CH 62

“No, Logan. You mustn’t do that,” Lydia stopped him from thinking any further.

“How come?”

“It won’t matter if you have this Elena as yours, because the king will kill you soon.”

“What? Why would the king kill me when my father made the biggest contribution to seating him on the throne?”

“That’s why he is going to try to kill you. Did you not realize this even after Gareth almost beat you to death? Do you think Gareth would have done that if the king didn’t allow him to?”

After what had happened at the banquet between Logan and Gareth, Logan had become overly frightened whenever someone would even mention Gareth’s name. Although he would try to cover up his reaction by speaking in a condescending tone, Lydia could clearly see the nervousness in her cousin’s eyes whenever he did so.

“We both know that Gareth did harm to you, but it wasn’t really him. The real person behind what happened back then is Halbert. He’s trying to kill you,” Lydia explained.

Logan could only stare blankly back at Lydia with an astonished expression.

‘Good. The simpler and single-minded someone is, the easier it is to use them,’ Lydia thought, then asked, “So, are you going to sit here like this and die?”

“W-well, what should I do then?” Logan asked, somewhat upset. The incident that had happened at the banquet had brought disgrace to him. He had become a laughing stock in front of everyone, and it was true that he had some resentment against the king for allowing Gareth to bring forth such shame. Logan had only stayed quiet because his fear of Gareth was greater than his resentment for the king. Even so, the bitter feeling had still remained in his heart.

“First of all, you need to get married,” Lydia began to lay out her plan.

“But Elena turned me down!” Logan complained.

‘What an idiot!’ Lydia thought in anger, but managed to calm herself and carefully explained her plan step by step. “Lenoa, the daughter of Viscount Nar, is stunning. Moreover, Viscount Nar is a rare man who actually cares about his daughter.”

“So what?” Logan asked with a confused expression.

‘Alright. The simpler the person, the easier it is for me to use them,’ Lydia silently repeated to herself, then showed a sweet smile and whispered, “Get Lenoa to marry you and make Viscount Nar side with us. By doing this, we’ll be able to stop the king from expanding his power and be able to live.”

“A-are you s-saying we’re going to rebel against the king?”

“What do you mean, rebel? No, it’s for us to live. Halbert has already betrayed us. It’s only a matter of time before we die. We have to kill the king before we die, Logan.”

“Lydia!”

“Don’t you want to become the king?” Lydia asked with an innocent expression.

“M-me?”

Lydia gave a captivating smile and nodded slightly. It was a good idea to stab the king from the back, but at a time where the nobility were losing their power due to constant conflicts with each other, it was a better idea to strike the king directly and subdue the lords. To do this, she needed Gareth, the bloodthirsty madman. As long as the lords of this country feared Gareth, Lydia would be able to win and have everything she wanted. All she had to do was get Gareth to side with her. Lydia realized this was the exact reason why Halbert was so frenzied about making Gareth his vassal as well.

‘How will I get Gareth to side with me…’ Lydia had become more interested in Gareth after the ruthlessness he had shown while beating up Logan at the banquet. Having sex with Gareth didn’t bring her any pleasure, but this only caused Lydia to be even more interested in the man. Lydia immediately asked around for the heartless man’s whereabouts after he had left the city. However, there was no need to go far, since it was the king who knew Gareth best.

It was just another day after Lydia had busily humored the drunk king, when she had asked about Gareth in a way so that the king wouldn’t see through her schemes.

It was just another day after Lydia had busily humored the drunk king, when she had asked about Gareth in a way that the king wouldn’t be able to see through her schemes.

* * *

“Are you really that curious, Lydia?” the king asked.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Why are you so interested in him? He’s a mere mercenary.”

“He’s a very useful mercenary. Gareth is the best knight out of all the knights I know.”

“As expected, you only care for the best, Your Majesty.”

“That’s not all, Lydia.”

“What else is there, then?”

The king grinned as if he was amused and said, “His father is Duke Garcia.”

‘Gareth is Duke Garcia’s son?’ Lydia couldn’t help but be surprised. However, she hid her astonishment and said, “I thought the duke’s whole family had been exterminated.”