Free Web NovelChapter 340: Chapter 340
"And this location," Ragnar said at last, breaking the silence. "Would you still remember how to get there?"
Casilo nodded slowly. "I do. But I doubt they would still be there. If we returned now, I reckon the only thing we’d find would be a field of corpses, both my men and theirs."
Ragnar hummed quietly in response. When he finally spoke again, there was a strange, thoughtful edge to his voice.
"So the prisoner was telling the truth," he muttered, more to himself than to Casilo. "House Tavish is truly building an army."
Still seated on the bed, Casilo’s features gradually twisted with confusion.
"What prisoner?" he asked. "What army?"
His confusion was expected, especially given that he had been away on the king’s assignment when Jorrit had been apprehended.
"One of Narfor’s associates was captured," Ragnar explained. "He’s currently rotting in one of the cells. During my interrogation, he admitted to some truly disturbing things. One of them being Narfor’s true identity." Ragnar let out a low, humorless laugh. "Who would have thought this was Aeron Tavish’s doing all along?"
Casilo’s frown deepened. "I thought he was in self-imposed exile."
That was the only way to describe it and what they had all assumed when Aeron had left the capital years ago, withdrawing from society entirely without an explanation. He had not attended a single social gathering during his absence.
Speculation had been rampant, but with Laheir remaining tight-lipped on the matter, no one had ever come to a firm conclusion. It had simply become another unanswered question drifting through noble circles.
The queen’s banquet had been the first event Aeron attended in years, and Ragnar had often wondered why. From what he had gathered, Aeron was still residing in his capital estate, yet to return to wherever he had hidden himself all those years. Ragnar found that fact more than pleasing as his thoughts turned toward the next phase of his plan.
"He told me House Tavish is trying to overthrow my father," Ragnar continued calmly. "We already know they’ve been funding the rebellion. It isn’t difficult to believe they want him removed from power entirely."
Casilo looked deeply unsettled by the revelation. Ragnar, by contrast, appeared composed, almost detached, even as he spoke of his father possibly being forced from the throne. He had long since made his peace with that possibility.
Slowly, Ragnar stepped away from the foot of the bed and moved toward the window. He rested a hand against the windowsill and peered through the glass, aware of Casilo’s gaze following his every movement.
"Have you spoken to the king?" Casilo asked urgently. "You should inform him of the treachery being plotted against him." ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
"Why should I?" Ragnar replied evenly, not bothering to turn around.
Casilo blinked, taken aback. "Because he is the king," he said. "He needs to be told these things, so the queen and House Tavish don’t succeed."
"The same king who put me on trial for a crime I clearly did not commit?" Ragnar asked, a sharp edge creeping into his tone. "I don’t think he needs anything from me. Why should I be the one to save him when he willingly surrounded himself with snakes?"
Casilo furrowed his brow, struggling to fully grasp what Ragnar was implying.
"So that’s it?" he asked. "You’re just going to stand by and let the queen succeed? Let everything we’ve worked for go to waste?"
"I didn’t say that," Ragnar retorted. A small smile curved his lips, and it lacked mirth. It was a look of pure cunning. "But I will let the queen and her little gaggle of traitors plot until their hearts are content. I almost pity her. What she has on her hands is a gathering of nobles with grotesquely inflated egos. Are you aware of what happens when too many egos are forced together?"
He did not wait for an answer. His gaze drifted to the far wall, as though he could already see the fractures forming.
"It becomes chaotic. Absolute, inevitable chaos. They are a group in which every man wants something different, and each one works solely for his own benefit. Their interests will clash sooner or later, and when they do, the truth will dawn on the rest of them that they were never partners. Never equals. They were pawns on the queen’s board from the very beginning."
Ragnar exhaled softly. "That realization will sour them. They will begin to undermine one another, clawing for advantage, desperate to be the last one standing. And I will be there the entire time, guiding the process, nudging them and controlling their actions from the sidelines, ensuring their ruin is inescapable." He said. His eyes shone with conviction. "I am tired of waiting for my father to make me his successor. I am tired of bending over backwards just to prove to him that I am worthy. The time for all that has passed. I will take the throne. By blood and by force, I will take it."
The queen and the Tavish brothers were already at odds, a fracture Ragnar had been waiting eagerly for. It was a fault line bound to widen, and when it did, it would serve him beautifully.
He turned then and walked toward the door, his steps soundless against the stone floor. Pulling it open just enough, he called out to the first guard he spotted in the hall. Ragnar waited until the man stepped fully into the room before speaking, unwilling to risk his words being overheard by any passing ear. Some orders, after all, were better delivered in private. A part of him knew this moment had been long overdue.
Casilo said nothing, waiting for the prince to continue.
"I want you to go to the cell where Jorrit is being held," Ragnar said calmly, as though issuing the most mundane of commands. "And I want you to bring me his head." freёwebnoѵel.com
Once the order was given, he turned away from the guard and regarded Casilo again, his eyes glinting with dark amusement.
"Don’t you think it would make a perfect gift?" Ragnar asked. "A pity he won’t know it came from me. For once, I will gladly allow the queen to take all the credit, it’s the least I can do for her, after I foiled her plans yet again. After this, Aeron will learn he is not the only one who commands assassins."
