Chapter 120: The Emperor Moves (2)
The old emperor tapped one page slowly. He said, "Gravehold has become noisy."
The kneeling man lowered his head. "Yes, Your Majesty."
The emperor’s eyes moved over the report again.
"Dorian Velkhur died. Garran Velkhur died. Robi Marovain involved. A Mudblood Vardros standing at the center. Ravencroft shaking like a rat under a bucket. Karswell pretends innocence. Velkhur’s are angry and preparing to attack. Marovain preparing to defend."
He stopped tapping the paper.
"All in a few days."
The kneeling man said nothing.
The emperor looked toward the ceiling painting for a moment.
His eyes rested on the half-hidden figure beside the first emperor.
"House Vardros was quiet for too long."
The kneeling man raised his eyes slightly, but he did not speak.
The emperor continued, "Quiet houses are easy for fools to mistake as dead houses. That mistake has now become expensive."
"Should I summon them to the capital, Your Majesty?"
"No."
The answer came immediately.
The kneeling man lowered his head again.
The emperor leaned back on the throne. "If I summon them now, every Duke family will smell blood. Velkhur will move openly. Marovain will pretend surprise. Others will ask why an almost ruined baron family deserves imperial attention. The wrong eyes will look in the wrong direction too soon."
He paused and touched the Vardros report again.
"There are secrets that become safer when everyone thinks they are old dust. Once the court knows that dust still hides gold, hands will reach from every side."
"Then I should go quietly."
"Yes."
The emperor picked up another report.
"This, Lucard Vardros. What do you think?"
The kneeling man answered carefully. "The reports call him weak before the fall. After that, he killed Manager Jeff, defeated Ravencroft’s son, humiliated Karswell’s daughter, sold something valuable to Marovain, killed Dorian Velkhur, survived Garran’s trap, and returned alive."
The emperor’s mouth curved faintly. "That was not an opinion."
"It is safer to give facts before guessing, Your Majesty."
"Then guess."
The kneeling man paused. "Either the earlier reports about him were wrong, or something changed after House Vardros fell."
The emperor’s faint smile disappeared. "Something changed."
The room became quieter.
The kneeling man understood there was more behind those words, but he did not ask. A man who served the throne learned when silence was loyalty. He also understood that the emperor had not called him here only because two Velkhur men had died. Noble blood had spilled before. Duke families had argued before. Gravehold was small. The throne would not usually move a trusted hand for a small city quarrel.
This was about Vardros.
This was about something older.
The emperor looked at him fully.
"You will go to Gravehold. You will not go with banners. You will not go with royal guards. Take only two people you trust. Wear no imperial mark until needed."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"You will stop Velkhur from turning the city into a battlefield before I understand the whole board."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"You will speak with Robi Marovain. Remind him that Valoria still has a throne above trade tables."
The kneeling man nodded.
"You will speak with House Ravencroft. Find out who pulled their leash."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The emperor’s fingers rested on the report bearing the Vardros name.
"And you will meet the Vardros survivors."
The kneeling man looked up again.
The emperor’s voice became lower. "Not as an inspector. Not as a judge. Not as a royal threat. Meet them like a man carrying a message from someone who remembers an old promise."
The kneeling man’s eyes changed slightly.
"What message should I give them?"
The old emperor looked again toward the ceiling, where the first emperor and his brother stood together in fading paint.
For a moment, he did not look like a ruler.
He looked like an old man speaking to ghosts.
Then his eyes became sharp again.
"Tell them that I told you to come."
The kneeling man bowed deeply. "Yes, Your Majesty."
The emperor added, "And if the boy carries what I think he carries, do not let anyone touch him."
The kneeling man’s face became serious. "Even Velkhur?"
The old emperor’s gaze turned cold.
"Especially Velkhur."
The kneeling man bowed again. "I understand, Your Majesty."
The emperor did not dismiss him yet.
"One more thing."
The kneeling man stayed still.
"You will not go alone with only your two trusted men. You will take the second prince with you."
For the first time, the kneeling man’s calm eyes changed.
"His Highness?"
"Yes."
The emperor’s fingers rested on the arm of the throne. "He has been too comfortable inside Valorain. He hears court songs, watches noble smiles, and thinks politics is something spoken over clean tables. Gravehold will teach him that blood often moves before words."
The kneeling man lowered his head. "What task should I give him?"
"I have already given him a separate task," the emperor said. "You do not need to know the full details. He will believe he is going to observe the Marovain and Velkhur conflict. Let him believe that much. Watch what he watches. Listen to what he asks. Do not answer more than needed."
The kneeling man understood the hidden meaning.
The emperor was not only sending the second prince to learn.
He was testing him.
"Your Majesty, Gravehold may become dangerous."
"That is why I am sending you." The emperor’s voice became heavier. "Make sure he is safe. I want him frightened if fear teaches him. I want him tired if travel humbles him. I do not want him dead."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The emperor lifted one hand.
An old attendant stepped from the side wall with a sealed golden scroll resting on a tray. The seal on it carried the imperial lion and crown. Even before it was opened, the weight of the throne could be felt from it.
The emperor took the scroll and held it out.
The kneeling man rose just enough to receive it with both hands.
"This is an imperial decree," the emperor said. "Use it only when quiet words fail. Once opened, every noble in Gravehold will know my eyes are there."
The kneeling man pressed the decree to his forehead.
"I will not fail."
The emperor looked toward the old painting one last time.
"See that you do not."