The Duchesses

Chapter 81 : Confusion

The leader sees this and races to catch up with Hera so that he can enter the mine before she does. However, he has learned from Julius just what vulnerabilities this woman has. That's why he snatches Aelius as he emerges from the mine and carries him out to introduce him to Hera. Then, putting the sword next to Aelius, he yells.

"Hera! We have been looking for you," he grins at the blonde woman, who finally notices this and stops running around.

The leader takes advantage of her soft spot with people and wants to solve the problem without bloodshed. The woman clenches her jaws from the situation, knowing it couldn't get out any better from this. But as her emerald eyes meet his lethal glare, he isn't fooling around.

"Let the man go," she said.

"What?" the man laughs, pushing the blade closer to Aelius' neck as the man cries out in fear.

"I can't let him go if you don't come gently with us," he smiles, looking at Aelius and Hera back and forth.

After taking a deep breath, she nods, saying, "Alright, I'll come with you."

"I can't do anything even with my power. His sword will pierce Aelius' neck the second I use my power."

The leader smiles, moving his head to tell his subordinates to put the sacred relics around the woman before using the back of the sword to knock her out of consciousness. Then, he reaches out from the back of his pocket, putting some capsules in her mouth. It should be enough to make her unconscious until they reach the heart of the Empire.

Thus, with that, Natalie's side started to crumble once again.

At Anastasia's place

Medea holds her temple, pressing it hard and trying to make the throbbing pain go. Anastasia watches over her, helping the Duchess to get up, leaning back against the headboard.

"Where am I?" Medea asks as the headache suddenly dissolves away.

Her amethyst eyes watch over the woman. She looks the same as in the past and strikingly similar to Natalie, but with more mature features.

"You are at my place," the older woman said, reaching out a glass of water to give to Medea.

"How am I still alive?"

"I stop the time and teleport us right after and use one of the assassin's bodies to cover up the blast. Unfortunately, you have been affected by bits of the blast before that, and it takes a toll on your body," Anastasia shrugs.

"Speaking of that, how is your body now?" Anastasia asks, observing Medea's wound.

"It's fine. I can ask Hera to heal it," Medea brushes it off.

"How long have I been out?"

"Almost a week," the blonde sighs.

"What?" she asks in disbelief.

Medea forces herself to get up; she has been wasting her time here while the others are probably trying to survive the bloody fight. The older woman notices this, extending her hand to stop the Valimos to refrain her moving too much.

"Where are you going? You are still hurting!" the blonde woman raises her voice slightly.

"I am going to go back," Medea said, pushing Anastasia's hand.

"No, you can't go out as you please. You will get hurt again. Oh Lord, Natalie is going to kill me," Anastasia rambles, remembering the vicious woman who talked to her not long ago.

"Natalie?" Medea stops.

"Did she comes here?" Duchess Valimos bombards Anastasia with the question.

The red eyes look at the amethyst eyes in confusion. Come to think of it, Medea never asks her about her name. But, she doesn't seem confused or flustered looking at her. As if she already knows Anastasia. And now, she asks Natalie to come here before?