Chapter 286: Born to be emperor.
Roland knew the winds were always changing in the royal family because Benjamin almost took his place as
crown prince and he had always been afraid that he would be the outcast of the Maximus family.
In fact, according to Sigrid’s precognitive dream, Benjamin did becemperor although he gave up the throne
after only a day.
Sigrid knew because Emmah and the queen had almost cost her the position she was working hard to keep. She
had always expected to fight against Emmah but the queen had taken her by surprise. She had once time
thought that they would be allies but things did not work out as she hoped.
Elarin knew of these winds because it had taken the murder of a royal consort and framing of a queen to put her
where she was. Just like those two had cand gone, it was not impossible for the sthing to happen to
her.
It was why she was not very troubled with the illness of the king and safely secure in the knowledge that she had
a royal child that guaranteed her safety.
"Anyway," Duke Thorin continued. "Alexander convinced the noble lords to join him and work together. He talked
about the success in the capital of the kingdom and the poverty of the north. He told them that he was not
interested in power, he just wanted is old lifestyle back."
"And they believed him!" Elarin exclaimed in disbelief.
Duke Thorin laughed. "They were fools indeed but there is no denying that he made them rich. They put aside
their insecurities and saw profit instead of destruction. They set up farms, shops, trade routes and sold nuts
through the empire. They even started to export the nuts out of Medoris.
I do not know what kind of luck Alexander Ridley had but he found seven other types of nuts in The Mystic grove
over the years. Other nobles sent in men and they cback dead or empty handed. Other people also tried
their luck but they were not successful, only Alexander ever was.
He transformed the north into a nut empire--a powerhouse of trade. He was given the nthe nut king by the
people. He built schools, hospitals, roads and even started to take care of the soldiers that served on the
northern boarder.
By the tthe crown prince realized how powerful the exiled prince had grown it was too late. His influence
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtscared the old emperor himself as he saw the the north seceding from the rest of Medoris.
Sof the emperor's advisors urged him do away with Alexander but the fourth prince had a different idea.
The emperor was not famous in the north but his son Alexander was and it presented a unique opportunity. He
advised his father to use Alexander as an extension to himself to rule in the north but, their father-son
relationship was strained. Alexander was not willing to be under his father’s thumb anymore. He had a strong
grudge against his brother for killing his son."
Duke Thorin cleared his throat. "According to his side of the story, he and the dead crown princess had been
involved long before she ever met the crown prince. The crown prince had seen her in the market when she was
shopping with her maids.
He took one look at her beautiful face and fell in love. He did not even court her but went straight to her father
and demanded for her hand in marriage. Because of his position, her father was not able to refuse.
Alexander was away at the time, the emperor had sent him to another city for an inspection. By the the
returned, his brother had married his beloved."
"So they loved each other too much to let go even after she was married." Elarin drew a conclusion to
Alexander's love story.
Duke Thorin nodded while taking a sip of water. "It is exactly what happened. For him, the child that was killed
was not a tool to help him steal power, it was the fruit of his love with his beloved.
The woman that was killed was the great love of his life, Lady Isolde Davis. His grudge against his brother Leon
was deep, deeper than the ocean’s sorrow. In order to broker speace between the crown prince, royal family
and Alexander, the emperor gave him the title of Grand duke under his mother’s maiden. His independent house
was named Larkhaven after his grandfather. He even adopted the nand becAlexander Ridley
Larkhaven. Since then, he kept to the north and never stepped foot in the capital ever again."
"Until now." Sigrid said.
"Oh." The duke responded curiously.
Without twisting and dallying, Sigrid got her phone and showed them footage of the banquet covered by a
Medorian television.
"The golden throne is empty, all the noble lords are seeking to be the next emperor. Alexander Ridley had tossed
his hat in the ring." She said. "Honestly, the way | see it, that man was born to be an emperor. He took a
wasteland like the north you have described and turned it into the second most successful region of Medoris. He
provided for the people in a way their emperor did not. If | was a Medorian and we were voting, he would have
my vote."
"Mine too." Elarin said.
"But grandfather, how did you know this story? You are even familiar with details that other people are not aware
of." Sigrid was very curious about this.
"It's true. | have never heard of a love story between Alexander and Isolde." Elarin nodded.
Roland had not heard of it either.
I" : : [1
I heard it from the man himself." The
: : : [1
duke smiled with joy. "Remember
that our two empires parece
competigg for telsgion of Nemoris.
Or Side sent spies into Nemoris an
did theirs. | was a spy pretending to
be a businessman and he was a real
businessman introducing his nuts to
Nemoris. The content is on
novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
| was on the run because my identity had been found out and he was on the run because someone had tried to
assassinate him. Anyway, | saved his life but we both ended up with injuries and we had to hide for three days in
an inn in a small village.
) a ~ IR
| don't know why he toldhis life
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmstory, but he did. The assassins that
were coming after him had been sent
by his brother the cd prin&e. He
J §i ; .
apked rhe faradvise after sharing his
story and | told him that a man who
leaves his enemies breathing is a
man that has surrendered his head
and he should make sure that he has
prepared his coffin and put his affairs
in order. The content is on
novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
On the fourth morning, his men found
us and we went out separate ways.
Three months later | heard thaj tie
bie ery CroWRpHiNeE Was dead and
the fourth prince had taken his
" :
place." He turned his head and looked
n :
at the sky, 'l have often wondered if
my words led to the death of the
: [1
crown prince somehow." The content
is on novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
It was the second tin his life that duke Thorin was sharing this story and the first the was asking this
question out loud.