Episode-777
Chapter : 1553
Lloyd groaned. "I should have stayed in Altamira. Seraphina only wanted to marry me. These women are going to dismember me."
"Strategically speaking," Ken said with a rare smirk, "you are surrounded and outnumbered."
"Whose side are you on, Kasim?" Lloyd asked.
"The side with the popcorn," Ken said.
The carriage rolled on, carrying the heroes back to their castle. Back to safety. Back to the most dangerous place on earth: a house full of angry women.
Before the carriage had left Saber, there had been one final, secret meeting. Not in the solar, but in the map room. It was strictly business.
Queen Seraphina stood at the head of the table. Lloyd stood opposite her. Between them lay a map of the continent.
"The emotional goodbye is done," Seraphina said, her voice crisp. "Now, the practicalities. You rejected the crown, Lloyd. But you cannot reject the war."
"I never turn down a good fight," Lloyd said. "Especially one against devils."
"Good," Seraphina said. "Because Altamira is infested. Cassius opened the door, and the rats came in. The Seventh Circle has cells in every major city. They have corrupted the guilds. They have infiltrated the mages."
"You need a purge," Lloyd said.
"I need a scalpel," she corrected. "I can use the army to smash the big targets. But the spies? The handlers? The Curator? I can't find them. They are hiding in the bureaucracy."
"I can find them," Lloyd said. "Or rather, my network can."
He pulled out a small, leather-bound notebook.
"This," Lloyd said, sliding it across the table, "is the communication frequency for Ken's network. It connects to the Whispers in Zakaria and my own Wraiths in Bethelham. It is a secure channel."
Seraphina took the book. "Global intelligence sharing."
"Exactly," Lloyd said. "If a Seventh Circle agent buys poison in Saber, I want to know about it in Ferrum. If they move money in Zakaria, I want you to freeze it here. We create a net. A continental net."
"And in return?" Seraphina asked.
"In return," Lloyd said, "Bethelham provides the tech. The mana-jammers. The detection arrays. I will send you the schematics for the devices we used to breach the Orchid House. Your mages can build them. You can use them to hunt the rest of the cells."
"Technology for intelligence," Seraphina mused. "A fair trade."
She picked up a quill. She wrote a quick order on a scroll.
"Effective immediately," she said, signing it, "Altamira formally withdraws from the Treaty of Shadows. We declare the Devil Race and their affiliates hostis humani generis—enemies of mankind. Any citizen found aiding them forfeits their life and lands."
She handed the scroll to Lloyd.
"Show this to your father," she said. "Show this to King Liam. Tell them the South is awake."
Lloyd took the scroll. It was heavy with historical weight. This piece of paper shifted the balance of power for the entire continent.
"This changes everything," Lloyd said. "The Devil Race just lost their safe harbor."
"And gained a very angry enemy," Seraphina added.
She looked at him.
"One more thing," she said. "The Curator. The man who ordered the harvest."
"Yes?"
"My spies found a name," she said. "Or a title. He operates out of a neutral territory. The Free City of Oram. He runs an auction house."
"An auction house?"
"He sells the... products," Seraphina said, her voice dripping with disgust. "The weapons. The artifacts. The children."
Lloyd’s eyes went cold.
"Oram," he memorized. "Thank you, Majesty. That is... very useful."
"Kill him," Seraphina said simply. "For me."
"Consider it done," Lloyd said.
The alliance was sealed. Not with a marriage, but with a hit list.
----
The carriage rattled over the border bridge, the wooden planks thumping rhythmically. They were officially back in Bethelham soil.
Lloyd looked at the scroll case in his lap. The treaty. It was a victory. A massive one.
But his mind was already moving to the next battlefield.
Oram. The Curator. The Auction House.
"Ken," Lloyd said.
"Master?"
"New target," Lloyd said. "The Free City of Oram. We need to extend the network. I want eyes there."
"Oram is a cesspool," Ken noted. "Mercenaries. Pirates. Slavers. No laws."
"Perfect," Lloyd said. "We'll fit right in."
He looked at Jasmin. She was teaching Risa a hand-clapping game. Risa was laughing. A small, quiet sound, but a laugh nonetheless.
"We saved them," Lloyd thought. "But the factory is just one branch. The root is still there."
He leaned his head back against the velvet seat.
Chapter : 1554
"Driver," he called out. "Speed up. I want to be home before sunset."
"Why the rush?" Ken asked.
"Because," Lloyd said, "if I'm going to face a firing squad of wives, I want to get it over with before dinner."
The carriage picked up speed, racing through the pine forests of the North. The sun began to dip, painting the sky in shades of bruised purple and blood orange.
Lloyd closed his eyes. He tried to rest. But in the darkness behind his eyelids, he saw three faces waiting for him.
Rosa. Cold, beautiful, terrifying.
Amina. Sharp, calculating, possessive.
Faria. Fiery, artistic, volatile.
And behind them, the shadow of the Curator, laughing in his auction house.
"War is hell," Lloyd muttered. "But dating is worse."
The final leg of the journey was a blur of exhaustion. The adrenaline that had sustained them through the heist and the coup had finally drained away, leaving them hollow and aching.
Risa slept for most of the trip, her head on Jasmin's lap. The other children dozed or stared out the window, their eyes wide at the green forests of Bethelham, so different from the arid stone of Altamira.
Jasmin watched over them like a hawk. She cleaned their faces, combed their hair, and whispered stories of the Ferrum estate—of the giant kitchen, the warm beds, the gardens where they could play. She was building a future for them in their minds, replacing the nightmare of the cages with a dream of home.
Lloyd watched her. He saw the change. The timidity was gone. In its place was a quiet, steel-spined matriarch. She had found her purpose. She wasn't just a servant anymore; she was a guardian.
"You did good, Jia," Lloyd said softly, using the code name one last time.
Jasmin looked up. She smiled. It was a tired smile, but it reached her eyes.
"We did good, Doctor," she replied.
"You're not Jia anymore," Lloyd said. "You're Jasmin. The Savior of the Children. My father is going to want to give you a medal."
"I don't want a medal," Jasmin said, stroking Risa's hair. "I just want a bath. And maybe a very large cake."
"Cake can be arranged," Lloyd promised. "I'll bake it myself if I have to. Though it might taste like gunpowder."
Jasmin laughed. "Please don't. Ask the chef."
The carriage slowed. They were entering the outer lands of the Ferrum Duchy. The road improved, turning from dirt to paved stone. Farmers in the fields stopped to wave at the royal carriage, not knowing who was inside.
"We're almost there," Lloyd announced.
The children perked up.
"Is it a castle?" a boy asked.
"It's a big house," Lloyd said. "With a lot of towers. And a dragon."
"A dragon?" the boy gasped.
"A statue," Lloyd winked. "Mostly."
He looked at Ken. The bodyguard was staring out the window, his face unreadable.
"What are you thinking, Ken?"
Ken turned. "I am thinking about the security perimeter. The estate is open. If the Seventh Circle retaliates... we are vulnerable."
"Always working," Lloyd shook his head. "Relax, Ken. We have a treaty. We have the initiative. For today, we are safe."
"Safety is an illusion," Ken said. "But... it is a nice illusion."
He looked at Lloyd.
"You led us into hell," Ken said quietly. "And you led us out. You toppled a Prince. You saved a King. You rewrote the map."
He paused.
"I have served many lords," Ken said. "But I have never served a Legend."
Lloyd felt his face heat up. "Don't start getting sentimental, Ken. It's weird."
"It is not sentiment," Ken said stoically. "It is assessment. You are a terrifying man, Master Lloyd. And I am glad you are on our side."
Lloyd looked away, embarrassed but pleased. To earn the respect of Ken Park was harder than killing a demon.
"We're home," Lloyd said, pointing out the window.
Ahead, on the hill, stood the Ferrum Estate. It looked golden in the sunset. It looked like a fortress. It looked like a sanctuary.
And it looked like the site of his next execution.
----
The carriage rolled through the main gates of the estate. The guards saluted sharply. The wheels crunched on the gravel of the driveway.
They stopped in front of the main entrance. Servants rushed down the steps to open the door.
Lloyd stepped out first. He stretched, his back cracking. He inhaled the air. It smelled of pine and iron. Home.
He turned and helped Jasmin and the children down.
"Welcome to Ferrum," Lloyd said.