Chapter 66

"GREETINGS, YOUR MAJESTIES." Fred bowed to the king and the queen who were having their afternoon tea.

"Fred," the queen called with a smile. "Come, join us for tea."

Lord Saknas obeyed and sat on the settee next to his aunt.

"So, parliament is voting the day after tomorrow, do you have anything to report?"

"Lord Pruice and I had an encounter earlier," Fred started. "Two men infiltrated his manor to get information about the boy. They had magical powers."

Both Titus and Monika looked at him with surprise.

"Nobles?" Monika uttered.

"What sort of magic?" King Titus asked at the same time.

"Fire."

"Fire?" The king pushed to his feet with wide eyes. "Both of them?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I knew I couldn't trust your incompetent brother with such an important matter." He glared at his wife.

Fred clenched his jaw at the insult to his dead father.

"What do you mean, Your Majesty?" Monika threw the king a confused look.

"Don't you recall who can use fire magic? The only ones were the members of the Gottanlich family." The king's face was red, he was fuming. "Gods damned it," he spat.

"That means–" Monika started.

"That means that your brother did not eradicate the Gottanlichs on that cursed night." He slammed his hand on the table, making the tea sway in the cups. "That means that at least two members of the strongest founding families are alive and if the Duke of Salicera joins forces with them…"

Titus squeezed the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. When he opened them, they found Fred's face.

"Lord Saknas, since you have inherited your late father's title, it appears you will inherit this burden as well."

"I am at your service, Your Majesty."

"You need to investigate the whereabouts of the Gottanlichs survivors and eliminate them." The king sat back in his chair. "All of them," he added.

"I have received your order, Your Majesty." Fred bowed his head.

'I know exactly where to start my search.' He grinned.

"What about the boy?" Titus asked.

"We had to tell them where the boy was held, but thanks to the mage Your Majesty has provided, we were able to warn our men and they immediately moved to a different location."

"Do you think the duke will comply?" Queen Monika asked.

"I know he won't," the king answered. "That's why we are only using this incident to scare him, a similar bill will be introduced again in about a month." The king smirked. "He will definitely change his mind after our current plan is executed."

"Everything is ready, Your Majesty," Fred said.

"Great, it will be a great spectacle to watch the Duke of Salicera crumble." A loud laugh escaped Titus' throat.

"Are you going to hurt the boy?" Monika asked, a bit concerned.

"Does it matter?" The king raised a brow. "This is all for our son to be able to ascend the throne, I will use any means possible to make that happen."

"Of course," was all she could say.

The king was right. She could not afford to have any compassion for anyone but her family. But she could not help but feel for the boy's mother, the duchess.

"Your Majesty, I have a request if I may," Fred uttered.

"What is it?"

"May I have access to the secret archives library?" Titus stared at him for a moment. "I think if I have more information about the Gottanlichs, it will help with my mission," he added quickly.

"You may have temporary access," the king told him. "Evidently, none of the books or documents are allowed to leave the library."

"Of course, Your Majesty." Fred stood from his seat and bowed. "I will take my leave, then. I have a lot to do."

"Report to me immediately if anything happens."

"Always, Your Majesty."

Fred left the sitting room with a grin splitting his face in two. Without wasting any time, he headed to the Royal Library.

"Welcome, Lord Saknas," the mage in charge of guarding the library greeted. "I have received the order to let you inside."

'That was fast.'

"Please, follow me."

The robed mage led the way through aisles of books all the way to the back. He waved his staff at the wall and an old wooden door appeared.

Fred watched with twinkling eyes, just like every time he saw magic being used. He hated not having powers though.

The mage pulled a long chain from under his robe, he was wearing it around his neck, and the door key swung from it. He unlocked it and motioned to Lord Saknas to follow him.

"You should find what you are looking for there." The mage pointed toward a couple of shelves to his right, then left the stuffy and dimly lit room.

"Now, let's see if my suspicions are correct, my little Lily of the Valley."

Fred went through the books on the shelves, their titles hinted that they were all related to the Gottanlich family.

'I guess that's to be expected from one of the founding families.'

The title of one of the books intrigued him, he smiled.

"Speaking of the founding families." He picked up the book with the same title and leafed through it.

Everyone in the kingdom knew the story of the First Queen Magtig. The nobility made sure everyone did.

The First Queen saved a fairy who was trapped for weeks under a rock in the forest. To show her gratitude, the fairy gave her a present. The purest form of magic, trapped in a crystal.

On her deathbed, Queen Magtig shared her magic equally between her six children. She left them a will as to how to run the kingdom together after her passing and left the throne for her eldest son, Albrecht.

The six children became the Founders of Malorenia, and their first names became the names of their families.

The founding families were purebloods and they made sure they only married amongst each other to keep it that way.

But it had been more than a thousand years. Many families had no choice but to mix their blood with others to continue their lineage. Thus, magic started to decline, and some babies were born without any powers at all.

"Selfish bastards."

Fred put the book back and pulled another. It looked even older than the first. 'The Gottanlich Family Tree' was the title.

He brought it to the close desk and started to go through it. He skipped the pages until he reached the last recorded names.

'The last member was born twenty-two years ago, Magnolia Gottanlich.'

Fred burst out laughing.

"I knew it."

His evil laugh continued to echo through the library like a bad omen.