Chapter 56: Chapter 4. The Chessboard

After Maximiliana's suggestion, everyone present was very surprised. Besides her, no one would have thought of submitting such an idea. I reacted immediately, because it fully concerned me.— Hey! — indignantly exclaimed, — How can you make us servants?

— And why not? — the girl grinned, — Did you by any chance forget that you are hostages here, and not guests?

«B-but I said…!»

— Even if we assume that you're not lying, we still can't let you go.

— Why?!

Rodrigue Windsor, watching our conversation, intervened.

— Think for yourself, girl, — he turned to me, — Anyway, who would let the daughter of the archduke and the son of the king go on a sober head when they were in their power? Even without Cashiers, you are a very valuable bait.

I fell silent. It seems that my initial hopes to get out of here as soon as possible were in vain. In the end, my father became the same weighty reason to keep me. And why didn't I think of this before?

— Do you know that we are not the last people in the empire? — Razor angrily declared to the Windsors, — Such actions can be counted as a declaration of war!

— That's what we're counting on,» the Marquis chuckled, «Azeroth must pay for the humiliation of our country for so many years. You will become only pawns, thanks to which we will carry out our revenge.»

Razor chuckled.

«Even if I am the second prince, no one will give you the empire in exchange for me.»

Rodrigue laughed hoarsely.

«I don't need this damn country.»

«Then what?» — the guy fell into a stupor, — What do you want from us?

The man didn't think long before telling him.

— A human shield against the king and the Archduke.

This direct answer was given in complete silence. Even the Marquise, who had been trying to protect us up to that time, had to retreat. Now she was powerless against her husband's plans.

Razor and I exchanged glances. Since the Cassia plan didn't work out, the Marquis of Windsor was going to use us as a threat to the power of Azeroth. It is possible that in this way, he even wanted to return Oberon to his former power. We were just one of the tools in this «game».

I bit my lip.

The last thing I wanted was for my life to be used as a manipulation against my father. But what could I do? I was completely helpless in this place, and there is hardly anyone ready to help us.

So should I just put up with it? Accept your fate as a hostage of the Windsors?

«How long do you intend to keep us?» I decided to ask.

— As long as it takes,» the Marquis replied clearly, «but don't even hope to escape before we need you.»

Razor and I froze with gloomy faces, finally realizing that there really was no way out of the situation.

It looks like we really have to stay here.

When the Marquess of Windsor put forward his conditions, Maximiliana intervened in the conversation:

— Father, can I take care of them myself?

— Hmm? What are you going to do? — he asked with interest.

— Since they are our hostages, it would be wrong to leave them idle. Like I said, I want to give them a job.

— Not a bad idea, — the man remarked with a grin, — Maxie, you always gave good ideas. What are you going to make them do?

Maximiliana looked at us thoughtfully.

«I'm not interested in this guy,» she said at once, pointing to Razor, «You can take care of him yourself.»

Razor glared at her angrily, but could not object in any way.

— Well… As I heard, the second prince is quite smart,» the Marquis grinned, looking at the young man, «Let him take care of the archives in the library. They have been gathering dust unattended for a long time.»

— Whatever you say,» the girl simply agreed, because she really didn't care.

«What about Lady Ashford?»

Maxie grinned.

«She is no longer a lady, but my maid,» the heroine's mentor corrected her father.

«A maid?! — I was indignant, — I am the heiress of the Ashford family, how can you…!»

«As I said before, you don't have any title here,» she interrupted me, «you're just an ordinary servant who has to do my orders.»

Razor and I both gasped with indignation.

— But…!

— Is something wrong? — Maxie asked ironically, — In that case, you can just go back to the dungeon, and there will be no need to work.

After such a statement, our ardor faded somewhat. The thought of returning to that cold and damp place clearly did not delight me. Besides, I didn't understand at all why she needed to mock us so much.

Let Maximiliana be my favorite hero in the novel, but is it possible to subject an aristocrat to such humiliations? Even Rachel never made me wait on her.

Perhaps it was because she was still too young. In the novel, Maxie was described as an adult who had gone through trials and lost many loved ones. It made her temper harden, and she would never have behaved so frivolously.

It was this «restrained» part that won me over in it. Now, when Maxie was barely out of her teens, she was still a child at heart. She had not yet experienced all those difficulties from the future, and in many ways she turned out to be quite infantile. This also concerned her attitude to people, including. Searᴄh the nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Noticing my silence, the girl grinned.

«If you're a good girl, I promise I won't punish you too much.»

My eye twitched from what was happening.

From the second prince of the empire, the Windsors made an accountant, and from me a maid… It seems that our stay in this place will seem very «fun».

However, we still had no choice?

Young Maximiliana may have done this to me, but since she was my favorite heroine in the past, I was ready to turn a blind eye to it. Maybe it won't be so bad?

The result of our escape was the capture of the family of the enemy empire. I didn't know how long it would last, and what would happen in that time, but…

A strange premonition about our future did not leave me.

***

The sun had already set over the horizon and dusk was approaching when a man with the position of personal secretary hurriedly headed to his master.

The news came suddenly, but so stunned him that he could not wait until morning.

Climbing the stairs, the man rushed to his office. A strip of light under the door indicated that he had not yet gone to bed. That was a good sign.

The secretary knocked on the door.

— Come in.

After a murmured agreement, the servant slowly entered and closed the door behind him. After a moment, he knelt down to deliver an important report.

— Your Grace, I beg your pardon! But I thought you should find out about it as soon as possible…

— Tell me.

— News has come from Oberon. The Marquess of Windsor's men… they… The Lady and His Highness were captured.

The man at the desk was facing him with the back of his chair, looking out the window. After receiving the news, he sighed heavily.

— As I thought.

— Your Grace, just give the order, and I will immediately send a rescue team! — The secretary hastily declared, — You don't have to worry. We're coming soon…

«It's not worth it,» the gentleman interrupted him.

— What? — he was surprised, — But…

«I said you shouldn't save them.»

The secretary hesitated, because he did not expect such an answer at all.

— B-but how… In the same place…

«I know,» interrupted the nobleman, «I trust Rodrig. He's my man, and he definitely won't kill them.»

The secretary said nothing.

— Your Grace, so you were ready for this…?

— Of course, — there was a grin behind the back of the chair, — Such an opportunity could not be missed. Rodrigue is not stupid enough to neglect him.

— But… If it drags on for a long time? Are you sure nothing will happen to them?

Contrary to the gentleman's words, his secretary hesitated somewhat. He wasn't sure if it should go that way. After all, it was a huge risk.

«I know exactly what I'm doing. Or, are you questioning my orders?»

The servant turned pale and immediately bowed his head.

«Of course not, Your Grace! I dare not!»

The man in the chair grunted and finally turned to him. As it turned out, a chess board and a game on it had been laid out on his table all this time.

The nobleman made a decisive move with a white piece and pushed the black one off the board. The rook rolled and fell to the floor.

He watched it with a grin. It was as if he saw not only game figures, but also living people. The secretary still kept his eyes on the floor, afraid of his further anger.

But His Lordship was in a good mood.

«Even if it takes years, I'm willing to wait as long as I want,» he continued, more to himself.

There was a short silence, during which the man kept turning the black figure in his palm. As if right now, this person was in his hands.

— Raymond Cassius… It's not long before I send this bastard to hell.