Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 223: Supreme Witch

Chapter 223: Supreme Witch

"Why is she here..?" Aideen blinked several times, making sure she wasn’t imagining things. No, her sight was very clear; she was not dreaming.

Before her, confident yet alone, stood Queen Fleur wearing royal dark blue armor. Her thin lips curled up when she saw Aideen’s confused face, and her chest shook slightly as she tried to suppress a laugh.

"That face of yours does not look very welcoming, Aideen. I guess I have to congratulate you after all this time. You can see now. You possess some powers, too. And now, you come here blindly believing you can do something with that little toy dragon of yours."

Aideen’s eyebrows lowered, a spark flickering in her narrowed eyes. Of all the hindrances they could have met while executing their plan, it had to be the queen. How could this have happened, and what was her role in all this?

As if reading her mind, Fleur finally let her amusement prevail. With a loud laugh that shook the air around them, she started walking towards the princess, her deep emerald eyes drilling into her.

"It must have been Yanad. He told you everything, I see. But where is he now? Still hiding like he always did. Pathetic fool." The queen paused, her eyes scanning her surroundings before she continued, "I’m surprised your husband let you come here on your own. I guess he has tremendous trust in you now."

"Why are you here? Where is the king?" Aideen was beginning to lose her patience. The queen laughed again, clearly mocking her in an attempt to stall for time.

"The king was never the target of this ritual, my girl. It has always been me."

"What..? But why?"

"Well, since it is you who came here, it means you know everything about the Lunar Eclipse Ritual. And you know about the vessel, too. Am I right?"

Aideen nodded, though she still found it hard to understand what the queen had to do with it.

"The vessel... is me." Fleur’s voice turned cold and sharp, her eyes glowing with sudden malice.

"How can it be you? Can a human serve as a vessel for such powers?"

"A human can’t... but a supreme witch can."

Suddenly, it all began to make sense. Her evil, cruel nature; her flawless ability to manipulate others and instill fear in them; her constant competitiveness and greed... And most importantly, her inability to tolerate those stronger than her. Like consort Yuliana.

"So it was a lie that you hired a dark witch to get my mother killed... It was all you. You manipulated that knight. And when the time came... You killed my mother with your own two hands."

The queen started walking towards Aideen again, her steps slow but heavy.

"She had to die. She was standing in my way. She was supposed to give birth to the rightful descendant of both a powerful mage and snow dragon; I could not allow that. You should have died as well. That night, in the forest, if it were not for the stupid mad dog, none of this would be happening right now."

’Taru, get behind my back,’ the princess instructed the dragon mentally, and the creature obeyed right away. Aideen remained motionless as she watched the queen approach her.

"So that was your true plan all along? To gain such power and obliterate your opponents, turning Geraldion into an empire of mindless slaves that obey you no matter what? You want to kill the king, you want to destroy the Emperor of Anathaen too... Valon was the real marionette after all. He was the one who helped you get this power."

"It’s no use mulling this over, Aideen. I had to hide my true nature for so many years, impersonating others to get to the position of a queen. I had to watch my sisterhood die year after year because the arrogant mages and obnoxious alchemists decided they were the ones possessing "real" powers. But they were all fools. Imagine what the whole world will think when a witch becomes the first Empress of Geraldion and Anathaen, uniting the two biggest countries under her reign."

Pausing mere inches away from Lady Valentine, Fleur curled her lips into a smirk again and added, "And what will they think when a witch kills the last living dragon with her own two hands?"

"They will think of you as a greedy tyrant. A monster who feeds on fear and greed. You cannot call yourself a supreme witch; you are a disgrace to their sisterhood."

Aideen met the queen’s sharp gaze with a look of determination. The woman before her was mad; blinded by foolish ambition and a desire to prove a point that meant nothing at all.

Fleur released another cold scoff, "Don’t be stupid, Aideen. No one will dare to question the choices made by a supreme witch. And with this power that I possess now, they will be glad to be my subjects. I will bring back the glory of witchcraft and if it means I have to make some sacrifices, then so be it. My Empire will stand strong for many years because it will be united by fear. Everything will be in control. Everything will finally be perfect."

"No, you are the one who is being stupid and delusional. Never throughout the history of the continent has a tyrant managed to reign flawlessly for many years. Regardless of the powers you claim to possess, there will always be someone stronger than you. Their strength will be that of people who trust them."

Upon hearing the princess’ brave words, Fleur burst into a wild fit of laughter. This time, it shook the ground like an earthquake.

"You stupid little girl. What do you know about power? What do you know about trust? Just because you’ve managed to awaken the dragon does not mean you are now stronger than I am."

"Perhaps I am. Who are you to decide that?"

"Fine," the queen looked down on Aideen, her glaring eyes flickering with the urge to crush her. "Let’s see if you can stop me then. I challenge you to prove that I have no right to sit on the throne."