Chapter 286
Margaery listened, her heart pounding. “Is someone planning a mutiny? Or trying to smuggle gunpowder into the city?”
The King took a deep breath.
His gaze burned into Margaery like black flames.
After a long pause, his gaze shifted to Simon. “You chose well with this Star of Fortune, a true prodigy. What a waste that she remained hidden all this time.”
Simon remained silent.
At this point, he could only smile awkwardly. “When I first met her, I discovered she never forgot anything she saw. I was amazed by her extraordinary talent. It’s a pity she was born into the Wallen family.”
Back then, he truly wanted to take Margaery as his disciple, even resorting to tempting her with secret formulas long lost to
he secular world.
Thinking back now, it was truly hard to put into words.
The King, however, did not see it that way. “The Wallen family is merely a whetstone.”
Now that the hardest stretch lay behind them, he turned to Margaery and said, “Take a bold guess. Who would dare make a
nove now?”
Margaery hesitated.
In the end, she could only lower her gaze and said, “I dare not say.”
You have my pardon to speak freely. Hold nothing back,” the King said, his gaze settling on her. “You are not your master, who works from the shadows. You stand exposed, like a target, and targets are meant to be met head–on.”
Upon hearing this, Margaery finally had a direct sense of her own identity.
She and the King were two sides of the same coin.
What does that mean?‘ she wondered.
If the Star of Fortune falls, the King perishes; if the King falls, the Star of Fortune perishes.
From this moment on, the King and I are one,’ she mused.
Margaery took a slow, deep breath and said, “When I was with the Wallen family, I once followed Tessa to Springcourt House, where I encountered Prince Callum.”
She did not begin with the present, but started with earlier clues.“Now that the defense map Tessa sent out has already been intercepted, why are Frosthelm and the Southcroft Empire still watching so eagerly and impatiently?”
“This proves that another defense map has been sent out.
“In that case, the only route it could have taken is through Prince Callum,” she concluded.
She raised her head, suppressing her inner fear, and looked at the King. “When Prince Callum was investigating Tessa, he did not personally oversee the search at first, but only rode out of the city gates after Prince Nathaniel was attacked.”
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“Afterwards, he still did not find Tessa,” she added.
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“Up to this point, matters were still developing steadily, without any major upheaval, but immediately after, Your Majesty ordered him to remain behind closed doors and reflect on his actions,” she went on.
“This month was unbearable for him,” she guessed.
Hearing this, the King slowly clenched his hand on the desk, his eyes fixed intently on Margaery. “Why was it unbearable for him?”
The young girl before him had a childlike appearance, yet her eyes shone like stars in the darkness, bright and piercing.
The sharpness of her words made him take notice.
Margaery did not wish to reveal her edge so soon, but she had no choice, for if Callum succeeded, her safety would be immediately threatened.
If the King died, it would prove that she, the so–called lucky star, was a fraud.
At that time, Callum would have reason to silence her directly.
Aside from fighting back, she had no other path to take.
Margaery took a slow, deep breath, met the King’s gaze, and said slowly, “Because the Royal Examinations will take place during this month. If he cannot seize the initiative, then the treasury fraud case involving Tessa may implicate him.”
“Colluding with enemy spies would sever his path to the throne forever,” she added.
“After the Royal Examinations, there will be a major reshuffling in the court, which would render all his previous arrangements futile,” she continued.
“So, this month, he cannot be confined.
“If confined, there will be no way out,” she concluded.
The room was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Simon broke out in a cold sweat from what he heard.
Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers, but isn’t this a bit too reckless?
‘Who would dare say such words in front of the King?‘ he thought.
Yet the King liked Margaery at this moment. Through her, he seemed to see that woman who once stood at the bow of the ship, the fire in her eyes blazing like the sun, illuminating the darkness.
‘Let everything be exposed, with nowhere to hide!
‘Yes, this is the power!
‘Sharp, vibrant, unrestrained, passionate, and fearless!‘ he thought.
The weakened Eastvale Empire needs such strength to pierce the darkness, tear through the clouds, shed light, and confront the enemy invaders!
This is the edge that the youth of the Eastvale Empire ought to possess!‘ he added in his mind.
The King’s pupils contracted slightly, his gaze falling on Margaery’s face. “Now, we need two things.”
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Margaery continued, “First, evidence. Second, a countermeasure.”
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“Evidence can be dealt with later, but we cannot be without a countermeasure, or we will be at a disadvantage!” she suggested.
The King nodded, growing even more fond of her.
“Tell me your countermeasure first,” he asked.
He no longer leaned forward to stare intently at Margaery, but instead leaned back comfortably against the throne chair.
He wanted to hear how many astonishing things this young girl, who had not yet formally entered the court, could say.
‘Opportunities to meet the King are rare; I would not come unprepared,’ she thought to herself.
On the way here, she had already thought it through.
“Since they aim to shatter Your Majesty’s trust in the city garrison, why not play along? Lure them out, trap them, and wipe them out in one sweep,” she suggested.
She looked at the King and said, “With such a major lapse in the city garrison, under normal circumstances, General Griffith, the commander, would certainly be held responsible.”
“The enemy is hiding in the shadows, waiting for Your Majesty to punish General Griffith,” she analyzed.
“My idea is that Your Majesty can take this opportunity to remove General Griffith from his post, temporarily throw him into prison, vacate the position of city garrison commander, and see whom the Salome family tries to put forward at tomorrow’s morning court session,” she advised.
Simon’s gaze turned strange upon hearing this.
And he instinctively glanced at the King.
The King appeared thoughtful, his eyes on Margaery, sharp as a blade.
If Margaery were a formidable general in court, the King would not find such words surprising.
But she was not.
Strictly speaking, she had not yet entered the court.
Moreover, she was a woman.
Her methods, her strategy, her foresight, her resolve, all of it already far surpassed Raul.
The King felt that even if he summoned his ministers tonight, it was unlikely they would devise a countermeasure in such a short time; it would surely take some wrangling.
Yet, Margaery spoke fluently and eloquently. “Whoever they nominate at tomorrow morning’s court session is the traitor, she said.
“We can let this person go up first, creating the illusion for the enemy that they have seized control of the situation. Once they believe it, we release General Griffith and seal the city gates,” she suggested.
Simon could not help but look at her. “You mean someone intends to launch a coup?”
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The topic instantly became dangerous, weighty, and incisive.
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Margaery, having come this far, had no way back. “If it were merely transporting arms or other matters, they would not need to eliminate General Griffith. Just have someone below make things convenient,” she said.
Simon nodded and looked at the King.
The King felt as if he had found a treasure. He looked at Margaery and asked, “How many people do you estimate are outside wanting to come in?”
He was not entirely unaware of the unrest outside.
But he had not expected Margaery to expose it with a single remark.
An impulse rose in him, a simple urge to talk with her, casually, knowing she likely wouldn’t guess the reason. Still, he asked, a faint smile on his lips.
I know nothing about military affairs,” Margaery shook her head honestly.
But it is not impossible to make some conjectures,” she said.
If someone attempts a coup, the first challenge is the city defense forces, the second is the imperial guards,” she added.
Once Your Majesty punishes General Griffith, the city defense forces will not only cease to be an obstacle, but may even become accomplices.
Assuming half of the city defense troops are willing to risk their lives for them, then the city defense troops will fight among hemselves and exhaust each other,” she analyzed.
In this way, they only need to deal with the twenty thousand imperial guards in the city,” she expounded.
Margaery raised her eyes and looked at the King. “Assuming they have no inside support in the palace and want to seize the ›alace before all sides can react, they would need to bring in at least fifty thousand men,” she concluded.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
