Ascension Of The Villain

After Iyana left, Vyan splashed water on his face, steeling himself before heading directly to his office. Once there, he retrieved the blueprint of the imperial palace—or rather, palaces—from his desk. His eyes narrowed as he studied the detailed plans, ones he had stolen from Commander Pembrooke a long time ago.

He began his inspection with the Military Quarters, where the underground imperial prison was strategically positioned at the edge of the imperial grounds, heavily guarded by the empire's elite soldiers.

Vyan considered the possibility that this prison had an underground tunnel leading elsewhere. The most logical connection would be to the Aurora Palace, given its proximity to the Military Quarters. Aurora palace, reserved for the firstborn and crowned heir, was where Althea and Easton resided.

But it wasn't the only option. The tunnel could potentially connect to any number of the palaces. Pinpointing a single destination would be challenging.

"Ugh, let's just mark all the gaps on the map," Vyan grumbled, grabbing a pen. He meticulously marked the blank spaces on the blueprint before shifting his attention to the Crystal Palace, which lay beside the Aurora Palace. It housed the third empress and her children—his aunt and cousins.

"Hmm," Vyan mused, his lips twitching thoughtfully. "The Crystal Palace seems like the least likely candidate. It's too out of the way." He crossed out his aunt's residence. "And the emperor isn't foolish enough to keep Ash anywhere near our aunt."

Next, Vyan's gaze moved to the Enchanted Chateau. Though not quite a palace, its sprawling structure was grand enough to house all the emperor's concubines. It was also somewhat removed from the other palaces.

"Crossed. As if anyone could hide in a place swarming with nosy women," Vyan muttered, shivering at the memory of an encounter with one of the concubines. He didn't hold anything against them, but the one he had met clearly didn't understand the concept of personal space. After that day, he had vowed never to set foot on that side of the imperial grounds again.

"Next, we have the Ivory Palace," he continued, turning his attention to the residence meant for the second empress and her children. In reality, only Prince Izac lived there now, as the second empress was the empress-consort.

The separation of the second and third empresses into different palaces was due to the Haynes Empire's archaic law allowing a maximum of three marriages—an outdated and ridiculous custom, in Vyan's opinion.

"Since Izac is the only one living here, and he is the easiest to dupe…" Vyan murmured as he marked nearly every room within the Ivory Palace.

Finally, he turned his focus to the most suspicious palace of all.

At the heart of the imperial complex stood the Diamond Palace, the grandest structure of them all, where the emperor and empress held court. It boasted the most public areas—the imperial court, audience chamber, great hall, banquet hall, stateroom, conservatory, chapel, and more. Yet, despite its grandeur, the blueprint still had numerous unexplained gaps.

"So, if I were to hide—" Vyan paused, clicking his tongue in frustration. "Wait, could there be more to why the emperor is keeping Ash to himself? And did he somehow find out that I was inquiring about that solitary cell?"

Vyan doubted that Edgar knew. Jailor Thomas hadn't seemed aware of which cell Vyan was particularly interested in. But then again, was the jailor even involved? There was no way someone could be taken out of the cell without the jailor's permission… right?

Then again, Fred had mentioned seeing imperial guards escorting Ash out. Clearly, there was a secret tunnel involved. The jailor had to be in on it, didn't he?

Oh, that's right. Iyana had mentioned that Thomas was only promoted to jailor six months ago. So even if Thomas knew about the secret tunnel, there was no guarantee he knew about Aster as well.

"Still, I will keep him as a suspect, just in case." Vyan jotted down Thomas's name along with the previous jailor's, making a note for Freya to dig up information on them.

Vyan continued to tinker with the blueprint, carefully marking every spot that needed closer inspection. He knew he would have to handle this himself; the imperial palace was a maze, complicated further by magical restrictions in certain areas. He knew if he told Clyde, he would never allow Vyan to step foot out of the house in the first place.

"However," he murmured, a smile curving his lips, "an experienced guide would be nice."

———

The bright sunlight bathed Katelyn's face as she let out a sigh of relief, finally wrapping up her archery training.

"Your progress has been remarkable, Your Imperial Highness," her instructor praised, his tone full of admiration. "At this rate, you will be promoted to 2nd class in no time."

Katelyn smiled with satisfaction, offering a polite bow to her teacher. She wasn't quite where she wanted to be yet, but she was getting closer, and that put her in a pretty good mood as she wrapped up her session.

Just as she was unstringing her bow, a loud clap rang out right by her ear, startling her so badly she nearly jumped out of her skin. She squeaked and spun around, her heart still racing from the shock, only to be met with the obnoxious laughter of her cousin.

Vyan stood there, completely unbothered by her sharp glare, and teased, "Princess, if a little clap has you jumping out of your skin, archery might not be your calling, after all. Calm and composure is important, remember?"

Katelyn gritted her teeth and shot back, "What do you know about my calm and composure? I wouldn't have gotten startled if I was in the zone!"

"Sure, sure," Vyan replied, which only deepened her frown.

"Anyway, what do you want? And why are you tormenting me so early in the morning?" she demanded, thoroughly annoyed.

"Oh, no, are you mad at me?" Vyan crooned, half-mocking, half-amused.

"Go away. You are ruining my good mood," she grumbled, turning on her heel and heading back toward the palace, leaving the courtyard behind.

Vyan easily matched her pace, falling in step beside her. "Alright, alright, I am sorry. I was just messing around. In fact, getting startled doesn't mean anything. Even I get startled sometimes. So, you are doing great at archery.

I believe soon enough, you will surpass your brothers and me in no time."

Katelyn tried hard not to smile, but it was tough; she was always a sucker for flattery. And she knew Vyan meant it—she had the potential if she kept practicing.

"Whatever. Just tell me what you want," she muttered, pretending to still be angry.

Vyan grinned and patted her head, carefully avoiding her perfectly styled hair—he knew better than to mess with that. "Remember the first time we met? You were sneaking around the Aurora Palace."

"Yes, what about it?"

"It made me wonder if you are the kind of person who knows every nook and cranny around the imperial grounds."

"So, that's what you are here for."

"Kind of," he admitted, his expression turning sincere. "Look, Katelyn, this is really important to me, and I would really appreciate your help."

Katelyn studied his earnest face for a moment before rolling her eyes. "Fine. But it's going to cost you."

"I will give you anything you want, I promise."

Katelyn's lips curled into a mischievous grin. "You promised, alright?" Vyan nodded sincerely. "Okay, then. Wait in the lounge room. I will go get ready." With that, she dashed off excitedly. She didn't know what Vyan's reasons were, but she loved a good adventure either way.

On the other hand, Vyan let out a sigh of relief. With Katelyn's help, he could inspect the places faster, and she might already know some of the secret spots around the imperial grounds.

He pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time: half-past nine in the morning. He had until six in the evening to hand over Princess Maria to Althea.

"More than eight hours. Plenty of time."

———

"Rise and shine, my lord—" Clyde's cheerful greeting faltered as he flung open Vyan's bedroom door, only to find the bed conspicuously empty.

His eyes widened, and he called out, "Vyan?" In a flash, he manifested himself in Vyan's office, where a chaotic spread of blueprints greeted him. "Oh, Goddess, I specifically told him not to do anything reckless—" He spotted a white note on top of the blueprints and snatched it up, reading with a resigned sigh.

"I am off to inspect the secret spots within the imperial palace. Don't worry, I am not being reckless or irrational. I am totally calm right now. I have thought it all out. See you at six!

— Vyan."

Clyde slapped a hand over his face. "Oh, sure, because I believe he is totally calm." He crumpled the infuriating note. "I guess I am going to have to drag him back home—"

At that moment, Benedict walked into the office, his face a mask of feigned composure that couldn't quite hide his concern. "Lord Clyde, there you are."

Clyde rolled his eyes. "What, you are looking for Vyan too? Don't worry, I will have him back in a few minutes—"

"No, you can't bring him back yet!" Benedict cut in firmly, almost desperately. "I saw his note already; he said he would be back at six, which means we still have eight hours."

"Eight hours? What are you talking about?" Clyde frowned.

"Something terrible has happened, Lord Clyde, and we need to take care of it before Master returns. He has already been really upset since yesterday, and now—"

"What exactly happened, Benedict?" Clyde interjected Benedict's rambling, his tone suddenly stern.

Benedict sighed heavily and finally revealed, "Princess Maria is missing from her chambers."

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