate first-born of King Adhemar IV, but the regent, the then Prime Minister of Ardel, Kaizer Ronan, betrayed her and staged a coup to take over the throne," explained Eric.

"Lady Raychard’s birth status has been kept a secret, and people in Cassian thought she was an illegitimate daughter due to slander from the Bargesians who came over and pretended to be ambassadors," said Eli. "She didn’t allow us to reveal this, as she didn’t want Ardel and Cassian to be in confrontation for the sake of the people."

"She was willing to face humiliation for others? How could anyone think of that!" said Vaelen, disbelieving.

"That is how our lady is. Her kindness is boundless, and her compassion knows no limit. She always puts the importance of others before herself," said Luke.

"And now, she will finally get the status she deserves! And maybe she and His Highness would rule Ardel after this!" Clara said, full of spirit.

"We would love to see that!" said Eric.

"His Highness’s achievement is tremendously praiseworthy, but I have a question," Drystan suddenly interjected.

"What is it?" asked the second-in-command knight.

"He had gone to the Agathe Islands a few weeks ago and suddenly got full information about Barges’ invasion plan in hand. Don’t you find it weird? He obviously didn’t know about this before his departure unless he knew about it but didn’t inform us," said the knight.

"That makes sense. But it’s very unlikely that he won’t notify us about such important information. He would have told Sir Navin at least," said Noah, agreeing.

"That’s right. Sir Navin is His Highness’s right-hand man. There’s no way you would be left out of it," said Eli, turning to Eric.

"I believe he has an informant. He could’ve gathered the details from the new supporters of Ardel’s army and the mercenaries and pirates," Clara suggested.

Eric shook his head.

"They couldn’t be the ones feeding him the information. They are the parties that would be severely affected by the invasion plan. They wouldn’t even have come to the Agathe Islands if they knew. Barges made it so these groups would fight among themselves and die while they conquered Ardel," said Eric, grasping the situation.

"You’re right. But then, who? Surely, there must be someone! It couldn’t be a Bargesian!" said Garin.

"That, even I cannot determine for the time being. But, as the letter said, His Highness guaranteed that the war would be short and fruitful. He estimated that he would settle everything within two to three months," declared Eric.

"Two to three months? That’s fast! Too fast!" exclaimed Eli.

"If you have all the information about the enemy and possess a large, strong troop, that is indeed possible," said the second-in-command knight confidently.

"Your Grand Duke is indeed a capable man. From how you’ve described him, he sounds like he has a great personality too," Saures praised.

"He is, indeed. He is well-respected in Cassian for his status as the previous Crown Prince and as a brave knight," said Noah with pride.

"If he’s the Crown Prince, then... isn’t he the one who decided to hand over the throne to the current king and declared himself celibate three years ago?" asked Thalgar.

"Yes! Exactly! How did you know?" asked Luke.

"Some of our tribespeople came to Gantz for trade during that time. They said there was a great commotion... about ladies storming the stage during the announcement, like some riot," said Vaelen.

"Yup. That’s true," said Damon, nodding.

Eli sighed.

"Haa... I was still an apprentice then and didn’t get to see it myself. But I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as when His Highness Grand Duke’s fan club members rioted and nearly destroyed the mansion’s gate upon learning he’s married, was it?" he asked, followed by a chuckle.

The other knights looked at him sternly, causing his mood to change to surprise.

"It was?" he asked again.

"Some of the guards suffered broken bones from the riot. You don’t know how vicious those ladies can be. Don’t let their gentle and sweet appearance deceive you!" warned Garin.

Eli gulped his saliva, grateful he hadn’t been involved in the first riot.

"Not only the guards, but I think the mansion’s gate has suffered a lot too. When His Highness Prince Kiev arrived, he destroyed it with his attack before fighting against us," said Eric.

All the knights nodded as they reminisced about the event.

"I heard His Highness Prince Kiev claiming your lady as his betrothed when we met. Wouldn’t that be a problem now that your Grand Duke is turning her into his official wife?" Saures asked.

A collective sigh filled the meeting room.

Eric rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Oh, boy! The duel is going to be one hell of a battle, for sure!"

"To be honest, I’m not sure whose side to take. Of course, my loyalty is with His Highness, the Grand Duke. But I’ve seen how His Highness Prince Kiev protected Lady Raychard. He even attempted to sacrifice himself to the wolves’ attack," said Drystan.

"But he has Miss Canton as his woman! Anyone can see how much he loves her, to the point that he even challenged His Majesty the King to save her!" said Damon. "Wait until His Highness the Grand Duke finds out that His Highness Prince Kiev has taken her as his woman!"

"Come to think of it, when we pursued the Bargesians together, both Their Highnesses collaborated pretty well and made a good pair in battle. They could have been good friends if not for their disagreement on Lady Raychard. We also had a great time with His Highness Prince Kiev and got along with him," Luke remarked.

"That’s undeniably true. He might seem arrogant, but it didn’t bother me because his behaviour and that of His Highness the Grand Duke are similar, like brothers!" said Drystan.

"I still have some reservations about him," Garin countered, crossing his arms over his chest. All the knights knew what he meant. Until now, he still didn’t favour the Mederian Prince, turning Elis into his woman.

"Your Grand Duke has quite an interesting entanglement in love, it seems," said Saures. "I wish him the best in salvaging his situation."

"All right, we’ve deviated a lot from the main discussion. Let’s get back to the agenda," said Eric.

"Oh, Sir Navin, there’s one more thing..." said Anryr, who had been silent for a while.

"Yes?"

"His Majesty asked about his sword. He inquired whether it had been fixed and requested it to be returned to the palace as soon as possible when it was done," said the steward.

Eric nodded.

"Ramios is with me. His Highness Prince Kiev already handed it to me when we met in the forest. I’ll go to the palace to return the sword myself after this," he told Anryr.

Upon receiving the blade, Eric had inspected it and found not even a scratch was visible on the sword. It was as if it had never been used.

"I’ll come with you, Sir Navin," Garin proposed.

The second-in-command knight agreed. Having received the proper response, Anryr then excused himself and left the knights and the tribesmen to their discussion. Clara and Ayden requested to stay and were granted.

"So, since we don’t have to worry about the Barges invasion anymore, let’s talk about the two culprits still at large," Eric continued.

"Can I make a suggestion?" asked Saures.

"Proceed," Eric allowed.

"You have a situation where your lady is still unconscious and requires protection, and I saw you’re all vigilant not to make this matter known to others for whatever reason. It would be too obvious if you made a sudden move to trace them. Even your search and rescue might have triggered some attention by now. So, I suggest that you hand over the tracing task to us. You may assign one of you to come with us."

"That makes sense. Then, I’ll go," said Noah.

"No," Eric countered, surprising the knight. "I agree with Saures’s suggestion, but I’ll appoint Sir McQuinn to accompany them rather than you," Eric decided.

Noah raised a brow. "You don’t trust that I can do it?" he asked sceptically.

"You are still recovering from yesterday’s incident," the second-in-command knight reminded Noah.

"I’m all better. Mr Norman already treated me last night," Noah stated.

"Even though you said you were fine, you are not confident in yourself. Otherwise, you would’ve sent Sir Mills to fetch help instead. So, it’s better to have another knight to do the task, although you’re the best at tracing people among us," said Eric.

"The Sunik tribe is also good at tracing. Knowing Saures, Thalgar, and Vaelen, they won’t disappoint you," Clara interjected.

"I trust Dame Verns’s judgment on this. So, we shall go as planned," Eric declared. "And Sir Brooks..." he said, turning to the knight, "get yourself a good rest and recover quickly. You must be in your best condition to protect Lady Raychard."

Noah gave a solemn look, believing that he could do more than recuperate. Nonetheless, the order had been made.

***

The ship advanced, majestically cleaving the ocean in the darkness of the night. They had been on the voyage for several days towards Ardel.

Kyren, who had finished his dinner, came onto the deck and asked Adam, "How’s the situation?"

"Everything is good. The watcher has informed us that they have spotted lights from that direction, meaning we are approaching the land. We should arrive in no time," reported the admiral.

"Great. Everything is working according to plan," said Kyren, nodding.

"Your idea of intercepting the surveillance boat before they could alert the enemies is brilliant, too," said Adam.

Kyren smiled.

"It wasn’t all my doing. You contributed as well. Also, if not for Athillia, we wouldn’t be handling this so easily," said the Grand Duke.

"I agree. Without her help, we might be in more trouble," said Adam. "Speaking of her... Why didn’t you report about her to His Majesty the King?"

Adam had gone through the letter prepared to be delivered to the King of Cassian, as he was the first person appointed to lead Cassian’s army and authorised to do so.

"It would raise much concern if we expose her too soon. Even now, with our excellent achievement, His Majesty the King and my knights would be wondering how we managed to turn the tables so soon and also gained information about the invasion plan," Kyren explained.

"You’re right. So, are you only going to explain everything to His Majesty when we return?" asked Adam to reaffirm.

"Yes. That would be much more proper. I will report her contribution to our victory, that she has saved my life and also about her bloodline and how she is related to Cassian. His Majesty would accept her once he knew about this," the Grand Duke decided.

"That’s a good plan. But, I hope it won’t raise a misunderstanding with your wife," alerted the admiral.

"Misunderstanding? Why so?"

"Think about it. Her husband went to war and suddenly returned, bringing a young girl with him. Wouldn’t that be suspicious? Even my woman would be jealous!" stated Adam.

Kyren chuckled.

"Anna is not like that. She’s a reasonable person."

"Haa... wait till that happens! You’ll never know!" teased the admiral.

Just then, a loud shout came from the crow’s nest.

"Land ho!"

A fierce determination ignited in Kyren’s eyes as he clasped the hilt of his sword, secured at his waist. Meanwhile, the crew bustled about, readying the ship for anchoring.

Advancing towards the forecastle, the Grand Duke peered into the night’s darkness. In the distance, a cluster of lights twinkled from a distant port, evoking a subtle smile on his lips.

"Gentlemen, let’s get ready! Barges will feel the blade of Cassians!" he announced.

"Yeah!!" His subordinates shouted in unison, full of spirit.