Chapter 343: Chapter 343 : Misunderstandings[2]

"Are you not taking this entirely too lightly right now. I explicitly told you Loki loves to play with her prey, and you just witnessed a live demonstration of it. But I have a very strong feeling that this was not just a simple warning or some playful teasing. I can clearly tell there is a hidden motive we cannot see yet. And I honestly would not be surprised if giving that ring to the queen was exactly her master plan all along."

Just that morning Jax had been completely fixated on taking Adelina away with him until the entire issue with Loki was permanently solved. But that argument went absolutely nowhere because Adelina firmly refused. The others also agreed it was a terrible plan, since she was the ruling queen of the kingdom and her absence would crack the country wide open.

That was exactly when Rora, the sage, offered up her newly invented magical circuit infused pair of rings.

The unique artifacts allowed the wearers to instantly swap their physical positions entirely at will.

It truly seemed like the best possible way to counter this dangerous situation for the time being.

Jax looked down at the second ring he was currently wearing.

Echidna spoke up again. "I am highly suspicious of that Rora girl as well. What if she is just an unaware pawn of Loki. She might be trying to lure you entirely alone after the queen swaps places with you."

Jax smiled faintly and replied to her inside his head. ’Do not worry about that, because I have already figured a few things out. Just wait and watch how this plays out. And as for this specific ring, I am going to hand it over to Rudiger anyway.’

A few hours later the time finally arrived for the grand farewell.

However it felt much more like an incredibly awkward mission-failed goodbye, because the entire Order was entirely clueless about what was actually happening. They had come expecting a brutal war and it just felt like a very stressful escort duty. They were currently marching home without a single clue if they had won or lost the day.

Adelina stood elegantly at the massive palace gates after finishing her conversation with Jax. She turned her attention to her daughter’s friend.

"My sweet dear, you really do not look alright. Is there something heavily bothering you today, because you know you can always share your troubles with your aunt."

The deeply pissed expression on Astrid immediately morphed into a highly unnatural fake smile. "I am perfectly fine, and it is honestly all thanks to you."

Adelina tilted her head in absolute confusion. "I am very sorry, but I really do not get it."

Astrid viciously cursed the queen inside her own head. ’Just look at how infuriatingly innocent this woman is pretending to be.’

She forced her fake smile even wider. "Now that everything is wonderfully settled, we will be taking our immediate leave."

Adelina desperately wanted to ask what was actually happening but Astrid was already power walking straight toward her carriage.

Just before stepping inside, Astrid spun around and aggressively pointed two fingers at her own eyes before jabbing them through the air toward Adelina. It was a fiercely threatening but weirdly cute way of saying I am always watching your every move.

Then she ducked into the carriage and slammed the door behind her.

Meanwhile Albert completely understood the insane romantic jealousy unfolding right in front of him, but he decided to keep his mouth totally shut. He just stood there awkwardly beside Rora, who was literally pulling her own hair out in sheer mental frustration.

Watching all of this unfold from the high palace terrace was a lone soldier.

She was thoroughly enjoying the entire spectacle and muttered quietly to herself. "It certainly seems like my little intrusive thoughts really caused quite a commotion today."

She stretched her arms high into the air and smiled wickedly. "But in the end, I now know very well that this guy will rain havoc down upon the Asura Empire once he finally learns about the deeds of Ravana."

She leaned over the stone railing with glowing eyes. "If he can easily go to such insane lengths just to protect a woman from another world who he views as a mother figure, then who knows what he will do once he finds out about whom Ravana had taken liking to..."

[A/N: Loki currently has no idea about the real romantic relationship between Adelina and Jax]

But right before she could even complete her sentence, a deep voice echoed directly inside her skull.

"Lady commander, all the preparations have been perfectly completed. We have secured every single force as our allies exactly like you requested, and they are all eagerly waiting for your direct orders."

Loki let out a very lazy yawn. "Oh man, you really made me wait for a terribly long time, Harry. You have no idea how hard it was for me to hold back my excitement."

Harry replied quickly through the mental link. "I am deeply sorry, commander. But I must admit, I am even more impatient than you are to finally get my revenge on that guy."

Loki giggled a highly sinister laugh. "Haha, that is the exact reason I took the massive risk to personally free you myself. So please do not disappoint me now and make my efforts go in vain. It is time for the final phase of our grand plan, so tell all our allied forces to prepare for a full invasion on the academy grounds."

Harry sounded completely shocked. "What on earth are you saying? We absolutely cannot just launch a direct attack there. Even with the total support of several powerful nations, we would be instantly erased by the horrific monsters living there."

Loki instantly shifted to a chillingly hard voice designed to throw Harry into pure panic even through simple telepathy. "Are you seriously trying to tell me what I should or should not do right now. Know your exact place, you filthy vermin."

Then she immediately calmed her raging temper and smiled with pure malice. "What I mean is, you better not jinx it. Also, the invasion date will arrive in less than a week from now, because I want to deliver a beautifully perfect birthday present to a certain someone."

-x-X-x-

[A couple of days passed]

In the dead of midnight a massive commotion erupted inside the Aleris estate.

Guards, maids, knights, and the entire Order were running around panicking and desperately searching for Astrid.

All of this ridiculous noise made Claude step out of his room in a terribly sour mood. He glared directly at his head butler. "What exactly is all this ruckus about this late at night?"

The butler bowed nervously and spoke with a trembling voice. "Master, there seems to be a massive problem right now. Lady Astrid is nowhere to be seen inside the estate. And to make matters much worse, the maid Analina claims she just spotted the young lady with a guy who was forcefully taking her away."

Claude let out a sigh and spoke with a completely unbothered tone. "Ah, so that is what it is. Do me a huge favor and tell every single one of them to calm down right now, because there is nothing to worry about. Ashy will return without a single scratch on her, so go sleep peacefully because tomorrow is a big day."

The bewildered butler stuttered out a reply. "But, master..."

But Claude had already turned his back and walked straight into his room.

He sat down heavily in his leather chair and grabbed a premium cigar. He struck a match, breathed in deep, and quietly replayed the exact moments that had just happened a few minutes ago.

He had been taking a quiet midnight stroll through the mansion halls when he suddenly spotted a familiar face creeping along the corridor.

It was Jax.

He instantly realized exactly why the boy was sneaking around his home. He slowly pulled out his golden pocket watch to check the exact time before speaking directly to his face.

"I have actually been waiting for this exact moment to ask you a very specific question for quite some time now."

He had let the silence hang for one heavy beat. Just long enough for Jax to feel the trap closing around his ankles.

"So tell me, Jax. If a bird truly falls in love with a fish, where exactly do you think they will live."

-x-X-x-

A/N: Sawma, spawn1996, Leo_Muhammad, Phillip_Beavers, Seth_Greene_7479 and Collin_Ponde thank you for the golden tickets, this kind of support hits every single time 🙏🔥

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