Chapter 454
Tangled By Fate
âDo you think the Mistress of the Magic Tower needs a summer house? We have all kinds of summer, autumn, winter and spring rooms in the tower. Who do you take me for? A beggar?â
Veronica furiously shouted at him. Her sharp voice pierced through Duke De la Poleâs ears and shook his heart.
For the first time, he felt nervous around her. He nervously licked his lips.
âMistress Silverstar, please calm down...â
Veronica sneered. âCalm down?! How do you want me to calm down after you dared to insult me? You dare to look down on someone as powerful as me. Itâs no wonder why your daughter acts this way.
âIt must have been you who taught her to act like that. Duke De la Pole, you have to be punished for what you have done.
âYou have chosen the worst person to upset today. I wonât be lenient to you. You think your wealth, your property and your power are abundant. But Iâll make you change your mind in a week.
.....
âYou will find out what happens when you insult the Mistress of the Magic Tower. When you do, donât come here to beg.â
After that, Veronica didnât want to see him anymore. She signaled Sebastian to take him away.
Along with Sebastian, a group of guards came. They were all wearing black clothes and their faces were covered with the same color of cloth.
When arms guards surrounded Duke De la Pole, he cautiously looked at them.
âDamn it! This is not how it should have ended. I have to make a peace treaty. We arenât prepared to fight against the Magic Tower yet.â
He didnât notice that droplets of sweat formed on his forehead.
He stole a glance at Veronica but her back was facing him. He couldnât see her expression. He clenched his fists.
âMaybe she is just acting. She just got married and knows some things about wealth. That doesnât make her powerful.â
He said, âMistress Silverstar, I came here with my goodwill but you werenât kindhearted enough to accept my sincerity. I can only back away.
âIn any case, the Mistress of the Magic Tower is too immature to deal with. You donât have to pretend to scare me. Iâm old enough to understand your inability to do certain things.â
Veronica stayed silent. She didnât show her expression.
This time, she wasnât acting. She was truly angry
âHow can people look down on others simply because of wealth and power? They are all just temporary. You cannot take them with you after your death.â
âThey can leave you anytime they want. They arenât even menâs true friends. So why are people so obsessed with those things and push away the most important thing on earth?â
She asked herself but she couldnât find an answer.
Some people are just too foolish to understand whatâs more important than earthly temptation.
âYou think Iâm unable to do certain things,â she muttered. âYou have no idea what my position is capable of.â
Duke De la Pole didnât hear her words. He stood up and said, âIâll be leaving, Mistress Silverstar. I hope we can meet again in different circumstances.â
When he addressed her as âMistress Silverstarâ, there was a hint of mock in his tone.
Sebastian glared at him. Since Veronica didnât order him, he couldnât attack Duke De la Pole.
Veronica smirked. âDifferent circumstances? Indeed, we will. That will be very soon.â
âWhat nonsense is she spouting? Does she think she can lay a hand on me? Ridiculous!â Duke De la Pole scoffed.
After he left with his servants and gifts, Veronica stared out of the window for a long time.
No one knew what she was thinking.
Sebastian saw off Duke De la Pole to the gate and then came back.
The group of people who were with him previously was gone by now. They were just illusions made by Oviorâs magic.
âMistress, Iâm sorry I couldnât punish him,â Sebastian apologized.
Veronica said, âYou donât have to apologize, Sebastian. You have done nothing wrong. Prepare for an assignment. You and your friends have to do something for me.â
Her emerald eyes glinted. Since her back was facing him, Sebastian didnât notice it.
âIâll do anything for you, Mistress. You only have to order,â he replied.
âI will.â Veronica smiled. âBeing a mistress is fun. All I have to do is order and people will work for me. Is this the taste of power? No wonder people crave it.â
Then, she turned around and told Sebastian, âTell your friends to get ready. Iâll make Duke De la Pole regret what he did today.â
âââ-
The next day, at a ball of a nobleâs family, Duke De la Pole was surrounded by people.
âIâve heard about you going to the Magic Tower. What did Mistress Silverstar tell you? Did she punish you harshly?â
âHow did she talk? Is she good enough to talk about any diplomatic issue?â
âDid you get punished harshly, Duke De la Pole? What about your family members? Are they all right?â
âIâve heard that she was a cruel woman just like her husband. Itâs good to see you in one piece, Duke De la Poleâ
Duke De la Pole heard them and laughed heartily.
âThank you for caring for me so much. But you, my friends, are worrying way too much. She isnât even worthy of my time. What Mistress of the Magic Tower?
âThis is utter nonsense. How can a mere woman do something to me? She acts all high and mighty but she is nothing really.
âI tried to appease her anger with gifts from the east but she rejected them as if they were nothing. She only knows how to act spoiled.
âShe has nothing in her brain. I can only guess that the Master of the Magic Tower only wanted a puppet to please his eyes.
âHe wasnât actually looking for a partner who could become a proper Mistress of the Magic Tower. I suppose warming his bed is also an important role. Haha!â
Other noblemen laughed along with him. At the same time, they were also relieved.
Duke De la Pole played an important role in the kingdom. He had lots of power and influence across the capital city.
As a result, many nobles supported him. He was a pillar to most of the nobles in the kingdom.
If something were to happen to him, it would affect them all.
The worst part would be that if Duke De la Pole became an enemy with the Magic Tower, they would be too.
What feared them was not the Magic Tower but Arthur.
He always got away with anything no matter how cruel he was to the nobles. Thatâs because he had the endless support of the King.
Since their King was the ruler, they couldnât do anything to change his mind.
As long as he supported Arthur, the noblemen could never beat him in the game.
They were relieved that the Mistress of the Magic Tower was totally a farce.
As long as they didnât have two Arthurs as their enemy, they were fine with it.
Under the influence of a little alcohol, they began to talk dirty about Veronica.
âShe is a rare beauty, isnât she?â
âI must say she has a seductive body. She must be good in bed if Arthur that playboy could stick to her for a year now. I heard he never held a woman for more than a month.â
âThe way she was showing off her body during the bouquet, I knew for sure she was there to seduce us. She just acted politely to be hard to get. As if we will fall for that.â
âWhatever it is, I want to have a taste of that woman whom the playboy became loyal to.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âMaybe he became her lapdog. Who knows?â
âHahaha!â
They all burst into laughter and talked like Veronica was some kind of street girl.
As they were making fun of her, someone hurriedly came and began to look for Duke De la Pole.
It was his secretary.
Duke De la Pole noticed him and frowned in annoyance.
âAlbert, what do you want now?â he asked. âWe are discussing something important here.â
Albert, his assistant, didnât seem to be bothered by his anger. He was sweating profusely.
He wiped his sweat with a white handkerchief and started, âD-Duke, I have something to say to you. Can we talk somewhere private?â
Duke De la Pole narrowed his eyes. He was having a good time but his assistant ruined it.
âWhat is it? Just say it here,â he ordered.
âBut Duke...â
.....
âJust say it already.â
Albert gulped and then reported, âWe heard a report from the port that the ten ships you sent last month were all destroyed in the sea storm.
âAll the goods are gone. The crews are all dead. Only one captain of one ship was alive and was able to come back to the port.
âHe shared the grave news to the locals and then died. His body was half-eaten by a shark. Iâm not sure how he was alive until he reached the port.â