Chapter 257 - Give-and-Take

The three of them, Reginald, Lillian, and Horace, seated themselves in the meeting room that was prepared for the special dignitaries of Mihir. They were all ready to begin plotting evil schemes against Wyverndale.

Lord Horace started the meeting by explaining what arrangements were previously agreed upon between Queen Lillian and the late King. "Your Majesty, Queen Lillian had made a proposal to your father two years ago. She said that she was willing to let us use the Lahare Pass that lies between the border of Mihir and Frostford if we wanted to march our armies to Wyverndale."

(A/N: Check out the Map of the Kingdoms at the beginning of the book for better visual understanding.)

"The late King was already setting the plan in motion but then his own health weakened." A few frown lines appeared on the forehead of Lord Horace and he continue after a sigh, "And he took his final breath before he could accomplish his grand dream of unifying all the Kingdoms under his banner."

Queen Lillian took the opportunity to speak and presented her offer to the new King, "I am sure that the late King would have wanted Your Majesty to fulfill his incomplete dream. That is why I came here to talk about the matter again. My offer still stands the same as Lord Horace mentioned before."

King Reginald frowned instantly and then he asked a bit rudely, "I am sorry if I offend you by asking this but won't it be faster to reach Wyverndale if we use the Jhomla Pass instead? Why do we need to take a long route and use Frostford's roads when we can reach Wyverndale directly? Why make it harder for us by pretending to help us?"

Lillian's brows twitched a little because she was not used to being questioned like that, that also by some young and uncultured brat like King Reginald.

Lord Horace took notice of the change in Lillian's facial expression. He wanted to face-palm himself for having to endure this arrogant King.

He deliberately glared at his King and tried his best again, to give the King the reality check, "The Jhomla Pass is way too narrow than the Lahare Pass. Only a single line of soldiers can pass through the Jhomla pass while five lines of soldiers can easily walk alongside each other if we go through the Lahare Pass."

Queen Lillian crossed her arms and leaned back on her chair. She looked at Horace thinking at least he had some common sense in him and wasn't completely useless.

And Horace kept on explaining why Queen Lillian's offer was something the King wouldn't want to reject. "And it will take a lot of time for our soldiers to cross the border directly using the Jhomla Pass. By the time we cross the border and gather our soldiers, there is a high probability that the soldiers of Wyverndale will spot us. And the element of surprise won't be there anymore."

"Also to make the matter worse," Horace spoke in a low voice as though he was telling a secret, "I have heard that some Deity lives in one of the hills of that Jhomla Pass. Our soldiers had tried to sneak to Wyverndale using that path years ago. But they were all killed very mysteriously. And the late King did not dare to risk sending another troop through that pass."

Queen Lillian's eyes perked up when she heard that. She had also caught some rumors flying around regarding the same several years ago. But she had just thought of it as some baseless rumor.

And she thought to herself, "So, that damned Deity does have some tricks up his sleeves I see... Or was it just some coincidence? Something else could have happened, right? If that Deity could kill the soldiers so easily then maybe King Dragomir wouldn't have married almost all the daughter of the major clans just to uphold the peace."

Lord Horace put a little more emphasis on his last sentence and said to the King, "So, going through the route of Frostford is our safest bet if we want to successfully attack and capture Wyverndale."

King Reginald touched his jaw and nodded his head. "I see…" He then focused his gaze on Lillian and said, "I would like to ask one question before we discuss your proposal."

Queen Lillian glanced at him with unfazed eyes and nodded her head, "Sure, you may go ahead."

King Reginald leaned back on his chair and asked while a strand of suspicion loomed over his eyes, "Why are you willing to lead an enemy Kingdom's soldiers to your own Kingdom? If I take over Wyverndale then doesn't that mean that you will lose your position as the Queen? And why would the King of Frostford help us? Why not send his own army and capture Wyverndale for himself?"

Lillian got serious all of a sudden. "You asked more than one question but sure, I understand you cannot completely trust me just because your father had trusted me. It also took some time for the late King to put his trust in me."

She gazed at the King with her dark eyes and said, "As you might have heard, the future ruler of Wyverndale has already been chosen two years back. But she is just a young brat who happens to be a daughter of a concubine. That was when I met the late King to ask him to bring the war to Wyverndale."

"I am willing to do so because when that brat ascends the throne as the reigning Queen, I will lose my position as the Queen anyway. So by making a deal with Mihir, I am trying to secure something for myself." Lillian smiled and added, "I hope that you didn't think that I was just trying to do you a favor for free. It is a give-and-take deal. I am doing all of this for myself."

King Reginald looked impressed with the confidence and straightforwardness of this Queen. "Of course not. I know that you would also want something in return for helping me get my foothold in the treasure land."

He ran his fingers through his long red hair and asked again, "But you still haven't answered one of my questions. Why won't the King of Frostford take Wyverndale for himself? Why is he willing to help us instead? How will he gain anything from this deal?"

Lillian straightened her posture and answered, "My brother cannot capture Wyverndale all by himself. Wyverndale is a huge Kingdom in comparison to Frostford. It has too many soldiers and to add to that, the other two Kingdoms will send support if King Dragomir demands it.. Frostford will never stand a chance."