Chapter 55: Chapter 3. A bargaining chip

When I told them this, a puzzled expression appeared on the faces of Maxie and the Marquis of Windsor. After which, they both laughed out loud.I froze in a stupor, not quite understanding what caused such a reaction.

— Nice try, beauty, — the girl grinned, — But we still won't let you go.

— I'm telling the truth! — I objected, — We really are…

«Lady,» the Marquis interrupted me with a calm smile, «I am well aware of every person who is surrounded by Cassians. And judging by the observations of our spies, you are clearly not the last place there.

— I am…

«If you behave yourself, we won't kill you.» Therefore, it is better to do what you are told.

I stumbled.

Apparently, these two have already decided everything a long time ago. The surveillance of us could have begun even at the moment when we left the Atlas. And they clearly weren't going to include our opinion in their plan. However, considering that we were kidnapped, it seemed quite expected.

I sighed.

Instead of panicking, in the current situation, I tried to come to a more correct solution.

«Okay,» I said, «if I'm needed for your plan, at least let my friend go.»

«It won't work,» the Marquis still smiled.

— Why?!

«It is extremely naive to expect that we will release one of the king's sons,» he said, «He is as much a hostage as you are.»

Razor and I exchanged glances.

Perhaps, under different circumstances, it wouldn't have been so bad. We were simply exchanged for pieces of land and safely released home. After all, it is unlikely that the Windsors began to torment such important hostages. But the problem was that we didn't have to go home.

We just ran away from there!

I had to try my best to avoid it. But how else could I convince them?

«Duke Cassius will not agree to this deal,» I said, «My life is definitely not more important than his territories.»

Maxie rolled her eyes.

— Beauty, you can not even hope that you can…

— Otherwise, why did I run away? — I dared to interrupt her, — The whole point is that… Duke and Rachel want to kill me!

I had to lie, but there was no other choice. How else could I lower my own value, if not by declaring that I am not important to this family? Moreover, they even want me dead. In this case, it becomes more than obvious that the Cassians will never agree.

Maximiliana frowned.

— Lies.

— That's not it! — I objected, — Rachel and I were really close, but then we quarreled, and… I had to run away so she wouldn't take revenge. If you want to make me a bargaining chip, you will only waste your time. There's no way Rachel's going to save me.

Maxie and the Marquess of Windsor fell silent. Apparently, they couldn't figure out whether I was lying or not.

But I could not take away the skills of an actress, so I spoke more plausibly than usual. Besides, she made a perfectly reasonable argument. Otherwise, the daughter of the respected Archduke simply had no need to leave the empire in a hurry, unless the hunt began for her.

— Why these pathetic attempts? — The girl snapped, — My people personally saw you riding in the same carriage with Cassia. And it wasn't that long ago!

Apparently, she remembered the case when the warriors with the rose coat of arms attacked us on the territory of the duchy. Was it really done for verification purposes? To find out for sure how high is my value to the Cashiers?

— Well… You see how quickly things are changing,» I remarked, «now we are enemies.»

Maxie looked at me angrily.

The next moment, she came up abruptly and grabbed him by the collar, as if she was going to strangle him right now. Our eyes met, and I flinched.

— If you're lying now…!

— It's true,» I replied calmly, «If you want to check, you'll risk my life.» If it's not you, then Rachel will definitely end me.

I tried to behave with dignity, although at that moment I was very scared. And how else, if I found myself in an unfamiliar place, completely without protection? And, besides, my beloved heroine clearly had not particularly good intentions for me now.

One of her eyes without a blindfold could incinerate more than a whole crowd.

A tiny wrong step, and I can really say goodbye to life.

— Girl, if you think you can lead me by the nose, then you…

Maxie didn't finish, because she suddenly got a heavy slap on the back of the head.

I looked behind her in shock.

The girl turned around with lightning speed, intending to find out which suicide had the courage to do this, as she immediately froze. The grip on my collar loosened a little.

— M-Mom…?

Suddenly, a third family member appeared in the living room, at the sight of which even I was afraid for a second.

A beautiful woman with scarlet hair was the wife of the Marquess of Windsor and the mother of Maxie. Despite her elegant face and relatively young age, the core inside her was much stronger than that of an ordinary noble lady. Perhaps because she was married to the first knight of the empire.

The Marchioness of Windsor appeared here as silently as a shadow, and therefore caught everyone present by surprise.

This came as a special surprise to me. An ironic thought flew through my head: «At least someone in this world still has a mother alive. At least not yet.»

«So that's what you're doing behind my back?» Obelia Windsor burst out, «Are you bullying these poor children?»

— Darling! — The Marquis hastily intervened, — This is all necessary for the case. Maxie and I have been preparing a plan for a long time, and…

He froze when the woman stared at him sternly. After that, Maxie flew in another slap on the back of the head.

— Mom! — the girl breathed out indignantly, finally letting go of me completely, — When will you stop already?

— When I put your brains in place! — the Marchioness calmly declared, — Do I understand correctly that you are so loose that you even dared to kidnap?

Maxie and her father stumbled when the hostess of the house loomed over them like a vulture. It seemed that they had become completely powerless in front of this woman. And she didn't calm down.

— I can't believe that the noble family of Windsor has descended to such abominations! — the marquise was indignant, — Manipulation of other people's children for the sake of profit, is it worthy of a knight?

The Marquis of Windsor was one of the seasoned warriors with numerous merits, but he feared his wife more than an army of many thousands. He got up from the chair and gently took her by the shoulders.

— Darling, you don't understand, — he began slowly, — These are not just children! We need them to force Azeroth to retreat from our country. Bastard Cassius just didn't give a damn about the law when he took our property ten years ago. I just want to get back what I lost!

But the Marquise remained adamant. Despite her formidable appearance, she remained an extremely compassionate person at heart, which turned out to be extremely surprising.

Contrary to the plans of the rest of the family, she did not take their side. The woman looked at Razor and me with pity, as if she saw her own children in us.

— My heart breaks when you say these words.

— But…

— No matter how much you want to bring justice back to Oberon, but is it possible to involve innocent people in adult fights? Sёarch* The Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Rodrigue Windsor pursed his lips.

— That imperial dog Cassius… Do you think he was guided by any concepts when he took over our people and the country?

— Exactly! The Cassians have neither morality nor honor. Are you going to match their level?

— I am…

— That's enough! «No matter what business you have, I will not be able to calmly close my eyes to this offense.

When Maxie and the Marquess of Windsor were completely smitten by her decisive statement, she turned to us and began to untie her hands. I felt a huge relief, because during these few hours my limbs were terribly numb.

— thanks… Razor breathed a sigh of relief.

The woman smiled affectionately, as if that deadly expression had not been there at all a couple of seconds ago. Then she looked at me for a while. Even without words, I noticed a strange spark in her eyes, the meaning of which I could not understand.

Soon, she changed the subject.

— I hope my husband and daughter didn't have time to do anything to you? — seriously inquired the other.

— N-no…

— That's great. Then you should get out of here as soon as possible.

This time the Marquess of Windsor could not stand it. Although in recent years he had gotten used to and rarely contradicted his wife, but now he could not afford to stay away.

— Darling! — the first knight of Oberon exclaimed indignantly, — What are you doing? Did I give permission to let them go?

«What are you going to do with them?» — in response, the Marquise rushed, — To keep in a dungeon to torture to death? I won't let you!

— No, of course! I told you our plan…

While these two were quarreling with each other, I was more and more perplexed. At some point, the whole serious and oppressive atmosphere turned into a production. It was as if I had become an unwitting witness to family squabbles.

Despite the fact that the Marquise firmly stood on her position, the man was not inferior to her.

— …I will not free them!

«Then are you so sure Duke Cassius will definitely take them?»

Rodrigue Windsor hesitated.

I really wasn't sure about that, especially after my last words. Come to think of it, the Marquis's people haven't seen us together that many times to make sure I'm really worth something to them. Thus, if he makes a mistake, he will really lose big.

I noticed this struggle of two opposing points of view in his eyes, the final one of which was becoming increasingly difficult to accept.

Suddenly, «help» in solving the issue came from an unexpected side.

«Father, I want to suggest another idea,» Maxie volunteered.

The Marquis nodded his head, indicating that she could continue.

— How about we leave them in our house as servants until we find out everything?

— What?!

Everyone present stared at her in surprise.

«Actually, I've been wanting a new personal maid for a long time,» Mentor Brisney grinned and looked in my direction, «How about her?»