A Barbaric Proposal Chapter 74

※The Eve (1)※

Rumors rippled through the city all night, carrying the news that two Kleinfelters had been stripped of their names and cast out of Nauk like common beggars.

The Kleinfelter manor—once the largest and most imposing estate in the capital—remained a silent fortress behind locked gates. Not a single lamp flickered in its windows; the house stood so dark and hollow that whispers began to spread that the entire lineage had been put to the sword.

There were no reports of the servants being dismissed. Most assumed they were making themselves scarce, crouching in the shadows to avoid the gaze of their new masters.

The remaining five families, however, were anything but quiet.

They had gathered in secret at Lord Burrey’s estate, huddled together to plot their strategy for the coming Council session.

[Burrey] "I will not suffer such an indignity again! Never again!"

He wagged his one good hand in the air, his voice cracking with rage.

Rosadel watched him with a look of weary disdain.

[Rosadel] "And what, exactly, do you propose we do? What power do we have left to wield?"

[Ellaroyden] "Especially now that House Kleinfelter has been erased from the board,"

Ellaroyden added, his voice thin.

[Burrey] "So that’s it? You’re content to let us be erased next?"

Burrey’s neck turned a mottled purple as the veins throbbed.

[Rosadel] "If we keep our heads down, perhaps we won't be."

Burrey turned a murderous glare on Rosadel.

[Burrey] "How can you be so damnably complacent, my Lord? Some wild beast has crawled out of the dirt and decided to play King of Nauk, and you’re just going to let him?"

[Rosadel] "Fortunately, the beast has a master. He said as much himself."

Rosadel and Ellaroyden had clearly lost the stomach for a fight.

Burrey surged to his feet, momentarily forgetting the agony in his shattered wrist.

[Burrey] "Fine. Go ahead. Grovel to a little girl because you’re afraid of her pet monster. Have you no shame? Have you all forgotten the debt the Arsaks owe us?"

The first to side with Burrey was Lord Zerquess, one of the few whose wrists were still intact.

[Zerquess] "None of us has forgotten. I believe we are all in agreement on that much."

[Burrey] "Exactly!"

Burrey nodded vigorously, while the other nobles masked their expressions behind stone-cold stares.

[Rosadel] "Then what is the plan?"

[Zerquess] "The beast may have a master, but she has yet to slip a leash over his head. We, however, still hold the tether to hers."

The Treaty of Risebury was that tether—the legal chokehold they had maintained over the Arsak throne for generations.

[Zerquess] "We must ensure this marriage never takes place. If she is so desperate to share a bed with that animal, then we must remind her exactly who holds the power to allow it."

Rosadel shook his head slowly.

[Rosadel] "Do you think Tiwakan will sit idly by while we block them?"

[Zerquess] "The man has nothing but brute, unrefined force. But Nauk is a land governed by the word of God and the sanctity of law. If the beast wants to live among us, he must learn to obey our laws."

Zerquess was referring to the Grand Council’s authority to appoint the Cardinal. By installing a puppet priest who could weaponize divine decree to forbid the union, they could make Tiwakan realize that Nauk would not be conquered by swords alone.

[Zerquess] "And don't worry. House Kleinfelter isn't going to vanish into the night quite so easily."

He added the comment with a cryptic, knowing smirk.

[Zerquess] "Lest we forget: twenty years ago, the throne should have gone to the Kleinfelters. If Lucas Kleinfelter hadn't been struck down by a divine curse so suddenly, the Arsaks would never have smelled the scent of a crown."

[Noble] "Mmm..."

The nobles bit their tongues, reflecting on a past only they understood.

Twenty years ago, some of them had been nothing but green boys. Armendaris and Rosadel had inherited their titles only after their fathers—who had participated in the rebellion—met their ends.

But they all remembered the result: the six families had become the true architects of Nauk, hoarding the realm’s wealth for themselves.

[Zerquess] "The Arsaks must pay their dues. A crown is never free."

With that, the five Elders selected a successor to Lyndon. They chose Zerquess as the new Chairman.

The atmosphere was far from celebratory. Inwardly, the others knew that in terms of lineage or wealth, Zerquess was hardly fit to lead the Council. But they suppressed their brewing resentment, waiting for the dawn and the confrontation to come.

---

[Liene] "He’s too late."

She stood by the window, her eyes strained as she searched the ink-black darkness outside.

[Liene] "Something must have gone wrong. He said he was only escorting the Kleinfelters out of Nauk... but how could a journey like that go smoothly? What if there was an ambush?"

She gnawed at her thumb, her anxiety spiking. The neat manicure Madam Flambard had given her just days ago was already ruined, its edges jagged and raw.

[Liene] "And why hasn't there been word from the Guard? Sir Fermos promised he would send a detachment. Surely he didn't lie to me... I can't stay here. I have to go find him."

As the clock crept toward midnight, her resolve snapped.

Liene threw a heavy cloak over her nightgown, grabbed a single silver candlestick, and hurried out of her chambers.

[Liene] "He should still be in his quarters."

Fermos had recently moved to the North Tower. He seemed to prefer the area now that it had become the unofficial territory of Tiwakan.

Liene practically ran toward the tower, passing the night watches who stood guard at the entrances and stairwells. They informed her that Fermos was indeed in his room.

Offering a frantic nod instead of a greeting, she climbed the stairs and hammered on his door.

[Fermos] "Mmph...? Your Highness?"

Fortunately, he hadn't fallen asleep yet. Fermos opened the door, caught in the middle of undressing for bed.

[Fermos] "What on earth are you doing here at this hour?"

It was the first time she had seen him without his hair tied back or his signature monocle. He looked like a different person—younger, perhaps, and less guarded. But she didn't have the luxury of noticing.

[Liene] "The Royal Guard. Did you send them? I need to know for certain."

[Fermos] "Ah. Yes, I followed your orders. But did you really need to come all the way here to confirm that in the middle of the night?"

[Liene] "Yes."

[Fermos] "Well, now that you know, perhaps you should head back and get some sle—Your Highness?"

He nearly tripped over his own feet as Liene brushed past him into the room.

He realized a second too late that he was standing there in nothing but his breeches. It seemed all Tiwakan men favored the same sturdy undergarments.

[Fermos] "Wait—why are you coming in?"

[Liene] "I can't sleep."

[Fermos] "Pardon? I... I’m sorry, what?"

[Liene] "Don't you think he’s been gone too long?"

[Fermos] "...Ah. You’re waiting for My Lord."

The panic left his face, replaced by a look of weary realization.

[Fermos] "Let’s see... It’s just past midnight. He’s late, certainly, but it doesn't mean anything is wrong."

[Liene] "How can you be so sure?"

[Fermos] "Because if something had happened, we would have heard the screaming by now. My guess? The Kleinfelters had more hidden gold than we anticipated, and he’s taking his time ensuring every last coin is accounted for."

[Liene] "No, that can't be it. I sent a messenger to check. The Kleinfelter manor is pitch black. They said it was as silent as a tomb."

[Fermos] "Good heavens. You really have been worrying yourself sick, haven't you? Oh—blast."

He started to offer her a seat out of habit, then remembered his state of undress and scrambled backward.

[Fermos] "Give me a moment to put some clothes on, Your Highness. Just... one second."

[Liene] "Don't bother. It’s fine."

[Fermos] "I... beg your pardon?"

[Liene] "I want to send more men. Tell me where to direct them. I don't know which road they took."

[Fermos] "Your Highness, listen to me. I’ve told you repeatedly—he is fine."

[Liene] "It’s past midnight, and he isn't back!"

[Fermos] "If you just go to bed, he’ll probably be standing over you by the time you wake up."

[Liene] "I told you, I cannot sleep."

[Fermos] "Your Highness..."

He made a futile attempt to cover his bare chest with his hands.

One look at her face told him she couldn't care less whether he was naked or clothed; her mind was miles away.

[Fermos] "Look... I don't want to overstep, but My Lord has his own way of doing things. He handles his business alone. Worrying about him is a full-time job that pays nothing but gray hairs. You're just hurting yourself."

[Liene] "I know you have absolute faith in him. But this is different. This is a dangerous situation."

[Fermos] "There is nothing to be dangerous."

[Liene] "You can't say that! He’s exiling Lyndon Kleinfelter! Their private army could have mobilized, or—"

[Fermos] "I would have known if they moved. Besides, Kleinfelter doesn't have an army anymore."

[Liene] "What? Five hundred men don't just vanish!"

[Fermos] "Men don't tend to hang around when the payroll stops."

[Liene] "Oh...?"

[Fermos] "Have you forgotten? Their assets were seized. Everything they own now belongs to you. Unless you’re planning on using your own gold to pay the men who hate you, they don't have an employer."

[Liene] "I see..."

She blinked, the reality of the Kleinfelters' fall finally beginning to sink in.

Poor girl. 

She’s been under their thumb for so long, she can't believe the giant is actually dead.

[Fermos] "Now, please. Go back to bed. The other families are as silent as a graveyard, let alone a private army."

He wished she would trust him.

Gathering intel on enemy troop movements was the most basic part of the job, and nobody did it better than Tiwakan.

[Liene] "I understand that, but... what if it wasn't an army? What if there was an accident? A horse bolting in the dark, or—"

[Fermos] "Then he might have a few broken bones."

Her voice flared with indignation at his casual tone.

[Liene] "Exactly! Which is why we need to send people to find him!"

[Fermos] "You’d just be torturing the poor Guards. Sending men to wander the border in the dead of night looking for someone who could have taken any number of trails is cruel. Even Tiwakan would complain about that detail."

[Liene] "Perhaps... but then just tell me the direction. I’ll go meet him myself."

He turned a shade paler.

[Fermos] "Your Highness. That is effectively the same thing."

[Liene] "Meeting him is much better than doing nothing!"

[Fermos] "In what world is that better...?"

A cold realization hit him. Looking at her determined face, he knew she was seconds away from dragging him out to the stables.

[Fermos] "Your Highness, if My Lord finds out I let you leave the castle gates at this hour, I will be walking with a cane for the rest of my life. Please. Stop tormenting me and go back to your room."

[Liene] "Then you can come with me."

[Fermos] "No! That’s exactly what I’m saying, I can't do! My job right now is to keep you here. Please. I’m begging you."

[Liene] "Sir Fermos. Do not make me question your loyalty. A man who promised to hurry is now hours late. How could I not be worried?"

She was pulling rank now. He had no choice.

[Fermos] "If something had happened to him, we would have known by now. In the dark, the fastest way to find him is to wait right here. And Your Highness..."

He stepped forward, his tone shifting.

[Fermos] "Are you aware that you are currently standing here in your nightgown and bare feet?"

[Liene] "How did you... I’m wearing a cloak."

[Fermos] "The fact that you're wearing a cloak is how I know. You wouldn't wrap yourself in that inside the castle if you were fully dressed."

She looked away, clicking her tongue softly.

[Liene] "You’re too clever for your own good. I already knew that, but still."

[Fermos] "And look at me—I’m hardly in a state to be entertaining royalty. If we get caught like this, the gossip would be scandalous. You need to leave. Now."

[Liene] "It’s ridiculous to think anyone would misinterpret a nightgown at this hour."

[Fermos] "Men and women are what they are, Your Highness."

[Liene] "Linking the two of us romantically would be an insult to the throne. I trust Tiwakan is not so disrespectful."

Despite her bold words, she pulled her cloak tighter around her. She was starting to feel the impropriety, but her stubbornness remained.

[Liene] "I’ll go change. Then will you accompany me?"

[Fermos] "Gods, Princess..."

Fermos rubbed his face with his hands, looking like a man at the end of his rope.

And then, a voice drifted up from the stairs.

[Black] "You’re here?"

The low, rumbling voice was laced with a hint of disbelief.

[Fermos] "Oh…. My Lord!"

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