A Most Dangerous Weapon

Chapter 72: A Proper Scolding

Maximus was dead.

He was finally gone for good.

My revenge was complete.

The Emperor of Romallia was dead.

This continuous thought kept running through my mind as I remained pinned to the pillar in agony, waiting for someone to either come to my rescue or finish me off. I tried removing the sword myself with my mobile hand, but I was just too weak after losing so much blood and exerting all my energy in the fight. So all I could do was lean my head back to rest as comfortably as possible.

I had no idea how long I was stuck there before the double doors behind me were thrown open. Slow footsteps meandered around the room to inspect the bodies of the Lieutenants, and then he moved towards Maximus for confirmation of his death. Once he was finally in my line of sight, I actually found myself snorting in amusement and disbelief.

Corvin.

"Hello, Candra. Nice to see you again, though I wish it were under better circumstances."

"Cut the fake niceties. What do you want?"

He casually nudges Maximus' head with his foot to turn his cold face towards him. "Seems like you've already given me what I want. Gaius will be pleased..."

"He's dead too. In fact, we got to him first."

Corvin body freezes. His eyes shoot back up to mine as he slightly frowns, skeptical of my words. "Really?" Despite such heavy news, his simple question comes out calmly.

"Yes."

"The Emperor of Galacia is dead?" He reiterates for proper confirmation.

"The man is dead and we have his crown. And now the Romallian Emperor has joined his brother in the afterlife."

Corvin crosses his arms over his chest as he coolly ponders this development. "Interesting..."

He says nothing for a while. I begin to grow impatient. "So are you going to kill me, or what? If not, then help me out of here so I can stop this war. The people are still fighting, ignorant to the deaths of-"

"Let them fight on." He interrupts with a wave of his perfectly clean hand. "We have a few things to figure out before this can end."

It was then that I fully took in how unmarked he was from the tragedies of war. He must have been hiding somewhere in the palace. He was never much of a fighter. As I discovered in Antigo, his skills were better meant for spy work. I wondered how long he had been back in Galacia, and what he had told Gaius about my involvement with the royal bastards.

The doors swing open once again as two sets of echoing steps enter, one faster than the other. I hear his voice before I see him.

"Candra! Are you alright?!" Kilgorian skids to a stop beside Corvin, too preoccupied with my well-being to be threatened by the presence of a Galacian. Once his eyes take in the sword piercing through my flesh, he lets out a worried cry. "HANNIBAL'S MERCY! Did Maximus do that to you?!"

"Yeah, but I did that to him..." I attempt to nod at the dead body by my feet. "So I guess we're even?"

Kilgorian places a delicate hand on the hilt of the sword. "Don't worry. I'll get you out of this."

The High Commander appears in my line of vision, pulling his son away from me in an authoritative manner. "You'll do no such thing."

"But father, she needs a physician immediately!" He pleads, sounding more like a helpless child than I thought possible. His father's presence really brought it out in him.