Chapter 410: The News Reach Outside
At the imperial palace of the Losaris Imperial Family, the atmosphere was tense and grim. In front of the second prince, who wore a dark expression, lay Marquess Xavier, seemingly on the verge of death. He remained unconscious, his condition worsening as his cultivation continued to drop. Once powerful, his cultivation had already fallen to the duke stage and was still deteriorating.
His guardian knight knelt before Wilmar, delivering a report on the failed negotiation. The news cast a heavy silence over the room, turning the expressions of the second prince and everyone present grim.
"We were too careless. I thought that by giving him a high-grade artifact, he would come to us out of a sense of superiority and courtesy, acknowledging our sincerity. But he is more decisive and principled than I expected," Grand Duke Donovan said.
He then looked at Wilmar and bowed slightly. "My apologies, Your Majesty. I overlooked something, which led to us losing an artifact and crippling one of our people. I deserve to receive harsh punishment."
Wilmar’s eyes remained cold as he observed Marquess Xavier’s condition before turning his gaze to Grand Duke Donovan. He was furious at Aldrian and how their seemingly perfect plan had failed. And to make matters worse, he had lost a high-grade divine artifact!
Although that artifact was more for display, as no one in his family could fully unleash the true potential of the guqin, it was still a high-grade divine artifact! His heart ached at the thought of that bastard simply snatching it away without giving anything in return.
He wanted nothing more than to strangle Aldrian for his arrogance and Grand Duke Donovan for suggesting such a plan, but he forced himself to calm down. After reconsidering, he realized that Donovan couldn’t be entirely blamed. He had agreed to the plan himself, believing it to be flawless—surely, Aldrian would take the bait.
After all, who wouldn’t want further compensation after receiving a high-grade divine artifact? He had been certain that Aldrian would come to the capital.
However, he had never expected Aldrian to be so decisive and ruthless. Not only had he snatched the artifact without hesitation, but he had also crippled the envoy he had sent. Marquess Xavier hadn’t even gotten the chance to mention the traitor to lure Aldrian to the capital! Aldrian had shown him no respect, despite his supposed gesture of "goodwill."
He sighed, trying to calm himself once again.
"You are not entirely to blame for this, Grand Duke Donovan. I also thought your plan was flawless, but we underestimated that young man’s principles and decisiveness. We overlooked them—and paid a heavy price for it," he said.