The Duke's Passion

"Your Majesty."

Stefan glanced over his shoulder after hearing Dominique's voice behind him. Standing by the deck, he didn't say anything, hand behind him. "We sighted ships that raised the Spade Kingdom flags. It seemed he had anticipated this," reported Dominique the moment he stood beside his brother. "We are expecting to encounter naval warfare."

"Quentin Moriarty is a wise and genius ruler," Stefan muttered, eyes on the vast ocean surrounding their ships. "It's also the reason we prepared this much."

Dominique breathed out deeply, rocking his head. "I still don't understand how Hell got a problem with him when he was in slumber all this time. He just brings problems the moment he wakes up. Hell and his people."

Stefan cast Dominique a side-eye. Although they were expecting to go into a war against the Spade Kingdom, Stefan kept the details simple to avoid more confusion. Still, Stefan wasn't surprised that his decision to side with Samael bothered Dominique. The two had a complicated relationship.

It was so unlike Stefan… or rather; it was so unlike Samael to drag Stefan with his affairs. "Hell wasn't in slumber all this time," remarked Stefan, keeping his eyes on the sea ahead, and sensing his brother's gaze on his side. "I had said it before and I will repeat it, Quentin is up to something huge. One way or another, even if it was initially a personal affair Hell has to deal with, Quentin's plans won't stop in just killing Hell."

"Quentin wants total dominance, not just an empire. He and the man on the mainland want to rule the world. And for them to succeed, they had to take out people who could be a threat to them. The people who were capable of standing up instead of bowing before them," he continued solemnly, just repeating his explanation to everyone before departing the Heart's Kingdom. "They succeeded in turning back the time. If no action was done, their plan would continue and it wouldn't be a surprise if it succeeded."

Dominique had his brows furrowed as he listened silently. All of those Stefan mentioned were already mentioned before, except one.

"What do you mean they succeeded in turning back time?" he asked out of plain curiosity. A small part of him told him he probably misheard Stefan.

Stefan slowly shifted his eyes to his brother, looking him in the eye. "We… are back in time, Dom. I shouldn't be alive."

"What?"

"Ten years or more." Stefan peeled his eyes away from Dominique, setting them ahead. "It's the same for Quentin and some of us in here. People already perished, only to return ten years in the past to do it all over again."

"Many things had happened in the past ten years. The reason Hell and Quentin were in such a tricky situation was that they pushed him back to the time he was in slumber. If not for Hell's aunt, he would've stayed in slumber," he added solemnly. "Even so… even if Mathilda isn't there to force him out of his slumber, we'd still be in this same situation with the Spade Kingdom."

"Probably, it would be them attacking us while we are on defense." Stefan shrugged, considering all possible scenarios that could've happened without Samael. Stefan would still be forced to wage war against the Spade Kingdom, knowing full well about their plan. Zero Moriarty and that man on the mainland. Those two planned things for many years, waiting for the perfect chance to execute their plan. And the time was riped three years or so after Stefan's death. Just the thought of it turned his stomach, sending this unknown emotion crawling under his skin. "I know you have many questions, Dom, and you probably want to know why and how I died." Stefan broke the building silence between him and Dominique, listening to the sound of waves and inhaling the salt in the air. "However, this is not the right time for that. But what I can tell you is my death… was one of my proudest moments."

"I fought for what I believe was right and what I want to fight for. It might be wrong for others, but all that matters was my own heart." Stefan lifted his chin, showing zero traces of regret for what had happened in the past. As the former main antagonist, Stefan was aware his previous actions and scheme were awful and hurt others. Many had died in his hands, doing the orders that came straight from his mouth. However, he wouldn't deny he did it back then because he was too blinded. Stefan already embraced his methods might be cruel and heartless, but he did it believing in what he was fighting for. He had a reason, and he would never forget that. But not that he wasn't repenting; it was also the main reason he was trying to do things right. "For now, let us focus on stopping this before everything escalates even further. As long as we stop Zero, that man on the mainland had to take a step back to plan his next move." He breathed out calmly, batting his sharp eyes ever so tenderly. "I will dwell in the past when this is all over. I still have a duty to do as the king of the Heart's Kingdom, and as Hell's brother. The only person who can kill me is him."

Dominique pursed his lips into a thin line, getting a grasp of what could've happened before the reversal of time. He wasn't stupid to put two and two together. It was obvious who sent Stefan to hell, but knowing his king, Stefan was probably proud to die in Samael's hands. It had always been that way, wasn't it?

"So, the Spade for now, huh?" Dominique gazed ahead, narrowing his eyes while a glint flashed across his eyes. "Well… it's not like we have another choice. They would attack us if we didn't, anyway."

Far away from their fleet were ships coming out of the thick fog, raising the Spade Kingdom's flags. When Stefan blinked, he caught a cannon flying right at them but didn't reach their ship because the distance between them was this huge. "Fucking bastards…" Dominique hissed at that pathetic first attempt, miffed that they were using cannons to measure how far their fleets were. "Gather everyone before the battle," ordered Stefan, keeping his eyes on the multiple ships behind the main one. "I don't think we'll be able to land without turning this sea red."

Follow current novels on (f)reew𝒆bnovel