19. The magician's help

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Anastacius had initially wanted to stay with Penelope when she first entered to see Claude. But like the last time he had seen Claude in this state, Aeternitas took it upon himself to push him to do things again.

As she had approached the bed, he heard his raspy voice once again.

'The perfect chance...Kill him.'

And the young prince DID feel some parts of him itching to grab Penelope, throw her out of the room or through the window, then strangle his own brother to death with his own hands. It really really itched him. His hand was already raising itself.

'What are you waiting for?! It's the greatest opportunity ever. Your mother already did half the work for you!'

He felt his mana starting to boil. He almost lost control, but Penelope had sat by Claude with such a hard expression. He didn't want to do anything more to disturb her.

'Then just send her out then do it you little wuss!'

Aeternitas had stopped trying to convince him to do it and instead tried to take control over his body and do it himself. Feeling the dark mana rising up his chest and clouding his vision, Anastacius had hurriedly left, unsure of his own capacity to control the dark spirit. He didn't want Penelope to see him in such a state, and he certainly didn't have any genuine desire to harm Claude.

'You IDIOT!'

He ran out of the room, leaving Felix to look at him in confusion as he left, running to the other end of the hall, only stopping when he came across Claude's mother's half-open bedroom door.

'Coward, incapable of getting your hands dirty!!'

Anastacius kept on ignoring Aeternitas as he peeked through the door. A few maids were hushing down Adriana as she struggled against them. He could hear her say her son's name a few times in such a worried and hoarse voice. He wanted to go in and talk to her, but his mother told him not to do so. And there wasn't much he could say anyway. Still, he sorta liked it whenever he was with her since she was always warm to him.

He ran to his own room instead and shut the door, crashing down against it.

'You are a disappointment.'

Anastacius had made it a habit to stop replying to Aeternitas's every comment since they were so numerous and he didn't wish to converse with him in any way. He had teleported to go get Penelope in the first place to get himself out of the Emerald Palace so that Aeternitas would shut up. But the second they got back into Claude's room, the spirit started pestering him once again.

The prince was with Felix and Claude when the latter fell unconscious. They were strolling through the garden, taking advantage of the chilly season since it's insanely hot in the summer and they liked the cool breezes passing through. At one moment Anastacius had looked back up to his mother's bedroom window, and something had bothered him. He just had a feeling.

He saw her standing at the window, with her back faced to them. And she saw her stab something small he first thought was a pillow. But strangely, at the exact same time, Claude had coughed violently and puked out blood and in a matter of seconds he had fallen down, leaving the two older boys dumbfounded and very panicked.

While Felix and a few guards got Claude back to his room, the crown prince raced up to his mother's room. He had looked back to his mother once again and he saw that she looked down at them with a satisfied smile.

"Mother what did you do?!" He immediately asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"Hmm?" She asked, looking up from her paperwork once again as if nothing worrying is happening.

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