Caudic rarely kept his promises. After Duke Lars finished reciting his “charges,” a decree was immediately signed in the court, allowing the Duke, trapped in the Royal Capital for too long, to finally return to his territory.
In theory, if Duke Lars wanted to leave, no one could stop him. However, out of loyalty to the royal family, Duke Lars had always obediently remained in the Royal Capital.
This time, Duke Lars discerned the change in the King’s attitude towards the Northern Border. As an established knightly family, Duke Lars still followed the Old King’s orders, which was a foolish loyalty stemming from knightly spirit. At the same time, it was a lowering of his stance, hoping to convey to the Old King that the Northern Border was not an enemy.
At least, that was what Duke Lars thought.
However, even now, no matter how staunch and loyal Duke Lars was, he could sense that Augustine no longer viewed Lars as his vassal, but rather as an enemy.
To threaten the other party’s children in such a way had already exceeded the bottom line of noble politics in this era. Perhaps one would argue that true politics is even more ruthless.
At least in this era, nobles still cared about their reputation, especially in conflicts amongst themselves. Even if they fought until blood was shed, as long as they paid a ransom, it was generally acceptable, except in the case of sworn enemies. There were things that could be done without a bottom line, but that meant being shameless.
Duke Lars held Ruby in his arms and took one last look at the Royal Capital from the carriage. It was still as ancient, foul-smelling, messy, and chaotic, yet still brimming with life.
“My lord, it’s time to depart.”
The old butler driving the carriage reminded him.
“Yes, let’s set off to our stronghold, Winterhold.”
“Are we not going to the River Valley to see young Master Sean first?”
The butler had followed the Lars family for decades, and his relationship with Duke Lars was more like that of friends than master and servant. He also knew how much Lars doted on his grandchildren, and now even Ruby had been easily captured by the royal family; Sean should be in even greater danger.
“It’s too late.”
Duke Lars sighed, “Regardless of whether Sean has escaped or not, we must first go to Winterhold. Only by returning there can we truly gain control of the situation.”
According to what Ruby said, being caught was due to internal rebellion within the territory, with some of the Lars family’s knights having betrayed them. Duke Lars could guess that it was his irresponsible sons who had allied with the royal family to act against him.
Yet, Duke Lars did not expect those sons to have grown such boldness and even started to learn conspiracies from the royal family.
But as long as he returned to Winterhold, those rebellious children wouldn’t be able to stir up any significant trouble in his eyes. As long as he was still alive, the knights of the Lars family would know whom to pledge their loyalty to.
“Let’s go, we’re heading back to the Northern Border.”
Thus, the ruler of the Northern Border departed from the Royal Capital on a morning chilled by the biting wind. Duke Lars scarcely dared to speak of it, bringing only a small group of guards and even erasing the Northern Wind Bear’s family crest secretly.
Because once the Northern Wind Bear’s crest was displayed, the common folk along the way would throw rotten eggs or fresh dung at them.
Meanwhile, in the Royal Capital, within the King’s castle, Augustine III lay on his sickbed holding a report, asking Caudic, “Is everything arranged?”
“It’s all arranged, Your Majesty, rest assured. This plan has the cooperation of the Demon Clan and is absolutely foolproof. It will ensure Duke Lars meets his end without a place to bury him!”
“That’s good, cough cough! Do not leave hidden troubles. All of Lars’s little cubs must be dealt with, and those little cubs’ uncles too. Once they eliminate those little cubs, give them a position to dominate the Northern Border, wait for an opportunity, and wipe them all out in one go, cough cough cough!”
Augustine III coughed violently but continued to elaborate on his strategy.
Killing a family that has ruled a territory for decades is incredibly difficult. Beyond physical extermination, one must also eliminate their influence.
Subterfuge is the best method: supporting a power reliant on oneself, inciting conflict, scheming, and stirring trouble; once this power grows stronger, one can launch another round of this combination attack.
At that point, it would only be necessary to recognize those little cubs as the rightful heirs of the Lars family, each having a claim to the Northern Border, leading those little cubs to fight among themselves. Coupled with the externally looming threat of the Demon Clan, the downfall of the Northern Border would require no input from the royal family.
Moreover, the Lars family would find themselves in a state of fragmentation, with no possibility of unifying the North again.
In his thoughts, Augustine III suddenly realized that something felt off.
It wasn’t that his thinking was flawed, but the surroundings had suddenly begun to blur.
Where were the maids? Where were the attendants? After coughing for so long, why was there not a single servant coming in to offer him water? Gradually, in the room, only Augustine III and Caudic remained.
In a daze, Augustine saw a cold smile at the corner of Caudic’s mouth, and his eyelids became heavier, as if he were about to be besieged by nightmares.
“Uh uh!”
Augustine III wanted to call for guards and activate the magical artifact on him, but found he could only utter two simple syllables.
“Your Majesty, you should rest now.”
With Caudic’s words, Augustine III closed his eyes.
“Is everything arranged?”
A stunning woman dressed in a slit nun’s outfit emerged from the void behind Caudic, holding a lantern.
“Very smoothly; he doesn’t even realize he’s fallen into a dream from the start.”
Before this woman, Caudic no longer held the regal air of a heroic chancellor nor the obsequiousness he had in front of Augustine, replaced instead by deep fear and subservience.
Just as the magical artifact on Augustine III reacted, it was suppressed by the black energy emanating from the lantern held by the alluring woman.
“You did well. To be honest, we did not expect you, this shameless character, to achieve such a level of success.”
The alluring woman’s words held a sting, seemingly dissatisfied with Caudic’s cruel methods.
“We indeed need to incite conflict, but not to let it spiral out of control. You’ve done too well; some tensions have already exceeded the control range of our Lantern Dream, understand?”
Caudic stood terrified and stunned in place, not daring to offer a single rebuttal.
“From now on, be discreet. Do not engage in such reckless actions again. Your invitation to the Demon Clan is very displeasing to the Lord.”
Before Caudic could respond, the earlier scene felt as abrupt as a dream, suddenly ending.
“Your Majesty? Your Majesty!”
Suddenly, the maids and attendants appeared, continually calling out before Augustine III’s bed. Sweating profusely was Caudic, alongside a similarly perspiring royal physician and the most distinguished professor from the Royal Academy.
On the day Duke Lars departed from the Royal Capital, Augustine III, who had ruled the Cape Kingdom for decades, lost consciousness. However, outside information stated that Augustine III had become ill from overwork and peacefully passed away in his sleep.
Having appointed a crown prince long ago, Klan Augustine stepped forward to stabilize the situation at the first opportunity and prepared for his ascension.
However, due to the Old King’s sudden death, the Royal Capital fell into chaos.
Moreover, among the rumors of the nobles, questions surrounded Augustine III’s death, and some even claimed that Augustine III was still alive, breathing normally, but his consciousness had sunk into a vast ocean, forever asleep.
