Chapter 170 Gerrite feels threatened

Chapter 170 Gerrite feels threatened
Gerrit heard about the King's declaration within the hour. News traveled fast through palace corridors. Servants gossiped. Guards whispered. By midday, everyone knew.

The King had publicly claimed Lady Lila as his mate. Threatened the council. Declared absolute protection.

Gerrit's hands shook as he worked at his forge. The hammer missed its mark. The blade he was tempering cracked from uneven heating.

Four years. Four years of careful planning. Of maintaining the spell. Of keeping Lila weak and memory-blocked and unable to identify him.

And now the King was protecting her openly. Drawing attention to her. Making her important again.

Important people were investigated. Protected. Watched closely. Which meant his access to her would be limited. His ability to maintain the memory spell compromised.

If the spell failed completely. If she remembered his face. If she identified him as Celeste's murderer...

He threw the ruined blade aside. Paced his workshop. Tried to think through the panic.

The door opened. Aria slipped inside, her face tight with worry.

"Did you hear?" Her voice was urgent. "The King's declaration. Lady Lila is under royal protection now. We cannot touch her. Cannot get close. The guards have been doubled around her quarters."

"I heard." Gerrit's voice was flat. "Four years of work. Potentially undone by one dramatic declaration."

"What do we do? The spell is already weakening. Her memories are surfacing. If she remembers everything..."

"Then I am dead and you are complicit." Gerrit turned on her. "You helped me maintain the dosing. You added compounds to her food. You are as guilty as I am."

Aria's face went pale. "You said it was just to keep her weak. To prevent her from causing trouble. You never said..."

"I said what you wanted to hear. What you needed to believe to help me." Gerrit's laugh was bitter. "But yes, Aria. You helped a murderer. And if Lady Lila remembers and talks, we both hang."

The silence stretched. Heavy with fear and regret and trapped choices.

"We need to leave." Aria's voice shook. "Pack. Flee. Disappear before she remembers your face."

"And go where? I have been the palace weapon master for twenty years. I have no family. No connections outside these walls. Where exactly do you suggest I run?" Gerrit slammed his fist against the workbench. "No. Running makes me look guilty. Draws attention. I stay. I act normal. And I pray the spell holds long enough for me to figure out another solution."

"What solution? The King has claimed her! She is untouchable now!"

"Nothing is untouchable. Everyone has weaknesses." Gerrit's mind raced. "The King's weakness is obvious. Lady Lila herself. And the boy. Prince Theo."

"You cannot seriously be considering..."

"I am considering survival. By any means necessary." Gerrit's voice turned cold. "I have killed once to protect my work. I will do it again if required."

Aria backed toward the door. "I want no part of this. Whatever you are planning, leave me out of it."

"You are already part of it. Too deep to extract yourself now." Gerrit blocked her exit. "You help me. You stay quiet. And maybe we both survive this. Or you panic. You run. You talk. And I ensure you do not live to testify against me. Choose."

Aria's face crumpled. "I just wanted to keep my position. To serve the palace. I never wanted..."

"But you did. You made choices. Now you live with the consequences." Gerrit's voice was absolute. "Help me or die with me. Those are your options."

She nodded miserably. "What do you need me to do?"

"Watch Lady Lila. Report her movements. Her meetings. Her conversations. I need to know if she is remembering more. If she is getting close to identifying me." Gerrit returned to his forge. "And keep dosing her food when possible. Even small amounts help maintain the fog."

"The guards watch her constantly now. Getting close enough to dose her will be nearly impossible."

"Then find a way. You are resourceful. Clever. Figure it out." Gerrit's tone left no room for argument.

Aria fled. Gerrit heard her footsteps fading down the corridor.

He was alone. Surrounded by weapons and chemicals and the evidence of four years of careful deception.

If Lady Lila remembered. If the spell failed. If the King's protection made her bold enough to speak...

Everything would unravel. His position. His freedom. His life.

He needed a plan. A way to either strengthen the spell or eliminate the threat permanently.

The question was which. And how. And whether he could execute it before Lady Lila's memories surfaced completely.

\---

In the training yard, Marcus watched Gerrit's workshop from a distance. He had seen Aria enter. Seen her leave looking shaken. Seen Gerrit pacing inside through the windows.

Something was wrong. Gerrit was nervous. Making mistakes. Meeting secretly with Aria.

Marcus made his way to Adrian's study where Keal was analyzing the latest blood samples.

"Gerrit is acting strange. Nervous. I saw him meeting with Aria in his workshop. She looked terrified when she left." Marcus leaned against the desk. "I think he knows we are closing in. I think he is planning something."

"Then we need to move faster." Keal looked up from his microscope. "The chemical analysis of Lady Lila's blood shows traces of the same compounds found in Gerrit's journals. The memory-blocking agent. The sedative. All of it matches his formulas exactly."

"So we have proof he has been dosing her. But we still do not have proof he killed Queen Celeste." Adrian's voice was grim. "Not enough to bring formal charges. Not enough to execute."

"Lady Lila's memories are the key. If she remembers his face. If she can identify him as the killer—" Keal's voice trailed off. "But the spell is still blocking that final piece."

"Then we need to make him reveal himself. Force his hand." Marcus's voice was calculating. "He is nervous. Making mistakes. Meeting with accomplices. If we apply pressure. Make him think we are about to arrest him. He will do something rash."

"And potentially dangerous." Adrian's eyes blazed. "If he feels cornered, he might lash out. Go after Lila directly. Or Theo. Or anyone he sees as a threat."

"Then we protect them while we apply pressure. Double the guards. Limit his access. Watch his every move." Marcus's voice was firm. "But we cannot wait forever. Every day that passes gives him time to destroy evidence. To flee. To strike first."

Adrian was quiet for a long moment. "Do it. Apply pressure. Make him nervous. But keep Lila and Theo under constant guard. If Gerrit so much as looks at either of them wrong, I want to know immediately."

"And when he makes his move? When he reveals himself?" Keal's voice was quiet.

"Then we end him." Adrian's voice was cold. Absolute. "No trial. No mercy. He killed my wife. He tortured my mate. He has poisoned and manipulated and destroyed lives for four years. When he reveals himself, I will kill him personally."

The three men looked at each other. United in purpose. Ready for the final confrontation.

Gerrit's nervousness was showing. His mistakes mounting. His desperation growing.

Soon, very soon, he would make a fatal error. And when he did, there would be a reckoning.

The only question was how many more people would suffer before that moment arrived.