Every Arc Ends with My Death

Chapter 69: Sacrifice

Our plans were tailored with the emperor alive in mind. After all, the purpose of this operation was to delay his death while the princess marches to the capital with an army to subdue her brother.

Supposedly, that is.

Now, His Majesty is nothing but a corpse.

Which means that everything we had planned up to this point would be utterly void and useless.

Unfortunately, our faction didn't have much time to prepare for a countermeasure. This situation was truly unforeseen, so I lost my composure.

That's why the first thing I did was to return to the grand duke's chambers, as he's my only ally here.

And I instantly regretted that decision.

When I barged into his quarters unannounced, Alistair had a guest, and it wasn't just anyone.

A man with a robust stature, seated across the grand duke with his arms folded. His red eyes were gleaming in enjoyment, like a predator watching his helpless prey in front of him.

It was none other than the crown prince.

More than that, there were three imperial guards inside, all of them pointing their swords at Grand Duke Averill who stayed still on his spot, unfazed.

As soon as I entered the room, all of them turned their heads to me. I lowered my face out of reflex, hoping that the despot prince didn't recognize me.

A lamb who walked into the lion's den.

That's what I was.

"A lowly maid dares to interrupt my teatime with a dear friend?" Prince Dion told me, domineering.

Teatime? Your dear friend is surrounded by guards with several blades on his neck. This ain't teatime.

I cleared my throat and spoke in a shrill tone, intentionally changing my voice. "My deepest apologies, Y-Your Highness! I didn't mean to..."

"No matter," The crown prince nonchalantly waved his hand. "What do you have there?"

He was eyeing the tray on my hands.

I flinched. "It's the lunch prepared for His Grace."

"Food? I see," His face brightened. "Of course, my friend must be famished. Bring it here, woman."

Shit. As much as possible, I didn't want to move any closer in fear that he might recognize me.

I was just about to take a step forward when Grand Duke Averill broke his silence tensely.

"Stop messing around, Dion." Alistair muttered grimly. "You never mix food and blood. That's disrespectful to the ones who serve our meals."

Prince Dion chuckled. "You and your odd ideals,"

"I have no appetite." He insisted, eyeing me. "Get out. Also, tell the servants not to disturb us here."

My heart clenched. I knew exactly what he was trying to do. Alistair was doing his best to send me away while Prince Dion has yet to see my face.

I hesitantly followed his order. However, after taking only a few steps, the crown prince spoke in an icy tone... enough to send shivers to my spine.

"I told you to serve the food, didn't I?" Prince Dion remarked coldly. "Between a prince and a grand duke, who are you supposed to be following?"

With that, I was left with no choice but to comply.

I kept my head lowered as I served the meal on the table. Alistair, on the other hand, looked visibly upset from his seat. Even so, he didn't move an inch, not even throwing me a glance.