110 Calamitous Plans (1/2)
”LADY NYSTROM is a blessed one, isn't she?”
”The duchess succeeded in waking up His Holiness– a task that Her Royal Highness failed to do despite being given several chances to do so.”
”But we shouldn't be surprised anymore. After all, Lady Nystrom was chosen to be the mother of Duke Nystrom's child.”
”Yes, we can't forget about the prophecy that said that Duke Nystrom's son is going to be a special existence in the whole empire.”
”Lady Nystrom has always been powerful since she was the only daughter of House Prescott– an old family and arguably the richest one in the empire. But now that she has become a duchess, she has become more influential.”
”Now that His Holiness showed everyone that he favors Lady Nystrom, the duchess will certainly become the highest-ranking noblewoman in the empire.”
”Personally, I don't see Duke Nystrom's worth yet. But he definitely lucked out by having Lady Nystrom as his wife. Once their son is born, the duke's background will be completely forgotten. I'm certain that the high society will embrace him fully now.”
”I want to be close to Lady Nystrom but she has changed. She stopped organizing tea parties. And she also seems distant lately.”
”Oh? Your goal has changed. I thought you wanted to be close to Her Royal Highness?”
”Lady Nystrom is also a part of the Royal Faction so she technically belongs to the princess's clique. And we don't even know if Her Royal Highness is still going to wake up.”
”Shh! His Majesty is still in the area. He'd kill you if he heard you.”
Aku stopped walking, then he took a deep breath to calm himself.
Right now, he was near the exit of the secret passage of the church. That was reserved for very important people like him.
He purposely expanded the scope of his sensitive hearing to listen to the conversation of his subjects. After what happened a while ago, he knew that people would talk. He kind of expected to hear the things he just heard.
Still, that pissed him off.
”Your Majesty?” Sir Gregory, who stood behind him, asked with a hint of worry in his voice. ”Is everything okay?”
”No. Lady Nystrom is getting a little too powerful,” Aku said. ”It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that right now, the duchess has the high society in the palm of her hand.”
”Should we smear Duchess Nystrom's reputation?”
He shook his head. ”As much as I want to bring the duchess down as soon as possible, I don't want Kiho to go down with her. Our original plan doesn't change: we'll start moving once she gives birth to her son.”
”That's still a few months from now, Your Majesty,” the old knight reminded him carefully. ”By the time she gives birth to the child of the prophecy, she'd probably be the highest-ranking noblewoman in the empire. Especially now that Duchess Nystrom gained the saint's blessing.”
”Is that worth the risk, Your Majesty?”
”Of course,” he answered with a chuckle, then he turned to his knight. ”Sir Gregory, do you only see the benefit that Lady Nystrom gained by having the saint's favor? Did you not see the drawback that she also received from that?”
The knight looked confused. ”I apologize, Your Majesty. But I can't see how gaining the saint's favor could be a disadvantage to the duchess.”
He just smiled before he faced ahead while walking. ”Aside from me, there's one group that wouldn't like Duchess Nystrom to gain too much power– and it's the Noble Faction. I'm certain that they will come up with a plan to kill the duchess before she becomes a problem.”
”Oh, that's correct,” Sir Gregory said. ”Your Majesty, your ability to foresee all of this is incredible.”
”I wouldn't be the emperor if I couldn't do that much,” he said with a laugh. ”Anyway, House Ainsworth is the acting leader of the Noble Faction. Once Captain Ainsworth comes to our side, I can finally control that stupid faction without them knowing.”
”Do you already have a plan, Your Majesty?”