Fourth Arc (Thorns of The Black Throne) - 493. To Control His Own Court
Rose's expression hardened.
"And Jane."
Angel nodded.
"And perhaps," he added, "to control his own court."
Rose looked at him carefully.
Angel huffed faintly.
"What kind of king cannot control his own court?"
His tone was not mocking.
It was disappointed.
Rose gave a small, tired smile.
"My family also couldn't control our court."
Angel looked at her.
"Your uncle is too soft."
Rose's gaze dropped slightly.
"Yes."
There was no defensiveness in her voice.
Just acknowledgment.
Angel moved to the center of the room.
He sat down slowly.
The air around him shifted.
Rose stepped back instinctively.
She had seen this before.
Angel closed his eyes.
The temperature seemed to dip slightly.
Then… It appeared.
A single eye.
Dark.
Ancient.
It hovered in front of him, suspended in the air like a fragment of something not meant to exist in mortal space.
It blinked once.
Rose felt it immediately, the pressure in the room, like gravity adjusting itself.
Angel's voice came low.
"Go."
The eye dissolved into a thin mist of shadow and light.
Then it scattered.
Not visibly.
But Rose felt it.
Threads.
Fragments of perception slipping through walls, stone, corridors.
Spreading.
Angel's breathing slowed.
His physical body remained still, but something vast moved through the castle now.
Rose watched carefully.
"What are you searching for?" she asked softly.
"Threads, clues," he replied without opening his eyes.
"Seraphine's magic."
The air pulsed faintly.
Rose stepped closer, not touching him, but near enough to steady if needed.
"What does it feel like?" she asked quietly.
"Controlled," Angel murmured.
"Precise."
His brow furrowed faintly.
"Old."
The Evil Eye drifted unseen through corridors. Across stone arches. Through heavy wooden doors.
It passed over servants' chambers, knights' barracks, council rooms.
Angel's fingers twitched faintly.
"There are wards," he said softly.
Rose's breath slowed.
"Strong?"
"Not overly."
He paused.
"But layered."
Rose frowned slightly.
"Seraphine?"
"Yes."
Angel's jaw tightened faintly.
"She has been careful."
The dark aura shifted again.
Rose felt a ripple in the air.
Angel's breathing paused briefly.
Then resumed.
"She watches the court."
Rose's lips thinned.
"Of course she does."
Another pulse.
"She watches Roric's chambers."
Rose's fingers curled slightly.
"And Jane?"
A moment passed.
Angel's brow tightened.
"She tries."
Rose inhaled sharply.
"Tries?"
"Something blocks her."
Rose's heart jumped faintly.
"What?"
Angel exhaled slowly.
"Residual light."
Rose blinked.
"From…?"
Angel's lips curved faintly.
"Jane."
Rose's shoulders loosened slightly.
"It seems Jane has something that Roric doesn't."
Angel's voice grew quieter.
"But Roric…"
Rose's chest tightened.
"What about him?"
Angel's fingers curled faintly against his knee.
"The corruption is subtle."
Rose's stomach dropped.
"Embedded?"
"Yes."
Angel's breathing deepened slightly.
"It does not dominate him. It whispers."
Rose closed her eyes briefly.
"We need the tonic."
"Yes."
The aura shifted again.
Angel's shoulders stiffened faintly.
"She senses something," he murmured.
Rose straightened.
"Seraphine?"
"Yes."
Angel's voice remained steady.
"But she cannot trace it."
The Evil Eye pulsed once more.
Then withdrew.
The dark mist reformed briefly in front of him before dissolving completely.
Angel opened his eyes.
The dark glint faded.
Rose stepped closer immediately.
"You're fine?"
"Yes."
He rolled his shoulders slightly.
"She's cautious."
Rose exhaled slowly.
"Does she suspect?"
"Not yet."
Angel stood slowly.
"She knows I am observing."
Rose's gaze sharpened.
"Will that provoke her?"
"It might."
Angel walked toward the window.
Outside, Pontus' towers stood silent beneath moonlight.
"We move quickly," he said calmly.
Rose nodded.
"Help Roric break the influence."
"And give Jane a stable position."
Rose crossed her arms.
"If Darius feels threatened, he will cling harder to Seraphine."
Angel's expression hardened faintly.
"Then we give him an alternative."
Rose looked at him.
"Strength without humiliation."
Angel nodded slowly.
Rose stepped beside him at the window.
The courtyard below looked peaceful.
But the air felt tight.
"Politics," she murmured quietly, "is more dangerous than battle."
Angel glanced at her faintly.
"Battle is honest."
Rose gave a tired smile.
"Politics is not."
Angel's gaze drifted toward Jane's chamber wing.
"She needs time."
Rose followed his gaze.
"She has waited long enough."
Angel did not disagree.
And somewhere else in the castle, Seraphine stood in her own chamber, feeling the faint echo of something brushing against her wards.
>Read the original on webnovel* .com
>Read 10 chapter ahead of DM + 2 weekly update
My Pat*reo*n-page: pat*reon.*com/nanakawaichan
(erase the *)
My ko-fi page: ko-fi.*com/nanakawaichan
My Discord: discord.gg/mSRHyMVhnG