Fourth Arc (Thorns of The Black Throne) - 460. Shadowed Corners I
"Your Highness, you should meet up with the Euphorion Royals," the voice came too loud, too fast.
Roric turned, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his glove. His weapon still rested in one hand, gleaming under the cold sun like it wasn't tired yet. Unlike him.
The training yard echoed faintly with the last clang of steel. Dirt shifted beneath his boots. The scent of metal, sweat, and scorched leather from practice dummies filled the air, mixing with the faint autumn spice drifting from the upper palace windows. Fires had been lit in preparation. The whole castle was buzzing. He just didn't want to be part of it.
Yes, he already knew the King and Queen of Euphorion would arrive today.
Everyone knew.
The castle had been preparing since dawn, perhaps even before that. Silver drapes pressed, banners hoisted, thrones dusted. Servants were drilled. Guards were polished to the bone. It was all ridiculous, in Roric's opinion.
He had no desire to meet them. Not out of disrespect, but instinct.
Something about the Euphorion Royals unsettled him. Maybe it was the way people whispered when they spoke of them. Not like usual gossip about foreign nobles being spoiled or strange. No… this was different. Reverent. Hesitant. Scared.
They were young, powerful, and terrifying.
And most of what he heard about them?
Was bad.
Some called King Angelus a warlord in a crown. A tyrant forged in shadow. Others called him a reformer. A necessary storm. Either way, he wasn't normal. No king who razed three kingdoms and claimed their territories in months could be.
Yes. Months.
Not years. Not dragged-out campaigns.
Months.
Roric had doubted that once. Assumed the reports were exaggerated. Glorified by frightened allies and dramatized by panicked enemies.
But the maps didn't lie.
Borders had changed. Monarchs had abdicated. Armies had surrendered.
And there, always in the center of it, Angelus Raizel Moonfall.
The Queen wasn't any better. Rose of Zephyrus. A name born from fire and blood. Rumored to be the healer, the battle princess, and wholly untouchable.
Together, they were a storm cloaked in diplomacy.
And that meant trouble.
Roric could smell it. That faint, humming pressure in the air that came before something changed. Something big. Something that never left things the same.
He wasn't stupid.
He wasn't reckless either.
And that's why he had no intention of standing too close to that particular fire.
Opposing them outright would be suicidal. Pontus wasn't built for that. His father knew it.
So Roric's plan?
Pretend to be busy.
Keep his distance.
Minimize interaction.
Let the diplomats talk, let the royals bow, let the court fawn and strategize and betray itself in whispers.
He would stay in the shadowed corners.
Where it was safer.
Where he could still think.
Where he could watch without being seen.
That was his strength. That was his survival.
He wasn't just made to be a king. He was made to survive kings.
And if this Angel and Rose were what the rumors claimed?
Then Roric would keep his weapon sharp.
And his presence minimal.
The servant stood rigid, clearly out of breath. Probably had sprinted across the cobblestones from the throne hall all the way here just to blurt out the obvious.
Roric's brows lowered.
"Don't yell around," he said flatly. "I can hear you."
The servant flushed and bowed hastily, lowering his voice but not his nerves.
"Apologies, Your Highness, but… King Angelus and Queen Rose of Euphorion have arrived."
Roric gave a slow blink. "I know. The whole castle knows."
"Well…" the servant fidgeted. "They're in the throne room now. With your father. I thought perhaps you'd want to, um… make an appearance."
"Why?" Roric asked, tossing his training weapon down onto the bench beside the rack. His hand lingered on it a second too long, like he wasn't quite ready to give up sparring for the politics of court.
"They're foreign royalty," the servant stammered, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Your father will expect it. And… and Lady Jane is with them."
That made him freeze.
Just a second.
Not long enough for the servant to notice anything more than the subtle pause.
>Read the original on webnovel* .com
>Read 10 chapter ahead of DM + 2 weekly update
My Pat*reo*n-page: pat*reon.*com/nanakawaichan
(erase the *)
My ko-fi page: ko-fi.*com/nanakawaichan
My Discord: discord.gg/mSRHyMVhnG