Chapter 130: Brothers by Blood
The Crown Rest House stood in the northern administrative quarter of Gravehold.
It was not as large as the mansions of old duke families, but it was built with a different kind of power. The walls were thick white stone, and the gate carried the imperial lion without needing bright paint or banners. Two watchtowers stood on both sides of the entrance. The guards outside wore simple armor, but their posture was different from city guards. They did not look around to see who was watching them. They already knew everyone was watching.
The carriage from Silver Ash House stopped before the gate.
Peter stepped down first. His hand stayed near his sword, but he did not touch the handle. Touching a sword in front of royal guards would be foolish. Jenny came down next with Jake beside her. She wore a dark green dress that made her golden hair stand out under the lamps. Jake wore a proper young noble’s coat, but his face was too tense for the clothes to hide.
Lucard stepped down last.
He looked at the building once.
The royal house felt clean, guarded, and old. Not ancient like Null ruins. Not terrifying like divine palaces. But for the lower world, it had weight. The stones carried layers of old royal magic. Weak layers, but many. They had been placed over generations. A normal assassin would find it hard to enter. A careless mage would be noticed before finishing a spell.
Lucard smiled faintly.
The throne was not stupid.
A royal guard approached them.
"House Vardros?"
Jenny answered first. "Yes."
The guard bowed. "His Highness and Lord Envoy are waiting. Please follow me."
Peter followed half a step behind Jenny and Jake. Lucard walked at the side. The guard led them through the gate, across a clean courtyard, and into the main building. The halls were bright with steady lamps. No servants wandered without reason. Every door had a guard. Every corner had enough space for two men to draw swords.
Jake noticed it too.
He whispered, "This place feels like a house that expects people to attack it."
Lucard replied quietly, "That is what makes it a royal house."
Jenny gave Jake a warning look, but she did not scold him. She was also watching.
They were led to a private receiving room on the second floor.
The room was large, but not crowded. A long table stood near the center. A map of Valoria hung on the wall behind it. The imperial lion was carved above the fireplace. There were no bright decorations, no expensive flowers, no useless paintings. Everything in the room had a purpose.
Prince Caelan stood near the map with a cup in his hand.
Sir Aldric Veyne stood near the window, gray cloak removed now, travel armor still on. Two trusted men waited near the door. A thin royal clerk sat at a side table with blank papers and ink, ready to record anything important.
Prince Caelan turned when they entered.
His golden yellow hair caught the lamp light. He looked less tired than he had in the street, but more annoyed. Gravehold had clearly not given him the welcome of comfort he expected from noble life. His eyes moved over Jenny first, then Jake, then Peter, then Lucard.
Aldric’s gaze did the same, but his eyes were sharper.
Jenny lowered her head. "Your Highness. Lord Envoy."
Jake copied her quickly. "Your Highness."
Peter dropped to one knee. "Your Highness."
Lucard lowered his head only enough to pass as respectful.
Prince Caelan noticed.
Aldric also noticed.
The prince looked at Lucard for a moment longer than the others, then said, "Rise. This is not a public hall."
Peter stood again.
Caelan walked to the table and placed his cup down. "House Vardros. A name that has slept for too long and suddenly filled half my father’s reports."
Jenny kept her voice careful. "Your Highness, our house has only tried to survive."
"That may be true," Caelan said. "But survival has become very loud around you."
Jake lowered his eyes.
Lucard said nothing.
Aldric stepped forward. "His Highness did not summon you to accuse you. The emperor gave instructions. First, we must speak of what House Vardros is."
Jenny’s fingers tightened slightly, then relaxed.
Lucard saw it.
Jake stood very still.
All three of them already knew the truth from Jake’s memory of their father’s words. House Vardros was not a simple fallen baron family. It had been created by the first emperor’s brother as the hidden blade of the royal family. The seal was inside Jake. The vault required both the royal key and Vardros key.
But they could not show that. Not here. Not yet.
Jenny looked confused in the right way. "What House Vardros is?"
Prince Caelan studied her face. "You do not know?"
Jenny shook her head slowly. "We know only what our father told us in pieces. House Vardros was old. Once loyal to the crown. Once stronger than now. After our parents died, even those pieces became dangerous."
Aldric watched her closely.
Lucard gave nothing away.
Jake looked like a child trying to understand adult secrets, which was easy because part of him truly was.
Prince Caelan seemed satisfied enough.
"Then listen," the prince said. "House Vardros is not just an old baron house. That title was a cover left behind after centuries of weakening. A thousand years ago, when Valoria was founded, the first emperor did not stand alone. He had a younger brother."
The room became quiet.
Caelan walked closer to the map.
"The elder brother became Emperor Aurelian Valorian. The younger brother gave up the direct royal name and founded House Vardros. He did not do it because he was thrown away. He did it because the empire needed a hidden hand."
Jenny’s eyes widened slightly in shock. It was a good act.
Jake whispered, "You mean..."
Caelan looked at him. "Your first ancestor was the younger brother of the first emperor."
Peter’s face changed with real shock. He had not been told anything about it. His eyes moved toward Jenny and Jake before he forced himself still. For him, this was not an act. His whole understanding of the family he served had just been struck by a hammer.
Aldric continued where the prince stopped. "House Vardros carried imperial blood. Its first duty was to protect the royal family if the ten founding duke families ever betrayed the throne. It was meant to be a silent blade, a hidden road, and a final wall."
The words were almost the same as Jake had told them.
Jenny lowered her head as if the weight of it was too much. "Why would father not tell us clearly?"
Aldric answered, "Because the clearer the secret, the faster children die."
Jake swallowed.
Lucard looked at Aldric. That was the correct answer.
Caelan said, "The secret was kept for generations. Too well, perhaps. House Vardros weakened. Its lands shrank. Its enemies forgot to fear it. Some of its own descendants may have forgotten what they carried."
Lucard thought of the dead father of this body. Perhaps the man had known more than he had shown. Perhaps he had known too little and died for fragments. The lower world loved hiding blades inside family stories and calling it duty.
Caelan’s eyes moved to Jake.
"There is also a seal."
Jenny held her breath at the right moment.
Jake looked up sharply, as if he had never heard it before.
Lucard’s face remained still.
Prince Caelan said, "The ancestor Vardros’s vault can be opened only by two keys. One belongs to the royal family. One belongs to House Vardros. The emperor believes the Vardros key has not vanished. You can find it by visiting your ruined house."
Jenny whispered, "A vault?"
"Yes," Caelan said. "A vault left by the first emperor and the first Vardros ancestor."
"What is inside?" Jake asked.
Caelan looked at Aldric.
Aldric answered, "No one alive knows for certain."
That was interesting.
Either he told the truth, or the throne had chosen not to reveal the answer to the second prince.
Lucard preferred the second possibility. Secrets important enough to survive a thousand years rarely remained fully unknown to the people guarding half the key. But the prince might not be trusted with all of it yet.
Caelan looked at Jenny again. "The emperor believes the recent attack on House Vardros may be connected to that old secret."
Jenny’s face became pale. This time, it was not fully acting. She had known this, but hearing the palace say it gave the danger a heavier shape.
"Our family was destroyed because of this?"
"Possibly," Aldric said. "We do not yet know who moved first. That is part of why we are here."
Peter’s hand curled into a fist beside him.
Jake looked at the floor.
Lucard finally spoke. "If the emperor knows this, why did the crown allow House Vardros to fall so far?"
The room changed. The royal clerk’s hand paused above the paper.
Peter stiffened.
Jenny looked at Lucard, she was alarmed.
Prince Caelan’s eyes sharpened. "You speak boldly."
Lucard met his gaze. "It is a simple question."
"A question to a prince."
"A prince who just said our blood comes from the same root."