Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 160: Why I Really Left The Capital

Chapter 160: Why I Really Left The Capital

"Very well," Sarith stretched his lips into another subtle smile, accepting the Duke’s proposal, "A few hours of rest will be fine. My visit, after all, was nothing but a rude intrusion, I admit."

"I am glad you understand, Your Reverence."

Tillian turned around and nodded at Bella,

"Bella, please prepare the tower for the gentlemen. Ahspid will be in the guest room for now. I’m afraid the tower is the only place that can fit this many guests at once." Turning back to the guests, he paused for a moment before adding, "I apologize if the rooms feel uncomfortable, Your Reverence, but it is the best we can do on such short notice."

"Thank you, you are very generous, Your Grace."

"Alright, please follow the head maid inside; someone will come to fetch you for dinner later tonight."

Following Bella’s lead as instructed, the visitors went inside the castle, leaving the Valentine couple and the mage standing outside, completely quiet. At last, after several long minutes of silence, the Duke faced Ahspid and said,

"There is nothing to do at this point; they are already here. Let us all go to my study for now."

***

As the three of them entered Tillian’s study, the man locked the door with a key and pointed at the mage, instructing him to take another chair and place it before his desk. Once they were seated, the man addressed Ahspid first,

"What is going to happen now? Have they indeed come here for you?"

The mage shook his head, his mind still fogged with fear from the situation that was now unfolding before them,

"I do not believe the Chief Paladin would issue a fake order to get me; he is one of the few people who obeys the law wholeheartedly. Additionally, I have never used the full potency of my magic to be detected even by someone like Sarith, so the only way he knew I was here too is if someone had deliberately told him."

Tillian arched a curious brow,

"Someone? Who knew you were here apart from us?"

Ahspid could not help but sigh; the strong feeling of guilt was becoming unbearable,

"Bjarna."

"The necromancer witch?" Aideen was utterly surprised. "Didn’t you make her sign a magic contract before she even came here?"

"I did," the mage confirmed with a nod, "but it appears the paladin had his seal on her, too, which interfered with any further magic imprint on her. I had my suspicions when I noticed that her powers were weakened, but I refused to believe it until the very end. I asked King Yuraon to follow her in the Capital and make sure she does not cause any trouble, but it looks like she was still able to inform the Holy Church of either of us."

Duke Valentine rested his elbows on the surface of the desk and placed his chin on top of his joined palms, mulling over the mage’s reply. He had expected that something similar might happen to them sooner or later; after all, it was only a matter of time before Aideen’s abilities would become strong enough to be detected. But he still hoped that they had more than enough time to be fully ready for that.

"It does not look like they are aware of Aideen’s dragon abilities, though, seeing how they did not bring more men to support them. This is good news... So they detected her powers, huh?"

"The fire," Aideen said quietly, "the fire was probably their doing too. They forced me to use this much mana and I got caught because of that."

Ahspid nodded again,

"When I was on the way to the village after the fire was put out, I saw several fire birds flying in the direction of the Capital. Someone devised quite a canny plan to confirm the use of the princess’s magic; they were certain she would be able to interact with the fire. And since she used the Eye of The Storm, the level of mana was too high to pass undetected. I bet the paladin can still sense it even here."

"I am really sorry..."

Aideen felt like crying. Once again, instead of being helpful, she ended up causing more trouble. Her teacher, however, did not share her opinion. Patting her lightly on the head, he simply released a long sigh and answered in a kind voice,

"It is not your fault, My Lady. It was a clever trap, and unfortunately, we had no choice but to fall for it."

Tillian was growing restless with each passing moment. He was well aware that the arrival of a paladin could only mean one thing.

"He will take her now... As a mage, she will have to go back to the Capital and register her abilities. Then, she will be forced to take the obligatory training after which she... will be forced to return to the Royal Palace and work as one of the Royal Mages."

The princess widened her eyes in utter shock, her complexion turning white as the gravity of her situation settled in. She felt her blood running cold while her entire body seemed to be shrinking.

’Back to the Royal Palace? No... How can I go back to that hellish place? No, this can’t be...’

As the lady’s inner suffering became more evident, Ahspid released another long sigh and turned to the Duke,

"Your Grace, can I have a moment with your wife alone?"

"What? Why?"

"I need to discuss something important with her... Magus to magus, so to say. The discussion will be more fruitful if you are not here."

Lost and confused, Tillian turned to his wife, seeking support in his silent desire to stay, but Aideen nodded and said,

"Please, Tillian. If Ahspid says it’s important, then I would like to trust his judgment."

"Ugh... The two of you have become way too close," the man grunted. "Fine. I will be back in our bedroom then."

Once the Duke’s footsteps were no longer heard outside his study, Ahspid ran his long fingers through his purple hair, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. Then, he finally looked at the princess and said in a cold but somewhat melancholic voice,

"Your Highness... I would like to tell you why I really left the Capital."