belong to my family! After my death they will go to you. My son died of smallpox, so the crown will go to you. But we must not obey Beelzuvik! Gartaur sold our lands to Suthering. Do I really have to endure this in silence?
– Do you think we can resist the entire empire?
«Now yes,» Rigerd grinned, revealing his shoulder, on which a tattoo in the form of a black crown appeared.
«This can’t be,» Leivead whispered. – Uncle, why did you do this?
– Yes, I am the Dark Lord. Now I have no less right to the throne of Beelzuvik than their «blessed» emperor!
One of the many curtains fell and Nisa ran out. She clutched a dagger in her hand.
– Father is right! But I didn’t believe him! Die, spawn of darkness!
She plunged the blade into the Duke’s chest. But he laughed, taking out the bloody steel. Before the eyes of the surprised Leivead, the wound healed.
– A mere mortal cannot defeat the Dark Lord!
He clenched his fist, and some invisible thread began to strangle Nisa. She held her throat, choking.
– Let her go! Uncle, can you hear me? Let her go!
Rigerd looked at his nephew with eyes mad with hatred. And then his gaze softened.
– You are right! I didn’t think you were so savvy! Gartaur will not attack Eldoras while his daughter is in my captivity! Willie!
The dead guard entered.
– Take her to prison. Make sure our guest doesn’t get bored.
– Uncle, please don’t do this! You know how I feel about Nysa!
«I also know how she treats you and our family.» She’s already married to someone else! Do you hear, Leivead? Gartaur sold Morelia, and the price was your beloved.
– What are you saying! How dare you say these words?
«It’s true,» Nisa whispered. «I went to Eldoras to prove to my father that he was wrong. He called your lands black, he promised to cleanse them. I was hoping to bring him proof of your innocence. But it turns out the emperor is right. Morelia and Eldoras are now ruled by evil spirits!
– Uncle, let her go, please! Do you hear, she came to protect us!
– And she almost killed me. Protector! In the best traditions of Velzuvik!
Nisa was taken away. She was silent as she walked to her new shelter.
– What happened to you, Rigerd the Wise? Where has your intelligence gone, for which you were famous throughout the United Kingdom? What’s wrong with you, answer me?
– Wisdom is not a vice to boast about in crazy times. The audience is over! – Rigerd turned his back to the Viscount. «I have too much to do to listen to your nonsense about this corrupt bitch!»
– You… – Leyvead almost said the offensive word that was on the tip of his tongue. But Ermekar entered the room. After meeting the ghost in the Ennian Forest, he changed a lot. He was detached. Most often he lay silently, looking at the ceiling. I even forgot about food. If it weren’t for his comrades who forcibly poured food into him, he would probably have died of hunger. He looked at the Duke in silence for several seconds. And then he turned into a black ghost in a hood. The same one that attacked Leyvead’s detachment in Odebrun. Rigerd looked into his eyes and recoiled in horror.
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