Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Lante and Deon simultaneously lunged at one another.

Deon’s sword managed to pierce his father’s chest at an angle, which left Lante open to slash his son’s throat with his own dagger. Such a counterattack from the already severely wounded and deposed Agrece leader was only possible due to a slight moment of hesitation on Deon’s part.

As he staggered backwards, his sword dislodged from his father as well. The entire scene seemed to happen within the blink of an eye.

“Kegh! Ugh...” Groaning from the pain, Lante grabbed the wound on his chest as blood continued to spurt out.

Meanwhile, Deon had put some distance between himself and his father, then placed his hand over the gash on his neck before collapsing to the floor.

Sierra could do no more than gasp frantically for breath. In her state of shock, she hadn’t realized at first that her trembling hand had automatically flown up to mask her equally trembling lips. Try as she might, she could not fathom what would have led to such a bloody exchange between the two men, but she was certain she had never seen nor ever expected to see such a horrific duel between those two of all people. Even after father and son fell apart, Sierra’s heart would not calm.

As far as she could tell, her husband already had one foot in the grave due to all the torture he had undergone. This was only further exacerbated by what appeared to be a plethora of bite marks all over his body. However, Deon was actually much closer to seeing the gates of hell due to the slash across his throat.

Lante glared through his bloodshot crimson eyes as he tried to stand. His son, however, remained seated on the ground. He was barely managing to keep an upright posture by using his sword as a crutch.

“You bastard...” Lante spat angrily at his former favorite child.

It was clear that he hadn’t expected his son to catch up with him so quickly after his escape from the dungeon. Their fight to the death ensued almost immediately upon Deon overtaking his father, which essentially voided their former father-son relationship. The two had fought as if they were sworn enemies who were incapable of coexisting until they finally reached their current plights.

“Sierra!”

Sierra winced at the sound of her husband’s voice shouting her name.

“Get over here and help me up!”

Rather than a plea for help, he was commanding her to.

“I have to finish off that traitorous snake.” Lante reached into his pocket to withdraw a few pain relief and amphetamine pills, before tossing them into his mouth.

In his weakened state, however, a few of the tablets clattered to the floor. They were the same pills that had enabled him to withstand Deon’s attacks up until then. He knew he needed to slay his son while he still sat immobilized on the floor. The very son he had treasured above all his other offspring, but also the one who in reality proved to be his most dangerous enemy.

All he knew was that he either had to kill Deon first or regret not doing so long after his life was brought to an end. There was no room to doubt why his son had come for him with such a murderous gaze as he chased after his own father.

Had Beth not distracted the younger Agrece at that critical moment and caused him to falter, Lante supposed he would be the one lying prone on the floor awaiting death. The fact that Sierra had appeared when she did was something he chalked up to his luck finally changing for the better.

Damn it! I’ll need to get all the way to my office if I want to escape through my secret passageway.

Although his current situation was still quite dire, he couldn’t help wondering if he wasn’t meant to die just yet.He even supposed this sudden turn of events might be karma’s way of having the mother make amends for the transgressions of her daughter. If only someone had been around to help him back in the dungeons, he would have been able to break out much sooner. But it was painfully apparent to Lante that there was not a single soul in his clan that he could, should, or would trust.

After all, Deon and Roxana had been the two who he trusted the most, and they both completely betrayed him. What’s more, the circle of enchantment that he had been both impressed and ensnared by was the doing of his eldest daughter Grizelda. Taking all of that into account, he found himself wondering just how many more traitors had been conspiring right under his nose. I bet every last one of those ingrates played a part!

Once he had come to suspect a few, he could not bring himself to trust a single one of his clan or family members anymore. It only happened that he felt at least somewhat better off placing his trust in Sierra since she had never once acted or spoken out against him in regard to anything before.

“What’re you staring at, woman?! I said get over here and help me up!”

Without realizing she had been holding her breath, Sierra finally exhaled.

At first she stood frozen in fear, but soon realized the truth of the scene unfolding before her.

“Madame, we need to push on ahead. To take another path now would take us too far off track.” Emily spoke with audible determination.

Lante, who hadn’t noticed her at first, suddenly glowered in her direction. “You... You’re Roxana’s little servant b*tch! What the hell are you even doing here?! Enough of your nonsensical rambling. Get lost!”

Lante was already so far gone that he hardly had the strength to bark at Roxana’s loyal aide. His voice sounded rough between his haggard breaths, and the rank odor of blood seemed to be rising up his throat from deep inside.

“Sierra... if you value your life, you’ll get over here right now!” There was no doubt that the former clan leader was on his last leg as he was trying desperately to muster some semblance of authority in his voice.

Emily merely stared at him while contemplating whether she should put an end to his sorry existence, only to have her ruminations interrupted by the sound of Sierra suddenly speaking up.

“W... Why should I?”

“W-What?” Lante failed to mask the incredulous tone in his voice.

“My Lady...” Even Beth seemed to be taken aback at her lady’s sudden outburst.

Sierra surprisingly seemed to be the only person in that hallway who stood unperturbed.

If his tone of voice had not given him away, Lante’s slack-jawed expression as he stared at his wife left no question as to how her outburst had affected him.

Sierra bit down on her lip as her hand continued to tremble while holding the hem of her dress. Her heart was beating faster than it had been that entire night, but she refused to stifle the words she had suppressed for years from flowing freely any longer. “Why should I help someone like you? You killed my son and made my daughter’s life miserable.”

Lante could only manage to stare at her in stunned silence. Sierra had never dared to cross him before, let alone talk back.

“Tell me why you should live.” Her words cut like razors as the woman who had lived her entire life like a hopeless doll being nothing but obedient and dutiful to Lante was suddenly... “Why should the person who killed my child live?”

How dare she say such a thing to me?!

Sierra’s eyes burned bright with resolve. It was a sight Lante had never seen nor ever expected from her. As he continued to stare at her, he couldn’t help imagining Roxana’s traitorous face slowly taking the place of her mother’s.

The mother and daughter are one and the same!

“You... b*tch! Do you honestly think that you and your daughter will get away with all this?! I’ll kill you both, slice you open, then gut you for good measure!” Lante’s fury had become so intense that he was practically frothing at the mouth.

Pale as snow, Sierra simply stared at him calmly as he raged on.

“I-I... have...” Deon, who had been clutching his neck, slowly began to rise from the floor. “I have to... kill him.”

Before long, he managed to hoist himself into a kneeling position. Then he was once again staring at his father with murderous intent in his eyes.

Lante grimly watched his son as he himself began to cough up blood.

“Ah, here you are, Lante.” A new, yet familiar voice suddenly reverberated off the walls.

With his breath caught in his throat, Lante looked in the direction of the voice. “You’re...”

The same Cassis Pedelian who had appeared like a ghost at the final banquet of the goodwill gathering was approaching the bloody stalemate. Cassis’ golden eyes dispassionately looked over the scene before him.

He decided to address Deon upon meeting his gaze. “I heard you tracked your father all the way from the dungeon, so I felt compelled to give you a shot at him first, but perhaps that was a mistake.”

As Cassis joked, Deon’s eyes blazed with rage once again. Between his almost manic pride and obsession, Deon loathed the very thought of handing his prey over to Cassis of all people. However, the sad truth was that he could barely stand.

“Seems it’s my turn now.” Cassis turned away from Deon without a second thought.

“We should go, Madame.” Sensing the new opportunity to sneak away, Emily urged Sierra once again to hurry on.

Just then the Blue Heir glanced toward her, but only for a second.

Sierra took one last look at Deon and Lante, who was still glowering at her with utmost ferocity, then bit down on her lip once more and followed Emily’s lead.