Ambition and Destiny

👑 Chapter Fourteen 👑

《I felt lost and uncertain. Is this the end for him? Numerous unanswered questions swirled in my mind.》

Lionel's presence went unnoticed by her due to her overwhelming thoughts. He said in a short sentence full of commitment:
"Miss, I have ordered you to be escorted to your quarters."

《I didn't follow him because I gave it up, but because I had no other option. I was considering ways to escape the situation until we reached our destination.

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                   Deep within a spooky, abandoned underground building that was secretly used as auction house, Grand Duke Philip of Lancaster, a figure of immense power and authority, like a regal monarch on his ornate throne, was sitting facing the priest in the VIP room. His thick eyebrows, which framed his piercing golden eyes, gave him a sharper appearance. His eyes emitted an enchanting glow, like amber radiance, possessing a subtle interplay of colours, shifting between shades of orange and yellow, which bore an eerie resemblance to the fierce and lofty looks of majestic wolves, further accentuating his mystical presence.

The Duke's eyes narrowed to slits, and his voice was like ice as he spoke. "You have failed me, priest. You were given a simple task, and you could not even accomplish bringing a girl."

The priest was barely answering, as the Duke's voice broke the silence

"YYY Your Grace, I did my best to complete the task you set for me. I faced many challenges, but I never gave up. I believe that I did everything I could, and I am not to blame for my failure."

The Duke laughed humourlessly and relaxed his sharp expressions, "It seems that I have wronged you"

The priest felt at ease as the Duke's language softened, to the extent he started blabbing about how much he was oppressed by the high priest and other temple members.

The Duke smiled, but it was not a pleasant smile. It was a smile that promised pain and suffering. "I am going to enjoy making you pay for your failure," he said." While I asked you to bring the girl secretly to me...what did you do?....you made the king himself get involved."


The priest rose from his seat and quickly dropped to his knees, his body trembling with a mixture of fear and disgust, as he fervently sought forgiveness. The man, filled with greed, had to set aside his pride and endure the bitter sensation that enveloped his heart, all to attain the esteemed position of High Priest, with the assistance of the influential Grand Duke Lancaster.

The Grand Duke, with his astute perception, recognized that the priest's actions stemmed from a deep-rooted apprehension of the consequences the Duke could inflict upon him. While he undoubtedly possessed the power to extinguish the priest's life, he deliberately refrained from resorting to such drastic measures. Instead, he derived a peculiar pleasure from artfully toying with the priest.

The Grand Duke's lips curled into a sly grin and spoke, "OK then, stand up!"

The priest was taken aback and quickly stood up on his feet. He was in a mess, untidy and dusty garments, and his gaze was fixed on the ground out of the fair.

The Grand Duke placed his hand on the priest's shoulder, which made the other startle. The Duke spoke with a manipulative voice, "Easy! I won't bite you "He grabbed the priest's skullcap and spoke while dusting it off," I have heard that you are supposed to go to the orphanage to give them some nice speeches, aren't you"

The priest answered nervously: "Yes, your Grace!"

The Duke gently placed the skullcap on the priest's head, his lips curling into a smile that seemed to suggest he was attempting to alleviate the prevailing tension in the room. However, deep down, he viewed the priest as nothing more than a mere pawn in his elaborate game of chess.

"I'm sure the poor orphans appreciate your visit, but not with this look No one likes the dirt including me, You must clean it, or you want to have to come in and clean it up."

The priest responded with his body trembling: "There is no need your grace to waste your precious time over meaningless matter...I will handle the issue"

The duke answered: "I like it when you understand very quickly...then let me know as soon as possible because the thing I hate rather than dirt is failure...now have a good day".

The priest found himself overcome with fear and shock, collapsing onto the floor, when he heard the Duke's indirect threat before he departed the premises. Faced with this daunting situation, the priest felt an urgent need to locate the knight who had mysteriously vanished without leaving any trace behind and take measures to get rid of the knight.


But the priest didn't know that Felix had preceded him, and had managed to get to the knight first. However, Felix arrested him within the confines of a desolate tower, once notorious for its role as a site of torture during the war.

Felix took advantage of the rumours circulating around the place that the spirits of the people who were tortured were still trapped and seeking revenge on those who entered.

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Two maids walked into Henrik's study to tidy up the room. One moved towards the window, she carefully unlocked and swung it open, allowing a gentle breeze to flow inside, filling the space with refreshing and invigorating air.

The other started by dusting the desk, arranging the writing utensils and returning them to the drawer, then she bumped into the envelope that Henrik had hidden.

The maid started questioning herself: "The smell I smelled wasn't the smell of sweat, it was like the smell of a corpse......Mr. Henrik doesn't usually put letters in the drawer, even if they are important. There is no doubt that he is hiding something."


The other answered:" I agree with you that the smell is awful as you described, but who knows, maybe the envelope is put by one of the maids who has a crush on him; however, look at the envelope; it does not look fancy...we can know who is she through her handwriting."

They abandoned their work and embarked on satisfying their curiosity, but they were interrupted when Sebastian entered the room to investigate the unusual silence that had caught his attention.

As the butler entered the room, he took out his watch from his jacket pocket. To his surprise, he found that the two maids had the envelope in their possession. However, they seemed completely engrossed in its contents and oblivious to his presence, so he cleared his throat lightly to capture their attention.

In the moments that followed his sudden appearance, their limbs stiffened, rendering them incapable of concealing the envelope.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes, knotted his thick eyebrows, with his low voice like the calm before the storm; and said, "Do one of you dare to explain what I'm seeing now?! "

One of them opened her mouth and spoke nervously: "We were cleaning until we found this- handing him the envelope-...Lord Henrik does not put his letters in his drawer with writing tools...."
The second added

"Based on the humble condition of it, we concluded that one of the maids placed a love letter for him because the lord is very popular in the palace...That will put the Lord in a hard situation"

Sebastian answered: Since when do you have the privilege to decide what is good and bad to the Lord?

He added as the maids lowered their heads in shame: "You are here to serve him, not to judge him. I will let this slip, but if I ever catch you snooping in his private affairs again, you will be severely punished."

After giving the maids a stern talking-to, Sebastian allowed them to leave the room without punishment, on the condition that they keep their observations to themselves. Sebastian was most concerned with protecting Henrik's reputation, which could be damaged by the careless gossip of uninformed maids or a maid who did not know her limits.

To protect Henrik's reputation, Sebastian decided not to tell him about the incident. Instead, he tried to identify the culprit by their handwriting. He carefully opened the envelope and took out a letter that was slightly creased. The handwriting was slightly shaky and trembling. Some words were slightly obscured by tears that had smudged the ink.

Sebastian expected to read a stupid confession full of naïve feelings. However, as soon as he started reading, his eyes widened in shock. He was caught off guard by the repeated mention of Annie's name in every line. The last word was "Your loving father, Edward."

Sebastian said disbelievingly what he read: "I'm stunned! The letter is from Edward, Annie's father. He confessed that he was not her biological father. I shall take this to the king, who is the only one who can decide what to do with it."