The Devil's Betrothed novel Chapter 598

Chapter 598: I Ate A Dragon

Arlan was busy in his study while Oriana slept peacefully in their chamber, exhausted from their time together.

Imbert and Rafal stood by his side, discussing important matters.

"...Lord Nathanial will ensure Alex doesn’t return until Marquis Mortimer leaves the capital."

"Only Nathanial can hold him back," Arlan commented, running his finger along the sword on his desk, a gift from Luis. "Anything else?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Imbert said. "There has been a mysterious group active in the capital for a while."

Arlan raised an eyebrow. "For a while? Why haven’t I heard about it yet?"

"Your Highness has been busy," Imbert hinted at the incidents since Arlan’s wedding. "So Alex preferred to handle it himself until we had more information."

"Got the information then?"

"Not much, as they are acting very discreetly. However, they’ve been more active in the past few days."

"What happened in the past few days to make them so bold, even daring to intrude into our territory?"

"There are hints it coincides with the arrival of Marquis Mortimer," Rafal answered.

"Call him by his name. No need to give him respect," Arlan interrupted. "He doesn’t deserve the title of Marquis, which he stole through wicked means."

Rafal nodded. "And they don’t seem like Luis’s friends."

"Won’t be surprised if that swine has more enemies," Arlan said. "Move our dark forces more aggressively and find out who they are and bring them to me. Let’s see what beef they have with Luis."

"Yes, Your Highness," Rafal added. "They seem to be aware of the existence of dark forces and have stayed away from our people."

"Then they are smart, I guess," Arlan commented.

Kerry entered the study. "Your Highness, I have brought him."

"Bring him here."

Kerry stepped outside and brought in an older man wearing somewhat shabby clothes, the result of his work. His face was wrinkled, with barely any gray hair left on his scalp, and his hands were shaking.

"Your Highness," the man bowed, visibly shaken as to why the Crown Prince had summoned him.

"Master Eldrik," Arlan spoke, "Don’t be afraid. I called you here because I need your help."

"Help?" The man looked puzzled but noticed the sword on the table. "Do you want me to craft a sword for you?"

Arlan shook his head. "Instead, I want you to uncraft something." As he spoke, Arlan’s ears picked up a sound, and a light smile painted his lips as he looked at Rafal. "She is awake. Inform the servants."

Rafal nodded and left. Arlan resumed his attention to the older man. "Master Eldrik, I want you to inspect this sword in front of me. Do whatever you need to do, even break it if necessary, but let me know anything you can find out about it."

The man walked towards the desk and leaned down a little, his eyes taking a careful look at the sword. His slightly shaking fingers traced along the blade and stopped at the handle. "Any sword that is made, not just its blade, but its handle, is the most crucial part of its identity," he said, tracing the finely crafted gold and jade-embedded handle. "I thought I would never see this again."

"What is it?" Arlan asked.

"This craftsmanship is from the kingdom of Aurialor, the fallen kingdom," the man replied. "These swords were rarely made and only for the royal family members. No one else was allowed to learn, craft, or use them. That kingdom and the family that crafted these swords no longer exist, so I believed this exquisite sword-making art was lost as well. But looking at this sword, it’s crafted recently, which means someone still knows how to make it."

Arlan was taken aback. Aurialor was the kingdom that once belonged to Oriana’s family. What does Luis have to do with it? Arlan was aware this differently crafted sword of Mortimer family and he was sure through this sword he would get a lead about from where exactly Mortimers have came to Griven. But this was something unexpected he got to hear.