Third Arc (Fallen Heart) - 384. No Gentle Negotiations
Darius exhaled, his jaw tightening. He didn't have an immediate answer. He had been thinking the same thing since the moment he stepped into Euphorion's capital.
The man continued, his voice unwavering. "Euphorion doesn't expand through treaties and gentle negotiations. It expands through victory. Through battles that leave no room for opposition. King Angelus doesn't ask for land—he takes it. So tell me, Lord Darius, what do you think happens when he looks at Harmonia and sees weakness?"
Darius clenched his fists. "Prince Jake isn't weak."
The man nodded. "He knows that. That's why he sent me."
Darius remained silent, his mind racing. Prince Jake was aware of the threat, aware that Angelus wasn't the kind of ruler who would simply ignore a vulnerable kingdom. But if he knew that… did that mean he was preparing for war?
Or was he truly looking for a way to avoid it?
Darius inhaled deeply, pushing his thoughts aside for now. There was something else he needed to address. "The coded message."
The man's smirk twitched slightly. "Ah. That."
Darius crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing. "Is that a report for Prince Jake?"
The man didn't hesitate. "Yes. It's a report for him."
Something in Darius snapped. A mix of anger, panic, and instinct propelled him forward as he grabbed the spy's collar, pulling him forward with enough force that the chair beneath him creaked. "What is written there?" he hissed, his voice dangerously low. "Why does it need to be coded?"
The spy didn't flinch. He simply huffed, amused by Darius' reaction. "Relax." His tone was far too casual for someone bound. "My report isn't something that could start a war. It's just an observation of the situation in Euphorion."
The spy continued, his voice calm, measured. "According to rumors, the King of Euphorion is a tyrant, ruling with an iron fist, crushing his enemies without mercy." He tilted his head slightly. "But what I've seen here is different."
Darius didn't move, but he felt the shift in the air.
The spy's smirk deepened. "For one, the queen."
Darius stiffened. "What about her?"
The man's gaze flickered. "She's supposed to be a political prisoner, suffering under Angelus' rule, right? That's what the rumors say. But from what I've seen? She isn't suffering at all."
Darius didn't respond immediately, but the words dug into him.
"She's with the king, by his side, accompanying him like any proper king's wife would." The man's tone was light. "I don't see a captive. I see a queen who stands with her king willingly."
Darius exhaled slowly, his grip loosening.
The man's expression remained unreadable, but his words weren't meant to provoke—they were meant to reveal something.
Darius took a step back, unclenching his fists. "So, that's what your report is? Just… a record of the castle's atmosphere?"
The spy nodded. "And everything surrounding it. I observed the nobles, the knights, the soldiers, the streets. Everything."
Darius frowned. "And what exactly did you find?"
The spy chuckled softly. "Euphorion isn't what people think it is. There's order. There's structure. There's discipline. And the people… they don't seem to fear their king the way the rumors suggest."
Darius felt the words settle over him. He had been in Euphorion long enough to notice the same things. There was no unrest, no whispered fear in the streets, no secret rebellion brewing beneath the surface.
And that in itself was unsettling.
Angelus had conquered three kingdoms.
Where was the hatred? Where was the resentment?
Darius exhaled, shaking his head. "You still haven't answered my question. Why the code?"
The man leaned forward slightly, as much as his bindings allowed. "Because if I wrote it plainly and it was intercepted, it could be altered. A single phrase could be twisted into something completely different. If the wrong people got ahold of it, they could use it to stir conflict. But if it's coded… only Prince Jake will understand it exactly as I wrote it."
Darius ran a hand down his face. The frustration still simmered, but logic forced him to recognize the truth in the man's words.
Harmonia was already on unstable ground. The king's health was failing, nobles were maneuvering for power, and the moment Prince Jake took the throne, he would be surrounded by enemies.
If a report like this was intercepted and rewritten, it could turn into a fabricated threat. A single false claim could push Euphorion and Harmonia into unnecessary conflict.
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