Reborn to Flee My Fiance's Obsession (Fiona and Soren) novel Chapter 317

And now the Niven family had failed to marry into Zephyr's side as well.

That meant the military strength in Prince Jinks' Estate's hands could not be used by Zephyr. Behind him now, there was only the Zonfrillo Estate. Most likely, he could only remain under that estate's restraint.

"What I fear," Emperor Aldric said, his smile not quite a smile, "is that this realm will end up becoming an outsider's realm."

"Cornelius and Zephyr are not weak men," Marcus said.

Though he mentioned both of them, the one Marcus was truly reminding Emperor Aldric about was Julian.

What had happened to Zephyr was, in all likelihood, tied to him. He had probably noticed something, so he dragged Zephyr into the mess too, and by doing that, managed to keep himself alive.

Emperor Aldric let out a cold snort.

Cornelius might have methods, but a man who would sell out his own country could never be left in place. Otherwise, this kingdom would fall into ruin in his hands sooner or later.

If Cornelius was to be kept this time, then there had to be some way to keep him in check.

"What do you think about naming the heir?"

Marcus did not seem especially invested.

"Whether Cornelius or Zephyr takes that seat, this son has no objection, so long as they do not become so busy fighting that they neglect affairs of state."

Emperor Aldric looked at him with that same unreadable half-smile.

"So you've seen how fiercely they've been fighting too?"

Marcus said, "They both tried to win me over."

"Even if they hadn't tried to win you over, you still would've seen it, wouldn't you?" Emperor Aldric said, a trace of teasing in his voice. "The way they've been acting, even a blind man could see it."

That last line carried a faint edge.

His impatience showed plainly enough. He was not pleased with this at all.

And yet he himself had come up through the same kind of struggle.

Now that it was his own sons, he no longer wanted to see them tearing into each other.

Marcus did not deny it.

"The Zonfrillo Estate will be returning to Jexburgh soon. I'm worn out these days. Go receive them in my place. What do you say?"

That was the real reason Emperor Aldric had summoned him tonight.

For now, he couldn't move against Cornelius.

That meant he had to keep the surface balance in place. They had only just found Spencer's secret letters through Zephyr's side, and if he sent Zephyr again, Cornelius was bound to feel the scales had tipped.

This was the downside of having too few sons.

Back then, Emperor Aldric had worried that too many heirs would lead to a bloody fight for the throne, so he had never cared to leave behind a crowded line. He hadn't expected that one day it would leave him here, with barely anyone he could choose from.

As for how satisfied he really was with Zephyr, not all that much. If not for Cornelius's treason and Vincent's bad leg, Emperor Aldric truly might not have been able to make up his mind.

"I would naturally be willing to share Father's burden," Marcus said.

He couldn't make sense of it. "What trick is Zephyr playing now?"

"I'm afraid it has something to do with Alexander returning to Jexburgh," the staff at his side said.

"Things have probably turned strained between him and the Zonfrillo Estate too. Once Lord Soren gets back to Jexburgh, we can send someone to sound him out and try to pull him over to our side." Cornelius didn't know what had really happened behind the scenes, but he had heard that Zephyr had tried to suppress the Zonfrillo Estate not long ago.

And now that his eldest son had been born, Cornelius had no interest, for the time being, in getting tangled up with Zephyr.

"The one sent to receive Lord Soren is Marcus," the staff said.

Cornelius's brow lifted before he could stop it.

"Send that new set of game pieces we just got to Marcus."

Zephyr knelt outside the hall for six full days before Emperor Aldric finally agreed to see him.

"Father, how could Spencer and I possibly be exchanging secret letters in private? Someone is obviously setting me up. I beg Father to see the truth clearly," Zephyr said.

Emperor Aldric said, "If he managed to calculate against you successfully, then it wasn't a setup."

Zephyr went cold all at once, sweat breaking across his back.

In court, nobody cared about right or wrong. Evidence was the only thing that spoke.

But once he turned Emperor Aldric's words over in his mind, the meaning came through.

The emperor knew what had happened behind this, and for now, he was pressing the matter down in Zephyr's favor.