Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 490: Common Interest

Chapter 490: Common Interest

"Your Majesty, it’s alright to take him with us, right?" Arabella pretended to ask permission from her husband.

"Yes, of course. It seems we have no other choice, for now." Ferdinand nodded.

[What?! No, that can’t be. What if he told them the truth there?! I can’t allow him to leave. But how should I stop the Empress of Valeria from taking him with her?] Sonia frowned.

"Duke, Duchess, Demetrius wants to come with us. I can’t simply ignore a child’s plea. Especially when he is this terrified. The late Duchess was an avid buyer of Lobelius tea. She had met with my mother quite a lot as well. I can’t simply leave after seeing her son in this state. I will take Demetrius with me to Valeria," Arabella declared, and the gasps were audible.

"Your Majesty, he is the heir of this duchy," Sonia protested. She knew she could not touch Dimo in Valeria.

"Your Majesty, please reconsider. He is my firstborn and I have already declared him as the heir," Duke Olivier seconded.

"I know. But he doesn’t feel safe in his own abode. I will take him with me until he calms down. We will send him back here once he is willing to return," Arabella explained.

"But how long will that be?" The Head Butler couldn’t help it anymore and spoke as well.

"Perhaps, until this place is cleansed?" Arabella tilted her head as if innocently, but intentionally provoking them as well.

"But, Your Majesty, I can’t simply send my son to another kingdom," Duke Olivier protested.

"Then, can you convince your son to stay?"

Duke Olivier then tried talking to Dimo again but to no avail. Even more so when it was Sonia.

"Then, can we at least sign an agreement? I don’t doubt Your Majesty’s words, but I simply want to ensure that my son will return once he’s ready," Duke Olivier accepted defeat and Sonia frowned at him.

"But Your Grace," Sonia wanted to stop him but the Duke gave him a warning look. Directly opposing him in front of important guests was a big no-no.

"Dimo doesn’t want to stay. We can’t convince him. What else is there to do?" the Duke sighed deeply.

If they forced Dimo to stay, then it would further imply that they may have been violent to him which was why he didn’t want to live here anymore.

With someone as powerful as Ferdinand and Arabella here to witness their actions, their reputation would instantly be ruined.

Other duchies’ trust in Olivier would plummet and that would be grim when it comes to trade and other important negotiations.

Meanwhile, if they allowed Dimo to leave, they could gently coax him to return later.

"But what if he doesn’t want to come back even after some time has passed?" the Head Butler commented again.

"That depends entirely on the child. I’m sure he would miss his family and his home. But if he still fears to return despite that, I believe you have two other children, right, Duke Olivier?" Arabella said and everyone tensed.

Arabella was indirectly suggesting to Sonia and the Head Butler that this was better for them so they should not contradict her.

If Dimo stayed in Valeria and decided to never come home, then Brent could be the heir without them having to lift a finger.

[I see. I didn’t think of that. That can be a good option too. But what if Dimo spills everything once he’s calmer...

[No, if he didn’t tell them for the past two - almost three months, it meant he was scared to tell everyone. He might remain silent about it...

[Or does the Empress already know, and she was hinting at us to let this happen? Maybe, she found something interesting in Dimo, so she wants him to go to Valeria.

[His ability would indeed be beneficial to a kingdom so fond of war. She’s still a new Empress so she’s probably aching to contribute so the people there would recognize her.]

Sonia pondered over her choices.

’She’s rather bright in a skewed way. If only she used that for something good. Part of her speculations are true. But my main goal is Dimo’s safety,’ Arabella internally sighed.

Sonia and the Head Butler then stopped contradicting Arabella when they realized that Dimo may not ever return to Olivier if Arabella or Ferdinand actually wanted to utilize his fire magic.

"We need to go. Prepare the agreement," Ferdinand said with finality and glanced at Riley.

No one could comment anymore when he said that.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Riley then materialized a magic scroll and began writing.

The agreement was already prepared in advance though. He was just pretending and would shift it to the real agreement later.

Arabella then discussed with Duke Olivier what the conditions were, and Riley acted like he was writing it down.

The contents had been already discussed with the Duke before this though, and he had already agreed to it.

They simply wanted to pressure Sonia to sign it.

A few seconds after their discussion was over, Riley rolled the scroll and handed it to Ferdinand. Riley replaced it in an instant with the real contract while everyone’s eyes went to Ferdinand.

"This is a magic contract and both sides are obliged to keep their words or else they will suffer the consequences," Ferdinand declared and signed it.

Arabella signed it as well then handed it to the Duke.

Duke Olivier and Sonia both read it.

The Duke signed.

Sonia pondered over it a bit more before finally signing it. She concluded that keeping Dimo away from the Duke right now was more beneficial for her than keeping him here while everyone was on alarm and on guard.

With that, Arabella and Ferdinand had achieved the goal of their visit.

It was up to Duke Olivier how he would reveal everything to his people or silently banish Sonia and the Head Butler without causing a ruckus.

"We shall take our leave then," Arabella said her goodbyes, and Dimo only waved goodbye to his father.

The knights and maids who witnessed everything were left wondering what just happened. They were not sure it was the right thing. But they could do nothing about it.

Sonia and the Head Butler thought that in case Dimo tried to return in the future, they could eliminate him then.

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A/N:

Why five chaps? Because we are featured (lol). And of course, I promised to upload more once I’m done with the dissertation. We finally have a complete first draft so I can finally write more.

I will try to upload five Chapters a day in three consecutive days to make up for my lack of updates the past few days. But the key word is TRY. I’m not promising I absolutely will, since I’m not sure I will be able to. But I will do my best.

Thanks much for the continued support, everyone!

This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om