Although Mandy immediately agreed to Merlin’s request, she did not completely understand why he had made it. After all, how could mere drawings bring her so much trouble? Nevertheless, she trusted Merlin completely and since he had said so, she would unconditionally comply.
Merlin, on the other hand, could not help but worry about her future. He could hide her condition for as long as possible, but that was not a final solution, sooner or later someone would find out about it and he would be unable to shield her against human greed.
Fortunately, there were not many people in the current Klantea who could decipher the blueprints as something else than simple drawings, so he still had some margin to act, however, it also meant that if he wanted to keep her safe, he had to change all of the plans for the future that included her.
Mandy: “Why are you making that face?”
Merlin: “What face?”
Mandy: “That face! The face you are making right now is like there is something irking you. What is it?”
Merlin: “Oh, that? It is nothing, I just remembered something unpleasant, do not worry about it.” *Damn, I lost control for a second there and she saw through me… Luckily for me, I had not told her about the plans that involved her yet, otherwise, she would not be willing to abandon them!*
That Mandy had seen through him could not be actually be blamed on Merlin, for she was a girl who had been brought up in a noble family and who had also known the cruelest face of human nature, which had made her very sensitive to the changes in the mood of other people. In spite of not being infallible, her instinct on that respect had become very accurate.
Merlin: “Anyway, I will go back for tonight and come back tomorrow morning to discuss things with your father. Sweet dreams, Mandy!”
Mandy: “See you tomorrow, then…” *Hmph! What ‘sweet dreams’? After seeing him tonight and getting mad at him for not having spoken to me for a while, how am I supposed to easily fall asleep again?*
Without saying anything else, Merlin went to the window and jumped out. Mandy run to the window, only to see him disappear into the night.
*****************
As promised, the following morning Merlin went to Duke Risme’s manor, but this time, he walked in through the front door. Merlin had once again changed his appearance, and he currently looked like a middle-aged man with an unremarkable face and calm eyes. He had presented himself to the guards in the gate as “John Blackburn”, an artifact dealer who wanted to discuss with the duke about a possible partnership.
The duke possessed a modest collection of ancient and “useless” artifacts, so an artifact dealer coming into the manor was not an unheard occurrence. Needless to say that the guards did not buy his excuse of discussing a possible partnership with Duke Risme, but they allowed him in after the guard sent to inform the duke came back with that order.
Inside the manor, the duke and his wife and daughter had been having breakfast when the guard entered the room and explained the situation at the gate. Duke Risme was about to have the unsolicited visitor dismissed, when Mandy suddenly whispered something into his ear.
The duke’s facial expression changed several times in succession. First was surprise, then shock and finally worry. The guard who saw the changes could not help but wonder who the visitor was to make the duke have such reactions.
Merlin: “Good morning, Duke Risme. It is a pleasure to meet you at last!”
D. Risme: “Good morning, mister Blackburn. Are you a member of …?”
Noticing the duke’s indiscretion, Merlin quickly cut him before he spoke too much and suggested to move to a place where they could avoid being eavesdropped on.
Merlin: “Please, Duke Risme! You should watch your words more carefully. This location is not suitable to hold such a conversation, I hereby suggest to switch to a place with more privacy.”
D. Risme: “I understand. Would my study fit your requirements, sir?”
Merlin: “I guess it will have to do.”
D. Risme: “Thank you, I will show you the way. Please, follow me, mister Blackburn.”
**************************
A strange silence followed their arrival into the study. It was unsettling for Duke Risme and Mandy, but Merlin did not care. After a while, Merlin spoke.
Merlin: “You guessed correctly, Duke Risme, I am a member of the council. In the future, please refrain from asking that question in front of indiscrete ears…”
D. Risme: “Ah, yes, sorry about that.”
Merlin: “Just keep it in mind. I came today to inquire about the plan’s progress, have you run into any difficulty?”
D. Risme: “…”
Merlin: “Have you or have you not? Please stop looking at me like if you were seeing a ghost, it gives me the creeps!”
D. Risme: “Sorry about that, it was completely unintentional. It is just that your question took me by surprise. Indeed, I have run into a small problem, but it is a personal matter, there is no need for the council to intervene.”
Merlin: “I will trust your judgement for now. Ok, tell me about the specific progress in the plan, and do not leave anything relevant out!”
D. Risme: “Yes, sir.”
Merlin was a little surprised by being addressed as “sir”, for he was not Duke Risme’s superior in the army, nevertheless, he did not put any more attention to that small detail and carefully heard what Duke Risme had to say.
Contrary to Merlin’s expectations, the preparations to seize Klausna’s throne were going very smoothly. Merlin had expected at least a little of opposition from other parties, but with the exception of some problems in the beginning, not a lot of people tried to block Duke Risme’s actions. This was clear evidence that the current king had pissed off everyone in his kingdom quite a bit, and they were very willing to see him out of the throne and his head in a spike.
As a matter of fact, at the current pace and with the support he currently had, Duke Risme could seize the throne in less than a month as long as he wanted to do so. Hearing him say so, Merlin hastily stopped him on his tracks.
Merlin: “Haste makes waste! Don’t be so eager to seize the throne without making the proper preparations!”
D. Risme: “I don’t seem to understand what you mean, sir. I have already made them, which is why I wanted to hasten our plans…”
Merlin: “Didn’t your wife told you what the current political situation is in the Dollan Empire? What do you think would happen if you seized the throne a month from now, like you just said?”
D. Risme: “Nothing would happen they would just send someone to congratulate me, I guess…”
Merlin: “Wrong! Both, the Dollan Empire and the Shephiran Kingdom would take the chance and divide this kingdom among themselves while profiting the instability from the throne seizing! Or do you truly believe they wouldn’t take a piece of the cake?”
Duke Risme blushed from embarrassment. Now that he carefully thought about it, it truly was just as Merlin had said. The expansionist politics of both the Dollan Empire and the Shephiran Kingdom were only kept in check due to the current strength the Klausna Kingdom had, in other words, as long as they had a chance to take Klausna Kingdom’s territory, they would seize it for sure!
That fact was even truer in the case of the Shephiran Kingdom, due to the historical reason that both kingdoms had formerly been one, until a foolish king doted on his second son but gave the throne to his eldest son. That newly crowned king knew of his younger brother’s plan to kill him and get the throne, so he decided that it was best to just give him half of the territory and get over with it.
Thus, the previous kingdom got divided in two, Shephiran and Klausna, however, that also engraved a desire in the hearts of the royal families of both kingdoms, the desire of conquering the other one and unify the whole territory as it had once been.
Duke Risme did not know what to say and his embarrassment made him stop talking. Merlin understood by his reaction what was going through the duke’s head, and tried to lead the conversation in a different direction to avoid embarrassing the duke any further.
Merlin: “Anyway, you won’t seize the throne so soon and that’s it! Now, could you please tell me what the current situation is among the regular people in the kingdom? You have told me the situation among the nobility, but what about the situation of the regular people?”
D. Risme: “Well, it is like this…”
*******************
Merlin’s POV:
It seems they are getting more and more impatient…
I never thought the people in Klausna would be so willing to get rid of their current king. I miscalculated that point and now that a chance has been offered to them, they are too eager to make use of it.
Well, no battle plan survives contact with the enemy… I will have to adapt to the current circumstances and rush it a little… Fortunately, Shin’s training is coming to fruition and his disciples will be ready for action in six weeks or so, which is, more or less, the time it should take us to complete the mission from the Adventurers Guild.
Truth be told, I did not imagine I would have to change my plans so soon. I expected I would have to change them at some point, of course, but I thought I would have to do so closer to their completion, for it to happen now was completely out of my expectations.
Another matter which requires my immediate attention is Mandy’s situation. In spite of having said to her not to show her drawings to other people, it is just a short-time solution, the main problem remains.
A different solution would be to bring her with me, however, I am currently unable to do so, not until the completion of the mission from the Adventurers Guild, not only would I expose her to great danger, with her current strength, she would become a burden and would jeopardize the completion of the mission.
Hmm… It might be a good idea to bring her along to the Hexenwunder Royal Academy when I go there with the girls…
In normal circumstances, she would not qualify to go study there, not to mention the fact that she comes from a hostile kingdom. Nevertheless, by the time of her enrollment there, she will have an identity of “princess” backing her up, so the headmistress will probably make an exception and allow her to enroll…
Anyway, I shall think about that when the time comes. Right now, what takes priority is to hold a meeting with the rest of the members of the “Council of ten” and inform them of the changes in the plans. We should also summon the people we have undercover in Klausna Kingdom and crosscheck with them the information I have obtained from Duke Risme…
There should not be any discrepancies at all, or the ones that might be, will probably be due to the differences in access to it, for example, someone posing as a peasant, will not have the same level of access to sensible information that someone posing as a noble’s personal butler.
However, it never hurts to play it safe, even more so when it comes to seizing the throne of a kingdom. After all, there are always too many variables in an operation of such scale, you can never account for all of them… the second best thing that can be done is to reduce them to a minimum…
Ah! When did I become such a shrewd person?
[Previous Chapter] [Next Chapter]
(Adf.ly)[Previous Chapter] [Next Chapter](Adf.ly)
Thanks for the chapter.
ReplyDeleteThanks
ReplyDelete