Chapter 187: It Was Uncanny... Indeed.

It was uncanny.

The beautiful Clayburn quickly turned to ash. Home and buildings ruined. The cries silenced into thick smoke from the blaze that reached the heavens. Many lives were taken away in a flash. 

It was the same as Everfell, indeed. 

Although I didn't see Everfell after the night of the rebellion, I was certain it looked like a wasteland such as this. This distance from the balcony of the room I stand on and the heart of Clayburn, Althea, was enough to see how pitiful it turned out in just a single night.

'Who would have thought...' my thoughts trailed off as my eyes softened. '... no one knew. It is the same as that night in Everfell. No one knew about it. Everything... just happened. In a blink of an eye, everything changed.'

My hands on the railings curled into a ball. Would things have changed if I didn't meet Hugo last night? If I was out there with my people and a rebellion rose, would things change?

No, obviously.

I could save a few people with mere brute force, but I was certain the result would still be this devastating. Surely, the Hendrik Empire would stop at nothing to gain whatever they wanted. 

"Everfell, Althea..." I whispered, glancing over my shoulder when I felt Hugo's presence behind me. "... I hope Ronmin will not be the next one." 

His arms wrapped around my waist from behind, chin on my shoulder. His hot breaths instantly tickled my ears, humming as a response to my statements.

"Ronmin Empire will not face the same fate for sure," he reassured in a coarse voice, sounding a little sleepy since we both didn't get a wink of sleep last night. I glanced at him while he rested his cheek on my shoulder so he could look at me. 

"Did the rebellion fail?" I asked since he received a report before joining me on the terrace.

"It did." He purred, batting his eyes ever so slowly. "The crown prince, Niall's people, were seized. Not a single one escaped. We managed to keep the casualties as low as possible. A prince from Althea came to rescue and now acting as some kind of hero."

"That prince... is your --"

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"My horse." His answer cut me off, furrowing my brows at his chosen words. "As you already know, there is a power struggle in Althea. That is because the king hadn't announced an heir yet. Hence, internal affairs are divided into two factions. Some supported the third son, although he is the son of the king's mistress. While others supported the eldest because, considering his parentage, he had more rights to the throne. Even though he is foolish."

He paused and shrugged, smacking his lips. "I placed my bets on the third son."

"This... is not a sport, Hugh." I pointed out politely. "I know you have better intention, but you sound like you don't care about this place."

"Because I don't," he replied bluntly, staring at me with clear eyes. "Why would I? We can do worse than this, but we didn't. Our ways are different from those cheap tricks of the Hendrik Empire. We don't play the hero; it is either we're villains or friends."

"For the past year, Althea and Ronmin had an agreement about the usage of the road connecting to the neighboring kingdom, Pailao. The Kingdom our empire had been doing trades with. But because of the power struggle and unstable authority, this trade came to a halt," he continued, letting me go just to stand beside me with his back propped against the railings, arms crossed. "The eldest prince is demanding an unreasonable price for using this road. He is foolish to demand such a ridiculous request from an empire like Ronmin.

Meanwhile, the third prince wanted to open this border for the trades to continue. Althea had already been benefiting from this trade since they were getting a percentage from it. However, since he is a son of a concubine, his power was getting less and less. Not to mention the disparaging rumor his competitor spread had taken a tremendous blow on his deteriorating reputation."

Hugo explained the general information regarding the said kingdom. I didn't know it was that bad.

"You can say the third prince is the underdog. But if you think about it, he wants to keep the borders open in exchange for a good relationship with our empire. Althea is a small kingdom that is blessed with good land." He cast me a knowing look. "If the king was wise, it will flourish even more. However, what they lack is connection. The third prince is aware of that. Hence, he deserved the throne."

I tilted my head to the side, trying to get a gist of his explanation. Taking notice of my slight puzzlement, he chuckled. 

"In other words, the third prince had the qualities of a wise king. Unlike the eldest son who valued the precious gifts, Althea was blessed, the third prince valued affiliation even more." He let out a sharp exhale, keeping his mouth shut momentarily. "We do not want to deal with someone who is simply full of arrogance. Ronmin would rather talk to someone who was rational and smart, even if his birthright was 'lowly', as what humans call it."

I pondered about his explanation and nodded in understanding. If Althea had this road Ronmin and Pailao were using for their trades, then this road was important. Closing it to stop their trades might be Althea's right, but also, it would incite dissatisfaction from both Ronmin and Pailao. 

Even if we say Pailao was just as small as Althea, the Ronmin Empire was not to mess with. They could easily wage a war and claim Althea if they wanted to. But since werewolves weren't unreasonable, there was no need for unnecessary bloodshed. But if Althea gave them a reason, then one would know the Ronmin Empire wouldn't just sit still. 

Well, that made sense. But there were still questions lingering on top of my head. 

I gazed at Hugo as my lips parted. "And what is the connection of the fourth prince, Azazel, in this?"

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