Imperial Affairs (Levi X Reader) AU

8. The Challenge

Levi's POV

I'm standing outside the brat's office on the right side of the door with the other gloomy brat on the left. I glance sideways at her, she's staring straight ahead, not even budging. She sure got some training. How can she stand here like this while I'm getting bored? I lean and rest my back on the wall, thinking.

The brat has left me confused. The offer he gave me is something that I should at least consider. It's true that there is no guarantee that the Empress will keep her word or that blackmailing her would result in success. There is no point in trusting the most corrupt person in the Empire but it is also dangerous backstabbing her. I don't know if anyone else has done this before and if they have, I don't know how it ended. Also, there's something fishy about the prince. I can't put my finger on it but I'd rather not trust him just yet. But, it's not like I'll have another chance to let the prince handle this. Even if I could choose the Empress, the prince has way too many guards for me to be able to handle. They may be lacking in strength compared to me but their numbers are high. Also, this gloomy brat looks strong and the prince is said to be the strongest swordsman in the Empire. So many people have failed and the Empress is struggling to take him out. I get only one shot at this or I don't know what they'll do to Isabel and Furlan if I fail.

What should I do?

Thinking that, I realised something. The prince's personal army is said to be the second most powerful in the Empire, right after the Imperial army. The prince must think that I'm powerful, enough to see me as a threat if I'm an enemy and valuable if I join him.

Meaning that I can actually handle the task of ending his life. 

I should just stick to the original plan and not change it on my own. Furlan is the one who is good at planning, he chose this so I should just do what I set out to do.

Kill the prince.

The prince seemed too good to be true, something was going on here. I may not know much about nobility but I do know that he can't be trusted easily.

I continued my thinking until a voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Levi, was it?" The gloomy brat glared at me.

"Oh, so you can talk," I scoffed.

"I should be saying that to you," Her voice got grim.

"What do you want?"

"May I challenge you to a duel?" She asked formally, and I noticed something about her. Her posture, her presence, her voice, her confidence, her etiquette and her manner of talking to people she just met, reminded me of the prince. I may not have talked to many people since I got here, only Marco and Kirstein, but I could tell that she was different. She was either a noble or from a commoner rich family. But, why would someone like that work for the prince? Being an Imperial Guard was an admirable job for many but, looking at her, I could guess that she would qualify to work for the Emperor, why the prince?

"Didn't His Highness give the other guards a long-ass lecture for what they did? Do you like breaking rules?" I kept up the honorifics, I had to keep them up until I killed him. I have to suck up to him until then.

"I'm surprised that you're keeping up the honorifics since you work for the Empress," she stated matter of factly, no surprise in her voice, "I got permission to ask you for a duel and you choose if you accept or decline."

I thought about it for a minute and then, an idea popped into my mind. I should accept. If I win the duel, I can show the prince how big of an asset I really am and then, I can decline the offer for him to offer me more, like find my missing mother. If I lose, I will know that I cannot kill the prince and accept his offer. This brat may not have realised it but she made things much easier for me.