My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 301: Commander Aidan

Chapter 301: Commander Aidan

For Desmond, the battle he faced was different than Leonor’s because it truly was a battle.

He had a miserable feeling within him once he gained clarity after his wife was doing better. He realized he had been selfish to so easily leave behind the men he had gone to Eirenguard with. They would surely get into trouble if Desmond left as he pleased.

Even though no one had told them they were being forced to stay, the mood of the Eirenguardian knights was dark. They already didn’t trust anyone from Castille. It may be taken as some sort of plotting if they went back to the northern kingdom whenever they wanted.

It caused Desmond to travel more efficiently. He hiked down the coast until he found a break between rock faces he recognized and he was able to take a sharp eastern turn which sent him on a more direct path towards the fortress they had been staying at while waiting for the Commander to arrive.

By the time he made it there, it was dusk and he was hoping that all he had to do was rest for the night.

Unlike the time before, he wasn’t met with knights blocking his path. In fact, it was overall eerily quiet and the thought that everyone had left made worry well up within him.

As he moved closer to the fortress, he saw that even the evidence of horses was long gone and there were no fires. It pointed to the fact that they hadn’t been there for a while. Did they leave just after he left?

Were Cian and Quinn in trouble?

The man unsheathed his sword and walked further towards the dark fortress where he walked in without trouble. There were no men in armor guarding the doors or people wandering the hallways, casting him suspicious glances as he moved along.

It was all wrong.

His last hope was going to the place they were allowed to use to sleep. Sure enough, the old, musty room was devoid of anyone except the pathetic cots they used to sleep.

His heart began to race and he felt he heard shuffling over his shoulder.

Unfortunately, the blow he received came from his blind side and he was slower to respond than he should have been.

Darkness closed in.

+

"Where has the scarred one gone?"

Quinn sat on his cot with a book laying in his lap as he stared at the gruff knight standing in the doorway.

He had figured that moment would come eventually. While they weren’t in chains or locked in the room they slept in and stayed in unless they were taking care of the horses, it was an understood imprisonment. They weren’t there to show aggression and the Eirenguardian Knights were mistrustful of them.

Until Desmond left, it was an understood situation, but, if Stephano was in danger the way Leonor seemed like she could be, Quinn imagined he would behave in the same manner. He wouldn’t fault the man for doing what he needed to after receiving such a letter.

He closed the book and put it in the pocket of his robes which hid many items. He found it quite funny the Eirenguardians were so unacusstomed to mages that they didn’t think to look through his pockets where all sorts of vials, stones, and books were.

"He had an urgent matter to attend to," Cian responded first, knowing it was best he take the reins of the answer. "I figured it wouldn’t be any trouble considering we aren’t prisoners. He’s headed back into Castille and not Eirenguard so you ought to not worry."

The knight grabbed the handle of his sword subtly but still present enough to be a quiet threat.

"I will report this to the Commander when he arrives," the knight said.

"By all means," Cian responded easily. "We have nothing to hide."

Despite Cian’s confidence, when the Commander did arrive, Quinn and Cian were handcuffed and meant to walk quite the distance away because the Commander wouldn’t get closer to the border.

Quinn looked down at his restraints, feeling that they certainly weren’t any kind of mana blocking device. He felt a little bit bad that they had such little knowledge regarding mages. He wanted to help them yet he kept being met with hostility or mistrust.

He would hide the fact that he could escape easily with magic in case something went awry.

Cian was apologetic, but the mage only waved the apologies off.

The men were taken to an encampment in a forest further south. When they were walked to a tent, they were thrown inside as if they truly were prisoners because they had committed heinous crimes.

As Cian lifted his head, his blonde hair falling in his face, his guarded expression made Quinn’s heart drop.

"Commander Aidan," Cian greeted. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us under these circumstances."

"That’s former commander to you," the man greeted in an accent that Quinn wasn’t familiar with. "Now tell me why you’ve brought traitors with you. You understand the last men brought to us were made into sacrifices."

Quinn recalled the men’s heads in boxes and the spell preserving them. It was a disgusting way to deliver a threat. However, it was what made him realize they had a mana user somewhere. Even if it wasn’t a high level spell, it was enough to reveal a little.

"Let me," Quinn told Cian even though he could feel his heart racing at the fear gripping his heart.

As he lifted his head and his grey eyes met the man sitting on a chair as if it were a throne, he was met with the terrifying sight of someone with scars slashed all over their body. He had tousled blonde hair and muscles that made him look like a boulder. Even though he wore clothing suitable for the mild winter, his body was obvious.

Since Cian only bowed his head again from where he crouched with handcuffs on, Quinn decided to press on.

The mage then stood up which caused the knights behind him to draw their swords. He looked alarmed yet managed to continue.

"I’m here to help," Quinn said. "I am part of the mages once persecuted in Castille. I know what it’s like to try to rebuild yourselves after being wronged for so long."

Taking it a step further, his hands lit up with silver mana and the handcuffs around his wrists were enchanted and snapped off of him as if they were made of dried clay rather than metal.

There was a shuffling as one of the knights rushed forward to grab Quinn again, but Commander Aidan lifted a hand. He was surprisingly relaxed despite the others finding a threat in Quinn’s actions. He was amused more than anything–there was very little that amused him during those days.

"Take this one to the other mages," the commander spoke after a little while. "It will be a day’s worth of travel. Take Cian to a guarded tent. I’ll figure out what to do with him when I see the other traveler."

Quinn looked a bit alarmed and glanced at Cian who nodded.

"If you’re alright, then it’s alright," the Eirenguardian responded a bit weakly.

The traveling party was further separated.

At least until Desmond was brought to the Commander with chains on his wrists and ankles.