My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 313: Vital Decision

Chapter 313: Vital Decision

Finally seeing what was left of daylight after spending a few hours underground was overwhelming.

Not only did their eyes have to adjust as they took in their surroundings, the dragon flying overhead made the situation so much more urgent. The danger that Leonor swore to avoid was becoming too real.

They witnessed it fall from the sky and put the entry buildings of the palace in ruin.

Leonor thought of how only months before she had walked through those very buildings and saw Stephano for the first time since he visited Montclair. It was a wonderful entry with a long hallway boasting the Royal Family’s gardens that were beautiful even in winter.

It was unbelievable to see such a proud and large structure be reduced to rubble in a few places. The strength and size of dragons couldn’t be ignored.

However, once the beast was grounded, Leonor realized it wasn’t moving much further than that. Even though it was clearly still breathing and lifting its wings in a pathetic attempt to get back up and further cause destruction, it couldn’t.

The sheer size of the animal was enough to cause fear. While Stephano raised a shield of enchanted rock and brick in front of them, Leonor raised a shield made purely of her blue mana and covered the dragon so it wouldn’t be able to move any longer. She covered it so that it was covered from its back legs up its long neck and to its snout so it wouldn’t be able to breathe fire any longer.

Stephano was amazed at the sheer size of the shield she was using to block the animal. He couldn’t keep the incredulous yet worried expression.

"Should you be using so much mana?" he wondered.

"All I have done since returning to the capital is training so that I can’t be taken by surprise again," she assured him. "I don’t feel tired. I feel angry that all of us were blind to such a threat brewing so close to home. I don’t have any idea if Montclair is okay."

The King wanted to object, but he kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t sure how mana worked while someone was pregnant. Mages and women alike were understudied creatures. Women mages were the most elusive. If she felt alright, he didn’t have anything else he could say.

Even though his golden eyes were on the dragon as he decided what to do next, Stephano’s head snapped to his right when he heard a small gasp. He was taken aback to see Leonor with tears falling down her face.

"What’s the matter, Leonor?" he asked, alarmed.

By then, the guards had started to spread wider, and a few who had been wandering through the town to ensure the safety of the subjects had arrived to do what they could to fight a dragon. The scene in front of them was unusual.

Their King protected himself as well as Duchess de Montclair. She was the one taking the lead... yet, she was crying.

"I’m going to suffocate this creature," she uttered. Her expression was full of anger but the tears didn’t seem to stop. "I’m going to take its life because it has no doubt taken the life of others, but look how beautiful it is. What a shame it is for something like this to have to die. Yet all I can think of is Desmond..."

Mention of her husband’s name caused her expression to become more pained but she didn’t take down her shield. Her lips were pressed into a thin line as determination grew. The way mana was so personal to someone, it felt like she was strangling the beast with her bare hands.

They didn’t even have any answers at that moment, but all the duchess knew for certain was the dragon couldn’t live if the people were going to.

Strangely enough, this also tied into the complicated feelings she was having about being pregnant: the fear that it could be what killed her while she poured out her mana to suffocate the beast. The conundrums of wanting to be elated that she and Desmond would be parents but the worry that she had ruined their plans because of the oversight of the sterilization potion that he clearly hadn’t taken while he was on the trail and not expecting to cross paths with his wife.

Leonor’s shield was tight against the dragon’s body so it wouldn’t thrash around or she would feel worse. All she could do was continue to hold it until the resistance she felt from such a large beast seemed to cease.

For minutes after that, she held until she couldn’t anymore without harming herself. Luckily she had the King next to her who could hold up a shield if necessary but she didn’t think it would be.

Her hands lowered and she fell to the ground in a heap. She let out a sigh.

Stephano shuffled to lower himself so he could check on his friend. He still held up the shield in case something else happened. It was his turn to protect since Leonor had done her job.

There was a strange silence that fell over all the people there to bear witness to the event. The guards were approaching closer and closer with their weapons cautiously raised. People in the buildings at the heart of Coeurvalle were starting to peek out or leave the places that kept them safe while a dragon was on a rampage.

To Leonor’s relief, even the mage students started coming out of what was left of the Mages’ Quarter. Fortunately, it seemed they had created themselves shields and sought refuge in the lower parts of the building. She didn’t see any injuries, only a lot of dirt and dust covering the students she had grown so familiar with.

While the shield Stephano had created was still there, he no longer held it in place and he stood up straight from where he crouched over his friend. His observance of her gave no signs that she was exhausted or depleted—something he was very relieved about.

To Leonor’s surprise, Stephano started clapping. The guards followed him immediately.

Soon the others followed and there was the beautiful noise of claps and cheers ringing out throughout the heart of Coeurvalle, alerting the people still hiding that it was okay. They were saved even if they didn’t know who their saviors were right away.

Even from the distance of a kingdom between them, the saviors were husband and wife. Desmond had plenty of experience with dragons but, for Leonor, it was her first time.

She stood up and relished the feeling that it was alright.

There was going to be so much to fix after that day, but it was for her future self to think about. All she wanted to do was enjoy the fruit of her labor for a moment.