CH361 Final Prep
***
"Very well. I wonât interfere then," Drake said simply.
Alex frowned, a thought forming in his mind.
"Father, are you sure Duke Wastelander wonât support Alric?" he asked. "I hear heâs the dukeâs favourite son."
"Iâm sure," Drake replied without hesitation. "It doesnât take a genius to understand why the Wastelanders are so fixated on your lass, Zora. Anyone who looks at a map of the east of the empire would see the reason. But attacking youâor our Houseâwonât guarantee Alric her favour. If anything, itâll alienate her.
"Sheâs not a fool. If something were to happen to you while sheâs still fond of you, the Wastelanders would be the first suspects."
He leaned back slightly, "Siegmund may be proud, but heâs not foolish enough to play a losing hand."
"I see..." Alex murmured, his expression thoughtful.
He recalled the Auction House incidentâthe look in Alricâs eyes, and the faint but unmistakable malice heâd sensed.
âAlric might just be reckless enough to do something stupid. And Helmut? That oneâs not exactly the brightest sword in the armoury,â Alex thought. âEven if he had the sense, I doubt he could stand up to Alric anyway.â
He sighed quietly to himself. âToo bad those three scions are even more paranoid than Josiah Kellerman.â
In the past week since Alexâs meeting with Alpha, the Drow had carried out a covert missionâunder Alexâs direct approvalâto secure the private Rune Phone IDs of the three noble heirs.
Aside from the official Rune Phones registered under their names within the Golden Palaceâs sales records, Dark Water had managed to trace another, more secret set of devices belonging to each scion.
These hidden Rune Phones contained evidence of shady dealings, but nothing concrete about any plot targeting Alex or House Fury.
After reviewing every recording and data log pulled from the hacked devices thanks to OmniRune, Alex reached three possible conclusions.
First: each scion might possess yet another, even more concealed Rune Phone reserved for their most confidential communications.
Second: they might be using an entirely different communication tool or methodâsomething other than a Rune Phoneâto coordinate their plans.
Third: the most concerning possibilityâthey were meeting in person to discuss their schemes against him and his family.
Alex instinctively wanted to dismiss the last one. Dark Water had been monitoring each scion closely, after all. But experience told him that the higher the nobility, the more elusive their movements tended to be.
Scions of Ducal and Grand Ducal Houses were rarely out of sightâbut that didnât mean they couldnât vanish when they wanted to.
If they didnât know how to move unseen through that constant web of attention, they wouldnât be able to get anything done in the first place.
As for the other two possibilities, either one suggested a level of paranoia beyond what Alex had anticipated. After all, he doubted anyone had discoveredâlet alone provenâthat he could hack Rune Phones and retrieve full records of their communications.
From his past discussions with Haggleworth and Alpha, it was clear that most people in this world didnât even consider such a possibility. Such remote communications had after all always been assumed to be unhackable.
So, if the three scions had already grown cautious enough to use multiple communication channels, that meant they were far more paranoidâand far more carefulâthan the average noble heir.
And that combination was dangerous.
People like that struck when their target least expected itâand from angles their enemies couldnât predict. Their attacks were never random; they were deliberate, devastating, and most importantly, timed to kill and destroy in one swoop.
âAnd itâs not like I can move on a pre-emptive strike,â Alex mused grimly. âI donât have any solid proof of a plot, only suspicions stemming from the fact that the three scions have met. If I act rashly now, they can use that to escalate things even further before I can make any decisive moves.â
He exhaled slowly.
âThe ball is in their court for now.â
Alex didnât like it one bit. But with nothing concrete to act on, he forced himself to let it goâfor now.
âI can only deal with whatever comes... when it comes.â
"Howâs your preparation for your... âsabbaticalâ?" Drake suddenly asked, drawing him out of thought.
"Preparation is almost complete on my end," Alex replied. "Iâve already gathered the general supplies Iâll need, based on deductions from the travel records of various family members you shared with me.
"The only remaining part is my direct party. There hasnât been much progress there since you said youâd handle it, but I might have found a few potential companions from within the Enclave."
He paused briefly before adding, "Once I meet the people you mentioned and prepare any necessary equipment for them, I should be ready to depart at any time."
"Good." Drake nodded, thoughtful. "I donât like the idea of a scheme brewing around you. Itâs best we send you off before the circle tightens."
For a moment, Alex froze.
A sudden, uncanny feeling of déjà vu crept up his spine.
"Come on. Letâs go meet the travel companions I promised you," Drake said.
As Alex suspected, his father intended for the introductions to happen immediately. Drake was always the type to act now, no matter the hour or circumstance.
Then again, moving under the cover of darkness had its advantages â it made it much easier to avoid unwanted eyes.
"You brought the Agoge trainees with you? Is that why you came to the Enclave personally?" Alex asked.
"One of the reasons," Drake replied. "The main reason is to oversee your marriage engagements before you head off on your travels. Ideally, Iâd have preferred you to... impregnate the women and secure an heir before you leave. But time and circumstances make that unfeasible. At the very least, we canât allow you to remain unwedded for too long."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "Why the rush? You were at least twice my age when you got married."
"I was a commoner at your age," Drake said flatly. "And my bloodline wasnât nearly as potent as yours. Getting you married sooner ensures the old fogies in the family stop breathing down my neck. Your marriage will assure them that youâre cognisant of your duty to expand the bloodline."
The elders of the Fury Family couldnât do anything to Drake as Head of the House, but that didnât stop their endless nagging. Unfortunately, unlike his soldiers or subordinates, he couldnât silence them with his fists. He had to endure their complaints until they were satisfied â or until they lost their voices.
Drake would much rather not endure that.
"Weâll discuss your marriages later," Drake concluded, waving the matter aside. "For now, letâs meet the Agoge trainees so you can choose your primary party members."
Alex barely had time to throw on a proper coat before following his father out of the dormitory.
They walked briskly through the Enclave cityâs night lit streets until they arrived at a modest courtyard in a quiet, middle-class district of the city.
The area was peaceful â the kind of place where residents were well-off, though not wealthy. The homes here were spacious enough to offer privacy, but not opulent enough to draw envy.
As soon as Alex and Drake stepped through the courtyard gate, Alex felt it â a wave of gazes locking onto him.
And most of them were anything but gentle.
**(11/70)**