The Villain's Apocalypse-Chapter 44: Schemes

Chapter 44: Schemes

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A soft whisper of pen and paper echoed with a grand room, flowing rhythmically in a peaceful silence. The room was quite simple and minimalistic, with redwood flooring and towering bookshelves lining the walls, each shelf packed with ancient archives, neatly stacked documents, and scrolls sealed with wax insignias. A massive oak desk sat at the center, its surface covered in parchment, ink bottles, and quills—each arranged with meticulous care.

Golden sunlight filtered through the tall arched windows, casting long shadows across the room. The entire room gave off a scholarly vibe with a dense yet comforting aroma of old leather books lingering in the air. A single figure sat at the desk, their pen gliding effortlessly across the paper, the soft scratching blending with the rhythmic ticking of a nearby clock.

"My Lord, The Crown Prince has returned." A soft voice broke through the lingering silence within the room, grabbing the attention of the seated figure.

"How is he?" The figure responded, glancing at the servant with the corner of his eyes. His voice was old and weary, befitting of his age but, it still carried the weight and authority he held as one of the most important individuals of the Empire.

The servant slowly lifted his head and gazed at the man seated before him. It was a middle-aged man with long grey hair reaching his shoulders, a neatly trimmed white beard, and hazel brown eyes oozing with wisdom and experience.

The man adorned in a brown suit with a long silver robe hanging beneath his shoulders, looked quite lean and frail on the outside but, everyone knew about the monster that was hidden inside him known as ’The Silver Viper’ on the battlefield.

He was the Prime Minister of the Luminaire Empire–a prominent figure with immense authority and power under his grasp, right below the Royal family.

"He seems stronger than before." the servant replied hesitantly, unable to properly grasp the Crown Prince’s growth. He, himself was unsure of how much the Prince had grown after vanishing from the Empire for almost a month.

"Hmmm..." Sylas Viremont, the prime minister slowly rubbed his chin, pondering briefly about Cassian’s unusual activities that he’d been hearing about recently.

’A young boy merely at the age of sixteen being able to survive a night inside the Mouneshade forest and walk out of it alive...what a hoax! What are you playing at, Alexandar?’ His head subtly turned toward the Royal Castle where the current Emperor was residing, gazing at it with a stoic look on his face.

Despite looking middle-aged with his outer appearance, Sylas was actually an old man of the previous Emperor’s era, who with his merits alone earned the noble title of a Duke and later solidified his position as the Prime Minister position due to his wisdom and experience.

"You may leave." His hoarse voice reached the servant’s ears, causing him to bow deeply before exiting the room.

Left alone, Sylas stood up from his seat and gently opened the window, letting the fresh air flow inside. "I had watched the Empire in its glorious days and now, I’m watching it slowly crumble away...You’ve chosen a foolish ruler as your inheritor, your majesty." He whispered, recalling the words of his liege, the Previous Emperor with whom he had sworn brotherhood and promised to protect the Empire.

"I can’t let it rot any further." With a firm look, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself down. "I apologize, Your Majesty, I had promised to protect the Empire and I’m going to fulfill it, even if it meant rebellion."

His hands were clenched tightly onto the windows, turning them into dust with his sheer strength. Those eyes weren’t the eyes of the Guardian who swore to protect, they were the eyes of a madman who wished to implement his broken ideologies.

—

"I can’t believe I missed this place." A soft chuckle resounded with the air, followed by the noise of sharp footsteps and rustling noises.

"Greetings, Your Highness." the soldiers immediately dropped to one knee and greeted him with politeness and respect.

Cassian simply accepted their greetings with a nod and continued entering the Castle, nodding at everyone along the way.

"Being a Prince is quite tiring. I must say, sometimes I’m quite envious of commoners."

"Powers comes with responsibilities, Your Highness." A warm voice reached his ears from behind, startling him. He immediately recognized the voice owner and with a massive smile, he gently hugged the man, "I missed you, Uncle Armes."

"It seems you’ve grown quite thinner during your travels." Armes playfully replied, returning the hug with a small smile.

They continued their conversation along the way as Cassian happily shared his stories with him while hiding some key information regarding Geneis and Astralis.

"Brother–!"

Another important figure entered inside, rushing toward Cassian with tear-filled eyes and a sobbing face. She swiftly jumped and nestled herself inside his arms, breaking into tears after finally realizing that it was not a dream.

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"W-Where were you?"

Cassian holding her gently in his arms, slowly patted her head and let her finish crying first. Armes too watched the siblings get along with each other with a gentle smile on his face–the smile of a parent watching their kids.

"I had to do some errands, Amy." He replied, wiping the tears off her face. She looked quite cute with those round golden eyes and chubby cheeks, that were inviting him to squish them. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"I’ve brought some gifts for you, would you like to open them?" He took out some perfectly wrapped gift boxes and placed them right beside her. These gift boxes were handmade by him with immense care and love. During his return, he noticed a small gift shop in a nearby city, and that reminded him of Amelia.

"I can’t meet her emptyhanded." He thought, thinking about something interesting.

He bought some papers and paints from a local shop and started painting those papers into colorful art.