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Caleb sighed as he stretched and poured himself a drink before settling down “How much do you know?”“Let’s start at the beginning” Harry spoke without thinking but then corrected himself “Actually, let’s leave the recollection for later, you would have to repeat it anyway.”“Now that we have found him, everything else can wait.” Harry waved his hand and stood up, turning towards Jerome “When can are we leaving?”“Leaving??” Jerome, who still hadn’t come in terms with what he was told, that his life so far was a lie, raised his head with a confused gaze.Harry, who was full of energy paused; he too realized how tactless he had been. In their excitement, they barged in, overturned his world and then without giving him a chance to adapt, they were trying to uproot him. He took a deep breath trying to calm himself “Apologies, we weren’t tactful.”Matthew who was sitting quietly till now slowly opened his mouth as he yawned naturally “I am feeling tired. Where do I sleep tonight?”Jerome t
Matthew was right, one sleep was all it took for Jerome to fall back into his usual miserable self. In the morning, while Matthew and Harry were flexing their muscles, rehashing on their shooting skills and swinging their swords, Jerome sat back on the grass, chewing a blade of grass and asked with a grin “So, what do you old men do these days?”“We….” Harry’s lips curled up slyly, feigning a difficult expression “Just living our retirement under the care of our daughter and son-in-law.”“You have a daughter too??” Jerome asked with a hint of jealousy. He had forgotten about those mundane phases of life; he had never gotten married nor had children. He didn’t know why, but none of the beautiful women he saw nor the ones who were attracted to his wealth and delivered themselves to his door interested him.“My daughter… but he monopolises her with the authority of being her godfather… what can I do other than suffer in silence….” Matthew sighed feigning loss “All I can do is watch as the
Jack and Mira rode over to meeting point that they had discussed with Baldwin at the break of dawn hoping to sneak away without attracting any attention, however the presence of Cornelius and Aglaya in the carriage along with his elite soldiers, took away all their thoughts of sneaking away.Cornelius chuckled sheepishly as he realized the reasoning behind the resentful gaze of his wife’s wildflower akka his goddaughter-in-law. He didn’t put on airs of the sovereign and explained his rationale calmly “The last incident of plotting at banquet that was meant to announce Thomas’s wedding was a wake-up call for me.”“Although we brothers have never split up, our grievance of losing a brother was misinterpreted and amplified into such a level that even without our knowledge, the jackals were using this for propagating their agenda.” Cornelius continued as he looked into the distance, his eyes filled with regret.“Why did everyone think that you had a falling out?” Mira asked innocently. Thi
Inside the Bellevue palace, Cornelius’s eyes misted as he saw that the arrangement mirrored that of the main house of the Zumerong. Overwhelmed by the emotions brought about by the weight of his sins, he lowered his head guiltily, his lips quivered, however no words escaped his mouth. However, no one other than Aglaya noticed it.Aglaya quietly placed her hand over Cornelius’s and when he looked at her, mouthed soundlessly ‘Own up what you need to own, don’t bottle it. I am here.’Cornelius stood up and bowed deeply “My dear elders, Cornelius has been unfilial. Please forgive me.”“My dear child, what are you going on about?” Edith and Maryanne chided at the same time while Linus stood up, walked over to Cornelius and helped him straighten “Son, we have no grievance against you.”“We are not blind nor are we stupid.” Linus shook his head as he patted Cornelius’s shoulder “We cannot punish you just because your father was a senile fool, can we?”“Forgot Alex, Miriam would jump out of he
“We were happy to see that your bond only grew stronger with time and have always been proud that it didn’t get tainted with the murk of the world around you.” Edith sighed “This is also why we never questioned his decision when he decided not to retaliate and hold the fort together till you got back.”“Do you think your father could have sat steadily in that throne if not for Alex single-mindedly protecting him?” Linus’s eyes were sharp, there was the undeniable Zumerong arrogance, that was filled with righteousness indignation “With just a snap of his finger, everything around you, including your father, the Asters and Basvecs would have perished without a burial ground.”Cornelius had his head lowered, he knew, even from the beyond, his good brother was looking out for him and yet his foolish father…. He couldn’t think further.“And you didn’t disappoint.” Linus smiled although his eyes misted at his loss; None of the brothers raised their heads, their eyes were filled with resentme
“That bitch… I always thought that she had organized the whole event with her brother, just for the sake of making her son the rightful heir. But there was no proof.” Edith cursed at first but then her eyes became blurry “He was the only one worthy of his ancestor’s legacy, but he withered like a pitiful bud without ever having the chance to bloom to his full potential.”After reminiscing, Edith raised her head curiously as she couldn't remember hearing about anyone talking about this event nor did she hear about the poor boy being avenged, “But how come no one heard about it?”“Alex’s favourite one liner…” Baldwin shrugged “As long as justice is served who cares about the ballads?”“You three…..” Edgar shook his head “I can never understand your madness.” Although his words seemed disapproving there was only affection in them.“My lord, the food is ready to be served.” The butler announced, his grace directed at Linus awaiting his orders.“Good…. good….good…” Linus repeated in quick s
“Sit down you two…” Linus sighed helplessly “No one is going to crucify you. We just want to know what happened?”“Why Leander never came home even though you knew we were here?” Elias added through gritted teeth although he quickly lowered his head after being glared at by his father.“Is this also part of big brother’s plan?” Wilkin asked curiously; he was Alex’s most obedient little follower, from diapers to pants, that never changed.“Perhaps, this was the only variable in his plan that he had not anticipated.” Corenlius sighed as he sat down with a dejected expression and recounted the past, of how they finally met Jack.“How is John and Beth?” Elias asked once everyone had digested what they just heard.“Uncle and Aunt are well.” Jack responded politely; there was no fluctuation in his tone, no sign of closeness nor alienation.“I still cannot believe that John was able to hold off…” Humphrey shook his head; of all the Zumerong siblings, other than Alex, he was the one who was mo
“Uncle, if old Drew is still alive, where do you think he is most likely to stay?”“Uncle, do you know who plotted against the grand duke and duchess?”Both Cornelius and Baldwin asked in unison.Linus sighed, frustration and unreconciled anger evident in his every breath. He turned to Baldwin, as though to answer his question but the guilt in his heart made it impossible for him to hold gaze with the righteous indignation in the eyes of the man in front of him; he lowered his gaze as he spoke in a low voice “I don’t, although I do not have evidence, I have a hunch.”His guilt stemming from the fact that while he had given up, lost hope, it was an outsider who had never given up, never stopped looking.“We are all ears.” This time, it wasn’t Baldwin or Cornelius who spoke but rather Elias. He had been asking this same question for the last decade and yet he couldn’t get a single word out of his father.“Our cousin…. It is a no brainer.” Linus shrugged before he gritted his teeth “But w
‘Duk’ ‘Duk’ ‘Duk’The knock on the door came in a timely manner interrupting the staring match between Cornelius, Thomas and Orseus.“Your Grace, Carl is here.” Lazarus announced after answering the door.“Bring him in.” Jack waved his hand, gesturing Lazarus to bring him in, his lips curling in a smile as he pulled his chair to place it exactly before Jerome, hiding him behind him.Martin and Oden snickered as they saw Jack’s actions; Thomas and Orseus joined in once Oden whispered the gist behind Jack’s actions.“Your grace.” Carl greeted him with his usual amiable smile as soon as he entered but his smile soon froze on his lips as he saw the room full of heavy weights.Although he was visibly frozen for a few seconds, as the man of business of the most prestigious duchy, he quickly regained his composure and greeted every single person in the room with the same charm, making everyone forget that he had lost his composure.However, today was one day that his duke decided to test his
“Let’s head downstairs??” Baldwin hooked his eyebrows as he looked at Jack before shifting his gaze towards Cornelius.“Does it matter…” Thomas hooked his eyebrows challengingly “I mean now that we have stocked up our arsenal and are ready to battle?”Orseus had an expression of agreement; he didn’t think that there was a need for secrecy anymore. They were ready to strike.Corenlius knitted his brows unable to make up his mind one way or the other when Jack opened his mouth “Let’s head downstairs. We are not ready; we still have loose ends.”Although both Orseus and Thomas looked unconvinced, they still headed downstairs towards the study without arguing verbally. Everyone, including John and Beth, followed.“Summon Carl.” Jack instructed Harrison on his way downstairs “I have something I need to discuss with him.”Harrison nodded and went to deliver the message.Lazarus left his right-handed man outside the study to bring Carl inside when he arrived, before heading inside, to follow
Everyone waited outside the room while Leal, Cornelius, Baldwin and Caleb entered the room along with Emeralda and Jerome.“Lie down.” Esmeralda had a faint smile as she requested. It had been more than a decade since she saw their young master; even though he didn’t remember them, her inner world was peaceful. They had found each other, they were halfway…. It wouldn’t be long.She sat by his side, concentrating on the examination once she was able to quieten the noises from her inner excitement. She frowned as she realized that although he appeared to be fit from his physical appearance, the information she gathered from his examination was not so promising.Her brows knitted further as the examination continued, raising the anxiety of the men who were standing in the room observing Esmeralda. While Leal and Caleb stood still like pillars, regardless of their clenched fists and knitted brows, both Corenlius and Baldwin started pacing in the room unable to stand still.“How is it?” Th
Caleb wasn’t far off with his prediction although the healer's arrival had nothing to do with his message. The healer and a hooded man arrived at Southamberston Duchy late evening of the same day. Everyone was resting in their rooms when Harrison announced their arrival to Jack; Jack asked Harrison to clear the hall of everyone and to inform the others as he went down to the lounge area to greet his old friends. “Venerable one…” Jack greeted as he always did, without the airs of his newly found status. The healer narrowed her eyes as looked at Jack; she didn’t have her usual airy, fairy daze but this time, her gaze was sharp, like that of an eagle, before her lips slowly curled up and she knelt on one knee “Esmeralda greets the young marquess.” She had noted the Butler clearing everyone away from this area and the young commander circling with his men, she knew that there were no more prying eyes around them. The only thing she didn’t anticipate was the audience that was coming dow
Mira kept scolding and kicking the man, without showing the slightest hint of stopping or displeasure from touching his already bloodied body; the truth was, she was trembling in anger, her eyes red with rage, barely attentive to notice the state the man was in. Jack was stunned for a minute before he rushed after her and held her back in his embrace as he coaxed her, shamelessly boasting “Wife, I am fine. Look…. Do you think his three-legged skills are enough to harm me?” “Wife, calm down… let Lazarus deal with him.” Jack held her tightly in his embrace; he could feel her trembling in his embrace and his heart ached for her; although no one in the room knew, he knew why that statement triggered her so much. She had told him about her past life memories. Matthew and Harry had a helpless expression while everyone else other than Thomas and Almera had their mouths agape as they saw Mira in action. Thomas didn’t have time to admire Mira’s gallantry; he was busy soothing his wife who wa
Thomas and Orseus stepped on their toes as they leaned over their father’s shoulders and read the scroll along with them; tears rolled down Cornelius and Baldwin’s cheeks as they saw the scroll in their sworn brother’s hand and read greedily.Their tears didn’t stop even though they finished reading the letter. The guilt of not being there when their sworn brother needed them the most was eating into their soul; they listlessly handed the scroll to Jack and Mira.“So now we have to find Esmeralda to cure Uncle Jerome.” Orseus pursed his lips. He called out to Jerome as Uncle Jerome smoothly, he had no difficulty as he grew up hearing these two names, Alex and Jerome; to him, they were family, more closer to him than Uncle Alaistair and his sons.“If we have guessed correctly, we don’t have to go anywhere searching for her.” Cornelius shook his head and added with an air of mystery “She is much closer than we think.”“Are you saying that the healer that we go to is, this Esmeralda that
“If only we knew….” Harry sighed regretfully “Then we could have followed that man’s trail and found Alex sooner.”“You think too beautifully... Alex would never lead a trail if this was his contingency plan.” Baldwin sneered before his expression turned serious “But we may have stumbled upon some unexpected luck in finding Alex.”“Did granduncle Zumerong shed some light?” Orseus asked, leaning forward eagerly.“Heh!” Corenlius scoffed “They were kept in even greater darkness than us.”“Then are you talking about the man who lives at Mer waters?” Thomas asked hesitantly; he really didn’t know why his father and godfather were so confident, just because he trained with Jack?“Son, you don’t know.” Cornelius shook his head “Leal can never be separated from Alex; wherever Alex is, he will follow, whether it is in life or death.”“There has never been a more loyal shadow.” Baldwin too sighed regretfully.“Then what are we waiting for?” Almera looked around curiously; Mira leaned forward an
Jack and Mira, along with the rest of their group, dragged their exhausted bodies and reached Southamberston palace at the break of dawn. Without making any noise, they all went to their respective rooms without any fuss. Everyone had a room at Southamberston palace even though they each had cottages specially prepared for them; both Martin and Oden went to the rooms that were prepared for them instead of their cottage.Early morning was unusually noisy with many unfamiliar faces around the breakfast table and yet it was as if no one noticed the familiarity of the unfamiliar faces at the table; the only exception was the three unfamiliar unfriendly faces as they sat through the farce as though they were watching a show and not part of it.Almera and Katherine joined them shortly after breakfast, as noisy as ever with Almera complaining that her husband didn’t love her anymore and that he was in love with his first wife, the estate responsibilities and that she always came second.First
Jack and Mira rushed back without stopping; their pace was originally fast, but it became even more rushed after they received John’s message which wasn’t much, just a short line written in a shaky hand ‘Matthew and Harry are back with three visitors’.Don’t misunderstand the shaky hand, it wasn’t fear… It was just John trying to write in his best hand. But unfortunately, it was bound to be misunderstood, due to John’s years of acting, acting timid, which was more believable for his son and nephew, more believable than his daring persona.Thomas had just entered his palace when his page rushed in and announced that he had a note from Southamberston and passed the note. It was the same note that was sent to Jack, written in the same shaky hand, 'Matthew and Harry are back with three visitors’. However, it evoked an entirely different expression from Thomas.Thomas stood up excitedly as he reached for his cloak that he had just hung up; he wrapped it around as he walked and called out to