An Understated Dominance (Dustin Rhys)

That night, two young men sat playing chess inside a secluded mansion in the Inner City.

On the left was Anders, who had visited the Ballard estate earlier. Across from him sat Matthias, a broad-shouldered man dressed in richly adorned robes.

The game was intense, with fast moves followed by moments of deep thought. About ten minutes later, Anders finally conceded defeat.

“Anders, you’ve really improved since we last played. You almost had me there,” Matthias said, stroking his beard in mild surprise.

“You flatter me, Your Highness. My chess skills are nothing compared to yours. If you hadn’t gone easy on me, I wouldn’t have lasted half as long,” Anders replied with a modest smile.

“You’re as smooth with words as ever.” Matthias let out a hearty laugh with a look of smug satisfaction. Winning was in his nature-whether in war or on the chessboard, defeat was not an option.

“Well, we’ve eaten, and we’ve played. Let’s get to business.” With a wave of his hand, he signaled his men to clear away the chessboard.

He wiped his hands before continuing, ” Anders, the situation in Oakvale is growing more volatile by the day. The question of who will become crown prince remains unresolved, and it’s wearing me down. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep-it’s maddening.

“You’ve pledged your support to me, so I need you to go all in. We must secure my claim before it’s too late. Only then will I finally have some peace of mind.”

“Your Highness, we’re already giving it everything we’ve got. Of the eight great families, half are now on our side. We’ve also won over many key figures in the government. Simply put, Your Highness has the greatest influence among the princes,” Anders said, bowing his head slightly.

government are

just for show. They won’t influence the outcome. The only ones who hold the power to sway my father’s decisions and the

Anders a pointed look and added, 11 Your family has pledged support to me, but what

of the four ancient houses. If he could rally all four, the

families,” Anders replied. “The Fallons have made their stance clear. They’re ready to seal a marriage alliance with my family, and the

the Spanners?”

as the Spanner

Spanner family has become quite close to Prince Nathaniel. I’ve tried visiting several times, but they keep turning me away. It’s hard to win them over,” Anders said,

influential and well-established. They didn’t need to rely on the Mosey family and

win over the Spanners,” Matthias said thoughtfully. After a pause, he asked, “Any news from Tristan’s

and rarely interacts with anyone. Among the eight great families, only one or two are aligned with him. The rest are just opportunistic smaller factions trying to play

How does someone like him think he’s fit to be the crown

much longer he would survive? The thought

much of a threat, but Prince Nathaniel has strong connections and considerable influence, especially from the Spanner

the Ballard family. We cannot let them side with Nathaniel, or we’ll

already on his side, securing the Ballards’ support would significantly

it would create a deadlock-two against two-with neither side gaining a clear advantage. In that case, a fierce

is on your side, no matter what it takes,” Anders