Second Arc (His Art of War) - 99. Eyes And Ears

"How long do we need to wait?" Duke Bartlet said impatiently in a low voice. It had been almost an hour since he and Ivetta had been waiting for Angel in the parlour room but Angel had not shown himself. As long as he was a Duke, he had never waited this long. Even King Eudon always gave his priority when Duke Bartlet came to the castle.

"He's the four great Kingdoms' ruler in Andromeda Continent, of course, he's busy. You should be thankful that you managed to escape yesterday," replied Ivetta. Since their plan failed miserably due to Euphorion's attack, Duke Bartlet killed the rebel members who knew his and Ivetta's real identities and left the rest of them to cover their tracks.

"Tch!" Duke Bartlet clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"What is so great about that mad king? He's just lucky to be able to take over another kingdom after his family exiled him. If not for his luck, he would be a cripple now," he sneered.

"Watch your mouth. I wouldn't say that to someone who conquered the three other kingdoms in a row," Ivetta warned him. One might be luck, but three definitely not just lucky. She knew Angel had great power and instead of making him an enemy she had better make him as her alliance. Yes, she planned to seduce Angel, because if Angel fell in love with Rose then all their efforts would end in vain.

"I don't like him," said Duke Bartlet.

"I don't ask you to like him or not. We just need his power to take over Zephyrus," said Ivetta.

"Are you telling me to lick his boots?" said Duke Bartlet in a cynical tone. He was a Duke with great influence in Zephyrus, the only one who could beat him was King Eudon. And Ivetta told him to obey a man who was younger than him.

"Do you want to get Zephyrus or not?" said Ivetta in exasperation.

Duke Bartlet sighed.
"Fine. I'll be patient for this." He tilted his head to Ivetta slightly.
"What about our secret camp?"

"I've ordered the others to get our important items and burn the place to cover our tracks." Even though they worked hard to build it, they had no choice but to destroy it.

"Where?" Their hiding places were numerous and scattered throughout the Zephyrus.

"Eldham Village," replied Ivetta. That small village had been 'dead' for a long time. They killed the villagers and replaced the people with rebel members. In order to avoid suspicion, they did everything that normal villagers should do.

"Very well, I will send my men to secure the village."

"There is no need. King Angelus is probably watching us. We have to be careful with all our actions," said Ivetta.

What they didn't know was a black eye hovering above them, watching and listening to what they were saying and doing in the room.

In the different room, Angel sat on the sofa. His eyes were closed as he used his Evil Eye.
"You are right, Lady Ivetta. You must be careful of me," muttered Angel with a smirk. Unlike the usual Evil Eye spell, this time he only created an eye that also could 'hear'. That's why he also knew what they were talking about in the parlour room.
He cancelled his spell and opened his eyes.

'Eldham Village ...' Even though he had obtained their other hiding place, instead of using his troops that were already in Ironwall City, he decided to settle them silently using his Black Devils army. That way, the other rebels wouldn't know that the place was destroyed. He also planned to do the same with the other rebel hideouts. Apart from that, he had also heard them mention a few of the noble names who had participated in their rebellion, as well as some of their enemies.

'Since they've given enough information, I'll go meet them now.' He got up from his seat and walked out of the room.