Longest chapter of the novel so far and I won't be making a chapter this long anymore. This was needed for this part of the arc but it's over now, we can now go back to being lovey dovey.
Also shoutout to sammy, my editor. He came up with a solution to the William inner monologue.
Thank you to my patrons, OdeToAKite, Danielle Warvel, Michael, JewBot9000 and Jonathan Newman for always being patient and supporting in what I do.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Aric. What are you doing?]
While Aric's face showed nothing but his calm demeanor, Lira noticed the quickened rhythm of his pulse.
Ivy didn't miss it either. How could she? She was inside his head.
Shut up, Ivy! I-I-I'm just doing this so she doesn't have to deal wi-wit-with that psycho! Plus, I have figured out a way to win this deal. I know how to win everything all at once for Sera.
She sighed heavily. She folded her arms and composed herself,
[So… you've decided. You want to stay with her? Because once you do, you not only have to be her husband for a while but also sleep with her in the house, actually be someone she can rely on.]
[Are you ready for something like that?]
Aric stuttered, I—
[Answer me straight. Are you staying with Seraphina because of that man? Or is it because of that man that you're staying with Seraphina?]
You motherfucker. DID YOU JUST QUOTE JUJU—
[Well?]
Aric grimaced. He wanted to roll his eyes but his chest felt heavier than he liked.
…I don't know, okay? Maybe both. Maybe neither. All I know is, I'm not letting him take her. She doesn't like him and his eyes alone have bigger red flags than my previous exes.
Ivy smirked and clapped a little, [Hmph. Good answer, soldier. About damn time.]
Aric let out a breath and finally turned his gaze to Seraphina. He reached up and grabbed her by her waist while saying,
"Sit down."
She looked at him, "Aric—"
"Trust me." He pulled her chair and gestured for her to sit.
She was more surprised by the fact that Aric was still holding her by the waist. Her cheeks were a little flushed but she maintained her composure. Aric guided her back into her chair, then without hesitation, rested his hand gently on her head and patted her hair like she was the most precious thing in the room.
Her eyes widened. The gesture was intimate and it made her flush but she didn't swat him away.
"Leave it to me, dear wife."
Theodore was really pissed off. His eyes twitched, his jaw clenched and his thoughts spiraled into rage.
That… bastard dared to touch her like that, so casually? YOUR FILTHY HANDS OVER MY PRINCESS!?
YOU INSOLENT BASTARD!
Theodore's hand tightened under the table but Aric only tilted his head, meeting his glare with a smile that screamed:
I did that on purpose. Do something about it.
Then Aric's eyes slid back to the king.
"Now then, shall we negotiate properly?"
William raised a brow. He was slightly impressed. "You actually defended your wife. I applaud you for that but I see no reason to revise what I've already said. The name you bear poisons everything around you. It is an inescapable fact."
"Oh, I see." Aric leaned back, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "So, reputation is the problem. Not results. Not contribution. Not the fact that your kingdom has already been influenced by my shit. Just the name."
"I see, I see."
"Your name," William said evenly, "is irredeemable."
For a moment, Aric only smiled. Then, he zipped and reappeared beside William. William gasped loudly and held his chest,
"You scared me!"
Aric, while still smiling, leaned down and showed a folded slip of paper in his hand.
"My apologies, 'king'. I will be writing here about a condition that we could perhaps discuss and see if we could maybe adjust it yeah?"
Aric wrote on the paper close to his face quickly so nobody else could see it and folded it back. He gave it to the king with a grin,
"You should open it to yourself only."
William opened the paper, saw the words and froze. Sweat began dripping down his temples.
You love fucking Callista, don't you? How's the wife?
His eyes widened, "You—"
Before he could finish, Aric chuckled softly and whispered to him with his hands up to William's ears,
"Careful now. You wouldn't want your beautiful wife or your 'precious' son to misunderstand what that means, would you? I would suggest you really think about it, old man."
Sweat started to form at the back of William's neck. "You bit—"
"Relax." Aric cut him off while taking the paper away and slipping it back into his pocket. He continued whispering,
"I'm not unreasonable, but it would be such a shame if… rumours spread. You understand? So, why don't you be the good little boy you are and listen to what I have to say? Otherwise, I will scream what you have done and I do not care if I have to fight your son."
He made his voice lower, "After all, I have nothing to lose while you...have everything to lose, dear king."
The king's hand clenched beneath the table and shivered.
[Ohhhh, you evil bastard.] Ivy purred. [I like this side of you. Actually, now that I think about it...]
She looked at the body monitor that showed the merge percentage.
[You are using that 20% really well here. Keep it up.]
William finally exhaled through his nose and spoke loudly, "Fine. I have read your condition and decided it would do all of us good here to revise it."
Aric went back to his seat and slid a folder of documents across the table.
"This," Aric announced, "is a signed acknowledgement from Callista herself. She recognizes the business she has with us and expresses her intent to remain allies with the Arkwright's. Inside there as well, you can see Prince Thorin's acknowledgment alongside interest from Princess Lira herself."
The royals checked every detail of the document to make sure it wasn't fake.
William hesitated, "…Mmm, it looks like her signature but what about the other two?"
Thorin immediately answered, "It is my signature. Want me to sign another just to show it's not fabricated?"
Lira was patting his back as she answered, "You should already know about my signature. Are you going to doubt me?"
Alice smiled at them and clasped her hands together, "No, no. I believe you, and I'm sure we do too. So then, what is the revised versio—"
But Aric cut her off with his hand raised, "Sorry, I need to go see the king one more time. King William, may we have a chat privately at a corner? Just one minute."
Aric looked calm, but his eyes screamed, If you don't go, I will scream about your infidelity.
William coughed while rearranging the documents, "Yes, yes. Let's do that."
They both stood up and walked to a corner of the hall. Aric walked faster than him and created a document in just a second with full details, thanks to his magic. He waited for the king to join and showed him the paper.
It was just one page but it also bore Callista's signature for some reason.
"These are my terms." He said aloud, catching everyone's attention.
William unfolded the document and froze. His eyes traced over the text slowly until they landed on the signature at the bottom.
His heart sank.
That's her signature… No doubt about it. But how? Why would she give this to him? Is this real? Did she betray us?
His hands trembled as he read further. The document explicitly detailed Callista's scandalous involvement with him. There was no denying its authenticity or at least, none that wouldn't require exposing himself in the process.
William's mind raced. Goddamn it! This is impossible. She wouldn't dare ruin herself like this unless… unless she's planning something worse. But why would she betray me!? Unless… unless Vayne isn't bluffing after all.
Aric tucked the slip away from William's shivering hand into his coat and maintained a cold smile. He lowered his voice so only William could hear him,
"So, what are you going to do about it? Callista has taken her stance in this agreement and is even willing to throw you under the bus. Of course, I could just be lying and forged her signature, but hey."
He smiled like the old Vayne did. Menacing, cold, and straight-up punchable.
"How are you going to prove that? You can't stop me without causing a scene or cutting my throat, and before you could even do that, I would've ruined your fucking marriage already and made sure shit goes to hell."
"You talk a big game and gave my wife a decision to divorce me in front of everyone for your son. You even went as far as to make me a fucking nobody if it meant your son gets her."
He put his hand on William's shoulder, "Well then, 'king'. Right now, I am giving you a choice. Agree to any terms my wife sets from now on and I will keep your little relationship a secret from your wife."
"Or, you can fuck around and find out. Your choice, really. You can try to prove it's fake, but you also risk everything. Let's see, 30 years of marriage down the drain? Oof. Rough odds, huh?"
He patted William's shoulder softly, "Just remember, 'king'. You did this to yourself. I am still merciful and giving you a way out."
William's breath stuttered, and he was one wrong breath away from swinging at Aric's face.
Merciful my ass! How the hell did he know about Callista? Did she tell him? No. That makes no sense! NOTHING ABOUT THIS MAKES SENSE!
UGHHH! She herself wouldn't want drama on her. But then, why did signed it?
Agh! Who fucking cares? There's no way that document is real...right? I mean, why would she betray the royal family? She has always wanted more and betraying us would just be making herself stay as a duchess.
But I can't prove it! This Vayne...she was right. He is really dangerous now. His eyes say that he will tell everyone in this room about my shit if I even think about declining his offer. If I deny this, not only will he expose me and make my Alice divorce me, but he will also just pay the debt in full and restrict us from using the technology.
Everything I can think of right now doesn't work. I can use Theodore to cause mayhem with his powers, but...that would just lead to the negotiation going nowhere. Lira would also be able to stop him without even breaking a sweat.
This Vayne...he set up a checkmate. I can't get out.
He's a monster.
My wife...dammit. I knew I shouldn't have cheated on you. Fuck. I can only hope that Seraphina would give us favourable conditions...
I fucked up.God, I've ruined everything. Maybe if I repent now, I can salvage something…Yeah...maybe I can start by just getting this deal over with.
"Sure." William snapped up, adjusting his collar.
Aric just smiled at him knowingly.
"Now then!" Aric said, cheerful as a merchant closing a sale. "Shall we go back to the table and hear the conditions?"
William glanced once at Seraphina, then at Aric. "Yes."
As they resumed their seats, Aric kept staring at William with an unrelenting intensity. William coughed nervously, trying and failing to hide his sweat.
"Now then, let's hear it. I'll accept any terms, as long as they're reasonable."
Seraphina looked surprised, turning to Aric with a questioning glance: What did you do?
Aric dismissed her curiosity with a wave of his hand, urging her to focus on the negotiation.
Seraphina cleared her throat and addressed the table. "Well then. Since you made such an outrageous request earlier, I'll be equally demanding. You'll agree to anything I propose, correct?"
William nodded reluctantly. "Yes. As long as it's not excessive."
"Great. First, the debt will be erased. Once that's settled, you'll provide a written official statement confirming that you'll never propose your son to me again."
William nodded silently, relief washing over Alice's face. Seraphina continued,
"Thirdly, I won't give you the inventions for free anymore. You stepped on me when I was being reasonable by giving you this advanced technology without even asking for much but since you screwed with me so many times now, I'll offer them at a discounted rate."
William started to protest, but Alice pinched his thigh sharply. Smiling sweetly at Seraphina, she whispered to William,
"Sit down."
"Since we're proceeding with a discounted rate," Seraphina added,
"I'll conduct future business exclusively with Queen Alice. She has proven to be fair, understanding and balanced throughout this ordeal. She defended my honour when others trampled on it."
"I refuse to do business with you or your son. However, if Queen Alice handles matters, I'll cooperate fully. These are my terms. Once agreed upon, I'll summon Evelyn and Penelope to deliver detailed documents outlining each invention's pricing and specifications."
She paused, glancing around the table. "Don't worry. All prices will be fair, though there's still room for negotiation for you, Queen Alice."
William fought every fiber in his being to deny this but in the end, he nodded and Alice smiled and shook hands with Seraphina, Lira, Thorin and Aric.
Seraphina raised her hand and snapped her fingers. The doors opened with a heavy creak. Evelyn and Penelope entered in perfect synchronization, wearing their best attires. Both bowed their heads to everyone then walked gracefully to Seraphina.
"Draft the contract," Seraphina ordered, "Terms are as follows..."
As Seraphina spoke, Evelyn and Penelope responded, "Yes, my lady." while pulling out pen and paper and taking a seat at the table.
Across the table, Alice exhaled in relief. Thank Lysandra above… it didn't explode into war. My son… if he had snapped, if his angelic powers had manifested here, this entire hall would have burned.
Thank you, Seraphina. Thank you to Vay...Aric right? Especially him.
You managed to leash this madness and somehow convinced my dumb husband!
Her relief lasted all of three seconds. Then she turned her sharp gaze toward her husband. Her fingers latched onto William's ear, pulled him out of his chair and went to a corner,
"OW–OW–Alice, wait!" William yelped as she twisted it viciously. She stopped twisting it and William spoke in a low volume,
"Woman, I am a king! A king doesn't get dragged around like a disobedient—"
"You're a fool, William!" Alice hissed, "Proposing divorce to a woman like Seraphina? Have you gone mad? Also, offering our son like some prize goat? DO YOU HAVE A BRAIN OR DID IT LEAK OUT YEARS AGO?"
She resume to twisting his ears and William screamed a little,
"STOP! STOP! My ear! MY EAR, ALICE, PLEASE!" He flailed and she let go of his ears. She smiled sweetly to anyone who happened to glance their way, as if this were a perfectly normal royal conversation.
Seraphina arched a brow but chose to ignore the muffled chaos. She and Aric continued helping with the making of the contract.
Meanwhile, Theodore took a slow breath, stood up, straightened his back and bowed with sincerity.
"My deepest apologies." he said softly, so only she and a select few could hear.
"I acted shamefully, without restraint. I only… wanted the best for you but if this is the path you've chosen, then I'll support you. At the very least, allow me to aid you in this business endeavour you have. I believe I can introduce you to even more nobles that would have an interest in this revolutionary technology."
Seraphina looked at him and sighed, "That won't be necessary."
"Still," Theodore added, "do know that I am always here for you."