William pov contd

“Your highness. This is the baby of the man who wants to kill you.” She elaborated as if I did not understand when she told me that it was the baby of the enemy.

“This is your child Anna. since you will give birth. The child will only be yours. And I would take all of his responsibility. All you have to do is to tell me. If you want to have the baby or if he will remind you that you were forced. Your whole life is in front of you.“ I added as she was very young.

“I..i” she was looking lost. I knew she was in a dilemma and I sighed.

“Take her in and let her rest. No one will force her to take any decision. But when she decides, inform me immediately. They all nodded and two girls came forward and helped her into a room.

“Why were you so thrilled to bring me here?” I used to be annoyed as I looked at the confused face of Lucas.

“Your highness, I did not know about this matter. Anna was not here when i last visited.” he bowed his head in embarrassment as if i blamed her for being insensitive.

“Then the matter you brought me here for?” I asked again and his eyes twinkled again.

“My lord, lord Gerard, have hired mercenaries to attack you. He had asked one of our planted knights there to find the best mercenaries.” 

“So you were getting happy, because I was getting killed!” I chuckled and he nodded.

“Of course, when they attack you. We could capture them and use them against him. But this is not all. We have more good news.” his eyes were filled with evil glint, he was rubbing hands as he did when he went on a killing spree.

“Your haunches, I was assigned to serve lady Sophie.” a girl came out and my eyes widened.

“Grace! What happened to your face and body?” She had multiple small cuts on her body and a small scar on her face. She was looking like she had fought war, a bloody one!

“That.. i just fell often.” She lied awkwardly. “But the good news is, lady Sophie is upset that princess scarlet was giving the preference as your lie partner while she was not even able to meet you. So, she even had an argument with her father and brother. The time is just right, if we would try to rope her in at the moment then we could use her against her own family.“ I sighed as I looked at her.

“So, she took out the anger on you” she bowed her head as if she was apologetic for what i have caused.

“This is a very small payment, if we win, your highness.” I could not explain to them how lucky I was to have all of them with me.

“When the physician comes to check Anna, ask him to treat all your wounds too.” I gently patted her back and she smiled.

“I am grateful for your consideration.” my eyes twinkled at the way they all treated me. The love I have not got even from my own family. That love was poured on me unconditionally here.

“That’s not all, my lord.” said Lucas as he looked at me.

“We have sent a few of them to serve her highness and her majesty too.” I nodded as I was the one who ordered that.

“And?”

“Her majesty had helped lord Gerard financially to solve the matter when his father refused to clean his mess. She even offered that the royal palace would support him in starting his stores again.“ I shook my head at this revelation.

“That would only prove that Gerard had paid everyone with full honesty. And the empress was a soft hearted woman who is always there to help anyone who would approach her sincerely.“ Lucas shook his head and I frowned.

“Your highness, her majesty, has used the royal treasure without informing his majesty. And if we could clear the matter that royal palace have paid all the amount to open the stores again there would be more than enough reason for us to demand the profit or interest from the stores that would insult lord Gerard publicly.” I could see he was already dreaming of publicly humiliating him and an evil chuckle escaped his lips.

“That way he would take a wrong decision impulsively and attack me further.” I finally deduced what he wanted to say and he chuckled wickedly.

“Yes, and then all we have to do is to collect proof and send him to prison. Oh lord, if everything goes well, the war will end this year.” there was a sigh of relief in his voice and i patted his shoulder too,

“I know that you all are too tired. This is the last year of my academy too. After that we will ascend the throne.” I assured them and the man smiled.

“I have been waiting for this all my life, your highness. But what about the northern duke. I thought he was going to stay hidden till the end as if it were our hidden weapon. But now I have heard that he was coming to the academy to pursue a woman. 

Who is the woman for whom you are taking so much risk?” his voice was aggrieved and i shook my head.

“It is just a baseless rumor. I am trying to woo a girl but I never visited her. I have sent the old butler though.” His relaxing expressions instantly sharpen hearing the last sentence.

“So, you really have a crush on a woman. I wonder if she will be able to understand you?” he asked but i did not reply at all and he sighed.

“Anyways, you should rest now. I will try to collect more evidence and witnesses. ” he asked and left the brothel.

“I want to know who else was misbehaved by their masters? And.. How was my mother all this time?”