Valerian, The Legendary

223 Remove Him? Can You?

Jamal Centurion had just woken up and he was washing his face when Snare appeared beside him. The old man asked, “What is it, that you could not even wait for me to dry my face?”

Snare replied, “Your Excellency, news from Lumen.”

The old man nodded but he did not ask what it was and said, “You can hold it in till the court is in session.”

Snare wanted to say something but he calmed down quickly. He was now loyal to Silk. Since this old man was acting again, he did not want to go ahead and say anything. The routine of the day carried on as usual and after a couple of hours, the old man came to the courtroom.

He took his seat on the throne and Ameer stood up immediately. Jamal asked, “Anything the matter?”

Ameer was surprised and so were the rest of the courtiers. Ameer said, “Your excellency, are you not aware of the changes in the Lumen nation?”

Jamal raised his brows and asked, “What changes can there be to make you all so flustered?”

Ameer looked around and cursed himself for acting too soon, but he still bit the bullet and said, “Your Excellency, the scouts have reported that they spotted a dragon land on the shores of Lumen nation. However, soon after that, the dragon flew back to the seas and never appeared again. The scouts are still paying rapt attention to the spot, but they have yet to discover anything.”

The calm-looking old man had given up on his expression. He asked, “Is the news confirmed?”

.....

Ameer nodded, and Jamal said, “Gather some of the archmages and grandmasters, have them posted in the region, and wait for the dragon to return. If there is really a dragon then none of the Lumen people and beast tamers are allowed to find out. Do you understand? Put out a gag on this thing.”

Ameer nodded and agreed to the command. The old man began to address other issues and suddenly, he was given another scroll. It was a scout report from Lumen. It said that three days ago, the fourth prince and the Empress took a stroll in the city and they made amends in the conditions there. The moral of the people was stabilized and the matter of the rumors washed away.

The entire Lumen empire now wished for the fourth prince to visit their regions. His popularity has broken all the norms and this was something that Jamal did not like. However, he was not someone who would give up or admit defeat so easily. He cast his gaze at his daughter and said, “Ayat, you are the head of the assassination division, can you kill him?”

Ayat stood up and with a cold face, she shook her head, “This target may seem like a child, but he is a terrible opponent. If I send out anyone below a grandmaster or an archmage, it will not work. Also, one assassin will not cut it.”

Jamal nodded and asked, “Are you sure you are not overestimating this guy?”

Ayat looked at her father and said, “I do not underestimate my opponents. How he managed to kill a thousand Valkyrians is still unclear and you wish to send people to attack him? I will not go on any mission blindly.”

Jamal raised his voice after his daughter’s usual rebellious attitude irritated him, “Have you forgotten that I am your emperor?”

Ayat replied, “An emperor needs to listen to his officials. You may not understand this since you have not even seen the battlefield, but that place was nothing shorter than hell.”

Jamal slammed his fist at the armrest and said, “Shut up! Since you think that I do not listen to my officials, you do not have to be one anymore.”

None of the people knew what has came over Ayat. She has been the most abiding child of the family, but today she completely spat in the face of her father and called him a tyrant indirectly. This was not something that could be ignored. Ayat, on the other hand, did not even try to defend herself and stood up from her chair.

She then walked toward the gate and Jamal said, “Apprehend her.”

Ayat stopped and turned around to look at the old man, as she asked, “What is my crime?”

Jamal replied, “You defied the imperial command. That is the biggest crime.”

Ayat gazed at her father and then she started laughing like a maniac. She said, “I knew that you cannot allow anyone to go against you, you are nothing but a control freak. You killed your father for the throne, then your siblings were exiled and murdered, then you killed your wife when she gave birth to a girl who had a mole between her eyebrows. A mole between the eyebrows was a bad omen, right?

So, you killed your wife, and you killed that girl. An infant against the mighty Jamal Centurion, the iron fist king of Centaur, the one who fought against a hundred berserkers alone. Yet he did not hesitate in ending the life of an infant.

You trained us siblings to be your tools, even if we have no gifts, you treat us like your pawns. Do this, do that. Do you think I have forgotten the whip marks on my back, you old wretch? Even if you try to look away, your judgment will arrive.”

Everyone in the court was shocked, they did not expect things to be like this. Ameer gathered his senses and said, “Ayat, what are you doing, apologize and surrender. Don’t do such foolish things.”

Ayat looked at her brother and said, “I am done, brother. I am very tired.”

Jamal stood up from the throne and his body was emitting a vigor as if he was in his youth. He grasped his sword and said, “You do not deserve to live.”

Ayat smiled and took out a dagger from her waist and said, “Neither do you, but my life is not yours to claim anymore. Wait for your end, Jamal Centurion.”

That said, the lady moved her knife and slashed her own throat. Blood gushed out of her wound as she stood there with a bitter smile on her face. Zeenat and Akhlakh could not fathom what just happened now. Their sister killed herself in front of the entire court.

A middle-aged man rushed out from the crowd and yelled, “Someone call a light mage. Hurry.”

The man held the falling woman in his arms as he sobbed and called for help. However, just then a voice sounded, “Since she gave up the life she had willingly, let her die.”

The crowd was shocked once again, they did not expect the old man to be so ruthless. The middle-aged man looked at Jamal and asked, “Your Excellency, my wife has spent her entire life working on your commands, she was born from you, can you not let her go this one? Your Excellency, I beg you please save her.”

Jamal did not reply and walked out of the court with his sword. Ameer and Akhlakh rushed toward their sister and Zeenat were helped by an attendant. When Zeenat was young, one of her legs was injured during training and the healers could not treat her.

When Ayat saw her siblings surrounding her in the last moments, she was gratified and raised her hand to speak with signs, “At least, I have you all to see me off.”

Zeenat asked while her eyes turned red as she said, “Why?”

Ayat smiled and said, “That old man has simply ruined our lives. You have no idea how many innocents I have killed because this man tagged them as threats. I have not known what good sleep is like. I am haunted by those shadows I have killed. You do not know how much relief I have in my heart now.”

Zeenat shook her head as tears began to flow from her eyes. Akhlakh knelt down beside his sister and held her hand. He said, “Ayat, I...”

Ayat shook her head to make him stop apologizing to her. Gradually, her eyes dimmed and her breathing slowed down. In her last moments, she said, ‘Remove him if you wish to improve the world. Please. Can you do this for me?’

Ameer closed his eyes and sighed. His sister passed away. In this world, the ties of blood between the siblings were the only thing that mattered to them. However, now they have lost one of them. As the family grieved, someone was relishing this feeling.

The entirety of this incident was planned by Morgana, she had been feeding wrong information to Ayat, that Jamal wanted to get rid of her. However, in the past few days, this dosage was increased and finally, Ayat exploded, and with her exploded the rage contained within the hearts of the Centurion family.

...

Morgana was lying on the floor inside her room when Snare appeared behind her and said, “Your Highness, the plan has been executed. Jamal Centurion has entered the grieving hall.”

The girl nodded and said, “Leave, and tell Ameer about this.”

Snare did not understand the intention but he will do as he was told. Silk raised her head and asked, “Mistress, why did you ask him to go to Ameer?”

Morgana smiled and said, “Ameer is the key to the fall of this family. As the eldest son, he has been the one carrying the burden of all the sins of Jamal as well as the scars from all the things he has faced. It is time to reveal some of it.”

The infighting of the Centurions have begun.