The Duchesses

Chapter 8 : The Deal

"I am grateful that you and Crown Princess were willing to help me on the trial day. I am indebted for it," Natalie smiles, doesn't even know why the simple thing could feel so great by just having a tea with Medea.

"On the day of the attempted assassination, I had a deja vu when I saw the bodies wearing dark blue armour. It is like something I have seen before that I could not recall," Medea looks at Natalie nonchalantly.

As soon as Medea finished her words, the Duchess of Light stiffened slightly. She knows Medea mentioned the dark blue armour on purpose because Duchess Valimos had seen them before. When the former Duke Valimos was still alive, Prince Ares ordered Natalie to kill the Valimos' servants. The task was a disaster because Medea was able to save and release the majority of her servants. Natalie had become warier of pleasing Ares as a result of that incident. She remembered that Natalie had even shielded Ares from the assassins with her body to beg his trust and forgiveness.

"How could I forget about the obvious thing?" Aurora couldn't help but curse herself about it.

Due to her preoccupation with rescuing the Crown Princess, Duchess Smith had forgotten to make any adjustments to the Smith family's secret knights. She is aware, however, that Duchess Valimos can be trusted with this information. On the other hand, Medea is also very manipulative, so it's a risky situation. Natalie is utterly terrified of the plans Medea has devised in her head. Medea's thoughts were difficult to decipher, but Natalie had some suspicions.

"Why would Your Grace not bring this up on the trial day? It would be beneficial to apprehend the assassins," Natalie feigns ignorance.

"So she plays nonchalantly on her part. I never thought Nate could be this amusing in the past," Medea finds the woman more fascinating.

"The armour reminds me of the two red dragons. Hence, I would not trouble the trial with such insignificant memories of mine," Duchess Valimos presses Natalie even more, knowing there's no way out for her.

For 400 years, the House of Smith has been represented by a pair of mighty red dragons. Medea implies in her indirect address that the Smith family is connected to the assassins. Indeed Natalie isn't too dense to understand this figure of speech. Duchess Valimos must have known Natalie is well-versed in her alliance with Hera. In her mind, the Crown Princess had already spoken with Duchess Valimos about what had happened earlier that day. Since she is trapped, Natalie must negotiate with the Duchess.

"Between saying and doing, there's the sea," Natalie said, recalling the proverbs to Medea.

It means even with a good outcome, there seem to be plenty of ways for things to go wrong. In other words, Natalie manages to save Hera but accidentally lets out the fact she gets caught red-handed by Medea.

"It wouldn't be as entertaining if it only went one way. How about we make it favourable to both parties? "Natalie unexpectedly proposes to Medea.

Medea pondered it for a while. Making a deal with the devil, especially with the Duchess of Light, is risky. This woman would go to any length to please Ares and help him ascend to the throne. She also understands that defeating both of them will be difficult. Although the House of Smith is not as powerful as the House of Valimos, its influence should not be underestimated. Duchess Smith also has many followers, making her more potent among the nobles. As a result of the number of nobles who support Prince Ares, his power rises immediately.

However, Natalie already knows their biggest secret, which Ares does not appear to be aware of. Perhaps it is a new way for Duchess Smith to plan something evil for her enemies. Out of all of this, the sudden change of Duchess Smith has been bothering Medea for a while. Duchess Valimos is perplexed by Natalie's 360-degree transformation in how she talks, thinks, and acts. The most obvious would be her reaction to something about Prince Ares.