Kai moved with Claire up the stone stairs toward the meeting room. The morning sun had only just climbed over the horizon, yet a heaviness already pressed on him. With the list of duties waiting, he felt as if the day would blur past and vanish into evening before he had even caught his breath.

Training as an Enforcer, keeping up with his own mana cultivation, sorting through stacks of recruitment files—that alone was enough to fill his hours. But there was more. He still had to meet Balen and Tharnok in the workshop to hear how the weapons and golems were coming along, not to mention a hundred other tasks that clawed for his attention. Contesting for the throne was no simple ambition. In fact, it was probably the hardest challenge he’d ever taken, especially when most of the people working under him didn’t even realize what he was aiming for until not long ago.

And now this—another report from the Watchers. It had pulled him from the rhythm of his morning, and though he tried to keep his focus steady, his mind wandered. His agents had been restless shadows in every corner of the kingdom, moving even while Ansel was away in Ashari. And he was sure that they were the one of the first people to know the news about Thalric’s coronation.

But they hadn’t sent any big news after that. For once, he hoped that the silence meant stability rather than storm. He could only hope that the situation hadn’t worsened.

The stairs curved, and the hall narrowed toward the council chamber. Kai glanced sideways at Claire, her boots soft against the stone steps. “Do you know what this is about?” he asked.

Claire shook her head, her braid swaying slightly. “No, Lord Arzan. Knight Killian only said to bring you.”

Kai gave a small nod. His jaw tightened at all the possibilities that ran through his mind and he lengthened his stride. Whatever it was, it couldn’t wait.

With that, they reached the heavy oak doors of the meeting room, tall enough to dwarf both of them.

Without pausing, without so much as a knock, Kai pushed them open.

Every gaze inside turned toward him. He immediately realised that the seats were already full. He had arrived last.

Inside the chamber, the gathered faces reminded Kai of just how much weight now sat on his shoulders; how serious the matter at hand were. Francis and Killian—his most trusted supporters—were at the front. Alongside them sat Feroy, Gareth, Orion, Klan, and Jack from the Sorcerer’s Tower. A handful of others filled the remaining seats, and all of them were men and women he had pulled back to Veralt after the Assembly.

Only Balen and Tharnok were absent, buried in the depths of the workshop, too busy forging steel and stone into weapons and golems. And he didn’t blame them, they were needed there, and that was exactly what they were doing.

All of them stood up when he entered the room in unison.

Kai nodded and crossed to the head of the table. Behind him, Claire followed silently, taking her own place as a member of the council.

He didn’t bother with greetings; just sat on his chair.

Time was too precious for pleasantries. Once they were all seated, Kai swept his gaze across the chamber before settling on Francis.

“What did the Watchers say?”

Francis drew a slow breath. His hands rested against the table, but his jaw was tight, and his eyes betrayed strain. “A lot, my lord. We gathered much about Thalric’s movements, even if we failed to place a proper spy inside his inner circle. And we’ve learned details on the other two princes as well.”

Kai studied him for a heartbeat, then leaned forward slightly. “And I’m guessing none of it is good.”

A grim smile flickered across Francis’s face before vanishing. “No, Lord Arzan. If I had my way, I’d ask Goddess Lumaris herself to sweep the princes from the world, so no blood need spill on the earth. But reality is far grimmer.” He sighed loud.

“Prince Thalric has begun to move on his own. He’s striking at forts he couldn’t secure completely through his followers and forcing them under his banner. Many of those garrisons are already divided, their loyalties split. That inner strife is making it easier for him to claim them. His army grows with every passing sunrise—several hundred recruits a day, most of them conscripts chasing illusions of honor and glory. The momentum is his, and it is building.”

“That sounds just like Thalric,” Kai said at last. “We already know his ideology is to take everything he needs and wants without a regard to anyone else.”

Francis inclined his head. “The Watchers believe—and I share their view—that his pace will slow before long. Logistics will catch up with him. But by then, he’ll already have locked down a wide stretch of territory.”

That got Kai thinking. His eyes narrowed as a certain line of thought crossed his mind. He spoke out loud, “It’ll take time before he can stabilize it enough that he won’t need to keep looking over his shoulder. Until then, he’s vulnerable.”

“Precisely,” Francis agreed. “That, I suspect, is why the other two princes remain quieter. They’re waiting and watching. But well, we should make no mistake because they, too, are setting their pieces on the board and making their moves.”

“What… kind of moves?” Gareth asked from the side.

“According to the Watchers, the second prince, Aldrin, has been reaching out to the Alparca Kingdom’s royal family. He has sent delegations laden with gold and promises, you know, offering them influence if they back his claim. Not only them, he’d extended his hand to every neighboring realm capable of sending aid.”

Kai’s face darkened at the thought—he looked around only to realise that several faces mirrored his expression.

“It’s reckless and stupid!” Feroy spoke. “He’s dragging outsiders into our civil war.” He made eye contact with Kai and frowned.

“Stupid, yes,” Francis said with a shake of his head. “But the Watcher who managed to secure reliable intelligence insists Aldrin is confident. He believes the foreign crowns won’t try to seize the kingdom outright. Still, as you know, there are no guarantees. A King’s nature is to expand his borders. And what better chance than another realm tearing itself apart? A civil war in another country is the best way to go at it.”

Murmur swept through the people, heads nodding at that.

“And what of Eldric and Regina?” Kai’s question halted the murmurs.

Truthfully, he cared the most about the two of them.

Compared to Regina, the other claimants felt almost trivial. Mortals, really. They could muster soldiers, lean on old Dukes, play their little games of power, but in the end, Kai was confident he could crush their efforts with his own strength and the tricks he’d honed. Regina, though… She was different. A thorn lodged deep, impossible to ignore.

Her ties to Maleficia gave her reach he couldn’t measure, and that gnawed at him. The alliance she represented was a shadow he barely understood, one with claws hidden beyond his sight. More than the princes, she was the one he wanted to track, the one whose every move mattered.

So when Francis finally spoke again, his words caught Kai off guard. “First Prince Eldric is barely doing anything.”

“Huh? It’s all quiet?”

“Yes,” Francis confirmed. “Hermil is very, very quiet. None of the royal family has been seen. And King Sullivan… it seems he hasn’t left his chambers.”

A crease formed on Kai’s brow. “Do you think he is—”

Before the sentence was finished, Killian cut in.

“We don’t know that yet, Lord Arzan. But if anything had happened to the king, Regina would be the first to announce it. She’d put Eldric on the throne the very next day.”

Kai let the words settle, then gave a slow nod. That much was true. Regina wouldn’t waste such an opportunity. But if the king still lived, why hadn’t she moved? Was she biding her time, watching the chaos as Thalric and Aldrin pushed their pieces forward? Or waiting for the perfect moment to strike, when every move she made would force the others into check? It could be anything.

At least the first two princes behaved as expected—Thalric with his reckless hunger, Aldrin with his slippery deals. Regina’s silence was the most dangerous sound of all.

As Kai mulled this over, Francis spoke again. “There’s also a word from the nobles we’ve been working to bring into our faction. They’ve lost favor with the princes after the Assembly, since you were named a candidate for the throne. But…” He hesitated, glancing around the table. “Not all of them are eager to join us. Some hold back. They’re cautious. Testing the wind before they commit.”

“They’re uncertain?”

“Yes, my lord. More than half have pledged their support, but the rest… they wait. They want to see you move first. Since the Assembly, we’ve kept quiet. We haven't even announced formally that we would be fighting the princes in the civil war. King Sullivan allowed you to contest for the throne, lord arzan, but you didn't say you would outright because of the commotion the decision caused.”

“It’s true, Lord Arzan,” Killain pronounced. “Thalric has already begun the civil war. The other princes will soon make formal moves, throwing more fuel into the fire. But us? We haven’t declared our intentions. Everything is still smoke and whispers. We need something solid, something to show them.”

Kai didn’t argue. He knew it was the truth. Some of the silence had been his command, holding the army in preparation, ensuring their strength was sharpened and ready. Some of it had been his own need to recover, to make sure he was at the peak of his powers. And part of it had been deliberate—watching, measuring, trying to see how the other princes would act.

But that time was thinning out. He had known from the moment Aldrin and Thalric left the capital right after the Assembly that they’d abandoned any chance of prying the crown from King Sullivan’s hands. They had chosen their own paths to power. Now, if Kai remained still, they would seize too much ground too quickly. Every fortress, every loyal city taken would only make his road harder.

“Are all the nobles in the Sylvan Enclave with us?” Kai asked, needing to know the answer for one last time. The more support he would receive meant extra hands against the opposing parties.

“Yes, my lord. They’ve all agreed to support us, but we’re not sure how many men they’ll commit when called.”

Kai’s fingers tapped the table involuntarily.

Although the men who led the houses had all been punished by King Sullivan—Baron Idrin receiving the death penalty and the others heavy compensation and even imprisonment in some cases—they must have realized it was better to support him than to gamble on one of the princes.

Of course, he wasn’t stupid or naive to blindly believe that every single one of those nobles would support him.

Because in reality, his trust in the Sylvan Enclave nobles was thin, especially in the houses of Vensar and Kairnso, who had always been the loudest in their opposition. But Kai knew war left little room for choosing allies.

Better to keep them under his banner, even if reluctantly, than to leave them lurking behind, waiting for a chance to strike at his back. His Watchers already had their eyes on those two houses, and that was enough for now.

“Then it’s decided,” Kai broke the silence. “I’ll be formally announcing my bid for the throne. We march against Thalric, Aldrin, Eldric and whoever stands in our way. Francis, send word to the nobles who have declared support for us—there will be a meeting soon, at a place most convenient for them. I will attend it personally. And together, we will discuss the plan to take the kingdom in its entirety.”

The room shifted as his words sank in. His men glanced at one another, and smiles began to spread across their faces. The air felt lighter, sharpened by anticipation. This was what they had been waiting for—not hesitation, not caution, but the first real step into the campaign they knew had always been coming.

Francis bowed slightly in his chair. “I will see to it at once. Will you be declaring your intentions through a messenger? Should I send it to announce it on the square and establishments?”

Kai shook his head slowly, the thought rolling in his mind before he answered. “No. I’ll do it myself. Veralt needs to hear it from me directly. The citizens must see my resolve, and know beyond doubt that I have full confidence in defeating the princes. Words through another’s lips won’t be enough.”

Francis opened his mouth as if to ask more, but Kai was already rising. His chair scraped against the stone floor, the sound sharp in the quiet chamber. Without waiting, he started for the door, his cloak brushing behind him.

***

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