Chapter Nine
_ Pride and Stubbornness..
Elion truly felt surprised although his face did not show it, so he said to provoke the child...
"I don't need the recognition of a child who still needs his parents.."
"I don't need you at all... I only want my mother.."
"Do you have the power to take her?!..."
"I will get the power for my mother's sake.."
Damian hesitated for a moment but replied with strength, stubbornness, and eyes burning with determination. Elion gave a side-smile, increased the intensity of the spark, and said:
"Then first... show me how will you get it?"
Damian was flustered, but he straightened his posture and said, trying to remain calm...
"I don't want to enter a losing fight..."
"Are you a coward?!"
"I'm not afraid of you... but I know you are stronger than me..."
"Fine, try.. if you hit me, you win.."
Damian took a deep breath and then asked steadily..
"And what will I get if I win?!"
This boy was wonderfully impressive; Elion never imagined he would actually like Damian's stubbornness.
"I will allow you to see Nyla Harvey.."
"I am ready.."
In a second, Damian's posture shifted to an offensive stance, waiting for the signal to start...
"I will allow you the first strike.."
Damian's resolve ignited, and he threw a fire strike toward Elion, who brushed it away easily. Damian grew flustered and tried a strike here and there, moving around Elion in different directions, but none reached him. In fact, Elion had not moved an inch from his spot. Damian gathered his breath; a full hour had passed and he couldn't even reach him...
"If you lose, perhaps you will never be able to see her again..."
"..??"
"She will be moved to another place... or she will die"
Blood boiled in Damian's veins, and he began to strike relentlessly, letting feelings of anger take control of him. How dare anyone snatch his mother from him... Here, Elion moved slightly and cast a strike toward Damian that hit him, sending him to the ground. Damian's hands suffered some minor scratches from his attempt to block the strike, and it seemed the blow was like a slap that made him wake up from his surge of anger. Damian stood up, calmly dusting himself off...
"I will not let anyone take my mother from me... even if it's you.."
"The weak have no rights..."
"I have the right to stay with my mother... I will become stronger to protect my mother"
"Then try to prove yourself so I may give you the position of Grand Duke... power and status..."
The rhythm of the fight changed. Damian began to calm down and try to reach Elion's blind spots, which made Elion actually move and fight with more focus, and he did not stop himself from giving some instructions during the fight..
The sun began to announce its departure while Damian was still trying with all his might, but he had not reached him yet, though he seemed more balanced..
"We can continue tomorrow..."
"Today..."
Damian did not back down and returned to the fight. When Elion finally left a gap, Damian managed to strike his cheek until it left a large scratch dripping with blood..
Elion did not feel pain; it was a fleeting strike. He didn't even notice it until he felt hot drops falling from his cheek...
As for Damian, he was in a state of shock. He had wanted to touch Elion, not wound him... He approached with genuine concern:
"Are you alright?... I didn't mean to hurt you... I only wanted to reach you.. I swear I didn't do it on purpose.."
"..."
Elion placed his thumb on his cheek and saw the blood. Despite the minor injury, the child before him was worried; he didn't feel like a foolish brat who hated him..
'Are children this sensitive?!'
Elion immersed himself in his thoughts as usual, ignoring his surroundings, and walked toward the arena without wiping the blood, with Damian following behind him anxiously...
He was worried that he had caused a problem and that the Grand Duke would be annoyed and deprive him of his mother, but he also disliked hurting people, for his father was a strong and noble man.. and leaving a scar is considered an insult to any noble... especially since wounds from a magical strike are more impactful than regular wounds, and the scars do not fade easily.
* * *
When Elion walked with Damian behind him, everyone was in a state of wonder and shock, especially with the blood that was clear either on Elion's cheek or the scratches on Damian's hands. They reached the main palace gate, and Amanda came down accompanied by Viktor in shock...
"Your Majesty?!!..."
"Young Master"
Elion paid them no mind and continued walking while Viktor signaled to summon the doctor, and he and his aunt followed behind the child and his father who moved toward the office. Once they arrived, Elion turned to Damian, who was lowering his head with a feeling of genuine regret...
"Take him to his room..."
"I... I am truly sorry.."
Elion looked at the child who was truly sad. For the first time, he wished to soothe someone's sadness, but he didn't know how... He clenched his fist tightly and turned toward his office while speaking..
"Tell Doctor Luin to see the child, and come to the office..."
Viktor bowed with a sense of confusion and went with Damian and Amanda, while Damian looked at his father's back with a complicated feeling..
Elion entered the office with a confusing and strange sensation. He sat on his office sofa and placed his hands before him in thought. The child had a sad look, but it pulsed with warmth... He felt the atmosphere was stifling; emotions.. sadness, joy, despair, and even anger, were feelings that had left him a long time ago, not by his choice, but they had departed..
Click!!!
When the door opened, Elion's focus returned and he looked at the door. It was Viktor accompanied by the doctor. Elion knew the wound wasn't that serious, but he remained silent and allowed the doctor to clean the wound and apply a regular healing ointment..
"I will apply a magical potion to remove the scar once the wound heals.."
"I won't need it.."
"But the injury is magical; it takes a long time for the scar to disappear..."
The doctor knew Elion had a strong build and a high healing speed compared to others, but still, a scar would take time to fade..
"It doesn't matter..."
The old doctor felt helpless and finished covering the wound. He had already checked on the child who was full of scratches and had let him treat him in silence and politeness; in fact, he told him that no scars should remain, so his mother wouldn't worry...
'Does the environment and atmosphere make a person different?...'
"I take my leave, Your Majesty.."
"..."
He signaled him to depart, and Viktor remained silent until the door closed and said:
"The young master's wounds are perfectly fine; they weren't deep wounds.."
"Good..."
Viktor was about to leave, but Elion remembered...
"Have the attached room prepared..."
"The attached room?! ... Ah, do you mean the nanny's room..."
"..."
"Will a private nanny be appointed for the young master?!"
Elion did not answer him; instead, he leaned back and looked at Viktor with a bored gaze and said...
"Nyla Harvey will be moved to the main palace..."
"Does His Majesty mean that Miss Nyla Harvey will be the young master's nanny?!..."
"No... but it is the room closest to his room"
Viktor finally understood the matter; Nyla Harvey would be released—rather, she would live freely in the main palace. He sighed and asked calmly:
"What treatment should she receive?!"
"As a member of De Walter..."
Viktor felt as if a massive hammer had struck his head and looked at Elion trying to comprehend, but this man was useless; he wouldn't explain anything to him...
"I follow Your Excellency's orders..."
He bowed submissively and left, and as soon as he exited, he began muttering and cursing..
As for Elion, he looked from the open balcony at the horizon, surprised by his own action. He had made a promise to the child and now he was fulfilling it... nothing more..
'Keeping this woman close to the child is the right thing to do...'
* * *
Hans issued the orders to prepare the nanny's room properly. The servants were in a state of full readiness, for the orders were clear... in a manner befitting a member of De Walter. Rumors were flying here and there, as everyone knew the previous Archduke had purged the De Walter line, and none remained of the De Walter lineage except the current Archduke and his son..
"Perhaps one of De Walter's followers"
"Who is the person who will be treated as a member of it? There are many followers..."
"Maybe the Emperor sent the nanny..."
"I think so..."
"His Majesty the Grand Duke trusts no one..."
"Yes, even Kasey was dismissed although she had nothing to do with what happened that day.."
"Be quiet! If you speak of what happened, you will die..."
The maids shut their mouths anxiously; it was strictly forbidden to mention the Archduchess's escape and what happened to her, and whoever was caught speaking of it would have their tongue cut out as the minimum punishment..
Arranging the room took two full days. During that time, Damian refrained from visiting the lake due to anxiety and had asked the maid Celine, who delivers food to Nyla, to tell his mother that he was fine, and not to tell her anything that happened..
The poor maid was obedient to the young master's orders, unlike Lina, who certainly found it an opportunity to stir Nyla's emotions. Nyla had not been at peace since she learned what happened in tedious detail: Damian clashed with his father, then both were injured, and that is why he doesn't want to go see her...
Nyla was truly worried; her kind child had a high sense of responsibility. Although Lina told her everything, what she said was incomplete, and she had to know what happened from Damian himself or someone more reliable. She was in a state of severe anxiety during those two days, wishing for someone she knew to come..
* * *
The afternoon sun was very bright for an ordinary spring day, but the man in his elegant formal clothes and blood-red eyes remained dark even in broad daylight... he did not complain of its heat..
"Your Majesty.... the regions are still suffering from severe drought; we have even tried changing the fertilizers... but to no avail.."
"The recent years, Your Excellency, have been dreadfully barren... the harvest has declined, and it will be a problem if the situation continues for more years"
"The people will suffer from hunger, nobles and commoners alike..."
He was calm while listening to the reports of the farmers' representative and other nobles.. The De Walter territory was the largest in the Carson Empire, and most of the territory was mountainous. Despite that, agricultural areas were abundant, but in the last decade and a half, everything was heading toward the abyss. The territory began suffering from a decrease in rainfall, drought, and rising temperatures, making the snow melt faster than it could be stored, with many water sources in the mountains drying up... The sources might dry completely if the heat continues to rise like this...
It wasn't just agriculture; even bandits had become more dangerous, and even monsters began moving frantically and unusually...
Elion had heard these words hundreds of times, but he continued to listen in hopes of finding a solution or a loophole to alleviate the suffering of his people. He would not leave his people to die of hunger; this was his duty as the Lord of De Walter...
"The last expedition sent to the mountains barely had some soldiers return alive. It would be a massacre if we sent anyone again..."
"Hans... I understand that"
When Viktor spoke quietly in Elion's ear, Elion signaled his understanding. He didn't want to sacrifice more of his men... He would wait for the time being, but he would find the solution...
He continued walking through the fields, both the barren and the fruitful ones, and one of the women there caught his attention. She was a poor, gaunt mother feeding two children who appeared to be in good health...
When one of the nobles saw the Archduke looking in a certain direction, he spoke with a gloomy face and sighed...
"This area has become entirely barren; the people here can barely find anything to eat... we have sent just enough to stave off their hunger"
Elion nodded in understanding, then looked at Viktor and said calmly, in a voice only Viktor could hear...
"Has Nyla Harvey been moved to the main palace?!"
"Preparation of the private room was finished today; she will be moved today..."
"Before she moves, bring her to my office today..."
"I follow your orders.."
Hans felt truly confused. Why did he need to meet Nyla Harvey? And why the transfer? ... And because he was in a state of confusion, he didn't announce anything to anyone, neither to Damian nor to Nyla herself; even his aunt, he didn't tell her anything..
"Your Majesty... I apologize for my impertinence, but what is the cause of this scar?!"
Viktor looked at the man who questioned the Archduke and respected his courage, which might cost him his life, then looked at Elion, who touched his cheek calmly and said with a face void of anything..
"I received it while training my son..."
"It seems the young master's star will shine brightly soon..."
"He wounded the Archduke... that is a very difficult feat..."
Viktor felt as if a bucket of cold water was poured over his head from the nobles' praise for the young master, amidst the silence of the Archduke who was confirming what he had done...
'Is he boasting now?!....'
Something Viktor's mind could not fathom; Elion at that moment seemed as if he were taking pride in his son's achievement, even at his own expense. Viktor felt excitement flowing through every cell of his body, and his heart screamed...
'It is a miracle'
* * *
"Nyla Harvey... the Grand Duke summons you..."
She had just finished reading her book and looked at the person who entered quietly to summon her. Viktor Hans was standing elegantly, a man of his noble rank as a Viscount and the first assistant to the Archduke... For him to come personally, the matter must be important. She stood gracefully and moved toward him...
"As you command..."
He looked at the two maids with him, one of whom was Celine, who bowed to Nyla anxiously. Hans noticed that; even the other maid had her head lowered before Nyla. The woman before him had a momentum similar to his master's momentum... Fireworks exploded in Viktor's head as he looked at Nyla. Although his face didn't change, his aura did, making Nyla look at him in confusion. Viktor cursed inwardly, for he was well aware of Nyla Harvey's personality...
'A strong woman...'
"Ah... you will be moved from this tower. If there are important items, give them to the maids..."
"Fine, thank you..."
Nyla looked at Celine with a gracious smile and said:
"This and this only... take them.."
Celine and the other maid nodded. There weren't many things: just a very few clothes that didn't fill a small bag, and an old rabbit doll..
Afterwards, she turned to Hans and said calmly:
"Let's go now..."
Viktor nodded affirmatively, left the two maids in the room, and moved quietly with Nyla Harvey behind him until they reached the main palace. Under the gaze of the servants, everyone was as usual intensely focused on Nyla's elegant manner of walking and her steps heavy with confidence and dignity. How does this girl, who is but the daughter of a low-ranking Baron—indeed, a fallen noble—act like a great noble...
* * *
He had just arrived from his periodic outing to check on the territory's conditions. He had skipped lunch and dinner as usual and settled for a cup of tea. He looked ahead and saw the clock pointing to eight-thirty. The news reported that Damian had been asleep for fifteen minutes, that no one knew the identity of the nanny, and that Nyla Harvey was to be moved to the main palace... He knew Viktor Hans's way of acting, and surprisingly, his way was always suitable for him...
Knock knock knock!!!
He had waited an additional fifteen minutes until there was a knock on the door, so he allowed entry. It was Viktor Hans, and behind him, Nyla entered quietly, bowing with a faint and elegant smile..
"Nyla Harvey... greets Your Excellency..."
"Here we meet again, Nyla Harvey"
Elion stood up and moved calmly to the front of his office and spoke with his usual flat face, but Hans sensed some slight changes despite not knowing what they were...
Nyla straightened her posture and looked with steady eyes into Elion's eyes. No fear... no retreat.. only steady eyes charged with determination and stubbornness..
"Has the time for my reward come?! ... Your Excellency"
...... To be continued ......