***
Three days later.
Calden Castle
Lanercoast
"Your father could do nothing. He was imprisoned by his own desires," chimed in Quentin, sitting with Arabelle on her chamber's balcony.
"He so regretted not being able to give birth to a son. Mother died before Father's wishes could be fulfilled," Arabelle replied.
They looked comfortable eating sweets and drinking wine provided by the servants at Calden Castle. The two had been together lately, enjoying the view of the city from the top of the castle on the fourth floor.
Edgar was forced to accept Quentin's proposal to marry Arabelle and rejected all the proposals the lord houses in Lanercoast had made to Arabelle.
Quentin felt grateful that none of the lowly lord houses had denied him. They realized that the Helferich bloodline was more important than their ambitions.
The young man already knew their ambitions, Arabelle had told him. There were ten applications from various houses of lower rank than Helferich.
They all had ambitions to take control of Helferich and Calden Castle and build their own glory. Arabelle knew that and tried to be friendly, not giving an immediate response.
She was wise. She wanted to maintain good relations between Helferich and the other houses, so she chose not to respond to their proposal.
"By you marrying me, Edgar has secured the Helferich leadership position for the house's original bloodline," Quentin explained.
"Are you aiming for control of Calden Castle?" asked Arabelle.
Quentin was silent, occasionally taking a sip of the drink he held in his hand as he turned his head to the side, looking at Arabelle's face intently.
"Lord Edgar has no other choice. He has no living siblings. Among his nephews, I am the only man," Quentin replied.
"I will still be the lord of House Helferich even if I don't marry you," Quentin retorted.
Arabelle looked at Quentin sharply. His attitude had changed entirely since he was assigned to Oakenport, as the Quentin beside her was not the Prince Quentin she knew.
However, what Quentin told her was completely true. Edgar had no desire to remarry, so a male heir could not be born.
Quentin came when Edgar was in despair. The young man's arrival was like a stroke of luck for Edgar, his gloomy face replaced by a cheerful smile.
By marrying Arabelle, Quentin was indirectly making Edgar's heart happier because one of his daughters had the potential to rule Calden Castle.
"Since Tregaron was ruled by Hartwin, all the crop prices have increased," Arabelle added, trying to change the subject.
Quentin squinted, realizing Hartwin had fully implemented his idea, taxing every merchant who passed through the trade trident road.
The impact of it was felt by the people in Telmarath and all over the place, including Lanercoast.
Although Lanercoast had vast farmlands, it was not enough to fulfill its food needs, so it had to buy from merchants from Northcrest.
Northcrest merchants must pass through Oakenport to reach Lanercoast. Even so, prices in this place are not high compared to other places outside Lanercoast.
"Oakenport is a crucial point for trade. Whoever controls that place has the power to monopolize the market," Quentin revealed, taking another sip of wine.
"It's only a matter of time. The impact won't be felt for the first week after Oakenport's fall, but it will be felt once a month or two passes," Quentin replied.
"What should we do?" asked Arabelle.
"There are many things we can do. Lanercoast has the advantage in the mining sector," Quentin replied.
"Should we negotiate with them regarding the food price?" asked Arabelle.
Quentin shook his head, stood up from the plush chair he was sitting on, and stepped closer to the balcony fence. Quentin's hands rested on the balcony fence, with his eyes looking straight ahead.
"We shouldn't negotiate with them; we'll lose our position. It would be better to wait," Quentin replied.
"You always say wait and wait. Can you win the throne by waiting?" asked Arabelle, raising her voice and looking strongly at Quentin.
"The political roadmap here is like a chess piece. If we put the wrong pieces, we will lose," stated Quentin.
"The way to win in a chess game is to let the opponent make the first move and analyze their next move," Quentin pointed out.
"So, you want to wait for the enemy to make a move?" asked Arabelle.
Quentin smiled widely, turned around, and walked over to Arabelle. He crouched right before the beautiful woman older than him, then gently kissed Arabelle's lips.
"We have many enemies. If we move without a strategy, we will lose in one night," Quentin replied.
While the two were talking with an attentive look at each other, Quentin's attention was distracted when the galloping of horses could be heard from outside the castle.
The young man stood back up, walking towards the balcony fence by himself. Quentin's eyes caught sight of two merchants coming to the castle's courtyard area.
They had arrived to complain about something, one of which was the number of bandits plundering their goods south of Calden Castle in the direction of the road leading from Redfair —the land controlled by House Lorelei.
Prince Quentin himself would speak with them. The young man strode down the stairs until he fully reached the front yard of Calden Castle, encountering two merchants who suffered losses due to the bandits.
"What's happened?" asked Quentin.
"Prince Quentin," greeted one of the soldiers holding the two merchants.
"Prince Quentin? But isn't he dead?" asked the merchant.
"That's false news. I'm still alive," Quentin replied.
"What have you come here for?" asked Quentin, focusing on their problem.
"The bandits attacked us and stole all our goods," revealed the merchant.
"Didn't you hire escorts or adventurers?" asked Quentin. Both merchants shook their heads.
"Commodity prices are rising, people's buying power is falling, we have trouble hiring them," the merchant replied.
Quentin nodded. The young man's eyes turned to the side, looking at the soldier holding the merchant's hand.
"Send ten of your cavalrymen to the south; eliminate those bandits," Quentin ordered.
"But we're just-"
"I am Prince Quentin, the third prince of Athalaris. I have more authority than Lord Edgar," Quentin stated, interrupting the soldier's words.
The soldiers holding the merchants began nodding, carrying out Quentin's orders. The two soldiers released the two merchants still standing before Quentin.
"Are you merchants from Lorelei?" asked Quentin.
"That's right, Prince Quentin," replied one of the men.
Arabelle, curious about what Quentin was talking about, began to walk down from the fourth floor until she fully arrived at the front yard of Calden Castle.
The woman was now standing straight beside Quentin. Both merchants bowed their heads to pay their respects to Lady Arabelle.
Quentin's hands reached forward, holding each man's shoulders until their attention was concentrated on Prince Quentin.
"You're safe here, don't worry about it," Prince Quentin stated.
[Mind Manipulation Ability Has Been Activated]
Quentin's eyes flashed bright maroon, and the two 40-year-old men before him began to stare fixedly at Quentin's eyes.
Their subconscious was entirely controlled by Quentin; their faces showed a flat expression, and their eyes were still staring forward, like hypnotized persons.
Quentin closed both eyes, deactivating the mind manipulation magic so that others who looked into his eyes would not be affected.
"Go to the trade office, you can—"
"Stop talking, Lady Arabelle," Quentin pleaded, interrupting Arabelle's words.
Hearing this made Arabelle confused. She moved her head to the side, looking at Quentin intently.
"What do you mean?" asked Arabelle.
"They are from Redfair. We can gather a lot of information from them," said Quentin.
Arabelle was silent, trying to see what Quentin wanted to do to these two people.
"Tell me, are there important secrets relating to House Lorelei that you can give me?" asked Quentin firmly.
"There is, Prince Quentin," spoke one of the men.
"We heard rumors saying that Lady Sera failed to marry Prince Edmund," chimed in the merchant's companion.
"She was arranged to marry Prince Alexander," another man said, the two taking turns giving information.
"Then who will be Prince Edmund's wife?" asked Quentin, curious.
"Lady Melissa of House Hildemar," replied the male colleague.
Quentin squinted his eyes, trying to analyze the information. The two could not possibly lie because Quentin was talking to their subconscious.
Any orders Quentin spoke would be carried out, and any questions Quentin asked would be answered honestly. That was the use of mind manipulation magic.
"House Hildemar? Isn't that Duke Howard's house?" asked Arabelle.
Quentin nodded, crossing his arms over his chest with a focused gaze fixed ahead, "That's true. There's a possibility he's also involved in this."
"Do you both know the whereabouts of Prince Alexander?" asked Quentin.
They simultaneously replied that they did not know. If they did say so, it meant Prince Alexander was not in Redfair.
"Go away and forget what I just asked. You only know that Prince Quentin is dead!" insisted Quentin.
The two nodded, turned around, and walked away. Just as they had passed through the gates of Calden Castle, their minds returned to them, and felt confused about what had happened.
Arabelle was amazed at what Quentin had done to them. The woman had no idea what kind of magic Quentin had used on the two merchants.
"Prince Edmund will not be easily persuaded like that. The plan to marry Lady Sera has been in the works for a year," revealed Quentin.
"That means there was something that caught Prince Edmund's attention, which was to decide to marry Lady Melissa," Arabelle replied.
"Or indeed, Prince Edmund is under pressure now," added Quentin.
"Under pressure?" asked Arabelle.
Quentin stopped right outside the door of Calden Castle, making Arabelle do the same, "What do you mean?"
"I suspect there are secret negotiations established between Edmund and Howard. The negotiations were successful to the point that Prince Edmund had to marry Lady Melissa Hildemar," Quentin replied.
While trying to think of that, he was reminded of the news of his death that had spread far to the outer reaches of Athalaris.
"They must be negotiating to eliminate me. When the false news of my death in Oakenport spread, the negotiations went smoothly, and now it's Edmund's turn to pay for his promise," Quentin remarked.
"How can you relate that to Edmund's planned marriage to Melissa?" asked Arabelle.
"Melissa's name was never mentioned in the nomination for queen of Athalaris. There was only Lady Sera, Lady Mona, and you, Lady Arabelle," Quentin replied.
"But the name came to the public and put suspicion on me."
"So, you came to the conclusion that Howard and Edmund were working together to kill you by sending you to Oakenport?" asked Arabelle.
Quentin turned his head to the side, nodding with a firm look, "It seems so."