The Grand Duke's Soulmate
Chapter 45: A Tricky Plan And A Surprise from Ardel

Chapter 45: A Tricky Plan And A Surprise from Ardel

The castle of Ardel stood bold on the hill in the City of Constance, the kingdom’s capital.

Its walls were constructed of evenly squared stones hewn from the mountain and layered perfectly. Decorative windows were scattered in an asymmetrical pattern alongside several large balconies and crenellations for archers and artillery from the towers.

A hefty metal gate and drawbridge guarded the main gateway, and the built forts became a stronghold for the castle with surrounding moats.

Fluttering in the wind, the red flag denoting the golden eagle soared up to the sky from the central pole on the tallest tower.

It was once a castle that the great kings of the Ardel Dynasty hosted.

Inside it, through the cloister’s walking path, at the end of the corridor, was a vast room full of bookshelves, from wall to wall and in between.

It was so huge that hundreds of books, bound thickly and thinly in various languages and genres, were sorted on the racks; it was the royal library.

The smell of dust and papers permeated the room. Further inside, at the end of a corner, a door to a safe was broken and opened wide. A few books and scrolls taken out of it were scattered on the floor.

Kaizer pulled out a journal with a high-quality leather cover. As soon as his hand touched the front cover, a smile etched on his lips, denoting the coat of arms of Adhemar, Ardel’s previous royal dynasty.

"This is it!" he shouted and grinned with satisfaction. The surging feeling of anxiousness built inside ceased immediately as he saw it.

The pages of the journal flipped as his fingers lay on it carefully. However, as soon as his eyes darted to the writings on it, his face contorted immediately.

"Cr*p!"

He almost threw the journal to his attendant, holding the axe.

Standing behind him, the scarred-faced man with a muscular build asked while crossing his arms, "What’s wrong? Is it not the one?"

"It is the journal! There’s no doubt about it! The king’s name is written here." Kaizer gritted his teeth in annoyance at the question.

"So, what’s with the angry face, Your Majesty?" the man asked again.

"Because it’s in the old language, and I can’t read it!" Kaizer snarled.

"You can order the scholars from Engarth to verify it," the man said again.

Kaizer turned to him with a miffed face. He gripped the journal in his hand tightly.

"Get out!" The king cast an oblique glance and shooed away the attendant beside him.

Fearing the king, the skinny attendant rushed out of the library, leaving only Kaizer and the Bargesian leader.

"Brone, have you forgotten you’ve killed almost all of them? You even burned the university building! Now, even the standard drug formula is gone because of that!" Kaizer shouted to him.

The man named Brone looked up at Kaizer with a tense expression. He did not like it when anyone commented on his actions.

"Aren’t you the one who gave me the order to eliminate anyone who resisted you in the first place? Those st*pid professors conspired with the Lords’ families to revolt against you. I’m just doing my job!" he exclaimed without guilt.

Kaizer was not happy with the excuse. He ordered Brone and his men to do the ’clean up’ quickly after ascending to the throne to secure his position. Following his order, the Bargesians went on a killing spree without hesitation.

However, the unplanned action resulted in a backlash in the end. The Medical University of Engarth professors were among those eliminated, leaving only the new scholars who bowed to the new king.

The university’s main library and laboratories were burnt in the massacre, resulting in the loss of precious books, research journals and drug formulas. The standard drug formula for Laradie plague, one of Ardel’s top achievements in medical research, was also destroyed in the fire.

Kaizer had an evil plan to build a new good sentiment among the people toward him; he wanted to cause another outbreak of the Laradie plague on the continent.

Using the standard drug as the cure, people from all over the place would flock to Ardel to purchase the medicine, making it a massive business for his kingdom and bringing a lot of profit. At the same time, he would be hailed as the saviour of the continent.

That was his plan.

However, due to the reckless actions of Brone and his men, not only had the formula been lost, but the professors who knew how to make the drug all died.

"You could’ve avoided burning the place and left some of them alive. That way, it wouldn’t have ruined the original plan!" Kaizer scolded Brone.

"Tskk.... well, now you’re blaming me instead. You should’ve told me so. Anyway, I don’t think they would do the cure for you even if I let them live. They were adamantly against you." Brone clicked his tongue.

Although Kaizer had become the new king of Ardel, the Bargesians did not have much respect for him. Their relationship was merely more of a business. As long as Kaizer paid them good money and gave them what they wanted, the Bargesians would stay and support him.

"Besides, you said yourself the previous king had created a better cure for the plague. So, why waste time on the old drug if you have something new and better?" Brone said nonchalantly.

Kaizer sighed. The Bargesians were indeed like thugs. They did not care much about the importance of knowledge and research. All they thought about was getting more money, power, and women.

That was why it did not matter to them when they burned the university buildings in Engarth. No wonder they were called ’Barbarians of the South’ all this while.

"That pure serum is no longer in the vault! The previous king must have used it all or hidden it somewhere. That’s why we’re looking for the formula! We can’t initiate our plan to gain more money if we don’t understand it!" Kaizer spat out.

When the word ’money’ reached Brone’s ears, the man quickly approached Kaizer.

"I’ll get all the remaining scholars and force them to translate it," Brone suggested.

The king shook his head. "I doubt the translation will be accurate. They are new scholars and not well-versed in the language."

As the previous Prime Minister, he knew the scholars proficient in the Ro’an language. Unfortunately, Brone and his subordinates had wiped them off entirely as they were the supporters of the Ardel dynasty.

"So what if it’s inaccurate?" the Bargesian leader scoffed.

"The pure serum can only be created with the right formula. Even with one small mistake, it will not work. We need someone truly proficient to translate it perfectly," the king said, pointing to the journal.

"Why can’t the remaining scholars translate it accordingly? It’s just a language!" Brone derided them.

"It’s not as simple as you think. The Ro’an’s Emperors once used the language for magic. Other people can learn it, but it will take years to understand. Only his descendants can truly master it in a short period. It’s in their blood," Kaizer explained.

The details did not intrigue Brone. It did not matter to him who was able to understand the language. More important was how fast he could get money from the drug selling.

"There must be someone who is well-versed in the language. We only need to find them," Brone retorted.

"Only a few scholars mastered the language, and the royal families usually hired them as language teachers. Since the one in Ardel has already gone, we must seek those from the other kingdoms," said Kaizer.

"Then, I’ll just go and kidnap one or two. Everything will be settled, and we can proceed with our plan."

"They are precious to the royal families. It will take time to identify them. So, if you roam in their kingdom with the army, it will draw unnecessary attention."

The Bargesian leader smirked.

"That’s easy."

Looking at Brone’s smiling face, Kaizer knew he had a plan.

"What do you have in mind?" he quickly asked.

"You’ve just ascended the throne. Let’s throw a big celebration party and invite the kings of the other kingdoms," Brone suggested.

"A party?"

"Yes. Appoint me as your ambassador, and I will go to the kingdoms to personally send the invitation to their kings. As such, I could investigate and find the best language teacher."

"Good idea! I agree! Let’s do this!"

Kaizer let out a disparaging smile at Brone’s suggestion.

***

The hazy wind matted down the grass surrounding the area. The knight’s steps stopped at the quiet place.

Remnants of the black poles and wood were scattered on the ground. The barracks that had once been erected there were no longer in sight.

The two brothers who owned the café were right. The place was indeed burnt to a cinder. Looking at the residual effects, the barracks seemed to be under a severe attack.

However, as he searched the area, no tracks of mobilised siege weapons could be found. There were also no signs of a massive battle on site.

Noah looked around again. He had been here a few times, checking whether he had missed any clues. However, his efforts were unfruitful. The disappearance of the people who could contribute information about the incident worsened it.

The knight looked up at the blue sky. Though not so early, it was still morning. He walked further into the Huntbel forest, searching for anything that could bring a hint, but to no avail.

"I guess there’s nothing here."

He exhaled in a forfeit.

Noah was standing on a cliff and about to step back.

’Kwit-kwit, ker... ker...’

The faint laughing cackle of an eagle that flew at a high altitude from far away reached his hearing.

’Ker... ker... kwit-kwit-kwit’

Another eagle responded to the first cry. Soon, more sounds of eagles chittered in the air. It was as if they were talking among themselves.

Covering his eyes from the bright sun rays, Noah placed his hand above his eyes as he looked at the groups of eagles flying high. They were circulating down the valley, far from the cliff where he stood.

His brows raised at the sight.

"Eagles don’t fly in groups," he muttered to himself.

Quickly, the knight went down the narrow path and traversed the forest to the place where the birds gathered. Something must have attracted the aerie of eagles there.

It would not be surprising if it were only two to three birds. However, as he had seen, there were about ten of them, and none were attacking each other. So, saying they were fighting for prey was out of the question.

As he approached nearer, Noah slowed his steps to reduce the sound. From behind the tree, he looked furtively at two women standing on the ground not far from a cave.

One of them was holding a crutch made of a sturdy branch. She led each step with her good leg but limped on the other. Every time she moved, a frown would etch on her forehead.

"Any news today?" the younger woman asked the other one.

The woman with the crutch shook her head.

"She must have gone far away." She sighed.

"Perhaps tomorrow, we can ask the eagles to search for her from the north side again," the younger woman suggested. Her companion nodded.

"Let’s head back to the cave," she said.

’Kweekk-kweek!’

A newly arrived eagle screamed out loud.

"Somebody’s near! Emily, hide!" the woman with the crutch quickly warned the younger one.

In haste to escape from the open area, the injured woman’s steps twisted, and her body swayed by gravity.

"Dame Clara!"

The younger woman’s heart thumped as her hand reached out to grab her stumbling companion.

Her body went stiff as the other woman succumbed to the ground, face down.

Noah’s eyes shook as he heard the spoken name. His mouth was wide agape from the shocking expression.

There was only one person in Ardel with that title — Anna’s escort.

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