Chapter 495: Talk Before The Duel
“Has he?”
“No… I’m not sure any of the letters have reached him…”
“Where is that man, does he not care about his own son…”
“Mother… I heard the border skirmishes have been intensifying lately.”
“Bah, that’s always the excuse…”
Two people were talking while looking at the sun outside rising through a window. Both of them were in an expensive hotel suite overlooking the bustling city below. The older woman, dressed in fine silks, drummed her fingers impatiently on the windowsill, her sharp gaze fixed on the distant horizon. Her daughter, seated nearby, was fidgeting with a delicate piece of jewelry, her face marked with concern.
“Don’t worry Mother, even if Father doesn’t attend the duel, with Professor Wayland’s help, I’m sure Robert will win!”
Lucienne tried to reassure her mother, Francine, about the current situation. However, neither of them could see what Wayland was planning behind closed doors. They only saw him moving back and forth from the workshop to the estate, holding a strange rectangular bag. No one knew what the man was up to, but the date of the duel was already upon them. Today the ten days were over and her son would have to fight for his life.
As the morning sun bathed the city in golden light, tension settled like a heavy cloak over the De Vere estate. Robert’s duel was only hours away, and the mood among his family was somber. Lucienne’s words were meant to offer solace, but her mother, Francine, remained unconvinced. The silence between them stretched as both women contemplated what lay ahead.