Bride To His Darkness

"I won’t say I’m surprised, but it still baffles me." Ivan leaned back on his chair, a thin line creeping onto his forehead as his lips curled downward. He knew there was a seventy percent chance that Agathe couldn’t have instigated her plans alone, she would need assistance in order to fool the royal family for this long but who could it be? If there was dark magic involved then Ivan only saw two options. Either she has bargained with the devil, or she has conjured some witch or whatever those creatures are to help her seal her facade. He had expected the worst but using Alistair to achieve her goals was just... and to her own son?

"Wait, you suspected her motive even before my wife told you?" Cassian inquired from Ivan who nodded stiffly, "why haven’t you held her down?"

"Cause the game won’t be any fun," he retorted and clicked his tongue. "I want to catch her in her own plight. You don’t have to worry about her, and thank you for sharing this with me. Believe it or not, you just saved my cousin from becoming her next sacrificial lamb, but I wouldn’t want to place the both of you under any sort of risk, so allow me to deal with my Aunt the way I have planned." He drummed his fingers on the table, his crimson eyes gleaming sinisterly as the information he received gave him a better idea on how to catch Agathe.... And this one, she definitely won’t see it coming.

When they were done with the discussion concerning Agathe, Ivan exited the library and took a stroll with one of the Minister’s he had sent for. They strolled into the courtyard where he found Lady Agathe conversing with the guests from yesterday night, and when he had used this opportunity to confirm her whereabouts, he glanced at the Minister who stood behind him.

"See to it that Fernwood doesn’t go three days without having a new village council. If you find someone who fails to do the recommended job as a council to my people, I will have you face the consequences for his actions."

"Of course, your Majesty. I will find the best." The Minister acknowledged his words with a bow.

"You can leave." They departed after that. Ivan’s gaze lingered on the women who were conversing with Agathe, and after making his presence less suspicious to the present souls, he turned around and left.

Going up the stairs, he could remember the spare room that was handed to Agathe. If Abdiel was unaware of his wife’s repulsive schemes, then there was absolutely no way she could harness dark magic in their matrimonial chamber. Where else can she find that privacy if not the spare chamber given to her by her husband himself?

Stopping in front of the door, Ivan cleared away the servants from that corridor, and when they were gone, all he needed to do was focus his mind on unlocking the door from inside, and a sharp ’click’ sound was heard. Glancing both ways to ensure the corridor was completely empty of the presence of servants, Ivan stepped inside, and he closed the door behind him.