Chapter 75 Financial movements
LUCIEN'S POV
Lucien sat in his study, the large amount of papers shuffling in his hands as his eyes scanned through them.
A soft knock sounded on the door as Sam stepped in.
“You should rest your highness.” Hejutyered, his usual expressionless face, filled with concern.
Lucien grunted. “I should, but I won't. We have a lot to cover, Sam.”
Sam hesitated. “Yes, we do…” he trailed, unsure whether he was overstepping.
“You can speak, Sam. We're alone.” Lucien muttered, his eyes not leaving the documents in front of him.
“They're closing in on us, Your Majesty.” Sam's voice was controlled.
“I'm well aware of that, Sam.” He flipped to the next page, dropping the ones he'd just marked off on the table.
“We're not doing anything.” Sam continued, undeterred. “It's only a matter of time, Your Majesty.”
Lucien smiled; Sam's worry filled his heart
He dropped the fold of papers on the table as he motioned to the seat in front of him.
“Seat, Sam.”
Sam hesitated, glancing from the seat to Lucien's face again, to the seat before sitting down.
His posture was erect, like someone ready to go into battle.
Lucien's smile was relaxed. “Relax, Sam,” he gestured as he walked to the wine cabinet and poured a drink into two glasses.
“Your Majesty?” Sam grimaced.
Lucien smiled as he took a sip. “You're worried, understandably so.”
Sam nodded.
“But I think you're forgetting something.” His smile was cunning.
“What?” Sam's voice was hopeful.
“I am still the king.” Lucien's answer made the younger man frown. It was definitely not the response he'd been gunning for.
“Your Majesty.” He muttered, gulping the drink in one go.
Lucien nodded. “Absurd as it may sound, I am still the king.”
“You do not have the supporters required.” Sam pointed out.
Lucien grinned. “And that is where the solution is.”
“Can you speak English, Your Majesty?” Frustration laced Sam's voice, as he glanced at Lucien saying everything but the main point.
“Patience, Sam.” Lucien teased. “Damien committed murder in front of the entire court, correct?”
Sam nodded.
“And that's unacceptable.” He continued.
Sam shook his head, objecting. “That, your Majesty may not be true. He has the backing of the entire court.”
“No, he doesn't.” Lucien protested, the calm smile still on his face.
Sam watched Lucien perplexed. The man seemed to be having fun. An annoying expression crept up his face. “Err…Lord Sloane is still in jail and Lord Gabrieis is dead and ‘cremated’.”
Lucien chuckled. “The last part wasn't really necessary.”
Sam pursed his lips, not smiling.
Lucien sighed. “Loosen up, Sam. I'm working on it.”
“Alone.” He said pointedly.
“Ah,” Lucien sighed. “That's where the grouse is, isn't it?”
Sam looked away.
“You're welcome to join me.” Lucien grinned, taking a swig of his drink as he walked back to the table, with Sam on his heels.
“What are we looking at?” He whispered, as he took the document Lucien offered to him.
“Financial records,” Lucien answered. “Don't frown.” He said absent-mindedly.
“I'm not,” Sam muttered.
Lucien grinned. “Yes, you are. You think it's a useless route.”
Sam shrugged. “What do you think?”
His question was met by more papers being handed out to him. “Read this,” was Lucien's only response.
He licked up the paper grudgingly as his eyes scanned through them. “Mercenary payments to the Kyndles.”
His frown deepened. “We know that. We helped some of them escape.”
Lucien nodded. “That's at face value. I want you to read it deeply, Sam. Only the Kyndles do not make up the rogue faction.”
Sam swallowed, glancing at Lucien before returning his focus to the documents in his hands.
“Are…are you saying?” The lines in his forehead creased as his eyes moved up and down.
He dropped the paper, picking up another one. “This is bad. This is preposterous.”
Lucien's only response was a loud throaty chuckle. “You see it now?”
“Yes,” Sam admitted. “I still have a question though?”
“Shoot.”
“What are we using these for?”
Lucien smiled. “Finally seeing the light?”
Sam rolled his eyes. “Still do not agree with the mechanisms, but anything to bring us to the end of it.”
“Damien is leaving a trail. A financial trail that will tell us his allies.”
“He's paying them off?”
It wasn't a question, but Lucien shrugged regardless. “Yes he i,s.”
He pushed more papers to Sam. “Take a look at these ones.
We know he has been colluding with Lord Harlan but look at this.”
Sam's eyes widened as he shifted off his seat. “That's impossible. This could be false.”
“Could it?” Lucien smiled.
Sam looked away. “We can't trust these trails, Your Highness. They may have been fabricated.”
“But they aren't.”
“And the Lords?” Sam pressed.
Damien had been colluding with three powerful provincial lords in exchange for promises when he became king.
Lucien smiled. “ We do nothing.”
“But we can do something!” Sam's voice was louder than normal. “I'm sorry, Your Majesty.” He looked down guiltily.
Lucien waved him off. “It's okay, you can speak freely.”
Sam cleared his throat, as he looked sideways. “You're still King. What better way to cut off their supplies when you can still do it?”
Lucien nodded. “You have a point.”
Sam's back relaxed.
“But you're wrong.” Lucien continued. “Cutting it off, would tell Damien that we are on their trail. You know what that would mean?”
Sam nodded. “Accelerated responses.”
“Exactly,” Lucien bobbed his head.
“And the Lords?” Sam continued.
Lucien smirked. “We leave them to their fate and focus on the council.”
“There are no supporters there anymore.” Sam pointed out.
“So you think,” Lucien said with a calm smile.
Sam leaned in, his interest in the papers, waning as he focused his full attention on Lucien. “What do you mean?”
“Said earlier that Damien killed Lord Gabriel.”
Sam nodded, clearly impatient.
“It's a ruse. Here are Lord Gabriel's taxes and papers.”
He reached for the side of his drawer as he pulled them out and handed them to Sam.
“Ridiculous,” Sam winced.
“Thought so too.”
“They could not have been colluding together,” Sam muttered. “He literally threw a spear into his head.”
To throw his scent off him. “Gabriel would have defected.” He reached for another file and handed it over to Sam.
“He was in debt?” Sam's voice was filled with Unbelief.
He rubbed his head and his eyes, the information was too much for him to take at once.
“And he would have come to, me,” Lucien grunted.
Sam nodded, his grip tightening. “That devious bastard,” he muttered. “And the rest of the house?” He pressed. “Still doesn't make them saints.”
“No, it doesn't,” Lucien smirked. “But they've watched Damien kill someone. It's only a matter of time before that someone becomes them.”
Sam sighed tiredly. “This is all too much to take in. Digging to win the war would have been better than all these.”
Lucien grunted. “That's what you think.”
“That's what I know.” Sam corrected.
Lucien chuckled. “This could stop Damien's finances. Stopping Damien’s finances would pause support.”
“And give us enough time to get ours up.” Sam completed, a wide grin setting on his face.
Lucien nodded. “Now, you see it from my view.”
“I do, I do.” He repeated excitedly.
“And Lord Sloane?” What do we do about him?
“What?” Lucien shrugged. “Nothing. We leave him there to rot.” His voice was icy, making Sam shudder.
“Should the Lady know?” He was referring to Isabella.
Lucien shook his head. “This is between us both, Sam.”
“Okay,” he nodded. “And the Lords?”
Lucien pursed his lips in anger. “It's not yet time to deal with them.”
“How?” Sam mouthed.
“Once Damien's finances are cut off. They'll become restless. They belong to the highest bidder, Sam. And I guess there are a lot of people richer than Damien Hale…”
His speech was interrupted by a loud gasp from Sam.
Lucien tried to hide his smile. Hi friend’s inadequacies could only be seen when he was not fighting a battle.
“Care to share what's making you gasp in that manner?” He teased.
“The Garrison bribe,” were the only words Sam managed to utter, as his attention was fixed on the document in front of him.
“Oh,” Lucien grinned. He had been lucky enough to be alone when he had been reading the Garrison bribe. His reaction had been worse than Sam's.
“I really wish to kill him with my bare hands,” Sam muttered, his eyes turning bloodshot, as his fingers gripped the edge of the table.
Lucien sighed. “That makes two of us, Sam. Depends on who gets to him first.” He flipped a page, his eyes perusing them gently.
A regrettable sigh escaped Sam's lips. “What's your plan?” The fire in his eyes had been put on, he was ready to kill.
Lucien shut his eyes as he looked away. “Time to gather our allies. We are almost at war.” He opened them back as he focused on the paper in front of him.