Chapter 492: Leak of Secrets

"As for the land and title... how is that even possible? Those are rewards only His Majesty the King has the authority to grant, aren't they?" Mallory asked earnestly. "No matter how high your master's position is, he couldn't just hand those out on a whim, unless..."

Her words came to an abrupt halt. Mallory's gaze swept across Thaddeus's face, as if trying to confirm something.

"..."

Seeing Thaddeus's lips pressed into a thin line, Mallory's expression gradually darkened. She wasn't stupid—otherwise Batiatus and the others wouldn't have chosen her to marry Noah Ditch in the first place.

"You're... this is treason! This is rebellion!" Mallory cried out.

"I know. But Mallory, we've been doing this for a while now, haven't we?"

Thaddeus raised his hand, gently brushing it across her cheek. "The Bruce family was originally nobility of the Soth Empire, but for the past few generations, we've been secretly taking orders from the Godana family. If the Soth Empire's royal family found out, we'd be executed for treason just the same."

Mallory's lips trembled. "Are you threatening me?"

"No, no! How could I threaten you?"

Thaddeus sighed. "I'm just trying to tell you that we were never clean to begin with. The only way for all of us to survive 'and' gain more benefits is to put my master on that throne."

He raised his finger, pointing upward. "Make him the new king of the Soth Empire. Then the Kendya family will gain greater benefits, and I'll become an elite knight of the royal court—maybe even earn noble status. When that happens, whether it's taking you away or doing anything else, I'll... have enough power."

"But how could your master possibly become king? Setting aside whether he even has that kind of ability, the current king is in perfect health—no illness whatsoever. And Prince Friedel is right by his side—the king's own brother! If His Majesty were to die unexpectedly, and neither he, the queen, nor any of his mistresses had left behind a suitable heir, Prince Friedel could take the throne. And if not him, there are still other members of the royal family!"

"Listen, Mallory, that's not something you need to worry about."

Thaddeus's voice dropped. "And I never said my master had nothing to do with the royal family! That's the last secret I can tell you. As for the rest... damn it, I really can't say any more."

But Mallory wasn't about to let it go. She grabbed Thaddeus's wrist, her whole body trembling—especially the tears pooling in her eyes, threatening to spill onto his palm at any moment. "So what you're saying is, your master is connected to the Soth Empire's royal family. Even if he's not a royal member himself, he has close ties to them—close enough to have the confidence to claim the throne?"

"No, wait." Mallory clenched her jaw. "You didn't mention His Majesty or Prince Friedel. Are they... are you planning to make them die in an 'accident' or from 'illness'? Answer me, Thaddeus!"

"All right, yes—that's exactly it. But Mallory, maybe Prince Friedel won't even need us to deal with him."

"What do you mean by that?" Mallory asked, confused.

Thaddeus glanced around. He was certain there were no outsiders nearby—especially since the patrolling knights had all been sent toward the house on Batiatus's orders. This quiet backyard held no one but him and Mallory. If the timing weren't so inappropriate, he'd want to do 'something' with her. But clearly, the topic at hand was too heavy, and Thaddeus couldn't do anything else in the face of Mallory's tears.

"Sometimes I really wish you asked fewer questions," Thaddeus said with a sigh.

"But you used to say you liked my curiosity. Just because I'm being forced to marry someone else, does that mean everything you liked about me has turned into annoyance?"

"I never said I was annoyed."

Thaddeus pulled Mallory closer, as if only by pressing this soft, fragile woman against his chest could he ease the discomfort of revealing secrets. "Actually, this is just our speculation. Because the current king... hey, Mallory, don't glare at me like that. I'm telling the truth."

"You might not sense it, but according to some classified intelligence, the current king—Rolf Soth—has been dissatisfied with Prince Friedel for quite some time now."

"How could that be?" Mallory countered. "I may not understand politics, but even I know His Majesty and Prince Friedel are close as brothers. He even approved Prince Friedel's marriage to the Duchess of Virlet!"

Arnell, who had been listening intently from the water, felt her heart skip a beat when she heard that the king was dissatisfied with Friedel.

In truth, even before Thaddeus said those words, Arnell had already begun forming some alternative theories. Just like how the king had insisted she find a suitable husband within three months—and then Friedel had appeared at exactly the right moment.

At first, Arnell had suspected that Friedel's visit was the king's doing. Later, she realized Friedel genuinely wanted to help each other out and temporarily avoid the crisis of arranged marriages.

But was that enough?

Arnell understood clearly—it probably wasn't.

Of course, this didn't mean Arnell wanted to cancel her engagement to Friedel. Rather, from the very beginning, she'd had doubts about the king's intentions.

Because whether it was people inside the Virlet Estate or those outside, everyone believed that if Prince Friedel and the Duchess of Virlet united, the power they held together might subtly overshadow the king's authority.

Even if Friedel had no such intentions, who knew what the king was thinking?

At the time, Arnell's theory had been this: the king had issued that command to make it 'look' like he cared about her well-being. But when Friedel appeared—meeting every single requirement the king had set for Arnell's husband—in Arnell's eyes, Friedel would seem like the king's man, someone sent to watch over the Virlet family on the king's behalf.

That way, the two of them would forever carry a thorn in their hearts that could never be removed, all because of the king.

At the same time, Friedel's Lion Knights and Arnell's Ivy Knights would be unable to cooperate seamlessly, hindered by the divide between their leaders.

And of course, to prevent any accidents, the Ivy Knights had been temporarily detained in the royal capital. That way, the possibility of them assisting Friedel in overthrowing the current regime and claiming the throne himself was significantly reduced.