Free Web NovelChapter 315: Chapter 315
He stopped in front of Kostia. "Have you searched those two?" He gestured toward the remaining captives.
Kostia shook his head once. "Not yet."
Ragnar nodded. "Search them."
Kostia moved at once. He knelt beside the first man and began patting him down thoroughly. The man trembled but did not resist. After a moment, Kostia straightened, having found nothing of interest.
He shifted to the second captive. The moment Kostia’s hands touched his coat, the man reacted violently, struggling in sudden panic. He barely managed to push Kostia away before two guards were on him, forcing him back down into the snow and pinning his arms as Kostia continued the search without pausing.
From inside the man’s coat, Kostia produced a folded note bearing the unmistakable stamp of House Acheron. A moment later, he retrieved another slip of parchment from a different pocket, this one unmarked. Without comment, he rose and handed both to Ragnar.
Ragnar examined the first note carefully, his eyes scanning the contents. Only when he was finished did he turn to the second. The first was a letter from their employer; the second, a report, clearly written by one of these men and intended to be sent back.
His jaw tightened as he read. The air around them seemed to grow heavier, the guards and captives alike falling silent as they waited.
"It appears we have a couple of spies in our midst," Ragnar said at last, folding the letters and tucking them away. freewēbnoveℓ.com
"That seems to be the case, Your Highness," Kostia replied, watching as Ragnar turned back toward the captives.
"You will answer my questions honestly if you have any intention of walking out of here alive." Ragnar said. He met each of their gazes in turn, lingering just long enough on each face to ensure his meaning sank in. "How long have you been watching my estate?"
A thick silence followed, broken only by the wind threading through the trees.
Ragnar moved toward the third man, the one that struggle while being searched. He grabbed a fistful of the man’s hair and yanked his head up from the snow, forcing him to look up.
"Tell me who sent you," Ragnar demanded. "Was it the queen, or my drunken excuse for a brother?"
After seeing his family’s seal, there was little doubt in his mind. It had to be one of them. The king had no reason to send spies, Ragnar already reported directly to him, and such measures would be unnecessary. It could have been one of the twins, but Ragnar found that unlikely.
The man remained stubbornly silent.
The defiance was blatant and irritating but Ragnar did not allow emotion to show on his face.
"The cells will be full at this rate, and I can’t have that," he said calmly. He released the man’s hair and straightened to his full height. "Cut his throat. Perhaps that will make the other two more cooperative."
One of the guards moved instantly. Ragnar stepped back as the man took his place before the captive. With a single fluid motion, the guard unsheathed his sword. He adjusted the man’s position and pressed the gleaming blade against the his throat.
The captive squirmed, instinctively trying to pull away from the sharp edge of the sword, but the guards held him fast. Blood welled where the blade bit into his skin.
"Wait—please!" he cried, panic breaking through at last. His breathing was ragged, his eyes wide with terror as he swallowed hard. "I—I’ll tell you anything you want. Please, don’t—"
Ragnar raised a hand.
The guard froze instantly, though he did not withdraw the sword. It remained pressed to the man’s neck, an ever-present threat.
"What are you waiting for?" Ragnar asked flatly. "Speak."
"We were sent by Prince Hairan," the man blurted. "To monitor who went in and out of your estate and report everything back to him."
Ragnar exhaled slowly, a dark amusement flickering briefly across his expression. "How dull. Hairan is sending spies after me now. It seems he has developed a fresh interest in my affairs." His gaze sharpened. "And what have you reported so far?"
"Your Highness, I—" the man began.
"I believe I asked you a question." Ragnar cut in, his voice dropping to a more dangerous tone.
"The reports are mostly about the people seen coming and going from the estate. As well as anything that seemed suspicious." the captive said quickly. Then, desperation creeping back into his voice, he added, "Please. Have mercy, Your Highness."
"You should have chosen another profession if you truly wanted mercy," Ragnar replied coldly. "The mere sight of you infuriates me. If I were to show mercy to men like you, it would only encourage others to believe they could work against me and walk away unscathed."
His gaze swept over the captives as understanding finally dawned on their face. "And that is something I cannot allow."
Then he turned to his men and said, his voice flat with impatience, "Kill them and be done with it."
The third captive struggled violently, thrashing against the iron grip that held him fast, but his efforts were futile. The guard tightened his hold, bracing himself before dragging the blade cleanly across the man’s throat. The scream died in a wet gurgle as blood burst forth, spilling over the guard’s hands and soaking into the frozen earth below. freēwēbnovel.com
By the time the guard released him, the man’s body crumpled lifelessly to the ground. The other two captives were already dead, throats slit open and bleeding freely.
"Dispose of them," Ragnar said, his gaze lingering briefly on the three unmoving forms sprawled at his feet, their necks still weeping blood.
For a moment, he considered sending their bodies to Hairan, a grim warning of what awaited anyone he foolishly sent to spy here. The image amused him briefly. But he dismissed the thought just as quickly.
He turned away, irritation simmering beneath his calm exterior. He had plans for the day and this interruption had done nothing but derail his carefully laid schedule. A complete waste of his time.
