Chapter 406 — Upheaval

And beyond the castle, in every quarter of Saint Frostrest, a dozen or more acts of sabotage, great and small, had taken place over the past days. The saboteurs seemed bent only on throwing the capital's order into confusion — from arson to poisoning, they stopped at nothing. Though the suspects in each case were quickly caught and executed, the sabotage itself left Duke Boyu fretful, and dimly aware that a vast dark cloud was gathering over the kingdom.

Now Victoria had come — come in such haste. The duchess had surely brought worse news.

The rumor that had reached the Silver Castle two days before was, in all likelihood, true.

"It's confirmed. The news is true," the Duchess of the North said, quickly, as expected. "Francis II died at Longwind Fortress. Silas Loren and Edmund claim the king was killed by assassins sent from the capital. They have stirred up almost every noble of the East and have already raised troops to attack the Holy Spirit Plains — several small probing engagements have taken place along the border between the Plains and the East."

Then she added: "The news should have come sooner, but my agents in the East were all rooted out, and magical communications were disrupted... Silas Loren and Edmund have clearly been preparing for this day a long while."

Boyu Franklin closed his eyes, and his body swayed slightly despite himself.

Only two minutes later did the Duke of the West open his eyes. He drew a deep breath and forced himself calm. "Just as we expected — the little riots in the capital were only a prelude. An appalling conspiracy, and it happened right under our noses."

"The news will spread quickly. I fear Edmund Moen has prepared more than those inconspicuous acts of sabotage... I suspect he still has men among the capital's nobles, who will begin to move once the news arrives — to incite and guide the nobles' feelings, to make them believe those malicious slanders out of the East," Victoria Wilde went on, with astonishing calm. "We must act before that."

"We cannot root them out before they begin to move, and once the news is circulating, moving against them will only make things worse," Boyu Franklin frowned. "The only way is for us to send out the news first..."

The Duchess of the North and the Duke of the West fell silent. After half a minute of silence, Victoria Wilde sighed — a rare thing for her.

"Announce it," she said. "Announce it... Prince Edmund Moen has murdered his father and his king; Silas Loren has raised the banner of rebellion... In the name of preserving the kingdom's order and avenging the king, we are going to war with the East."

Boyu Franklin nodded in silence. A few seconds later he let out a long sigh. "Our king said he would bring peace back. He did not come back, and peace did not come back with him."

It was the last day of the second week of the Fire Moon, in the year 736 of Ansu.

On that day, the second civil war of Ansu formally began.