Draconis mansion...
"What can I help you with, Miss Delta?" Duke Rizwell looked at the figure of Maris sitting across from him. She had requested an emergency meeting, and the urgency she had expressed had put the duke in a difficult position today; he had been preparing his men for the attack on the cult that was about to commence in a few hours.
Around him the table was filled with half-prepared documents and orders, clear signs that he was already too busy with work when Delta had decided to knock on his door.
Maris looked at the duke intently before saying, "The emperor has left for the operation already." Her tone was calm, as if she had not landed a bomb in the duke’s ears.
"What??" Rizwell asked with a shocked expression, "But we were told that the attack was not going to happen for the next four hours!!" he asked.
The sudden shift disrupted every preparation he had commenced and planned out.
Today he had been personally visited by the butler of the emperor and informed about the timings, which, in his opinion, were already too hurried, but he still complied according to the previous arrangements set by Delta about him assisting the emperor. He had already started preparing his elite troops.
"The flames of a war can take any course, Lord Rizwell; the only thing we can do is adapt," Maris spoke before slowly taking out a map from her storage and opening it in front of the duke.
"Forget about joining the emperor in his quest now; my lord has decided to give you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get in the good books of the emperor and elevate the power of the Draconis family to the next level."
Rizwell’s brows furrowed. "What are you suggesting, Miss Delta??" He felt there was more picture to her sweet words, and he wanted to know what he was getting into. His experience warned him that such opportunities rarely came without consequences or real risk.
"It’s simple; you need to take the strongest of your men and immediately leave for this location." Maris said, circling a few miles of radius outside the western gate of the capital city.
"There will be an imperial carriage arriving at this location in less than an hour, and mind you, that time is ticking fast," she said decisively. Every second she spoke seemed to reinforce urgency in the matter.
"The only thing you need to do is halt this carriage and arrest the individual inside," Maris spoke.
She simplified the task, but the implications were anything but simple.
Rizwell looked at her as if he couldn’t believe what she wanted to imply. "Miss Delta, that is an imperial carriage; I will be declared a traitor if I even touch it," he said. The risk was massive.
Maris shook her head. "You don’t need to worry, Lord Rizwell; the person in this carriage is the traitor of the whole empire. He was behind the kidnapping of innocents by the Clayman cult, and he is on his way to sabotage the emperor’s mission. The emperor knows about this individual, but he has no solid proof of his collusion with demonic cults."
Maris looked at Rizwell’s flabbergasted face and smiled lightly. "What you will do is provide the emperor with sufficient proof against this person and help prosecute him in the imperial court; this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to leave behind the other dukes and establish your Draconis family as the strongest noble family after the imperial family in Riverdale."
The way Maris proposed the offer, Rizwell couldn’t deny it was too irrefutable. But he still gulped with uncertainity about the plan.
Ambition pulled him forward while caution held him back.
"There is not time to overthink this. My lord has promised your family’s safety in his own missions; you won’t be put in a difficult position for your actions," Maris spoke firmly.
Her confidence suggested that the outcome had already been accounted for.
Rizwell could only nod, but a doubt bothered him. "Even if we catch the traitor and stop him from sabotaging the emperor’s mission, that won’t mean anything if we don’t have proof backing us; we still won’t have any proof against him by simply catching him on his way." Rizwell spoke with nervousness, unsure about the plan.
He had no idea who was going to travel within that carriage. His mind churned, and he assumed that maybe it was either one of the ministers using the imperial carriage; for now Maris didn’t speak the person’s name.
The uncertainty of the target made the risk feel even greater, as he could not prepare for what he did not know.
Maris simply smiled and shook her head lightly. "You don’t need to worry about that. My lord’s will and verdict are beyond your imagination.
Whenever he speaks, reality falls in place. If he has promised you something, then you just need to do your part; things will fall in place by themselves."
Rizwell looked at her with raised brows; he just couldn’t get why this lady spoke like her master was some kind of godly being, but still, who was he to question things now? He had sworn loyalty to the eternal sovereign.
At this point, doubt no longer had the strength to override obligation.
He looked up at Maris and nodded. "Fine, Lady Delta, I will do my part," Rizwell spoke and stood up to leave for the arrest of this traitor.
***
Meanwhile inside the Clayman cult’s headquarters...
Agrath (Amorphous) looked at the leaving figure of Astra, the high-born phoenix. Behind his back, Agrath turned to look at the silent figure of Mika standing in the corner of the room with an empty tray in her hands.
Both of them looked at each other and nodded before Agrath escorted Astra out of the room.
"Thank heavens, this guy is finally leaving." Grimlock’s voice rang in Agrath’s mind.
The relief was justified, as the presence of this man had introduced unpredictable risk.
Agrath nodded before opening the door behind Astra and leaving the room; the picture of a vast hall came into view, which he was familiar with now.
But what remained unfamiliar was a dozen individuals kneeling in front of him.
The sheer number of kneeling figures emphasized the authority Agrath was expected to carry.
It did not take much time for him to come back in character; he raised his hands just like he had been taught by Grimlock and spoke.
"Hail, Lord Clayman!!"
"HAIL LORD CLAYMAN!!" tens of elders of the Clayman cult shouted behind him.
Their unified response echoed through the hall, reinforcing the illusion of hierarchy and loyalty.
"You may stand," Agrath ordered these individuals, before turning to Astra, who had now stopped for a moment. Agrath raised his hand, gesturing towards the next exit while escorting Astra out.
Grimlock sighed in relief, looking at the almost flawless acting of Amorphous.
He left the room in Mika’s form and noticed the Elders taking their positions in the meeting room. He looked down at his clothes and gulped for a moment. He was being stared at by these men with vile intentions.
He hated the act, but for the sake of the mission it was necessary. Leaving the meeting room, Grimlock entered the large basement below the meeting room.
Now that the threat of an attack was not in the minds of these cultists, they had just left the huge amount of explosives and sacks filled with poisoned powder here.
Well, Grimlock and the 200 or more other spies of William were also responsible for these things not being removed from here.
William had told him that this was not enough to kill beings of such high ranks, but it was enough to disorient and stun them so that they could take action.
Grimlock changed into his orignal form and walked towards the point exactly below the meeting room. A small array patch came out of his storage, which he slapped onto one of the crates of explosives.