The Grand Duke's Soulmate-Chapter 565: Demands Beyond Refusal

A group of knights emerged at the end of the hallway, King Kyden at their head, with Jessy trailing behind them, her expression taut with worry. Elis, Alex, and Adam straightened at once, bowing respectfully as they greeted the king in proper form.

The princess consort then withdrew a step, quietly yielding space as the new entourage took command of the scene.

"Ah... good," Kiev said quietly, wiping the last traces of tears from his face as he turned. "The king himself has finally arrived."

King Kyden took in the tense atmosphere—the stiff postures, the healer with a tear-streaked face, and the storm brewing behind Kiev’s eyes.

"What is the meaning of this commotion?" he demanded.

Kiev’s gaze swept the hallway and landed on Jessy, standing just behind the knights.

She must have been anxious after his earlier outburst, perhaps frightened enough to seek out Eric for help. The thought did not anger him.

If anything, it presented an opportunity. His expression remained impassive as his thoughts shifted, already calculating his next move.

Something hardened behind the Mederian Prince’s gaze. His grief condensed into a resolute determination, one that served a clear, unspoken purpose.

"I will not explain anything. The only thing you need to know is I’m returning to Semeta," Kiev said without hesitation. "...and I will be taking Princess Anna and Callis with me."

Shock surged through the rest, and Rafe turned his eyes back to his brother-in-law, bewildered by the sudden decision.

"You cannot be serious," Eric said sharply. "Lady Raychard is married to His Highness the Grand Duke, and Mrs Amares is Rafael’s wife!"

"The longer Princess Anna stays, the greater the danger she encounters. Her safety has been repeatedly compromised, and the Knights of Gerhard have failed to protect her each time. My sister is also badly injured. I will not allow this to happen again," Kiev interjected, his voice as firm as steel.

"I won’t interfere in Callis’s affair, as her husband is present and has the right to agree or disagree with you. But Anna is Kyren’s wife," the king insisted. "You cannot simply take her."

Rafe’s heart sank at the comment, but before he could say anything, Kiev responded with a bitter laugh.

"Wife?" His eyes burned. "May I remind you, Your Majesty, Princess Anna is only recognised as the concubine, not an official wife, as you wanted. Furthermore, the grand duke broke his oath and failed in his role as her guardian."

The knights shifted nervously, a hush spreading through their ranks. Rafe kept repeating ’No,’ his head shaking in shock as the seriousness of the moment weighed on him, while Jessy was close to tears, as if she already knew the plan.

"This can’t be true!" King Kyden thundered. "Kyren wouldn’t make such a vow!"

His jaw clenched as he turned to the knights, searching for denial... or anything that might prove him wrong.

Kiev simultaneously glared at them and declared, "You! You! You!" pointing sharply at Eric, then Noah, then Alex. "All of you are witnesses to the oath! Since the grand duke broke his promise, I now have the right to reclaim Princess Anna and take her with me!"

King Kyden was met with lowered gazes and bowed heads. The knights’ silence was enough to confirm Kiev’s words. Still, he could not bring himself to accept it.

"This is illegal!" King Kyden asserted, confronting the Mederian Prince once more. "No unmarried woman can be taken by anyone other than her family or without proper formal ties!"

Kiev stepped forward boldly.

"You enjoy bending the law to your advantage, don’t you?" he hissed at the king.

"The law was established long before my reign, Prince Kiev," King Kyden replied firmly. "It was gazetted by my forefathers in accordance with the regulations of the Ro’an Empire. I do not twist it to suit my own interests."

"A knight’s oath is sacred," Kiev sneered. "Isn’t your brother famed for his honour as well?"

"Then he should be the one to acknowledge his failure and abide by its consequences," King Kyden answered, his tone calm yet unrelenting. "Alas, as you can plainly see, he is not here. Therefore, the law of the kingdom takes precedence over all without exception."

The two men stood their ground, eyes locked in a fierce, unyielding stare—each driven by his own purpose, neither willing to yield an inch.

"Very well... Since I am on Cassian land, I will follow the law. In that sense, reinstate my betrothal to Princess Anna immediately. You know she has been mine from the start," Kiev insisted, confronting the situation directly.

Gasps rippled through the hallway. Elis pressed a hand to her mouth in shock.

"Your Highness!" Noah exclaimed, moving to intervene, but Eric blocked him with an outstretched hand, shaking his head.

True to Mederian Prince’s demand, no one was entitled to oppose him. The vow had been broken, and he was now asserting his legitimate claim. Any knight of honour would be violating their chivalry if they dared to go against him.

Still, King Kyden pressed on.

"What if I refuse?" he asked, more like a challenge.

Kiev was calm, despite his icy gaze. He had never expected the king to agree so easily. King Kyden had always been shrewd, a ruler with more than a few tricks up his sleeve when it came to negotiation.

Instead of replying, the Mederian Prince glanced downward briefly and smiled. Then, he lifted his head and answered with a question—his first trump card.

"Have you ever wondered why your brother remains unconscious?" he asked.

The Mederian Prince’s remarks shook the king’s resolve, and the knights grew anxious, sensing they were missing something. All eyes turned to him, waiting for an answer.

"Princess Anna, as the Khasif, possesses extraordinary magical strength when her mana flows. However, her fragile condition prevents her from fully enduring such power. The spell she cast on the grand duke exceeds her ability to control it. He will not awaken without another magic to undo it." Kiev paused, letting his words sink in to the stunned men.

"So," he continued, "if you refuse... I will not undo the spell. Let the grand duke remain your eternal sleeping beauty. The decision is yours."

Kiev lifted his hand, as though returning the choice to the king. In truth, the ultimatum fell like a guillotine upon both the king and the knights.

Jessy’s tears silently rolled down her cheeks as she watched this. She longed to help and ease the situation, but there was nothing she could do to alleviate it.

Throughout the entire ordeal, her only option had been to flee to safety, precisely as she had been ordered.

She had lent a hand in the treatment room when the catastrophe struck, but afterwards, she couldn’t oppose Kiev—not when she understood that he was also broken by the same grief, carrying his own pain within.

All in all, despite her genuine feelings for the mansion occupants, she was still a Mederian and obliged to obey the prince.

"You can’t treat His Highness the Grand Duke this way! You and he are sworn brothers!" Luke suddenly protested.

"That’s right! This is unfair!" Eli added heatedly. "His Highness loves Lady Raychard! You can’t tear them apart!"

Kiev’s eyes flared.

"Unfair?" he retorted. "You’re the ones acting unfairly! My only wish is for Princess Anna to come back to where she belongs. That has been my goal since day one here, yet I’ve been repeatedly denied. I’ve tolerated every excuse long enough!"

The Mederian Prince’s voice dropped, lethal.

"Let us leave, or I swear Semeta will not remain still."

The final trump card was revealed: a threat that transcended beyond merely an argument, directly aiming at Cassian himself.

"Prince Kiev, you must not take it this far," King Kyden said. "We can still discuss—"

"There is no more discussion!" Kiev cut in sharply. "Reinstate my betrothal to the princess at once, Your Majesty! If you possess even a shred of dignity or care for your people, you will declare it now! My tolerance has reached its end!"

King Kyden closed his eyes, the weight of the decision crushing down on him.

At this point, one wrong choice would likely ignite a tremendous political strain, as Kiev showed no signs of relenting.

At last, the king exhaled, his shoulders sagging beneath the burden.

"Very well," he said hoarsely. "Your betrothal is reinstated... effective immediately."

"Your Majesty!" Noah cried out, eyes large in disbelief at the decision.

A murmur of unrest echoed through the knights, but Eric stepped up at once, silencing them with a sharp reprimand.

To show disagreement with the king’s declaration would be an act of insubordination, one no Knight of Gerhard, sworn to the crown, could ever commit.

Kiev gave a single nod, satisfied.

"As recompense for what I have done," he said, now in a more composed tone, "prepare a ship for my return. My people and I will depart the moment it is ready."

Once more, the knights reacted with uneasy glances as tensions rose, marked by subdued dissent.

"Your Highness, it is winter," Eric, who turned to the Mederian Prince, cautioned in hope of influencing his decision. "No vessel can safely cross the open sea. The waters are mostly frozen. The voyage would be perilous, and Lady Raychard has yet to regain consciousness. Therefore, I urge you to consider postponing."

The Mederian Prince’s eyes narrowed to the second-in-command knight.

"I will not!" he snapped. "Even if an iceberg blocks my path, I will melt it with my magic. Ship or no ship, we leave today. I will not remain here for another night nor another breath."

"We will provide the vessel," King Kyden announced.

The knights tensed once more, unaware of the king’s more calculated consideration of Semeta’s potential retaliation, which could leave Cassian dangerously vulnerable.

Though their armies might match in numbers and combat prowess, the Mederians wielded magic that Cassians did not. That imbalance alone could decisively tip the scales of victory.

Worse still, the Mederians were members of Empress Regina’s clan, to whom Cassian owed allegiance. To provoke them was not merely to invite war—it was to risk defying an imperial power they had sworn to uphold.

And Kyren... he could not allow his brother to remain trapped under the sleeping spell forever. Though he doubted Kiev would be that cruel, the possibility existed, and he could not take the risk.

"Admiral James," the king called.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Adam answered, bowing.

"Prepare your finest ship. Stock it fully, assign your most capable crew, and have it ready within the hour."

Adam looked up, stunned. "But, Your Majesty... that is impossible!"

"This is a royal decree!" King Kyden said sharply. "Use the royal winter vessel and strip off crew from every dock if you must! The chief of the royal knights shall assist you. Do not offer excuses."

The admiral frowned while under command, but a quick look at the king’s expression revealed there was no doubt or hesitation.

King Kyden meant every word, and Adam recognised that this order went beyond simply complying with Kiev’s demand.

The admiral and the chief replied, "Yes, Your Majesty," and bowed.

They immediately set about carrying out the command, while the knights could only watch in frustration.

The king himself had already spoken; what more could they do?

Rafe had remained silent throughout. Words utterly failed him when Kiev mentioned returning to Semeta, not alone, but taking Anna and Callis with him. His world collapsed inward, and every bit of strength drained from his body.

The declaration struck him like a death sentence, and he could barely remain standing. His wife would be gone, torn from him and carried beyond his reach... beyond any hope of return.

It felt as though something vital had been ripped from him, leaving behind an emptiness where his future had once been.

"No... not my Callis!" The protest finally tore free from his throat.

He had accepted the blame and borne the shame in silence—that was why he hadn’t fought back every sneer the Mederian Prince lashed at him.

But at this moment, doing nothing meant he would lose Callis forever. Even if he wasn’t worthy of her, he still yearned for her because losing Callis would shatter him entirely.

The healer lurched forward and seized Kiev’s arm, his eyes red-rimmed and frantic with despair.

"Please... please don’t take her away!" he begged.

Kiev looked down at him, cold and unwavering.

"You know what is best for her and where she should be," he said, wrenching his arm free. "Right now... it is not here... and certainly not with you."

The words struck Rafe again, crushing the last fragments of hope within him. His knees gave way, and he crumpled to the floor, emptied of spirit.

It was over. Everything had passed beyond repair—irreversible and absolute.

Kiev did not look back as he pulled Elis along, urging her to follow.

The princess consort’s fingers lightly brushed his sleeve, revealing her unease. However, her husband’s steady pace left her no option but to adhere, forcing her to match his stride, though a flicker of uncertainty tugged at her thoughts.

Kiev’s steps were unhesitating, and his gaze grew darker as Jessy hurried after him and his wife with tears.

The Mederian Prince’s decision was final; today would be his last day in Cassian.