The weight of King Alric's words clung to me like a shroud as I left the throne room.
I wonder if it's time to trade one storm for another.
I felt his eyes even after the doors shut. Old, sunken, and tired, but not blind. The king didn't lived this long by trusting easily. He is still the one with most power, but now he measured whether Ravien or I made the better leash.
Outside, Talen stood waiting. He didn't speak, only nodded once and walked beside me as we descended the marble stairs in silence.
"You didn't die," he finally said, half a jest.
"Not yet," I replied. "But he's thinking about it."
He stopped walking. "Two days. That's how long you have to win the court."
"Or lose it," I said.
Talen didn't argue. He turned, no farewell just vanished into the crowd, disappearing like smoke between robes and whispers.
I walked towards my manor.
The Copper Ward felt colder than before. Elira sat beneath a cracked statue of the sun god. She didn't look up as I approached.
"You were convincing," I said, settling beside her.
She looked at me sideways. "I wasn't pretending."
There was no pride in her voice. Just the quiet weight of decision.
"He'll question you again," I said. "Likely in private. You may be summoned alone."
"I'll say what I said today," she answered. "Let them call it treason. I chose my side the day Ravien buried my brother."
Honestly, I didn't know much about her reason in taking my side in this political war but looks like she has her reasons.
A gust of wind tore through the broken stonewall, rattling a window. Elira didn't flinch.
She was hardening.
So was I.
---
That night, Lyra returned.
I found her in the old chapel at the back of the manor. Her hood was down, silver hair damp with rain.
"You've been busy," I said.
She looked up, eyes sharp.
"Mairelle's here. Ravien's spymaster. Staying under an alias in the Temple District. She's not trying to hide."
"She wants me to know." I said a little confused.
"She wants you cornered," Lyra replied. "She's already met with three councilors, two minor lords, and a Bishop of Solance."
I exhaled through my nose. "So the court's leaning toward Ravien?"
"No. They're watching, waiting." Lyra's eyes flicked toward the stained glass, as if seeing something I couldn't. "They want a show. And you've only got two days to give it to them."
She pulled a scroll from her satchel and handed it to me. "List of those who still owe favors to your father's name or hated Ravien enough to fake it."
I scanned the names. Some I recognized. Most I didn't. But patterns emerged—houses dwindled to single heirs, merchant princes pushed out by Malkorr tariffs, silent survivors of old betrayals.
"I can work with this," I said.
Lyra stood. "Then you better start. Alric doesn't need a hero. He needs an excuse."
"I am aware" I replied
"Good, be wary, I still have somethings to take care of. " She said as she walked out of the manor.
---
The next morning passed in a blur of handshakes and half-lies.
Armin had returned, and I sent him to take care of old debts with coin. Kaelen took three knights to offer visible protection to key allies. Arden watched over Elira. And I… I became the mask that faked persona wherever I went.
The court was a pit of eyes and blades. Lords and ladies bowed with honeyed words, then whispered venom the moment I passed. Ravien's shadow hung over every corridor, and Mairelle's spies weren't hard to spot—they watched openly, daring me to blink.
By dusk, I made four deals, promised five favors, and endured six ambushes of verbal sparring. Getting nobles on my good side is always beneficial in these circumstances after all.
Courtly life is never fun, it never was, even when I was playing the game on my computer.
An invitation came when I was discussing things with Lyra in a small hall of my manor.
A young priest delivered it.
A scroll, sealed with crimson wax.
---
Lord Vihan of Wyvrling,
You are invited to dine this evening with Lady Mairelle of Hollowfort, honored guest of the Temple.
Discussion. Wine. Courtesy.
Attendance is expected.
—M
---
"She wants to dance," Lyra said, reading over my shoulder. "But it's her song."
"Then I'll change the rhythm," I said. "Get me something to wear that won't look like armor."
She blinked. "You're going?"
"She wouldn't risk a trap. Not here. She wants to measure me."
"And if she strikes?"
"Then she underestimates how deep my knives go."
She didn't say anything, just prepared what I asked for.
---
At night I went to the temple, it was coated in gold and firelight. High windows spilled light and the scent of rare incense cloaked everything. I was guided to a private balcony above the garden, where a long table had been set beneath red silk.
Mairelle waited there, draped in black and wine-colored velvet. Her smile was sharp.
"You came," she said.
"I was invited."
She poured wine herself, a polite gesture. "I wanted to see the boy Ravien fears." she said.
"And I wanted to meet the woman who poisons kings with words." I replied with a straight face.
She gave me a smirk and we took our seat.
Dinner was served by silent priest—roasted lamb, honeyed figs, and bloodfruit wine. Ritual and excess. Neither of us ate much.
"You've stirred quite the storm," Mairelle said. "Alric is old. Tired. The court is hungry. And you… you're becoming an idea."
"Is that a compliment?"
"It's a warning."
I took a sip of wine. "And what would you have me do? Bend the knee to Ravien? Call myself his heir?"
"Call yourself nothing," she said. "Take your four counties, keep them quiet, and don't reach higher. The King may let you live. Ravien… might not."
"I've never been good at staying quiet." I said as I took a sip of wine.
Mairelle leaned forward, eyes gleaming.
"Then you'll burn."
I smiled. "Not before him."
Silence stretched between us, tight and deadly.
Then she laughed—soft, almost sad.
"You're young," she said. "Too young to know when the knives are already in place."
"Maybe," I said. "But I sharpen mine every day."
While she was about to say something, a hooded person interrupted and whispered something near her ear.
"My apologies, Lord Vihan, I will have to take my leave, I have some matters to take care of." She said as she stood up.
I didn't say anything, just nodded my and she walked away with the man.
I returned to the manor after midnight. Elira was waiting.
"How was the snake?" she asked.
"Poisonous," I said. "But cautious."
"She should be." She replied as continue writing codes on her scroll.
I looked at her. The firelight caught the line of her jaw, the slight tilt of her head.
"You could run, you know. Take a horse, vanish into the east. No more court, no more kings."
She shook her head.
"And leave you alone with these wolves? Never."
"You care for me? " I asked with a grin.
She didn't turn back "It's been a long day for you, take some rest. " She replied.
While she dodged my question, I knew from I have a loyal ally.
---
The next morning arrived gray and slow.
Arden delivered the summons before sunrise.
"Alric's court. You and Ravien. Noon." he said short and efficient.
I nodded.
He didn't speak further. Just rested a hand on my shoulder and walked away.
I dressed in black and silver—no armor, just fine cloth cut to mirror nobility. The silver wyvern gleamed across my chest.
The bells of the upper citadel rang, I made my way toward the throne room.
Lyra met me halfway.
"No more words," she said.
"No," I agreed.
Only action now.
The court was full—every bench, every tier, every corner. Nobles, priests, knights, all watching.
Ravien stood at the far end of the room, smug and confident. Mairelle beside him, all venom masked in beauty.
I stepped into the room like a blade unsheathed.
Elira stood behind me. Kaelen, Arden, and Lyra took their places on the edge of courtiers seat.
Then the throne doors opened and King Alric entered. He moved slowly, but he moved without help.
All rose from their seats.
"All kneel," shouted a knight beside the throne, everyone obeyed.
Except two.
Me and Ravien.
The final game had begun.
And I am ready to play.