A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

The scene of being burned by fire flashed through his mind, but it was moving so fast that he couldn't see it clearly. Heimos only woke up after being dazed for a second.

He frowned.

Why do things that obviously never happened flash through my mind?

He was a little confused.

However, if Garlan hadn't pushed him away in time at that time, then his fate...maybe really...

After gathering his thoughts, Heimos looked down at his uncle who had bowed his head to him, with a hint of coldness in his eyes.

If he had died in that fire, this uncle would have shed a few crocodile tears in front of others, but deep down he would have been extremely proud.

If he died, he would still die in the palace, amid the fighting spirit of a group of children. No one would doubt him. At the same time, no one would ever threaten his identity as the Lord of Menestre City. , his son is the only successor to the city of Meneste.

How wonderful.

What a perfect result.

In fact, with his current vision, Heimos no longer paid attention to the mere city of Menestre.

However, he will not give up things that should belong to him, even if he disdains them.

Especially the enemy who wants him dead——

Yes, enemies.

This is how Huymos defines Earl.

His uncle, both in name and blood, had been famous for a long time, and he thought that others would be like him, pretending to have a good reputation.

That's why he wanted to take a preemptive strike and suppress him as an uncle. In fact, he just didn't want to bow his head in front of him.

Unfortunately, he never cared about the so-called 'good reputation'.

That kind of thing is useless.

Heimos glanced indifferently at Lord Earl, who was bowing his head in front of his horse, and then turned over and dismounted.

He walked forward and passed in front of Lord Earl. The dark cloak behind him fluttered past Earl's eyes, who still lowered his head.

Earl's eyes twitched slightly, and then he straightened up and looked at the back of Heimos, who was already walking forward.

At this moment, the tall and tall figure seemed to overlap with a familiar figure in his memory.

In a trance, he went back to a long time ago, when he was still young, he always looked at that back like this.

He thought he had forgotten.

But at this moment, with the return of that man's son, he once again recalled this unbearable memory that he wanted to forget completely.

His brother...

Lord Earl's hand clenched tightly.

The wide sleeves covered his clenched hands, so that no one could see anything strange. He followed Heimos' footsteps calmly and walked towards the gate of the castle.

Heimos had already strode through the gate and into the hall of the castle.

He looked around the luxuriously decorated hall supported by huge white jade pillars. A group of people were already waiting for his arrival in the hall. When they saw him coming in, they all bowed their heads to him respectfully.

Only a young man in rich clothes standing at the front of the group did not lower his head. He stared at Heimos with fixed eyes, his face was stiff, and there was a bit of stubbornness and unyielding look in his eyes. .

Buck, the son of the Lord of Earl.

His cousin.

Heimos glanced around and landed on Buck, his eyes half smiling.

Buck felt a sudden sharp pain in his right hand.

That kind of pain made him feel like he was back a few years ago, when he was easily pressed to the ground by Heimos, who was still a teenager at the time, and his palm was pinned to the ground with a single shot.

That made him feel angry in his heart at the moment, but he could not control the fear of Heimos.

"Lord Buck!"

The subordinate who was following Buck reminded him loudly.

Buck woke up from his memories. Under the glances of everyone around him and the gazes of the Guards knights behind Heimos, he reluctantly but had no other choice, bowed to Heimos. Headed.

He whispered: "Welcome, Your Highness Heymos."

He clenched his fists as he spoke, and a sense of humiliation rose from the bottom of his heart.

Once upon a time, the orphan who had to rely on him and his father to survive had become a being that he could not look up to.

No one noticed that when Buck lowered his head to Heimos, the Lord of Earl who followed in saw this scene and his pupils shrank violently.

He, who had always been able to disguise his expression perfectly, actually twitched at the corner of his eye at this moment. When he realized that he was about to lose control, he quickly lowered his head and suppressed the resentment that suddenly surged from the depths of his heart.

Here it is again...

The humiliation he had suffered back then had now befallen his son again.

…………

……………………

In the room, Lord Earl stared at the middle-aged general standing in front of him.

"Why did you go out of the city to meet him without reporting it to me?"

He questioned the general who acted without his permission.

This man was a general of the city of Meneste, and he should have obeyed the orders of the city lord. However, this general's behavior of going out of the city to meet Heimos without authorization in the morning was almost like a subordinate of that boy.

If he had known the news a little earlier, he would have been able to arrange some backup plans, so that he would not be caught off guard like before.

The general leaned forward slightly and replied in a deep voice: "His Royal Highness has already arrived at the city gate. I'm afraid it's too late to report to you. In any case, I can't let His Highness Heimos wait at the city gate for too long. I can only go out of the city to greet you."

Looking at the middle-aged general intently, Lord Earl's always gentle expression calmed down, his face darkened, and he took on a bit of power.

"Don't forget, I am the city lord of Menestre."

He stared at the other person and said every word, his tone showing a little coldness.

He is the master of the city of Meneste, and everyone in the city should obey his orders.

"Of course, Lord Earl, I know that you are the lord of Menestre."

The middle-aged general answered in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.

"However, before I became your subordinate, I existed as a subject of Aaron Landis, so I think there is nothing wrong with me going to greet His Highness Heymos."

".........Just step back."

The middle-aged general bowed and saluted, then turned around, straightened his back, and left quickly.

It can be seen that he obviously doesn't care that he offended the Lord of Earl City.

After the middle-aged general left, Lord Earl's face suddenly darkened. He waved his hand suddenly, and with a loud bang, the vase on the table next to him was thrown to the ground and shattered to pieces.

His chest was heaving violently, and he was clearly experiencing severe mood swings.

Damn it.

That damn bastard!

Why doesn't he die?

Why didn't you die in that fire——

A breath was stuck in his chest, so suffocated that Lord Earl could hardly breathe.

Over the years, without him noticing, Heimos had quietly reached out to the city of Menestre.

Bit by bit, Heimos eroded the city.

By the time he found out, at least one-third of the people in Menestre had been bribed by Heimos and turned to Heimos' side.

The general just now was one of them.

The general even went to greet Heimos today without any scruples and with great fanfare, showing his position on Heimos' side.

Those damn betrayers!

If it weren't for the betrayers who turned to Heimos, which made him feel more and more uneasy, he wouldn't have made a desperate move this time, using all the chess pieces he had lurked in the palace for so many years to cooperate with certain people, and he would not even hesitate to use He must seize the opportunity to remove Heimos from the position of crown prince.

But it failed.

This time, he failed again.

When Heimos suddenly came to Meneste City, he obviously discovered that he was the mastermind behind the scenes and came to settle the score with him.

Today's Heimos is no longer what it used to be.

Not only because of his status as Prince Aaron Landis, but more importantly, because of his power, his prestige, and his illustrious military exploits, he has become a presence that no one dares to ignore.

If Heimos were to take his city of Menestre...

At the thought of this possibility, Lord Earl's chest tightened.

He gritted his teeth.

Ah...that stupid Prince Garlan has been ruining his good deeds.

This was the case many years ago, and it is still the case now!

Doesn't that idiot prince know that if something happens to Heimos, he will benefit the most?

Why mind your own business?

Why should you help your enemy!

"Father."

Just when Earl was livid and cursing in his heart, his son Buck came out from behind.

He was standing behind just now, listening to the conversation between his father and the general.

Having been raised as an heir since childhood, Buck was not stupid. He also knew that many forces in the city had secretly turned to Heimos.

This time Heimos suddenly came to the city of Menestre, and he must have evil intentions.

Earl looked up at Buck.

Looking at his tall and handsome son standing in front of him, his expression softened a lot.

"Buck, come here."

He reaches out to his children.

Buck stepped forward and knelt on one knee in front of his father.

Lord Earl stretched out his hand and stroked his head lovingly.

"Don't worry, my boy."

He said,

"You are my child and the future owner of the city of Menestre. I swear to you that no one will try to take this city away from you."

"Especially Huymos—that little bastard—"

"My boy Buck, just watch, he will soon fall from his height, and he will never surpass you! I swear, he will always be stepped on by you! Yes, never-"

Caressing his beloved son's head, Lord Earl kept talking, with a hint of madness in his eyes.

He wouldn't let his children make the same mistakes.

He would not let Buck suffer the humiliation he had endured.

…………

When Buck left his father's room, the night was already very deep, and the bright moon hung high in the night sky, casting fine silver light on the earth.

Standing in front of his father's room door, Buck paused, looked back at the closed door, and frowned.

He felt that his father's mood was very wrong today, and he wanted to ask clearly, but his father asked him to leave. He just told him to stay in the room tonight and not to wander around.

Heimos.

Buck said the name silently in his mind.

He looked down at his hands. There was a big scar on the palm of his right hand, which was the scar left by the spear tip.

Because of this injury, he was unable to make further progress in either archery or swordsmanship for a long time.

Therefore, every time he heard the news that Heimos had made military exploits in the Northland Army, he felt very uncomfortable.

For so many years, his father kept telling him that he was the future Lord of Menestre, and that Heimos could never take the city away from their father and son.

Don’t ever think—

He listened to his father repeating these words to him as if possessed.

Once, he couldn't help but remind his father that Heymos was already the crown prince, and might even become the king of the entire Aaron Landis, and would not care about such a city at all.

But after he said that, he regretted it, because at that moment, his father stared at him so fiercely that he was scared.

"Don't even think about it!"

his father said viciously.

"It's impossible, don't think about it, it's never possible!"

"That little bastard, don't even think about getting past you. He will only be stepped on by you for the rest of his life... That's right, for the rest of his life..."

At that time, his father kept repeating these words, his usually kind and gentle face turned extremely ferocious.

In fact, Buck never understood why his father had such deep resentment towards Heimos.

Yes, resentment.

If he was worried that Heimos would threaten his position as the heir to the city lord, it would be enough to just be wary. However, his father's attitude towards Heimos was not just contempt, but even deep hatred.

With his mind full of confusion, Buck left here and returned to his room, but he was destined to have trouble sleeping that night.

After Buck left, Lord Earl sat quietly in his room.

The bright light illuminated his side face, which was slightly similar to Heimos, or rather, more similar to his long-dead brother.

The light flickered on his face, flickering on and off.

He sat quietly, like a stone statue, with a heavy gaze.

Brother.

Because of your existence, I have been living in your shadow my whole life.

You are so strong, generous, and kind, and everyone is praising you, watching you, and surrounding you.

No one ever saw me.

Even my father and mother are like this. They always only have your presence in their eyes.

Brother, as bright as you are, I am afraid I will never understand the pain of being alone in the shadows, with the poisonous snakes of jealousy devouring your internal organs.

You have suppressed me all my life.

But, unfortunately, I was the one who won in the end.

I was also the one who finally became the lord of the city of Meneste.

You lost to me.

But why do you still want to leave a child behind and continue to suppress my child?

Just like when you pressed me down.

I don't allow it.

I will not let my children endure the humiliation I experienced.

Brother.

I defeated you back then.

Now, no matter what means are used, no matter what price is paid... I will let my children continue to trample your children under my feet!

…………

"Lord Earl, what you're doing... although it's a trap for that person, isn't it too dangerous?"

"Heimos' identity is different now. If you want to bring him down, you have to pay some price."

"But if you accidentally miss it, you will really be seriously injured."

"That's how it is."

A cold smile appeared on the corner of the city lord's mouth.

"I want everyone to know that he stabbed me and his uncle with his own hands, and let everyone know that he wanted to kill his own uncle with his own hands."

He wants to destroy Heimos' reputation and be accused by thousands of people——