An Understated Dominance (Dustin Rhys)

“You’re wrong, Tristan,” Matthias said with a meaningful look.

He continued, “Sure, I’ve got the Moseys to back me, but I’m still far from securing the throne. Nathaniel’s got strong backing too, and this won’t be an easy win. But if you were to support me, I’d say my chances shoot up to 80%.”

In his eyes, Tristan’s support was worth more than the Ballard family.

If he could win Tristan over, his odds would jump from 60% to nearly 80%. The only question now was whether Tristan would be willing to shelve his own ambitions and place his bet on Matthias.

“You know me, Matthias. I’ve never been one for ambition or glory. This kind of power struggle just isn’t for me. I hope you can understand that,” Tristan said.

After thinking about it thoroughly, he finally turned his brother down. He knew his chances of winning were slim, yet he couldn’t let go.

Tristan was the eldest legitimate son, the rightful and undisputed heir to the throne. Aside from his poor health, he had no real shortcomings.

Every move he made had been carefully calculated. He’d spent years waiting in silence just to make it this far. There was no way he’d give up now.

Even if he only had a few years left to live, or if he only got to be the king for one day, he would still fight for it with everything he had.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Tristan, but it pays to know your own limits,” Matthias said with an insincere smile.

one will bother you. But once you get caught up in this mess, walking away won’t be so easy. I hope

unless he got in the way. And if that happened, things would

returned the smile, though his eyes held a glint that didn’t

I needed to. If you ever have time, stop by my place. It’s been a while since we shared a drink like old

Next time.” Tristan nodded, but he didn’t refuse

I’ve got things to take care of. I’ll be going

that, Matthias walked

and stood there for a long time. His expression shifted as

ancient houses, the Moseys had already pledged their support to Matthias. The Spanners-the strongest of them all-stood behind Nathaniel. The Fallons were closely aligned with the Moseys,

only the Ballards, the last neutral family, and Tristan’s final

any ancient house, he couldn’t count on a handful of scattered gentry to secure the throne. He had to win the Ballards over, no matter

princes left, the Ballard estate received another distinguished guest -Princess of

and her features were hidden. Yet,

Grace had come simply to mourn Jovian. That alone eased Simon’s heart

was cold

born a man, he wouldn’t have had to worry about choosing an heir. With her ability, she was more than capable of taking on

son, not daughters. Even if Valon wanted to