abcnovels
Chapter 103 The Butler's Curve Ball
Chapter 103 The Butler's Curve Ball
?At the duke's mansion in the capital city of the Astellia kingdom, a man clad in a luxurious robe is sitting on top of his seat while tapping his fingers on the desk while looking at the kneeling man before him with a stern look.
The kneeling man is using a black mask and a black cloak, judging from the obvious fear in his eyes, he's currently kneeling as he's waiting for a severe judgment from his master before him.
"I see... So not only did you fail to kill or capture the prince, you didn't manage to kill a single of them, and lost all of the men dispatched on the mission. Is that what you're saying?" The man asked with a calm voice.
"Yes, my lord..." The kneeling man replied with a small voice.
"You fool!" The man hits the table with a powerful force, destroying the desk in front of him into two different parts.
The man kneeling jolted because of the loud voice, and lowered his head further, knowing that his end wouldn't be far.
"You know how much funds I spent to nurture all of those men!? And how long did I wait for this kind of opportunity to silence that annoying prince!? It's such a one in a lifetime opportunity, and you failed completely!!" The man shouted as veins bulged on his forehead because of his anger while he stands.
"I've waited for five years... And this is supposed to be the only opportunity for me to take the throne for myself while the king is still sick and the genius princess is inactive... But you waste such an opportunity!! You should have sent all of the men rather than getting arrogant because of some small nobles afraid of you spreading about how stupidly strong your poisonous daggers are!!" The man closed his man before the kneeling man's face and roars right in front of his face, making the kneeling man tremble in fear before his fury.
"But I guess settling things with that prince with a simple assassination wouldn't be fun, huh," The man let go of the collar of his servant and went to the window as he stares in the direction of the royal castle of the Astellian Kingdom.
"The prince and the princess having excellent people around them are a well-known fact. But I never know about this guy. Are you sure that this information is valid?" The man- The Duke stared at the real leader of the [Crows] with his sharp eyes.
"Yes. Lyan Arkanium Evocatore. I saw with my own eyes the proof of him being a summoner, my lord," The man lowered his head as he explained, but when the sight of the mentioned man and his summoned monsters and spirits entered his mind, another sign of fear appeared inside his eyes.
"Is he strong?" (Duke)
"His personal strength is already strong enough, but those beings he summoned are on another level, my lord. It's better to consider him as a separate army," (Leader of Crows)
"I see... Are you certain he's not that prince's pawn?" (Duke)
"Yes, my lord. His attitude towards the prince is casual with only the bare minimum show of respect. It seems that he's not affiliated to any other factions yet as well," (Leader of Crows)
"Hm... I see. Then Crow," (Duke)
"Yes, my lord," (Crow, Leader of the Crows)
"Try inviting him to our faction. Find any information about him and use them wisely. If it doesn't seem that he's going to accept us," The Duke folds his arms and makes a grin.
"You know what you should do, right?" (Duke)
"Yes, my liege," Crow replied with a single nod before disappearing to the shadows, ready to finish the order given by his liege.
"Lyan Arkanium Evocatore, huh..." The Duke stares at the sky with a confident smile on his face. The excitement of having another foreign piece entering the board filled his mind.
"Now prince and princess. How will you two move?" (Duke)
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"Looks like you already have a good plan inside your head. Then I will believe in your judgment, Sire," Abraham uttered respectfully as he saw Lyan's confident face. The small curve at the corner of his mouth could be seen getting even bigger than before.
"What are the both of you smiling like villains for...? You're ruining the taste of my dinner," Josephine commented on the two men smiling in their wicked minds.
"My apologies, Madam. It's just that the schemes of the Sire made me remember my time in the underworld. It's been a while since I have such thrilling plans in action, after all," (Abraham)
"Thrilling plans...?" (Josephine)
"I'll fill you out the details later, gramps. By the way, did you notice anything on your 'errands', gramps?" (Lyan)
"Yes. I noticed that there are some suspicious figures wandering around the city. It seems that your guess is right, Sire. Those figures are from the crown prince's side. They are recruiting promising mercenaries from right to left," (Abraham)
"His guess? Have you been ordering gramps around behind me?" (Josephine)
"Of course not," (Lyan)
Before Lyan went to the Madam's office to give the gold to pay the debt of the girls together, Abraham told him that there are some suspicious people roaming around the mercenary while looking around suspiciously. He thought that they might be people searching for him, but Lyan think otherwise.
"I see... I've heard from some customers that the situation in the Astellia Kingdom had been tensing up lately because of the King's sickness. The noble faction led by the Duke Ravindor has been getting stronger lately, and the sudden inactive of the genius princess made the royal faction uneasy. They are afraid that there is a curse that runs down the bloodline of the Astellian Royalties," Josephine that always got a rapid flow of information across the region because of the house said while putting the empty dish at the table.
"It's a high time for the rebellion. Since the prince had been directly attacked by the elite assassins right under the Duke's command, a frontal conflict between the two factions might happen anytime," (Abraham)
"Since the Duke holds the highest position in the military army of the kingdom, it seems that the prince couldn't hold enough trust in the army. That's why he's stealthily gathering mercenaries to be his personal army. Since we just had the goblin king's subjugation, there are mercenaries from all across the continent racing to be here. It's a very ideal time to gather magnificent individuals under his wing," (Lyan)
"But why do you know so much, Lyan?" Asked Josephine as she saw even Abraham made a nod, indicating that the information Lyan just spouted was something he just learned himself.
"Well, I have my own ways of information gathering," Lyan uttered with a smirk.
Before the announcement of the subjugation rewards started, the crown prince and his men are watching from a distance from a certain building. Lyan that is searching for them while waiting for himself to get called spots one of the private guards of the prince bringing some loaves of bread and walks around to search for suspicious individuals that might aim for the building where the crown prince is.
That's where the information gathering started. With a single bump of their body, Lyan used his mystical eyes of an incubus to cast a high-ranked hypnotic spell, while making another layer of spell to make the both of them invisible from the surroundings as he gather information from the man.
"Illusion magic... Never know that it was so handy..." Josephine uttered in admiration.
"No wonder you get hold of the information about the crown prince's faction in such a short duration. So you immediately absorb the information from the crown prince's aide directly. Impressive as expected, Sire," (Abraham)
"Well, just like gramps had said, they are still gathering their forces. The time where they will start the direct conflict between the two factions are when the Duke started his rebellion," (Lyan)
"According to my sources, the Duke is currently watched by the royal faction inside the capital. Since he will need to gather his soldiers on his own territory if we want to raise a rebellion, I doubt the rebellion will start in any time sooner," (Josephine)
"Yeah. It will probably happen in several months or even next year instead. He will need an actual reason to rebel and convince the people, after all," (Lyan)
"Indeed. Forgive me for bringing such a heavy topic to your dinner. I guess it's better for us to talk about something else," Abraham said with a smile as he pours the wine into the glasses before giving them to Lyan and Josephine.
"You're absolutely right. But I guess those topics are important to discuss as well, so it's fine, gramps," Josephine took her wine and took some gulps.
"Thank you for your kindness, Madam. Now then, Sire, do you have any intention of making Ravia and Raine your women as well?" Abraham suddenly throws an unexpected curve ball toward Lyan.
The Madam choked, while Ravia that had been listening to the conversation with a serious face while comprehending it have her face slightly flushed because of his sudden question. She desperately tries to maintain her cool and composed expression while continuing to wipe the wine glasses.
"As long as they give a positive sign, I guess I do," Lyan answered calmly. But unlike before, even Lyan couldn't help but crooked his eyebrows slightly when Abraham suddenly asked him the question.
Ravia's face got as red as a tomato even though her expression remain calm, and her hands are wiping the wine glass furiously with her hands.
(Calm down, it'll break) (Lyan)
"I see... I've noticed that they seem to be anticipating, but please embrace them only when you've finished your journey to the north. I'm going to check up on Raine downstairs for a second, please enjoy your time," Abraham gave a bow before he elegantly went downstairs.
"That gramps... I could never guess what he's thinking..." Josephine uttered with a wry smile. While Ravia on the other side is suppressing her shout desperately.
(GRAMPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!) (Ravia)
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Name: Lyan Arkanium Evocatore
Occupation: Gold-ranked Mercenary
Money: 3,501,722,400 Elnes / 3501 gold 72 big silver 2 silver 4 big copper
Weapon: None
Equipment: Black leather cloak, Leather Armor, 1 (Decent) One-handed Sword, 2 (Good-Quality) One-handed swords, 2 Health Potions, 2 Poison Vials
Grimoire's Companions: 8 High Spirits, 3 Valkyrie, Shadow Goblin Lord (Lv. 5), Papilio Slime (Lv. 45), Galewing Butterfly (Lv. 45), Rock Golem (Lv. 50), Deadlight (Lv. 63), Moonlight Butterfly (Lv. 45), Ice Golem (Lv. 50), Acid Ant Queen (Lv. 1), Magma Bear (Lv. 1)
Grimoire's Army: 6 Shadow Servants, 800 Skeleton Army