Chapter 11: The Moment of Appointment

Valerius felt dizzy, even after returning to his quarters. His attendant looked at his face, concern etched in his features. "Is My Lady well?" he asked. Valerius's thoughts revolved around only one thing: the well-being of his master, the late Lord Anson, and now, his children.

Valerius did not answer his aide directly. He frowned. He wasn't even sure himself how his mistress was. He had thought her a rational young woman, which was why he had agreed with her decision to have Lord Kael return to the Swordfall Marches at once.

But now, she wanted Lord Kael to be affectionate with the Thornes of Riverbend Hold. The family had already been acting like they were the rightful heirs, and that Lord Galen would be the new Lord-Warden. Valerius had already given him a firm lesson to remind him of his place. Lord Kael's show of affection would only embolden them.

And then, she had demanded the unprecedented: a formal request to the Crown for Lord Kael’s appointment as Lord-Warden. He knew it was an impossible request, even with the Crown's recent eccentricities.

Was she just a child, after all?

But her every movement, every word, contradicted that thought. Her face was still wrapped, and he couldn't see her expression, but he could hear the unshakeable firmness in her voice. When he had bowed his head to listen, a strange feeling had come over him—a sense that the person sitting before him was not a thirteen-year-old girl. Her voice held a chilling, adult composure, and for a fleeting moment, he had felt a flash of naked killing intent.

His aide handed him a cup of tea. Valerius took it, feeling the warmth spread through his hands. He drank it down in one gulp, a sudden certainty in his mind. The killing intent was real. It had appeared the moment she had asked about Lord Yun. He shook his head. Perhaps he was just a fool.

"Get ready," he said. "Tomorrow, you will escort Lord Kael back to the Marches."

The aide’s face lit up. "We're ready. We can leave at any time."

Valerius nodded and set the cup down. "Also, arrange for someone to travel to the capital."

The aide froze for a moment but did not ask questions. He simply nodded and turned to leave. Valerius stopped him. "The journey to the capital must be kept a secret. Do not tell anyone."

The attendant’s brow furrowed. The "anyone" referred to the Thorne family and, most notably, Lord Yun. Since their master’s death, they had been on good terms with Lord Yun. Although he was now the Lord-Warden of the Western Reaches, everyone in the Marches still saw him as one of their own. The fact that they must now hide something from him suggested two things: either the matter was of the utmost secrecy, or Lord Yun could no longer be trusted. The aide did not ask for clarification, his face serious as he agreed.

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Valerius knew that his words would change how his men saw Lord Yun, but he did not explain, nor did he stop them. His loyalty was to Lady Elara and Lord Kael alone. Lady Elara had given him a command, and she had not explained her reasons, so he would not ask.

She had also said that the Realm would fall into a great civil war, starting in the Southeast. How could that be? The Southguard was under the control of the Answorth family, a clan the King trusted above all others. And there had been no whisper of unrest.

Elara had not said where her information came from. Was it something she had heard at a waystation on her journey? Were the Blackwoods aware of this as well?

Valerius rubbed his forehead, trying to clear his thoughts. Her sudden return to Riverbend Hold had to be connected to House Blackwood, no matter what she said. He would not ask.

Elara did not need to think about her relationship with the Blackwoods; she only needed to abandon the idea of killing Lord Yun. It would be a foolish move. The Thornes and her own faction were not yet strong enough to handle the chaos that would ensue. House Blackwood was too deeply entrenched in the Swordfall Marches to be easily removed.

It was better to sow the seeds of discord between Valerius's men and Lord Yun and to change the way Valerius dealt with the Thorne family. She could not let Lord Yun watch the factions fight each other until he could swoop in and reap the rewards. She now saw that this had been his strategy in her past life.

"Sister, will I really become the Lord-Warden?" Kael asked.

Elara looked at him, his face illuminated by the extra lamps she had ordered. His small face seemed to glow like jade. She nodded. "You will."

Lord Kael had indeed become the Lord-Warden of the Swordfall Marches. It had happened that very year, shortly after Valerius's death. The Crown had appointed a new Lord-Warden, but the man had been killed in a skirmish with the rebellious Answorth family of the Southguard on his way to the Marches. Lord Yun had personally petitioned the Crown to have Kael appointed. The King, seeing a loyal family on the brink of collapse, had agreed. In the fourth year of his reign, a boy of eleven had become the Lord-Warden of the Swordfall Marches.

This move had earned Lord Yun the eternal gratitude of the Thorne family and the respect of Lord Anson’s followers, who saw him as the savior of their lineage. But it had not been about loyalty. It had been about Lord Yun’s own power. He had used the appointment to cement his own position in the Marches, swallowing up the Thorne military and wealth. Lord Kael had been the Lord-Warden in name, but Lord Yun had held the real power. In the chaos of the following decade, he had used his growing army to seize control of the Eastern and Western Rivers.

In the year of her marriage to Lord Kaelan, Lord Yun had been made "Throne-Adjacent Marquis" of the realm. The title was a gift from the new King, a tribute to his status as the "first" among all nobles. But the title had not been meant for him. It had been meant for a brilliant young general named Lord Arin Wolfbrand, who had died tragically young from old battle wounds. Lord Yun was only granted the title four years after Lord Arin’s death.

Without the Thorne family’s wealth and military power, he would never have become the Throne-Adjacent Marquis.

A lamp wick flared with a gentle pop, and Elara’s eyes snapped back to the petition on the table. She had already written half of it. It was not difficult. She remembered the contents of Lord Yun’s original petition to the Crown. It had been a brilliant, moving document. She would copy it without shame, but she would add her own details, a history of the Thorne family’s loyalty to the Crown. And, most importantly, she would mention the size of the Thorne army and the vastness of their coffers.

The world might not know of the chaos coming to the kingdom, but the men of the Crown did. She would give them a reason to choose her brother.