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.

shook his head. “The old foxes in the government are nothing more than opportunistic turncoats. They sway with the wind and can’t

so-called eight great families are just for show. They won’t influence the outcome. The only ones who hold the power to sway my father’s decisions and

Anders a pointed look and added, 11 Your family has pledged support

Matthias needed the support of at least two, if not three, of the four ancient houses. If he could rally all four, the title would be

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

Spanners?” Matthias

families weren’t nearly as influential as the Spanner family. Hence, gaining the support of the Spanner family was

family has become quite close to Prince Nathaniel. I’ve tried visiting several times, but they keep turning me away.

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

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

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

does someone like

Tristan-who knew how much longer he would survive? The thought of him

pose much of a threat, but Prince Nathaniel has strong connections and

cannot let them side with Nathaniel, or we’ll be at

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

it would create a deadlock-two against two-with neither

make sure the Ballard family is on your side, no matter