schemes and woes

In a palace where the rich curtains swayed; the walls were decorated with rich paintings. A man in his mid-thirties was sipping wine, slowly, tasting its fragrance and its rich mellow taste. His square face with bread and his slender figure made him attractive, but his strange smile gave one a feeling of dealing with the devil. He wore a rich blue waistcoat and creamy pants. The ring with a lion crest symbolizes his family. This man was the second prince, Philip Von Selyra. As he was enjoying his wine, a person came into the room and announced the arrival of a messenger. The messenger clad in a black uniform came and saluted the man.

"Your lord! The mission entrusted to the agency was completed yesterday, we have prepared the full document, signed by the lady."

    The messenger in black handed over an envelope, which the man near the prince received. The messenger, done with his job, left the room with a salute. The prince opened the sealed envelope and read its contents, and sneered.

"it seems the Cormacs have brought their elites with them; the intel is true afterall, i should go and see her. The old man is desperate to pass the throne to that whore's daughter, while his legitimate sons are alive. How is my dear elder brother, Jan?"

The man next to the prince, a man in his fifties, took a small red notebook from his pocket and read,

Prince Henrik met with Marshal Volcan in private several times this month.

"That fatty hahaha! I wonder how the marshal will cut my brother's string. Maybe he'll be accused of being in bed with the empire! Or he'll outright poison him!"

Prince Philip said with a roaring laugh like it's the funniest thought that came to him. After a fit of laughter, the prince regained his malevolent smile and asked the old man Jan next to him,  

" How is the operation going? "

The operation is in the final stage and we'll get the required result in a month. Jan replied mechanically. So Jacob is here, huh? Put him under the level 4 watch list. No, assign black and red to him. The old man Jan, widened his eyes in disbelief before quickly coming back to his ice-cold expression. No matter his reputation of ice-cold behavior, hearing the assignment of two most reputed colors from the twelve colors to a single person can invoke such expression from those few who know of the elite agents of the agency, even during the war with the empire, only saw the deployment of five colors.

"You must be thinking I'm mad, right Jan? No, Jacob is that dangerous."

"He'll find a way to win even if we toss the board and shove the pieces up his throat. Assign them, tell them to put Jacob under 24 hours observation."

The old man simply saluted silently and left after arranging the letters and reports. The prince silently sat there. No smile was on his face; he just sat there, just a man with his wine

The procession of Count Cormac entered the city without any flare. The citizens were used to nobles parading on their streets, but the Cormacs were acting the exact opposite. They entered the city as if they were sneaking inside the city. They kept silent during the entire March; even the soldiers kept towards themselves. Lukas didn't agree with them. He watched the city from his window with great interest and talked to Tristan non-stop. Tristan almost lost his sanity from the stress and the chatter from Lukas

"Lukas! Stop talking for a minute!"

Tristan was so mad and wanted to scream, but he controlled himself and brought himself to a whisper. Watching Tristan get serious and get messed up. Lukas decided to stop, but his eyes still shined with excitement. With a sigh, Tristan massaged his temples. At last, they arrived at the inner walls of Arendal. The inner walls were huge and inspired security for the rich nobles inside. The announcer step forward and announced House Cormac's entry at the inner gates in accordance with the old traditions; much to the displeasure of Elise, but she didn't show it on her face.

The inner region of the capital was reserved for the nobles of the kingdom. Every noble in the kingdom owned and maintained their villa. The Cormac's villa is the grandest and oldest among them.

"Sir Raul, make sure everything is alright. The maids can't be trusted. Replace them with our own brought from the county. Test the food at source and before serving at the dinner table. The guards must be vigilant 24 hours. Make sure our contacts are not compromised, make sure that every corner of the capital is filled with our spies

" Yes, my lord!"

As soon as they got settled, Jacob fired off many orders to various retainers of his father; they saluted Jacob with respect and left quickly to do their respective jobs, leaving behind Raul. he said with a smile,

"You remind me of my lord in his younger days, decisive."

After a smile, Raul saluted the man as he would salute his father and left. Jacob showed a wry smile and whispered to himself

"I have to be more perfect than my father, I have to keep everyone safe."

He slowly caressed the book near him, a book with a black cover. Suddenly, Jacob heard a knock on his door.

Open the door Jacob, it's me, Tristan.

With a slight frown, Tristan asked his brother,

"Jacob, what's the matter? Why are you in charge? Where's father?

"Father is visiting some nobles. He left me in charge, and we should keep a low profile"

What's happening? From the moment we stepped inside the capital, i felt like we were on edge. I know mother hates parades and whatnot, but I believe we were too quiet in entering the capital

Tristan took a casual pose, but his eyes betrayed the tension he was feeling. Jacob looked solemn, like a commander on the battlefield; a look not so associated with Jacob. He sat on his chair and he looked Tristan in his eyes and said,

"We're in a wolf's den now, Tristan, if we're not careful, we could get eaten. I believe I own you some answers, follow me"

Jacob led Tristan to a different room, a simple room with  some books, a table, and some chairs.

Jacob, why did you bring me here?

"This is a soundproof room, and we can safely talk here. Did you know? That girl is eighteen this year."

"Who?"

"Elena."

"The princess? Damn, she always hung out with Lukas when they were young. The purge changed people."

With a sigh, Tristan recalled the past. Jacob with a solemn look, said with a grave tone. She's getting married to House Cormac, and you're the ideal candidate.

"Jacob! You always know how I saw her! She's a sister to me back then and now. Besides I-

"I know Tris, I know about that merchant's daughter. I looked into her and she's perfect for you."

With a rare blush from Tristan, he asked his brother,

"When did you know? Does mother and father knows?"

Tristan looked nervous as he asked Jacob about their parents knowing about his relationship with Celina.

"Father is bit frustrated about your choice but he'll probably go with your choice."

Before Tristan can ask how he knows Celina, he changed the subject with a devilish smile and said,

"Mother doesn't know."

Tristan visibly shivered, he knows that his mother would go mad at the fact that he didn't told her about her, well that's to be expected, as Elise likes to tease her children on their love life, Jacob suffered from it, and he looked satisfied, with a grin plastered across his face as the fate befalls his brother for a moment the two brothers forgot their worries, and just stood there.. After a moment, Tristan said,

"You know, father made a deal, we're supposed to support the princess's ascention to throne. A debt father owe to the wise king, we can't back out, it'll gave him a legit reason to rally the nobles and invade us draining both the nobles and our millitary, giving a chance for the Princess's rule to solidify. If we went with the marriage, our county will bleed supporting the kingdom and the hostile princes will war to us. We need time to get out of this marriage."

By your tone, you seems to have a plan in your mind, so what should I do now?

"Right now what we are lacking is time. If you were to engage with the princess, there's a good chance the king will call for marriage now using his failing health as an excuse. You're both of age, and the court's getting worse and worse as his health falls. Who knows what both Philip and Henrik plot? We need Lukas to act as the princess' fiance; he's sixteen; at least we'll get two years to get out of this mess without a civil war."

So I should watch over Lukas huh?"

"Yes and watch out for Philip. I believe things will get messy after the king's annocement"

Tristan went after he discused the finer details. After Tristan went, Jacob took out a black book and wrote something on it.