Chapter 478: The Duke Testing His Own People
The carriage Arabella and Ferdinand were about to use had a Valerian design but did not have their insignia or that of any of the households so it would remain a mystery who visited Olivier that day. Unless Sonia and the butler, or any of their accomplices would have the chance to reveal they visited in person.
As agreed before, they would pretend to have just stopped by Olivier for a bit to send Dimo home, but the goal was to have Sonia sign the agreement for Dimo to stay in Riva.
When they arrived, Duke Olivier was already there waiting for them, along with his most trusted knights.
Everyone greeted them, albeit stiffly. The knights tried to look calm and collected but it was clear they were nervous and on alarm.
[It’s truly the Emperor and Empress of Valeria!! Why is His Grace meeting with them? He didn’t tell us the details.]
[Her Imperial Majesty is gorgeous! I thought the rumors were exaggerated... Wait, I don’t have time for that. I need to focus, or I’ll die today. His Grace told us to be extra vigilant and ensure nothing goes wrong.]
[Why are they suddenly visiting Olivier? Are they going to declare war on us?! No, if they do, they would have just sent an army.]
[The Emperor of Valeria has such a terrifying presence as the rumors said. He has no openings too. It was said he had no emotions and didn’t care about anything. It was rumored that he left for the borders right after his wedding and doesn’t care about his Empress... but he stands close to her like a guard ready to intercept any danger.]
The knights had various thoughts. Some were wary, some were scared, and everyone was confused.
It was only yesterday when Duke Olivier informed them that the guests, they were receiving were from Valeria, so a lot of the knights were not able to sleep last night overthinking what it was about.
And to prevent information from leaking, it was only this morning that the Duke informed his knights that it was Arabella and Ferdinand who would visit the duchy.