The Debt Of Fate

Chapter 346: Sharing secrets

"So," he said slowly, "would my lady mind telling me what else she is hiding?"

Anastasia walked over to an empty seat and sat down. "There is not much left to hide," she replied softly.

Ernest folded his arms and waited.

Anastasia took a slow breath before she began.

"Back when I was still the queen in the palace, I already knew my position was not safe."

Ernest said nothing.

"King Edward favored his mistress more than his own wife," she continued. "Everyone in the palace could see it. If one day he decided to remove me, no one would speak for me."

She paused for a moment.

"Moreover, I had a nightmare. You might not believe it, but my dream was very realistic. So I began to prepare for myself. I had to find a way to escape. I did not want to submit to a fate where I died alone," Anastasia said. She could still remember the last scene of her nightmare.

Ernest raised an eyebrow slightly. He wondered how much she had really suffered while she was married to Edward.

"I used my position as queen to quietly build connections. Merchants, nobles, information dealers... little by little."

"And that became The Bee?" Ernest asked.

Anastasia nodded. "Yes. At first it was only a small network. I just wanted people who would support me if something happened. I could spread news and force the king’s hand to protect myself."

Her voice remained calm.

"But later things changed. Edward was not as reasonable as one would expect. So I decided my only safety lay in leaving the palace."

She looked at Ernest.

"After I left the palace, I realized something clearly."

Ernest waited.

"In this world, power is the only way to survive."

The room was silent.

"So I decided to build something stronger," Anastasia continued.

"With the money I had saved and the connections I built through The Bee, it was easy to move things quietly."

Ernest’s eyes narrowed slightly. He had also walked this path and understood how difficult it was.

"At first I only wanted a small group to protect myself. A few hundred men."

"But later you changed your mind," Ernest guessed.

Anastasia nodded again.

"When I learned that you planned to rebel against Edward, I began to prepare more seriously."

Ernest stared at her.

"You gathered five thousand soldiers?" He could not believe she could pull that off within a few months without leaving the royal city.

"Yes."

Her tone was simple, as if she was talking about something ordinary.

"With enough gold, it was not difficult to recruit fighters."

Ernest slowly shook his head in disbelief.

"So while I was building my army... you were also building one."

Anastasia smiled faintly.

"I only wanted to survive."

Ernest looked at her for a long moment.

Then something suddenly came to his mind.

"The wedding dress."

Anastasia looked at him.

"It was ordered from a store connected to The Bee," she said.

Ernest nodded slowly.

"Yes."

He gave a small laugh.

"At that time I had already heard rumors about The Bee."

His eyes rested on her.

Anastasia tilted her head slightly.

"To investigate?"

"Yes."

Ernest sighed.

"I wanted to see who was behind it."

"And you failed," Anastasia said calmly.

Ernest gave a helpless smile.

"I failed."

For a moment the room was quiet again.

Then Anastasia folded her arms lightly and looked at him.

"Well," she said.

"I am not the only one with secrets."

Ernest looked at her with interest when he heard this comment.

"What do you mean?"

Anastasia’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"You are yet to tell me your real connection with the Lord of the Dark Sea."

The room suddenly became very quiet.

Ernest did not answer immediately. The last time he wanted to tell her the truth, Anastasia had believed his poor excuse. Later he was afraid of worrying her, so he did not tell her.

Anastasia continued calmly.

"The Lord of the Dark Sea rarely supports anyone. But he helped you secure ten thousand soldiers, weapons, and supplies."

She looked directly into his eyes.

"That is not something he would do for just anyone."

Ernest watched her silently.

"So tell me."

Anastasia leaned slightly against the table.

"What exactly is your connection with the Lord of the Dark Sea?" She was beginning to suspect that Ernest was a puppet king to this hidden lord.

Ernest remained silent for a moment.

Then a slow smile appeared on his face.

"You are very sharp," he said.

Anastasia did not reply.

She simply waited.

"Actually, the Lord of the Dark Sea and I are one and the same person," Ernest said.

Anastasia was shocked. After all, even after being married to him, she did not realize he had such a vast amount of wealth.

"But the Lord of the Dark Sea has been around for many years," Anastasia frowned.

"Indeed. My father was the first Lord of the Dark Sea. Back then he hid his identity, as this made it easier for him to do business among many kingdoms. Later he was murdered, but he had loyal subordinates. They found me the same year I joined the royal army. Although at that time, the Lord of the Dark Sea was not this powerful. Since I wanted to rebel, I decided to focus on weapons. This made more money than selling other items. At first getting an iron mine was hard. Once I did, the process became smoother," Ernest paused and looked at Anastasia.

"Actually, after King George died, I planned to leave the royal army and just be the Lord of the Dark Sea, but..." He trailed off.

"Why did you stay?" Anastasia asked. Although he had told her before that he liked her since they first met, she could not believe he remained under Edward just for her.

"You had no support. I wanted to be your support until you stood firmly as the queen. This was why I went to the seventh region that year to quell the rebellion. This way when I returned, I could become a general and join the king’s council. But when I returned, you were no longer queen," Ernest said.

Anastasia could not stop the tears from escaping her eyes. God had indeed loved her. All this while, when she thought she was alone, there was someone patiently looking out for her.

"Then I guess the best decision I made was leaving the palace," Anastasia said.

After all, without that divorce, she would never have known of his love or had such a happy marriage.