New Novel
Chapter 23: The new spreads

Chapter 23: The new spreads

Aldric stood staring at the closed gate for a very long time.

The false smile on his face had completely vanished.

Reinhardt was also watching the Avarenne party depart, his expression not much more pleasant. Tonight’s events had left a crack far too large in the relationship between the two families, and Cassian’s attitude made it clear he would not let things go easily.

After a while, Reinhardt finally asked in a low voice: "Do we need to prepare anything?"

Aldric understood what his father was asking.

Send people to follow.

Deal with those who knew too much.

Or perhaps even arrange another accident on the road back to House Avarenne.

He gritted his teeth, but in the end shook his head.

"No need. Making another move now will only make them more suspicious. I still have plenty of chances."

Reinhardt turned to look at his son.

Aldric slowly took a deep breath, forcing the rage down.

He still knew the storyline.

That was still his greatest advantage.

The Magic Academy under the Church held an extremely rare medicinal herb that only grew in the area nourished by the Mana Spring.

According to the original storyline, Leviana was supposed to remain in a coma for nearly another year.

After that, it would be Aldric who obtained that herb, had an herbalist refine it into a special pill, and then brought it to her.

The pill would help Leviana wake.

And it would also be the first step in earning her genuine trust.

Leviana had already woken early, but her body was still extremely weak. Her soul and flesh hadn’t fully stabilized, and her power had declined severely.

The herb still had value.

As long as Aldric obtained it first and used the pill to help Leviana recover quickly, she would understand who truly had the power to change her future.

What could Lathel do?

Wipe her body.

Spoon-feed medicine.

Stay up through the night.

Risk his life jumping out a window.

Those things might move someone for a moment, but they couldn’t restore a genius who had once reached the Sage tier.

Aldric could.

Thinking this far, the anger on his face gradually eased.

’Right.’

’The storyline only shifted a little.’

’I still know what happens next.’

’I just need to pull everything back, step by step.’

Leviana would choose him in the end.

House Avarenne would also have to become a resource on his path to the summit.

And Lathel...

Aldric’s eyes turned cold at once.

An Extra living a few more days couldn’t change anything.

He had plenty of opportunities to kill him.

But the moment he thought of Cassian and Mirelle, the humiliation from before came flooding back.

Cassian’s words still echoed in his head.

Someone with a rotten character like you deserves to stand beside Empress Catherine?

Then Mirelle’s look of contempt.

Aldric slowly clenched his fist.

’Those two old fools.’

Today the two of them had used their strength and status to stand before him and say those things.

Fine.

He would remember.

On the day House Avarenne fell into his hands, Aldric would not let either of them die as easily as in the original storyline.

Cassian would lose his army, his merchant guild, his territory, and every last person loyal to him.

Mirelle would watch all of it disappear with her own eyes.

And in the end, Aldric wanted both of them kneeling at his feet.

When that time came, Cassian would no longer be the lofty Duke looking down from on high.

Mirelle would no longer be able to look at him with that disgusted expression.

The corner of Aldric’s mouth slowly curved as the image formed in his mind.

’I’ll make the two of you lick my boots clean.’

’Then kneel and beg like two dogs.’

’When that day comes, I want to see how you protect Lathel then.’

Reinhardt stood beside him watching the smile on his son’s face, frowning slightly but not asking.

In his eyes, Aldric had simply endured a humiliation too great.

A genius with pride was perfectly normal.

As long as the future brought enough strength, those who looked down on him today would naturally pay the price.

Reinhardt patted his son’s shoulder lightly.

"Go treat your wounds first. The rest can be dealt with in time."

Aldric nodded.

"Yes, Father."

He turned and walked into the estate. Before leaving the courtyard, Aldric still looked toward the gate one last time.

In his eyes, nothing was over yet.

As long as the storyline remained in his head, the final victor would still be him.

And Lathel...

Was merely an Extra who had lived a few Chapters longer than he should have.

.....

Quite some distance away, in a large inn near the northern route, the female knights of Black Rose were resting for the time being.

The entire top floor had been rented out. The ordinary guests only knew that a party of noblewomen had passed through, completely unaware that most of the women in white cloaks inside could easily kill a common knight.

Catrina sat by the window in the largest room.

The silver mask still concealed her face. The foil rested on the table within arm’s reach, beside a map of the region and several reports Black Rose had just gathered.

She was reviewing the route from House Kirlinghalm to the Avarenne territory.

After her conversation with Leviana, Catrina had originally planned to maintain a measured distance, letting Black Rose observe quietly rather than intervening too aggressively in the timeline.

At least until she understood what Aldric was preparing as his next step.

A knock came at the door.

"Enter."

A female knight stepped in, holding a very small envelope.

"Your Grace, an urgent report from our contact inside House Kirlinghalm."

Catrina immediately reached out and took it.

She broke the wax seal and read.

By the third line, the hand holding the paper had gone still.

The room fell suddenly silent.

The female knight standing before her felt the shift in Catrina’s aura and instinctively bowed her head lower.

The letter was very short.

Leviana’s convalescence room was set on fire.

Lathel broke a window and carried Leviana out, jumping from the second floor.

Left leg broken. Multiple wounds from shattered glass. Severe blood loss.

By this point, Catrina’s fingers had already begun to tighten.

The next line left an immediate crease in the paper.

Aldric appeared afterward.

Two fingers on Lathel’s right hand were deliberately snapped by him.

Catrina shot to her feet.

The chair behind her toppled to the floor.

The female knight flinched.

"Your Grace..."

Catrina had already walked past her.

She didn’t give orders.

She didn’t even stop for the foil on the table.

After two steps, Catrina suddenly turned back, snatched the sword, and pushed the door open.

The female knights outside rose to their feet in unison.

"Your Grace?"

Catrina didn’t answer.

She walked straight down the stairs.

Faster and faster.

By the time the Black Rose soldiers understood what was happening, Catrina had already reached the stables behind the inn.

One female knight rushed after her.

"My lady, what’s happened?"

Catrina was already untying the reins of her black horse.

"Something’s happened to Lathel."

Just four words.

The faces of every female knight around her changed at once.

Catrina had already swung onto the saddle.

The knight tried to ask for a destination, but hoofbeats were already thundering.

The black horse tore out of the inn’s yard, kicking up dust along the road ahead.

Catrina leaned low over the horse’s neck.

The strong wind whipped the white cloak behind her.

Beneath the mask, her face was terrifyingly cold.

Two fingers.

Aldric had broken two of Lathel’s fingers.

The very hands he used to speak.

Catrina remembered those hands with perfect clarity.

In the previous life, she had spent a very long time learning each sign. At first she kept getting them wrong, and Lathel had to patiently correct every gesture. By the day they were preparing the wedding, she could understand him without needing a single board.

And now Aldric had dared to destroy them.

Catrina’s grip on the reins was so tight that the joints of her fingers went bone white.

’Aldric.’

She had already agreed with Leviana that they shouldn’t recklessly disrupt the current trajectory.

Observe.

Be patient.

Wait for the right moment.

But right now, Catrina had only one thought.

She wanted to see Lathel first.

Confirm he was still alive.

Then decide what she would take from Aldric in exchange for those two fingers.

.....

At the same time.

The upper level of the eastern tower in the Holy Temple was as quiet as ever.

Anna sat in the chair by the window, a blank sheet of paper before her.

She had been sitting there for nearly half an hour just thinking about what to write to Lathel tomorrow.

If she told another story about losing a book, it would sound too much like last time.

Talking about a new dish she’d tried could work.

Or ask what kind of flowers he liked?

Anna tilted her head slightly.

If she knew what flowers Lathel liked, she could eventually fill the entire garden around their house with them.

The thought made the corner of her lips curve upward.

She had just been about to put pen to paper when a fluctuation of mana appeared before her.

Not the purple envelope from Lathel.

Anna recognized that at once.

A different message envelope slowly materialized in a faint glow.

The smile on her lips vanished.

Anna reached out and took it.

The seal was opened.

She read very quickly.

The room fell silent.

Then the temperature began to drop.

The moisture on the windowpane slowly condensed, and a thin layer of ice spread out from the corners.

The cup on the table let out a very small crack.

Anna remained seated.

The hand holding the letter clenched so tightly that the edges of the paper were nearly crushed.

The contents were nearly identical to the report Catrina had just received.

The fire.

The door sealed shut.

Lathel carrying Leviana and jumping from the second floor.

Broken leg.

Blood loss.

Then Aldric.

Two fingers on the right hand.

Anna stopped at that line for a very long time.

"His fingers..."

Her voice was very soft.

"You broke his fingers?"

The mana in the room fluctuated sharply.

The ice on the windowpane spread further.

Anna clenched her teeth.

For an instant, every trace of her usual gentleness vanished completely.

But only a few breaths later, she slowly inhaled.

Once.

Then again.

She smoothed out the crumpled letter in her hand, the motion so careful it was almost the complete opposite of the cold mana flooding the room.

Anna remembered she had reminded herself many, many times.

She must not frighten Lathel.

She must not rush.

One step at a time.

One letter at a time.

She needed to appear before him in a way that made Lathel feel safe.

Anna slowly raised her head.

The white cloth band still covered her eyes.

The corner of her lips also curved upward gradually.

A very gentle smile.

Only in a room already coated in a thin layer of ice, that smile somehow felt colder than anything else.

"It’s fine."

Anna said softly.

"Aldric is still alive."

She stroked the edge of the letter.

"So I still have time."

Outside the door, a young nun had just been about to knock when a shiver suddenly ran through her.

The door opened on its own.

Anna was still sitting in the chair, her face already restored to its usual serenity.

"Prepare a carriage."

The nun looked slightly startled.

"Your Holiness? Right now?"

"Yes."

Anna stood.

She picked up the white wooden box containing every one of Lathel’s letters and cradled it against her chest.

"I want to leave the Holy City."

The nun asked in surprise: "Where does Your Holiness wish to go?"

Anna paused for a moment.

In her mind appeared Lathel’s hand.

Two fingers, broken.

The smile on her lips deepened at once.

"House Avarenne."

The nun had never seen Anna make such a sudden decision, but in the end she still bowed her head.

"Yes. I’ll prepare immediately."

When the door closed, Anna slowly turned toward the window.

The ice on the glass reflected a silver-white silhouette.

She gently placed her hand on the box of letters.

"Lathel..."

Her voice turned soft again.

"I only looked away from you for a moment."

"And they’ve already done this to you."

Anna’s smile still didn’t fade.

"It seems I truly shouldn’t leave you out there for too long."

In the distance, the bells of the Holy Temple rang out.

On the same night.

A carriage began its preparations to leave the Holy City.

A black horse was racing at full speed along the road toward the Avarenne territory.

And Cassian’s convoy was still carrying Lathel through the darkness.

Three women in three different places were all moving in the same direction.

And Lathel still had no idea what was waiting for him when he woke.