Chapter 378: Arch Duke Magnus Maximus

Deep within the Severian Empire, Magnus Maximus, the Arch Duke of the Severian Empire, slowly ate his meal. He was a handsome man with a sharp jaw, muscular body and deep black eyes and hair. By his side, his son and daughter ate. It was obvious to anyone who looked at the family that they took after their father, both having the same black eyes and hair.

Despite it being a meal between a father and his children, the room was eerily quiet, only the occasional touching of cutlery making a sound. The room was dark, with only the bare minimum lighting they would need. It lacked any decoration, and the meal seemed cold.

"Your Grace." The door to the dining hall opened, and a young butler respectfully bowed towards Magnus. "You have got a letter. It’s a seal I do not recognise."

There was a short silence after the butler finished speaking, none of the family stopping their meal. Despite his young age, the butler had been around for long enough to know his liege’s quirks and patiently waited for him to finish. Five minutes passed, and Magnus put down his cutlery. His children, even with food still on their plates, did the same, cutting their meal early.

"Return to your studies." His voice was deep, but beneath it lay a softness for the two. Ignoring his children’s farewell, Magnus took the letter from his butler and examined it, his dark eyes going sharp when he saw the seal. "That will be all." Magnus waved the man away and quickly grabbed his letter opener.

’Greetings, Arch Duke,

I know we have not met, but I am reaching out to you because I have a proposition. Whilst I wish to meet you personally to discuss this, I am unable to leave my Empire at this time, and it would be rude to ask you to come to me without showing some goodwill first.

I have had some basic information collected from your lands. In the next two days at midday, I hope you will meet with my representative at the largest restaurant. The Ashed Brotherhood will provide the meal and table.

Regards,

Emperor Alfred Lindonfall.’

Magnus frowned after finishing the letter. It was a lie to say he was knowledgeable about the affairs in the West. Whilst he knew about what was happening, it was the bare bones of information. Getting up, Magnus walked a few doors down and let himself in. A bald eunuch sat with tired eyes, working through a large stack of documents, not even acknowledging Magnus’s arrival.

"Petros," Magnus called out to the eunuch, making him sigh and show an annoyed face.

"What is it, your grace. I am very busy." His voice was incredibly soft but lacked any respect. Magnus didn’t react to the obvious disrespect Petros threw his way, and was used to it. He valued his skill more than anything, and if the trade-off was being disrespected in private, then it was something he was willing to pay.

"What do you know about the West?" Magnus took a seat, much to Petros’ annoyance.

He looked at Magnus like an idiot and put down the pen, knowing he wouldn’t get back to work any time soon. "Care to be more specific?"

"Alfred Lindonfall. The Blessed One."

Petros’ eyes lit up slightly as he smiled with enjoyment. Turning to the bookshelf behind him, he scanned through the large collection of books and pulled one down. "Alfred Lindonfall. Ordained as a Blessed One in the 760th year of Light. Was stripped of the title by the Church in the 769th year of Light. Has established his own branch of faith and has commands uncontestable power within his lands. From ten different sources, I have concluded that the best way to describe him is a tyrant."

Petros closed the book and put it back. "Was that good enough?" Magnus squinted and nodded.

"So, he is an enemy of the Church and by extension, us." Petros nodded, "If he were to get in touch with me, what do you think the reason would be?"

Petros leaned back and smacked his lips together. "The way Emperors think is beyond me, but if I were to guess, he wishes for an alliance. You have a daughter, and he is a Blessed One, even if the church says he’s not. He can take a second wife and say Sol allowed it."

"Is that it?" Magnus understood what Petros was saying, but he couldn’t help but feel there was more to it. If it were a simple marriage, then Alfred could have written that in the letter. But even then, why choose his family and not marry one of the Theodosius daughters? Petros could see Magnus was lost in thought and went back to his work, knowing he would vanish on his own at some point.

’It makes no sense the more I think. He wants something else.’Before, he was thinking about ignoring Alfred’s letter, but his interest had been piqued.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ash sat in an inn alongside Horace, the tall man staring at him. Horace could feel it, and after a few minutes, it bothered him. "What?" Opening his eyes, he coldly asked.

"Why is my company paying for the meal?" Horace scoffed and shook his head.

"Because if the name Underwell appears in the Empire, it will look bad. Also, you have money here. I don’t." Horace closed his eyes again and tried to rest, but feeling Ash staring at him again, he clicked his tongue.

Before he could say anything, the door opened, with Asmond and Halfdan walking in. "The Letter has been delivered."

"Perfect," Horace said happily and stood up. "Halfdan, come with me. You two. Do what you." It was a strange order to give, but Horace knew they wouldn’t do anything stupid. They had been forced to leave their mercenary company behind. It was an innocent request that was necessary, but thanks to it, Alfred had something to keep the two in check.

"I’m surprised you agreed to this mission," Halfdan said casually, breaking Horace’s line of thought.

"Why? My job requires me to do these things. And I don’t trust sending you out alone."

"I mean, your daughter has been born, and your wife is pregnant again. I know you’re not the loving type, but I expected you to take a small break." Horcae looked at Hlfdan like he was an idiot.

Scarlette is too young to begin training. The nannies can raise her. As for my wife, she is happy being alone. If she gives me a son, it will be a nice gift to return home to, however."

Seeing Horace’s small smile, Halfdan felt a shiver run down his spine. "Will you stop training the girl if a son is born?"

"Of course not. Women have skills men don’t. If she proves herself as a worthy replacement for me, then she will be the family head." Halfdan nodded once and carried on. The Underwell family did interest him, but sometimes he didn’t want to know more than he needed. All it would take was Horace thinking he knew too much to see him killed."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two days passed by quickly, and Magnus stood outside the large restaurant with his guards. Fixing his appearance, he walked in with Petros at his side. "My Lord. We have been expecting you. This way, please."

The guests all looked at him and quietly spoke amongst themselves. It was rare to see Magnus outside his manor for non-official reasons. With a sharp glare, however, they quickly turned around, trying to avoid his eyeliner. "Inside here, My Lord." Pulling aside a curtain to a private booth, Horace and Magnus locked eyes.

"Good afternoon, Your Grace. Horace Underwell. A pleasure." Magnus nodded and took a seat. To normal people, Horace’s voice sounded extremely friendly and full of respect, but it was sickening to him. He could tell it was completely fake.

Halfdan stared at Petros, confused. Seeing him like that, Horace chuckled, trying to ease the atmosphere. "Forgive him. We do not have eunuchs back home." Petros nodded and leaned closer to Magnus.

"Be careful of him." Whispering so only Magnus could hear, he peeked at Horace from the corner of his eye, "The Underwells are the Ammary Empire’s enforcers. And he is the family head." Magnus nodded and looked at Horace.

"If you would forgive me, can we cut to the chase. I am extremely busy." He already had a bad feeling about the man in front of him, and with Petros’ warning, he rushed through the ten minutes of pleasantries they would be sharing. Horace shrugged.

"That is fine. You see, the Empire is in a tight situation here. On one hand, we have a strong alliance with the reformed Silesian Empire, but on the other hand, Severia is a massive threat we can’t ignore. If we throw in the threat posed by the other empires and kingdoms, then we could find ourselves in a predicament."

"So you want an alliance with me to keep Severia out of the future crusade. Forgive me whilst I have influence in here, it’s not strong enough to ignore the Severia’s responsibilities to the Holy Seat."

"No, lord, no. You misunderstand." Horace leaned forward. His eyes narrowed as he smiled. " We know that the Maximus family isn’t exactly loyal to the Emperor." Magnus squinted dangerously, hearing that, "Instead, what His Mjesty wants to offer is the chance to have your bloodline on the throne one day."