The Debt Of Fate-Chapter 279: playing both side

Old Lane Street

"My lord, the time is not yet right," the young seer said, staring at the divination he had drawn.

"What do you mean not yet right? I have waited patiently for over a year since that boy sat on the throne. Your master, the Great Seer, said the throne was mine to take. When do I finally take it?" Lord Aurelin asked. He felt that now—when nothing was stable in the kingdom—was the perfect time to launch a rebellion. That way he would not be labeled a traitor, but a defender.

Every day Edward sat comfortably on the throne, the harder it became to take it. Aurelin had spent many resources gathering advisors and soldiers, and the hardest part had been keeping it all secret. Many had already urged him to attack—take over the Second Province and start a war to claim the throne—but every time he consulted the seer, the answer changed. Lord Aurelin could not help but wonder if this young seer was unskilled.

"Haste leads to waste, my lord," the young seer said. There were still a few things he did not understand; it seemed the gods were not ready to speak. Although the star of the throne had long left Edward since he was divorced from his former queen, it had yet to rest upon Lord Aurelin. To the young seer, this meant the gods wanted them to wait.

"Haste?" Aurelin’s laugh was brittle, humorless. "All my advisors say this is the best time to launch an attack. That boy has not yet fully gained control of power. If I do not break the delicate balance now, it will become difficult later," Lord Aurelin argued.

The young seer opened his mouth to speak, but in that moment someone called from outside.

"Great Seer, I need your help," a woman’s voice said—soft, but unmistakably feminine.

The young seer paused when he heard her. He turned to Lord Aurelin. "My lord, return for now. You will hear news soon." He had learned from his master never to speak on behalf of the gods. Since he was still unsure, he dared not say more.

Lord Aurelin nodded and left through the side door, though his mind was unsettled. He hated that the seer had dismissed him because of a woman. The more he thought about it, the more he could not ignore it.

"Go. Investigate who that woman is—the one seeking the seer at this time," he instructed a loyal aide.

The man bowed and disappeared into the night.

---

Inside the seer’s hall sat Dorothy.

"Great one, you promised I would become the next queen. Now the king has cast aside the former queen, yet he has married his own sister and crowned her," Dorothy said, worry tightening her features. When she first left the palace, she had not been too concerned because of the king’s promises. He had told her he only wanted the two sisters to fight, then she would return and take her place as queen. But the former queen never returned to the palace.

Weeks had already passed, and the king had not visited her once. Hearing how grand his wedding to his new queen had been, she could not help panicking. Who could say if the king had been seduced by his new queen and forgotten her entirely?

The young seer looked at Dorothy and murmured to himself, his gaze clouded with confusion. Back when he had sought her out, she at least had a chance to become queen once Anastasia was out of the picture. But now her star was dim.

He calculated with his fingers. "I will give you another potion. As long as you get the king to drink it, he will bring you back to the palace immediately," the seer said. He believed Dorothy carried a kind of luck that could easily harm the king, so he needed her back at the palace.

"Great one, the king will not even see me. How can I approach him?" Dorothy snapped. If she could see the king, she would not have come to the seer.

"You do not need to see him directly. Why not visit the palace under the guise of seeing your son?" the seer suggested.

Dorothy paused. She remembered the king’s warning; she was supposed to lie low for now.

"Great one, His Majesty forbids me from coming to the palace for the time being," she said, then explained what the king had promised her before sending her away.

The seer lowered his head upon hearing that. It seemed that Anastasia’s refusal to return to the palace had shifted the wheels of fate.

"You may decide to listen to me or trust His Majesty’s words. No man can resist the charm of a beautiful woman. If his new queen bears him a son, I wonder what fate your own son will have," the seer said.

Dorothy thought for a long moment. In the end, she took the potion, thanked the young seer, and left.

As she stepped out, she pondered his words deeply. She did not want to become a commoner again—not after tasting wealth and status, not when she knew she had a chance to become queen, the envy of all women. Even if she feared offending the king, she also feared losing him. So, she decided she would visit the palace in a few days.

She was so lost in thought that she did not notice she was being watched.

Lord Aurelin’s trusted aide followed her and confirmed her identity before returning to report.

"Are you sure she is truly the king’s former mistress?" Lord Aurelin asked.

"Yes, my lord. There is no mistake. I dared not get too close, but I am certain I heard them mention ’queen’ and ’palace,’" the aide said.

Lord Aurelin exhaled heavily, unsure what to make of it. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"My lord... are you certain the seer is on your side alone?" the aide asked.

Lord Aurelin frowned. He wondered if the young seer was playing a double game—after all, his master, the Old Seer, had been loyal to the late king.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

"My lord, a report just came in," the voice outside said.

"Come in," Aurelin answered, deciding to push aside the matter of the seer for now.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Your supporters threaten to pull back. They say they are unwilling to follow a puppet. If you cancel the plan to attack again because of the words of a seer, they will withdraw," the man reported.

Lord Aurelin was furious, though he understood their concerns. He wanted to curse them, they swore loyalty to him yet they threatened him. He wanted to ask them to leave but he also needed them. Moreover if he angered them what if they reveal his plans to the king. He did not dare gamble with them and he dared not act recklessly against the seer’s warning.

"My lord, forgive me, but... the seer is having secret meetings with the king’s mistress without your knowledge. What if he is playing both sides?" the loyal aide said. He did not understand why his lord trusted the seer so much.

Lord Aurelin thought for a long while.

"Send word back—we will proceed with our earlier plans," he said at last, having made up his mind.