Chapter 260: Cut the Head of the Snake: End of Arc Five- The Holy Seat

Issac leaned against the wall, looking at the collecting inner circle. With a faint smile, he sipped his drink and watched as everyone spoke in hushed voices. "You seem in a good mood, " Abu said, coming over and taking his place next to Issac.

"Well." Swirling his glass, he contained the pure excitement he wished to let explode, knowing it wasn’t the time. "I’m going to be a father. I was scared at first, but now..." Issac let the sentence trail, and Abu firmly placed his hand on his shoulder.

"I’m happy for you. Just don’t spoil them. Always turns into a headache in the future."

"Well, if it’s a girl, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself." Quietly laughing, Abu shook his head

"You’ll be fine. Out of everyone, I think you would be the best father. I mean, it’s not a hard task when comparing yourself to someone like Esmond." Issac chuckled, not daring to comment.

The two went silent once more, and before it could get awkward, Alfred walked in, trailed by Isra and Alice. To match his time perfectly, Esmond walked in with Horace from another door, the two sitting silently at the table. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Let us." Issac downed the rest of his drink and sat alongside everyone in the room. Alfred stood at the head, with Alice next to him.

"Thank you all. It’s quite nice for things to feel normal once more." His voice had a slight bitterness, but everyone disregarded it. "First, Horace, please." Giving a small nod, he stood up and took his place behind Alfred.

"The Empire is in a precarious position right now. Our enemies hover over us like vultures, waiting to pounce. We are pushing through radical change, and many disagree with what I do." Alfred stopped and shook his head. "What we wish to achieve. The world should be ever-changing, but it has been bogged down by old institutions that wish to shackle down progress to keep their crumbling power. The Commonwealth, Severia, The Church. All authorities that can’t understand."

"We can’t risk becoming like them. New blood, new ideas, a new faith. A new order." Alfred leaned over and gripped the back of his chair. "Horace Underwell." Saying his name, the man stood up, straightened his back and fixed his cuffs. "The Underwells have been the shadow of the Lindonfall family for generations. Your loyalty, abilities and unwavering drive to forward my agenda have not gone unnoticed. Now is your chance. Do you accept? Accept your place in the Empire’s most important decision-making council."

Horace took a deep breath and bowed. He tried to hide it, but his deep pride burnt in his eyes. Glancing at his father, he felt he had finally been recognised as his equal, as worthy to replace him. All the tests, all the missions. "Your Majesty. The Underwells are yours. You honour me with this."

Alfred looked at him and nodded. He didn’t need to explain the cost of accepting; he had been taught it from birth. Patting his shoulder, he turned to Alice, who smiled happily. "Alice. What about you? You have become one of the few to see the truth of what I say. Someone who understands. You are holy and pure, so I ask. Will you accept your place here despite the filth it entails?"

Everyone looked at her seriously. Unlike the other at the table, she was a nobody to them. Someone who suddenly rose to the top despite having humble origins. Unlike Abu, who Alfred saved and made a deal with for his loyalty, Alice came from nothing, only standing in the room due to Alfred’s favour.

Yet, seeing her fall to her knees and look up in worship made them all feel strange. Even Alfred was uncomfortable, never able to get used to how she looked at him. "Even now, you care for my soul." If they couldn’t see her, everyone would have thought she was about to cry. "You are the Blessed One, the one who guides the world to the truth of the Gods. I had already agreed to be used so I may save the righteous. I offer you everything. I only ask, never forget your holy mission."

Alfred’s lip twitched, but he nodded, extending his hand to help her. Alice happily took it and patted down her clothes. "Please sit." Hearing his order, the two sat. Glances were thrown Alice’s way, but everyone pushed the display out of their mind and quickly refocused.

"Now. Thanks to Horace’s good work, the Commonwealth will be in chaos. We will bide our time. The Church has already played their hand and revoked me of my status, but they cannot act. They haven’t got the support yet, and with Vladmire and our fates deeply entwined, they have no choice but to rely on the Commonwealth to lead the assault. But they can’t, and because of that, we will cut the head of the snake."

Alfred smiled arrogantly. "We predict the Church will need five years to do anything. That’s why if things go well in two years, we will begin a full invasion of the Commonwealth. Let’s finally end this thing with them."

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"Things have become troublesome," Konrad said with a quiet voice. Looking at Aleksander, the man sighed, blowing out a puff of smoke.

"Henryk is emotional. Give him time."

"WE DON’T HAVE TIME!" Shouting the words back, Konrad slammed his fist into the table.

"Watch your tone, Konrad." Aleksander coldly said as he took another smoke of his cigar. "You were the one who should have kept watch of things."

"You blame me. That old bastard was the one who removed all my men out his territory..."

"And you should have replaced them." Aleksander cut in, stopping Konrad. "You make me wonder sometimes. You think yourself as good as the Old Snake, and yet here you are, A failure once more."

"Let’s not say things we regret. After all, isn’t your brother who is the Duke? Not you."

"Are you threatening me Ko.."

"ENOUGH!" Snowid’s voice boomed, silencing the two as the veins on his head popped. As he looked at the two, his seething anger seemed to warp the air around him. "Are you children? We have a serious issue, and if what that prick Piast said is true, then we have been played."

Sighing, Snowid calmed himself, trying to figure out what to do. "Can we do anything to stop him?" Looking at Konrad, he rubbed his forehead and tried to think.

"I don’t know. If I put any men in his land and he finds out, it could anger him more. We need to try and say it wasn’t us who killed his grandson, but we have no proof."

"Aleksander. What do you think?"

"Honestly, it’s a tough call. We try and remove him, and we threaten civil war. The nobles under Piast would happily pounce at the chance to support him. We do nothing, and maybe he sees things rationally."

"Can we get rid of him quietly?"

"No," Konrad said quickly without having to think. "They have been given a few liberties due to their proximity to the border. We remove him, and then we practically admit to the crime. His son can easily rally his vassals to a war against the crown, and many may join him. The crown has fallen out of favour too much recently."

"FUCK!" Snowid’s voice boomed across the room as he stood and threw his chair. "We have more pressing issues, and that old bastard thinks I would care about his son’s bastard. It’s a waste of resources to kill it."

"I may be able to ask my brother to help you," Aleksander said casually, making Snowid scoff.

"Another debt to the Laska family." Snowid shook his head and paced around. "The West and East are finally stable now. Why can’t anyone see the Blood Child’s game?"

"He has us cornered. The people call him a saviour. He turned our shield against us. Our only hope is warning the nobles of his reputation, what a lack of unity will do right now, and what any invasion entails for them."

"We have tried this." Snowid looked at Konrad with annoyance. "They don’t care so long they have another coin in their pocket. They are a bunch of self-serving bastards. At least the Dabrowski family will go to war for something, even if they have been tricked." Snowid stopped.

"Get in touch with the Holy Seat. We are running out of time. We need their support now. They want their holy war, so they had better be ready before Henryk blows up." Snowid walked off, leaving the two men alone.

Looking at Aleksander, Konrad chuckled. "If Henryk moves, what will the Laska’s do?"Konrad dangerously squinted, looking at Aleksander with the man blowing smoke into his face.

"We are loyal to the crown, Konrad." Hearing his reply, Konrad rolled his eyes. "But we won’t want to serve Dabrowski. Only one family can rule over us." Konrad nodded, got up, and left, leaving Aleksander alone. Looking at his family ring, he fell into deep thought about the future.