Chapter 432: A Dent To The Arrangement
The next morning, at Bettie’s residence...
Elizabeth stood in front of the closed door leading outside, trying to convince both her father and younger brother to remain indoors for the day.
She insisted that going out wasn’t a good idea, and wanted neither of them leaving the house at all.
Ethan’s call the previous day about Beatrice and her intentions had left Bettie deeply unsettled, and ever since then, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the possibility of someone close to her becoming the next target.
Which was exactly why she was making such a fuss this morning, to ensure that neither her father nor her brother ended up becoming victims of Beatrice’s desire for revenge.
Unfortunately, her sudden insistence made very little sense from their perspective.
Her father looked at her strangely and stated, "You’re not making any sense, Elizabeth. Why exactly shouldn’t we go out today?"
She wanted to speak further with the right explanation but hesitated.
This wasn’t an easy conversation to have. After all, explaining the situation meant bringing up the incident she had been involved in, and talking about the murder.
She lowered her eyes for a brief moment before finally gathering the courage to speak. "I have it on good word that there are people who might want to hurt us because of what happened."
She didn’t need to be more detailed than this; her father already understood.
Then she raised her head again, with this look of genuine worry and confusion on her face. "But if both of you stay here today, I promise you that nothing will happen."
"Ethan even has some of his very powerful summons watching over this place right now."
Her father’s expression darkened.
"Unbelievable" He muttered, slowly shaking his head.
But Bettie continued making her plea, "We just have to stay here and remain indoors until I’m certain nothing is going to happen to either of you. Just trust me, please."
He stared at her for several seconds before speaking again. "In a country like this, did you honestly think there wouldn’t be consequences for your actions?"
"The worst part is that you’re still talking to me about Ethan Stark."
Bettie’s expression suddenly dimmed, but she said nothing as her father continued speaking.
"Why are you still maintaining contact with that family?" He gestured toward her in frustration. "How do you continue associating with them and still expect that nothing will happen to your brother and me?"
Her father hated Ethan for being the reason his daughter was dragged into all of these in the first place, so mentioning him again felt like opening up the matter anew.
"I can’t believe I’m saying this, Elizabeth, but right now... you’re a disappointment."
Bettie’s eyes widened slightly at that statement. In that moment it felt like something had pierced her heart.
Her face immediately turned red as she lowered her gaze once more.
Milo glanced toward their father but remained silent. There was almost nothing the little kid could input in this scenario.
Her father continued speaking, but at some point, his voice faded into the background for Bettie who had completely zoned out.
All she could hear were those words repeating themselves over and over again.
A disappointment.
Something inside her suddenly snapped, and then she said "You know what? I’m done."
Her father immediately stopped talking and stared at her strangely as she raised her head to look at him.
"All I’ve done for the last few days is take the blame and feel bad... it doesn’t matter how many times I’ve tried to reach out to you or explain things to you. Nothing works."
She shook her head. "I’m done...I don’t care anymore."
"Yes, Father, I’m a murderer... Yes, my spell killed that woman."
Her voice trembled, but she continued anyway. "And you know what? If I were put in that same situation again, I wouldn’t think twice about doing it."
The surprise on her father’s face only continued to grow further.
"So, yes. Be disappointed in me all you want. Look at me differently all you want. I don’t fucking care anymore."
This was the first time Bettie had ever cursed at her father.
Then she stepped aside and pulled the door open. "You want to go out? Fine. Be my guest."
She laughed bitterly. "Actually... do whatever it is you want, because I’m done being here with you too."
Then she turned, walked toward the table, picked up her purse, and went out of the same door.
Both her father and Mylo remained at the spot they were at, staring in complete shock as she walked away.
—-
Meanwhile, at the palace. More specifically, within the private study of King Carson...
Ethan and Isabella were currently seated across from the king.
And for close to an hour now, a serious discussion had been taking place here.
Most of that discussion involved Mr. and Mrs. Stark explaining everything that had happened over the past few days, including Beatrice’s actions, the involvement of the Blessed, and the conclusions they had ultimately reached.
There were, however, a few adjustments made to the version of the story they had presented to the king.
Explaining that Isabella was, in fact, the reincarnation of a goddess would’ve inevitably led to even more complicated explanations involving matters that neither Ethan nor Isabella considered necessary to reveal.
So rather than explaining Isabella’s true identity, they had presented her as one of the Mistress’s Blessed.
According to the story they had shared, Isabella’s awakening of darkness-related abilities was a direct result of that blessing. Likewise, Beatrice and the others weren’t simply targeting Isabella as an individual, but they were pursuing the Mistress and anyone connected to her.
And once they had discovered that Isabella was one of the goddess’s Blessed, she had immediately become one of their targets.
For the greater part of the conversation, King Carson’s expression was gloomy.
On more than one occasion, he had even suggested mobilizing the Imperial Guard and leading an assault against House Morgenstein himself.
Unfortunately, both Ethan and Isabella had strongly opposed the idea.
They gave reason that the members of the Blessed weren’t ordinary awakened, and their strength was beyond that most awakened persons, so throwing the Imperial Guard into a direct confrontation would only result in unnecessary casualties.
But more importantly, it wouldn’t actually solve the problem.
Beatrice wasn’t acting alone, and eliminating one location wouldn’t necessarily bring an end to the continuous cycle of attacks directed toward the princess.
After a lengthy back and forth, King Carson leaned back, and directed his attention to Isabella. "My child... are you certain this is what you want?"
Isabella nodded.
The King sighed, then turned his attention toward Ethan. "How long will she... how long will both of you be gone?"
"In the eyes of the public, Isabella will be gone for good." Ethan said, "But in reality, we’ll only be away from Gritnia for a month or two at most. After that, we’ll return."
The king was quiet for a few seconds before asking again, "And you’re not going to tell me where you’re going?"
Ethan smiled. "I’m sorry, Your Majesty, I can’t tell you that...But I can tell you this..."
He reached over and took Isabella’s hand into his own.
"Nothing is going to happen to my wife."
Ethan had no intention of revealing that their destination was the Demon Continent; which was part of the agreement he had made with his father.
King Carson’s eyes moved between both of them. The only reason he didn’t question any further on this was because he had grown to trust his son-in-law’s methods
After a moment, he finally gave a nod. "Very well."
——
Later that night, at the Morgenstein Estate...
Several builders, including a number of casters, were currently restoring the main Morgenstein mansion that had suffered extensive damage during Abaddon’s attack.
The reconstruction had been progressing steadily for most of the day.
Beatrice watched these repairs go on, with one of the more physically imposing Blessed positioned a short distance behind her.
Unfortunately, the destruction inflicted upon the original residence had been significant enough that she and the surviving Blessed had been forced to temporarily relocate to the smaller houses within the compound, while the repairs continued.
It was at that moment that one of the servants hurried toward her. "My lady, the agent has returned."
Beatrice glanced in his direction and gave a nod.
A few moments later, Olaf slowly emerged into view.
Olaf looked absolutely terrible. His clothes were torn, his body was covered in bruises and cuts, dried blood stained his skin, and one of his eyes had been severely injured.
In his hand, he carried a lance whose blade was still coated with blood.
Beatrice turned toward him, surprise and disgust appearing on her face at the same time. "Why do you appear before me looking like this?"
Olaf’s breathing was heavy. "Today, one of the people responsible for Norman’s death fell by my hands."
He lowered his eyes toward the bloodstained weapon in his grasp before looking back at her.
"I require your assistance. Grant me a place to rest, because once I’ve fully recovered, I’ll be going after her husband next."
Beatrice’s eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?... I thought I specifically told you not to do anything but follow my instructions"
Olaf simply said, "I already told you, I prefer working alone."
Beatrice rubbed her fingers on forehead before slowly shaking her head.
Then her eyes widened suddenly, as she turned back to him. "Wait... who did you kill?"
"The woman who goes by the name Isabella."
Beatrice’s gaze widened even further, so did the expression on the face of the Blessed behind her.
Right then, Olaf’s eyes suddenly lost focus. His vision became blurred, and the strength supporting his body finally gave way.
The lance slipped from his grasp, then he collapsed.
Beatrice stared at the unconscious agent lying at her feet, while the scowl on her face deepened.
Her fingers slowly curled into fists.
This agent may have just ruined one of her plans.