The Web of Knightspur-Chapter 183

Priest Erasmus walked towards his room with the man following after him.

"I did not know that the First Prince would come here personally to meet me." Priest Erasmus said with a smile but his face showed his discomfort clearly.

"If I was not here, I would not have known why Priest Erasmus agreed to acknowledge me so soon. Was it just a way to minimize the damage done by the previous priests?" The man smiled as he walked toward Priest Erasmus.

They were now in the rooms and the silence filled the place. The man’s eyes moved towards the mirror that was placed in the corner. A smile bloomed on his face as he turned his gaze towards Priest Erasmus.

The man’s hand moved up as he touched the mask, "I will appreciate it if you allow me to get comfortable. At least, now I am just the man you used to know." The man removed the mask as he smiled. His smile reached his eyes as if he was enjoying the situation to the fullest. "I am still the Grand Duke of the Empire unless I come forward in front of everyone else."

Priest Erasmus’s eyes widened. He knew that man’s identity, but there were still times that he could not get over it. "I am getting used to it."

Grand Duke Christopher laughed as he walked towards the chair and took a seat, "You have to get used to calling me the First Prince. After all, that is the agreement. Anyways, I do not want to make Prince Richard be wary of me just yet. After all, we would not have been here if I had not known that not only did the Priest tell lies to everyone around, but also to the Emperor. Or should I say that you people have been lying to everyone for centuries?"

"That is not true. I really got the prophecy. We do get one from God ..."

"Once in a while?" Grand Duke Christopher completed the statement as he saw the shock on Priest Erasmus’ face. He was enjoying the look as he shook his head. Almost everyone in the Empire trusted the words of the Temple. They were the missing link between the people and God. The connecting link that would pass on the messages from one side to the other side and vice versa. But over time, the temple became more powerful. It was not uncommon though, but the power they held was huge. It grew to a point that the previous Emperor also acknowledged the power and words of the Temple.

Grand Duke Christopher crossed his legs as he leaned back. "Let’s be honest, the temple has been passing down the prophecies like it is a treat. Isn’t it? Especially when it involves the words of God to choose the next ruler? The temple usually appoints the Emperor as one that is beneficial to them. Someone who will not oppose their ways. And as for the Crown Prince, you tend to choose a family whose maternal side is beneficial to you as well. Isn’t that the truth?"

Priest Erasmus was silent. He wanted to oppose and refute the sentence. He wanted to say that it was not the whole truth, but he could not say anything. His voice was breaking and he felt ashamed. After all, everything that Grand Duke Christopher said was nothing but the cold, hard truth.

"I know that you are feeling angry with me. After all, my words are not nice to hear but they are all true. And you know it very well." Grand Duke Christopher said as his lips curled up, "It was the greediness of the previous priests that they had turned their back on the Empress and killed her and her son. Isn’t it? Why? Just because they refused to follow the temple’s viewpoint of expansion. Just because they wanted to let the other Kingdom breathe. Isn’t it the reason why you all have taken the side of the Queen and decided to make Prince Richard the Crown Prince? So who was the one standing in between? The Empress and her son?"

Grand Duke Christopher stood up from his chair and walked towards the Priest as he looked straight into his eyes as if he was ready to suck out his soul. The fear that Priest Erasmus was feeling was huge. It was something he had never felt before. Looking into Grand Duke Christopher’s eyes, he felt like he was seeing the deaths of many people in front of him. As if he was experiencing the terror that the war hero brought to the enemy.

Priest Erasmus swallowed hard as he took a step back. His white robe was drenched in sweat as he tried to maintain his expression. "I have never..."

"But your people did." Grand Duke Christopher said. His eyes narrowed as he smiled innocently. "I do not want to get into the details, but I am not happy with what I am seeing. Even if you tell me that it was the previous High Priest that had made the decision to kill off the Empress and her son, you and everyone in the temple have to pay for it too. Wasn’t it the reason why God sent down the prophecy? If the chosen Princess does not take the throne with her lover, everything will burn down. Everyone will pay the price for the sins that the temple has done."

Priest Erasmus’s eyes widened in shock. He was silent as he took a deep breath. He knew he was in a situation where he could not say anything else. Nothing that he said would make any difference. Not now anyway.

"I want the High Priest to announce in front of everyone that I am the First Prince on the day that you announce that Princess Eleanor is the chosen one." Grand Duke Christopher smiled as he took a step forward. His overbearing presence was making the High Priest uncomfortable. "I want you to provide me and Prince Richard equal opportunity to win over Princess Eleanor’s heart. I do not think the High Priest wants to repeat the same mistake of his predecessor and be partial yet again."

Priest Erasmus swallowed hard as he nodded his head. He knew that although he did not like the man in front of him. He could not avoid it. "I understand."

—---

Princess Eleanor looked down at the letter with a complicated gaze.

"Are you sure the Crown Prince instructed you to give it to me?" Princess Eleanor asked in confusion. "It doesn’t make any sense." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Commander Colt nodded his head as he agreed. "The Crown Prince had specifically ordered me to hand it over to you."

Princess Eleanor looked at the letter in her hand as she took a deep breath. "I understand. Where is the chief healer?"

"He is making the medicine for you. The Princess’s lady-in-waiting is there to collect it." Commander Colt looked up at Princess Eleanor, unsure of what was written in the letter.

Commander Colt did not want to pry, but he knew that it must not be anything good. Otherwise, Princess Eleanor would not have such an expression.

"Princess, is something bothering you?" Commander Colt asked as he blinked his eye nervously. There were times when he did not understand where the line was. As a person from Grand Duke Beaumont’s side, he was taught how to ask questions and follow orders. And as a Commander of Crown Prince Richard, he was never questioned for his decision. But now facing Princess Eleanor, Commander Colt felt as though he was all over the place.

"I had a dream..." Princess Eleanor suddenly spoke, surprising Commander Colt.

Commander Colt was silent as he listened carefully. But soon a smile played on his face. He was happy that Princess Eleanor had started trusting him. It gave him an unknown sense of pride.

"I thought I saw someone I know there. Could it be possible to see the people you like in your dreams?" Princess Eleanor’s words were soft. "Is it possible?"

Commander Colt sensed that Princess Eleanor was in a daze. He did not know what she was saying, but he felt like it was his time to answer. "It is natural to dream about the people one likes. What type of dream was it? Something personal?"

"It was a battlefield filled with a bloodbath," Princess Eleanor said as she looked at Commander Colt whose face was turning pale as if he was regretting asking such a question. "I saw someone I know in a dream. You can call it a nightmare as it haunts me a lot. A pure bloodbath of my family."

Commander Colt swallowed hard. He was hoping to hear that Princess Eleanor was in love with someone and he would go in and help her sort the feelings out. But this...? This was something unexpected.

"I do not know what to say, Princess." Commander Colt managed to say when he looked at the hopeful eyes of Princess Eleanor.

"I do not expect you to have the answers." Princess Eleanor looked at the letter as she sighed, "I want you to call Sir Kit in for me. I think it’s time for us to start working on taking the next step towards our goal."