<h4>Chapter 81: Decisions made in the dark.</h4>


    Lord Benwick moved towards the table with the map, it was a magic aided map, capable of showing every physical feature vividly. It functioned like a mobile screen touch screen, you could zoom in and out.


    He zoomed in on the Windrider and Silberuss estates, "Is there a possibility that these two families are working together? It seems like most prominent families have been secretly searching for the shards under the nose of the royal family. The one who wields the sword, will rule the world, it could not be more clear what their intentions are.


    However, can we trust in whispersing from the camp of the crown princess, she owns the restaurant so all the information that goes in and out is likely to be filtered by her.


    If we are not careful, we might be used as Sigrid’s sword to eliminate all the families that are threats to the Thorin’s. The only way to bnce power is to have many strong noble houses, while they check and tear each other apart, the royal family remains strong."


    King Raff moved slowly and stood next to Romilda. "The Thorin’s have halved their military power and are avoiding the limelight. For now, we don’t need to worry about them, our immediate concern is my granduncle Karlton. He has a strong enough im to the throne and possibly a map showing the location of a shard of the Eclipsion sword."


    Romilda stuck a knife in the side of the table, "There is no time to ponder deeply on this matter, we must make a decision now on how we n to proceed. We must strike from the shadows, brother. We shall make it appear as if grand uncle’s family is conspiring with our enemies.


    nt evidence of their treachery, find a trusted noble or schr to report the matter in court. He should be injured and bloody, looking as if he has just escaped the jaws of hell and he turns in the evidence. It will not take much for the nobles to turn on the Silberuss family."


    Lord Benwick nodded, he expected nothing less from Romilda, if she had a n then it was already in action, the dominoes simply needed to start falling. "It is a good n but a dangerous one, if we fail, Romilda, the consequences will be dire. We will have given the Silberuss family a reason to rebel."


    Romilda smiled cunningly, "Don’t you know better than to doubt my ns by now Benwick? Even though I n to nt fake evidence of treason, it is true that Silberuss family has been in contact with Nemorian royalty. After Rnd married Sigrid instead of Livia, they started looking around for other options.


    Dous Silberuss is one of the generals guarding the Western boarder, he used the opportunity to meet with Prince Zarek Faelen, the third son of King Caelus Faelen. He wants to be crown prince of Nemoris while Dous was to be king of Eldoria.


    A union between these two families is dangerous for us, we must make haste."


    King Raff sat down and sighed, "Begin, I hope my ancestors will forgive me for what I am going to do."


    "Are you wiping them all out?" Lord Benwick asked in a whisper.


    Romilda replied coldly, "One Silberuss alive is dangerous for us all, if we spare any they will live on dreaming of revenge. They must die, all of them."


    She ced a reassuring hand on Raff’s arm, her eyes gleaming with determination. "Trust me brother, our ancestors will not me you, we will protect our legacy and ensure that Karlton’s greed and treachery is his undoing."


    On that night, under the cover of darkness, the fate of one of the strongest families in the kingdom was sealed, and a web of deceit so clever and intricate was woven by three people.


    **********


    Back at the vale, Sigrid and Rnd had moved to theke house where they were nning to spend the night at his insistence. At the moment, they were eating dinner outside on the porch.


    Rnd had he puppy in his arms, he was cradling it as if it was a baby.


    "For someone that said my horse was not a child, you are sure treating that dog like one."


    "He is small, your horse is five or ten times the size of my puppy." He put the fork down and rubbed the puppy’s head. "I like this gift, thank you for getting it for me by the way."


    "I am d you like it, I hope you don’t n to bring it into my bed on the nights when you sleep with me. When you are sleeping alone, you can do whatever you want." she slowly cut away some meat from the goat ribs.


    "That will never happen, the things you do to me, a dog cannot do." he answered with a smile.


    She scoffed, he did not need to expand on the things he was talking about.


    "Do you think your father will do anything about your grand uncle?"


    Rnd had been with the feeling that at some point his wife would raise the topic of the dinner. It was likely in fact that all those that had attended it were discussing it with friends or family at that very time.


    "I would say that you were quite sessful in provoking my grand uncle, why did you smile when you told him he was old?"


    Sheughed when she recalled the ugly look on Karlton’s face when she mentioned his aging, it was almost like he wanted to lunge at her and break her neck.


    "People show their feet faster when they are in a hurry. Let’s just say that I needed to borrow your father’s hand to get rid of a few threats. I will be candid with you Rnd, your grand uncle has a im to the throne, he is making arrangements to fulfill those ims.


    You are the crown prince and I am your princess, I have a vested interest in seeing to it that your grand uncle’s dreams remain just that; dreams."


    He shook his head stubbornly, "My grand uncle harbors no ambitions like those, I admit that some of his descendants are out of control and he needs to be restrained and reminded of his ce but to rebel!! That’s the kind of crime that gets an entire lineage ended."


    "The reward is as great as the punishment, he is willing to take the risk. If I was in his position, I would be the same, greedy for the throne and harboring hatred and jealousy for those that stole it from me because I had the bad luck of being born with one leg shorter than another." she shared bluntly. "Everyday, I would be reminding my children or grandchildren about what was denied to us. In a fair world, if the throne couldn’t go to him, it should have gone to his eldest son. Face it Rnd, in some circles, his im is even more legitimate than yours."


    Rnd was rendered speechless, momentarily, he could not believe how sharp, candid and precise she was. Was it because she had grown up on the Eastern boarder at a time when war was ongoing? Ordinary women did not discuss politics, not like this.


    "You would truly rebel if you were in his shoes?" he asked, his voice slightly elevated.


    She nodded firmly and answered coldly. "I would burn Eldoria to the ground and rebuild it in my image.’