ALL NOVEL Chapter 76 – Floor 8: Part 2
Chapter 76 – Floor 8: Part 2
“No. I don’t.” The Emperor responded.
The Margrave had never seen him so compliant. He stared transfixed at the young man who had been sent to them by the gods. There was a strength about him, an unstoppable force that pushed through all obstacles.
The Margrave was in awe of Mathew. But the curtness of the young man spoke of his disdain for mundanity. He eschewed all etiquette, ignoring title or status and acted like everything was beneath him.
Perhaps it was.
“Another truth. You should rest. The potion was an antidote, but it won’t heal any damage done to you. Besides, I don’t want you getting in the way.” The last part was muttered quietly, and only the Margrave heard it clearly when the Champion had stood and walked past him.
The Champion, Mathew, turned to look at the Empress. His blue eyes bore into hers for a moment before he asked a similar question.
“Do you know who poisoned him?” He asked, and the Empress seemed unsure of herself for the first time since the Margrave had known her. She delayed her response, and her eyes flicked to her husband and the Margrave before returning to Mathews.
“This is ridiculous! Of course, I don’t know who poisoned my husband. It is your job to find that out, Margrave Belinger.” She scolded, her face flushing red with anger as she drew herself up and set her shoulders.
Rather than grow equally angry at her response or question her again, the young man paused and narrowed his eyes.
“That’s a lie.” Mathew said, and the room grew quiet and still.
The Emperor, who had been listening from his bed, was about to speak when the Margrave caught his eyes and shook his head slightly in warning. It may not have been appropriate for him to do so; the Emperor was far above him in station, but the Margrave felt compelled to warn him from confronting the Champion.
He had seen what the young man was capable of.
“How dare you! I will have you flog-” The Empress couldn’t continue speaking as the young man pointed his finger at her, and a crackling bolt of white light streaked out and burned a hole through the stone wall beside her.
“I don’t like liars. I treat those who lie to me in the same way I do betrayers. And I’ve had enough betrayals in my life.” Mathew warned in a whisper that cut through the bone.
“I’ll ask you again. Who poisoned him?” Mathew repeated, and this time, the Empress observed his finger as he slowly pointed it directly at her forehead. So stunned and terrified were they at the display that neither the Margrave nor the Emperor thought of summoning the guards.
Against a man such as this, what hope would they be? The Margrave had seen him command men to halt all motion, and they obeyed. This Champion had powers beyond their comprehension. If he wanted the Empress dead, the Margrave doubted anyone in the Empire could stop him.
The beautiful woman, normally as calm and perfect as a frozen lake in winter, paled and stammered. Her mouth opened and closed, reminding the Margrave of a fish. After a few moments of attempting to speak, she finally made a sound.
“I received a missive, along with gifts from an anonymous source. A secret admirer. I was flattered and kept most of them for myself.” The Empress admitted. Her husband’s eyes opened wide, and he shouted.
“The wine! You claimed that it was a gift for me, a foreign vintage to celebrate our anniversary! You lying wench!” The Emperor yelled. He was cut off by a fit of coughing. Mathew didn’t look at him, keeping his eyes locked to the Empresses. Her fingers dug into the folds of her dress nervously.
“I…lied. I knew you would never recognize jewelry or dresses from amongst the gifts, but the wine I passed on to you.” The Empress finished.
“Who is this admirer? Did you discover their identity?” Mathew pressed, and the Empress shook her head quickly.
“No! No, they have sent me many letters over the past year, each more loving than the last and always accompanied by a gift. I…never questioned their intentions. They said we would meet when the time was right, a secret tryst when we arrived at our destination. It was the reason I looked forward to this trip.” The Empress explained, and the Emperor paled at the revelation.
It was no easy thing to learn of a wife’s intention of infidelity.
“You’re telling the truth.” Mathew confirmed. He lowered his hand that could generate that terrible, deathly energy and turned to the Margrave.
“The culprit is likely amongst their group. Come.” The Champion ordered. Before he was even finished speaking, Mathew had nearly reached the door. The Margrave gave a quick bow to the Emperor and Empress before following quickly behind.
He didn’t want to stay there any longer, not when the Emperor was clearly about to have words with his wife.
They arrived at the hall where the nobles and their retainers were currently gathered. There was a pall over those assembled. The knowledge that the Emperor lay dying above them had drained the energy from the room. Aside from a few muttered and whispered conversations, the hall was silent.
Those gathered were unaware that a Champion of the gods had arrived, so when a young man burst into the hall with the Margrave hot on his heels, they were momentarily confused. That confusion turned to annoyance and rage when he spoke.
The Champion scanned his eyes across the room, resting at times on the various Nobles or high-ranking members of the Emperor’s retinue as if marking them. His strange clothing set him apart, his appearance that of a stranger to them.
But the timidity and care the Margrave showed him confused the crowd the most. He seemed to be on pins and needles, showing signs of anxiety that he would typically reserve only for the Emperor.
“You! Did you poison the Emperor?” The champion said, pointing his finger at an older, opulently dressed Noble who sat at one of the more prominent chairs near the front of the room. At the shout, the man stood and flushed red at being addressed in such a manner.
“How dare you speak to me like that, knave! I will have your skin stripped from your body.” The man shouted, and a number of guards behind him were already drawing swords or knives from sheaths.
“That is the Duke of Carinthia. The Emperor’s younger brother, Champion.” The Margrave advised.
“I don’t care who he is; he will answer my question.” Mathew replied, his voice cutting through the din. He flicked his finger, launching all the objects on the table in front of the Duke to the side. They crashed against the stone wall with a deafening clatter.
The crowd grew silent at the display of magic, something as foreign to them as the Champion himself. But he wasn’t done just yet.
Mathew flicked his finger again, and this time, the chairs in front of him shot into the air. One after another, they struck the ground and shattered, and the Duke had a start with each time the noise rang out.
Finally, the table itself spun around, pushing the assembled guards backward and leaving a clear path from Mathew to the Duke. The Champion’s boots rang out with each step he took toward him, finally stopping a few feet from the other man.
“I can do worse than have your skin stripped from your body. And I won’t need help doing it. Now, answer my question. Did you poison the Emperor?” Mathew asked, his voice as hard and cold as steel in winter.
The Duke was as scared as the Empress had been. The weight of the Champion’s power pressed down on them, and his presence filled the room like nothing they had experienced before.
“I…No, I didn’t poison him.” The Duke whispered, his voice cracking in the middle of the sentence. Mathew stared at him for a moment longer before turning away.
‘The Duke was telling the truth.’ The Margrave thought, letting out a breath of relief. The thought of the Emperor’s own brother writing love letters to the Empress and trying to murder the Emperor would have torn the Empire apart.
The questioning continued smoothly; the otherworldly aura of the Champion cowed the crowd. It helped that the remnants of his display were strewn all across the ground around them.
It took them only a few minutes to discover the truth.