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Chapter 67 – Plans and dreams
Those words left Anthony Cooper dumbstruck to the point that it took him almost half a minute to react. He even thought that he had misheard Duke Risme’s words, despite the existence of a little voice in the back of his mind that was telling him “You knew this day would come!”
A. Cooper: “Sorry, could you please repeat that last part? I am afraid I have misheard…”
D. Risme: “I said that my poor wife is hysterical and on the verge of having a nervous breakdown, and it is all due to the continuous pestering of your son-in-law!”
A. Cooper: “So I had not misheard…”
D. Risme: “I am afraid not.”
*Fuck, that damn bastard!* cursed Cooper, *that bastard has graduated from seducing young ladies and taking their innocence to trying to snatch someone else’s wife! This cannot go on, covering for him to avoid destroying Melinda’s happiness only made him bolder! I think my lovely daughter will have to become a widow…*
Unaware of the dark thoughts that were running through Cooper’s head, Duke Risme was starting to become nervous, after all, everyone in the capital knew how much Cooper doted on his daughter, yet he had just made him aware of his son-in-law’s misgivings…
How could Duke Risme know that Viscount Connard’s actions until that moment had touched Cooper’s bottom line on many occasions, but that trying to snatch his wife had surpassed the said bottom line and forced Cooper to take action?
Duke Risme was not sure whether Cooper would believe him and a cold sweat was starting to pearl his forehead, if his words were not trusted and Cooper decided to retaliate, he would be unable to withstand it. This desperate and reckless action was his last resort before putting a contract on the bastard’s head, but it was also a gamble, which could report him lots of benefits or destroy his position in the Klausna Kingdom.
A. Cooper: “I understand. I apologize for not having stopped him at a sooner time!”
D. Risme: “I appreciate that, but I do not need your apology, I need you to stop him for good! I am well aware that Viscount Connard’s circle of contacts is the same as the late Prince’s, which means that I will not be able to make a move against him without having a similar backing…”
A. Cooper: “… which is why you are seeking for my help, because more than half of the power backing him belongs to me and if I stop supporting him his other supporters will think about it twice before openly protecting him from your actions, is not that it?”
D. Risme: “This is embarrassing, but I have to admit that I had not thought that far ahead… When I came here tonight, I was just hoping you could stop him from approaching my wife ever again. The other option I had thought of, in case this meeting was unsuccessful, was to contact the Dushe Consortium and put a contract on his head!”
Duke Risme truly gave off the impression of being cornered, nevertheless, that only made Anthony Cooper’s expression grow darker. Duke Risme originally thought the reason for it was his idea of putting a contract on Viscount Connard’s head, but Cooper’s next words showed him how dangerous that idea had been.
A. Cooper: “Fool! Do you want your whole household to be exterminated? Don’t you ever have those kind of thoughts again!”
D. Risme: “Why? How could putting a contract on his head lead to my whole household being exterminated?
A. Cooper: “Viscount Connard’s paternal uncle, Rembrandt Connard, is second in command in the Dushe Consortium’s assassination section! That is the only reason I did not oppose my daughter’s wishes of marrying that scumbag!”
D. Risme: “I understand.”
At that moment, Duke Risme’s face had lost all color. He could have never imagined Viscount Connard could have such a big backer, had he tried to put a contract on his head, it was very probable that the outcome foretold by Anthony Cooper would have taken place.
Just thinking about it terrified him! Although he had the support of that mysterious “Council of ten”, the Dushe Consortium had been acting for a long time in the continent, and their terror had already been firmly engraved in the minds of its inhabitants.
D. Risme: “In that case, what are we going to do?”
A. Cooper: “Quietly getting rid of him, of course!”
D. Risme: “But won’t the Dushe Consortium be able to trace his death back to us?”
A. Cooper: “That would be the case if the body was found, but as long as there is no body to prove his death, it can be easily said that he walked away on my daughter with one of his numerous lovers. When I covered his previous misdeeds, the women were sent out of the city after being paid, so, as long as we spread that rumor, it will be easily bought by anyone who knows him!”
D. Risme: “I like this plan, but I did not expect you to be so eager to get rid of your son-in-law…”
In normal circumstances, he would not be so eager, but taking into account his misdeeds and behavior… Cooper smiled wryly and looked at Duke Risme, he pondered for a moment whether or not he should speak his mind, but in the end, he chose to do so.
A. Cooper: “Duke Risme, can you guess how many women I had to send away last year to cover for that bastard and how much gold I spent?”
D. Risme: “I have no idea.”
A. Cooper: “Fourteen women. The price to seal their mouth and send them away reached over thirty thousand gold coins.”
D. Risme: “WHAT?!”
*No wonder* thought Duke Risme, *No wonder he is so eager to get rid of Viscount Connard… given his wealth net thirty thousand gold coins are not a great sum of money, but they are not a small sum either. In addition, as a father, knowing what your son-in-law is doing behind your daughter’s back, and not strangling him on the spot, mister Cooper was already making a great job as a father!*
The two men polished the details of the plan to deal with Viscount Connard for two more hours and then went home with their respective families. Duke Risme had felt tempted to tell Cooper about the throne seizing plans and seek his support, but he chose to wait until the current problem was resolved before talking him into it. It was not that he mistrusted Cooper, but he preferred to play it safe and wait until he knew what Cooper’s opinion was on the current monarch and the current state of the kingdom.
*************
After playing all day with the girls and his little sisters, Merlin was too tired to go to Klausna Kingdom and inquire about the current progress in the implementation of the plans to seize the throne. He was sure that Duke Risme would extend his explanations for a long time and he wanted to catch some sleep. However, as he did not want to have any big surprises when he went to speak with him the following day, Merlin decided to pay a short visit to Mandy before going to bed.
*************
Mandy had gone early to bed that day and she had just fallen asleep when she suddenly woke up after feeling a hand on her abdomen, pressing her against the bed and another hand covering her mouth, making it impossible for her to scream. She was very scared until she heard a familiar voice talking to her.
Merlin: “Shh, do not make a sound! It is me, Merlin! I will now let go of you, so do not scream, ok?”
Mandy: “Merlin! Is it really you?”
Merlin: “Yes, it really is me!”
When Mandy sobered up and confirmed it really was Merlin, she immediately made an angry face and started to pinch his arm non-stop.
Merlin: “Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Mandy, why are you attacking me? Ouch! Ouch!”
Mandy: “Do you really have to ask? Do not worry, you said. With this communication stone, we will be able to speak often with each other even if I am away, you said. Can you explain to me for what reason I was never able to speak with you through the stone? Do you have the slightest idea of how worried I was? If you were going to act that way you shouldn’t have given the stone to me!”
Merlin: “Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Mandy, I know my wrongs. Ouch! Ouch! I am sorry, ok? I apologize for that!”
Mandy: “Ok, I will forgive you this time, but if you ever do that again I will stop talking to you! Hmph!”
Not knowing how to deal with that girl and her pubescent-like behavior, he simply tried to soothe her
Merlin: “I was wrong, ok? How can I make it up to you?”
Mandy: “I will stop being mad at you if you look at my drawings and tell me your opinion on them!”
Merlin: “Ok, show them to me.”
Having made him agree, she happily went to retrieve several scrolls from her desk and went back to the bed. She opened them one by one, and Merlin almost tore them off her hands after seeing their contents.
*I cannot believe this* thought Merlin, *these are blueprints… and this one is the blueprint of a zeppelin! No, wait it is not exactly a zeppelin… these are the blueprints of a mana-powered zeppelin! How did she get her hands on this stuff?!*
Merlin: “Mandy, please, be honest with me… where did you copy this from?”
Mandy: “I copied it from a dream!”
Merlin: “From a dream?”
Mandy: “Yes from a weird dream… In it I am much older and I am something called ‘magic engineer’. You also appear in those dreams, you are also much older and you are the King of the kingdom in which we live. I work for you in the castle, and we were preparing a war against the devils… ”
Merlin: “WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?”
Mandy: “Stupid, is not it? A war against the devils is just a joke! However, in that dream magic and alchemy were much more advanced than right now and in the gardens, there were many plants and flowers I have never heard of…”
While Mandy was ridiculing what she saw on her dreams, Merlin was trembling with excitement. Nevertheless, before having fake hopes, he chose to confirm a very important detail with her.
Merlin: “Mandy, can you tell me something? What is the name of the kingdom in your dreams?”
Mandy: “Avalon. It is called Avalon Kingdom. Why?”
An answer of just seven words, but the first word was enough to confirm Merlin’s suspicions about Mandy’s dreams. She was a reincarnated person too, but contrary to Merlin, her soul did not come from a different world, it just reincarnated in the same world several millennia in the future.
Her dreams were just the memories of her past life resurfacing… which explained why her usual demeanor was oftentimes that of an adult woman. Thinking about her situation suddenly scared Merlin, if anyone else were to learn about her dreams and the blueprints, she would definitely be in great danger!
Merlin took a decision, he could not prevent her from having those dreams, but he could prevent anyone else from learning about them. He hurriedly took all of the blueprints in the desk into his ring, to Mandy’s astonishment. Then he turned around and used a serious tone to speak with her.
Merlin: “Mandy, have you ever told anyone else about the dreams or the drawings?”
Mandy: “No, you are the only one. Why?”
Merlin: “Mandy, never ever tell anyone about it unless you want to lose your freedom and all those you care about dead!”
Mandy: “Is it really that bad?”
Merlin: “Mandy, if you ever make another of those drawings hide it! I will take them away next time I come to see you.”
Mandy: “Ok.”
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