The Debt Of Fate

Chapter 328: Aid

That night, King Edward did not rest.

Orders were sent out one after another. Fast horses left the royal city in all directions.

"Search every road leading to Lowe Pass," Edward commanded. "Check every village, every inn, every river crossing. I want to know where Prince Ernest disappeared."

Spies were dispatched quietly. Trusted captains were given sealed letters. Even merchants traveling north were to be questioned.

King Edward did not believe that a living person could disappear without a trace, especially since no news reached the royal city until the group arrived at Lowe Pass.

At the same time, Edward prepared another message.

The court gathered as the decree was written.

"By royal command," the scribe read aloud, "the Duke of Ironhaven is ordered to lower his banner at once. He is to release General Robert and his men immediately and allow them to march back to the royal city without delay."

Edward’s voice was cold.

"The Duke is reminded that raising a flag without imperial consent is rebellion. Should he refuse this decree, the crown will consider it an act of treason."

The scroll was sealed with heavy wax. The messenger chosen was a senior envoy, escorted by armed guards. The road to Ironhaven would not be safe now.

As the envoy departed, whispers filled the palace halls.

"Indeed, we have to show strength at a time like this," a few nobles and lords agreed.

"Strength? We do not have such strength. The king is only provoking war," others disagreed.

Inside his study, Edward stood before a large map of the kingdom.

Ironhaven in the west.

The royal city in the center.

The Six Regions watching closely.

If the Duke obeyed, the matter might still be settled with words. But he knew that the Duke of Ironhaven would not. He only hoped that by sending the message, he could slow things down long enough for the men he had sent to Lowe Pass to bring news. Otherwise...

The kingdom would split.

Walter entered quietly.

"Your Majesty, should we prepare the capital for a siege?"

Edward did not turn.

"Prepare," he said after a long pause. "But do not speak of it openly." He did not have enough men to fight Ironhaven at this time, but he was unwilling to show weakness.

The torches flickered against the stone walls.

...

Dawn broke beneath a sky the color of tarnished silver, and the palace bells had scarcely finished their first solemn toll when guests arrived at the eastern gate of the royal city.

A column of riders approached beneath banners of deep indigo stitched with a rising sun.

Word ran ahead of them like wildfire.

"The envoy from Gube has arrived."

The group marched forward and stopped right at the entrance.

The herald’s voice rang across the city walls and gate.

"Envoys of the Kingdom of Gube, bearing aid and royal message."

A murmur rippled through the gathered people.

The envoy dismounted with deliberate grace and bowed—not deeply, but with measured respect befitting sovereign equals.

"In the name of His Majesty, King Vela of Gube," he declared, his voice carrying like a drawn blade, "we come bearing men, provisions, and steel. We stand ready to aid in the search for the kidnapped Second Prince and his household."

The courtyard stilled.

Nearly a year.

Nearly a year since no word had come from Princess Karen, the cherished daughter of Gube’s king—now wife to the Second Prince. No messenger. No sealed letter. No token of life.

It was said in hushed chambers that the King of Gube had not known rest since.

That sleep had abandoned him.

That he paced his marbled halls through the dark hours before dawn, demanding reports that never came.

That he ordered patrols along borders not his own.

That he swore, before his council and his gods—

The envoy continued, "His Majesty bids this message to King Edward: ’A father’s heart has endured silence long enough. Should the earth conceal my child, we shall turn the earth itself.’"

The words fell heavily.

Behind the envoy, ranks of disciplined soldiers waited—cavalry trained for swift pursuit, scouts known for tracking across barren terrain, and officers bearing sealed maps.

Aid.

But also a warning.

A messenger quickly carried those words to the king in the palace.

Inside the great hall, King Edward listened without interruption, his expression carved from stone.

The disappearance of the Second Prince had been scandal enough. But with Gube now formally involved, the matter was no longer a private tragedy—it had become a political fault line.

Edward rose slowly.

"We welcome the envoy and his group into the royal city. This aid we accept," he declared.

Edward understood that this was not help he could reject. He had no choice but to accept. After all, many already suspected him regarding Prince Lucan and his family’s disappearance.

...

Somewhere in the Third Region,

Prince Lucan looked at the message in his hand.

"What happened?" Princess Karen walked in and noticed that his mood was troubled.

They had been kidnapped for so long that they had no idea where they were. When they were first taken, they had been kept unconscious for a long time. By the time they regained consciousness, they could not tell how many days had passed.

They had no idea which direction they had been traveling. Whenever they were allowed out of the carriage, someone watched them closely.

Prince Lucan could have attempted to escape, but he feared what would become of his wife and children.

Finally, he managed to use the moon at night to determine that they were traveling south. But without knowing where he was, it was difficult to know where he was being taken.

It took three days to arrive at an estate.

As a man who had once led soldiers, he quickly realized it was a secret training ground. Once inside, it would be very difficult to leave.

He suspected that his kidnappers were either the Third Prince or Lord Aureline.

His family of three was led to a small courtyard containing three rooms and a small garden. They were given one servant boy and a maid, the two attending to all their needs.

Seeing that they were treated well, Prince Lucan concluded that the master planned to use him to negotiate with his brother. But after his brother had tried to kill his son, he did not trust Edward.

He feared that his brother would use these people to have him killed. His only hope was that his mother was still alive and would not give up on him.

He never expected that he would be missing for almost a year and not be rescued. Though he was not mistreated, he knew he was still a prisoner.

"You are not allowed to wander beyond the small garden and courtyard walls. If you go beyond them, we will be forced to lock you in a dungeon," the leader had warned on the first day of their arrival.

So he obeyed. He told himself that as long as he stayed within the boundaries, he could survive until he was rescued.

But month after month passed, and not a single rescue team came. Instead, this group took it upon themselves to update him on what was happening within the kingdom.

All public decrees by his brother were shown to him.

Seeing that these people dared to let him read the news, he became more careful with his escape plans. He knew that if they could monitor everything happening within the palace and the kingdom, then a rescue team might never find this place.

The most shocking news he received had come a month ago.

"Ernest turns out to be my cousin?" He had been shocked—and even more shocked that his brother agreed to acknowledge his identity.

Now another report lay before him.

"Prince Ernest is missing, and his family in the royal city was attacked. Their young children are missing, and Lady Anastasia is seriously injured and unconscious."

Prince Lucan passed the paper to her.

"This is definitely your brother’s doing," Princess Karen said. She could not believe that a wise man like Ernest had dared to leave his family under Edward’s care.

"You know what they say... sometimes the safest place is the open," Prince Lucan said quietly.

"Yet it is a double-edged sword," Princess Karen shook her head.

"Do you really not suspect that it is your brother who has us here?" she asked. She had always believed their kidnapping was related to the king. After all, who else would have such a vast estate and manage to hide it from the royal family?

This was clearly a weapons-training ground, hidden and full of soldiers.

"It is not my brother," Lucan shook his head.

"Then who? The Third Prince and Lord Aureline have already been defeated. Neither side used us before. Within the kingdom, apart from your brother, there is no one else I can think of," Princess Karen said. She hated this fate. Her son was growing, and her father must be worried sick since her disappearance.

"It is definitely not my brother," Prince Lucan repeated.

"Why are you trusting him blindly? He dared to poison our son. Why could he not kidnap us?" Princess Karen was disappointed by her husband’s apparent faith in his brother.

"I do not trust my brother," Lucan said firmly. "But I can already tell that this place is not under his control. A large army is being trained here, yet despite all the conflicts, no soldiers have been moved out—at least not in large numbers. No matter how quietly they march, if a large group moves, I will know."

Princess Karen pouted her lips. Though she was not convinced, she had no way to argue.