Episode-865
Chapter : 1729
"I do not want the Arch Duke," Seraphina said, her voice ringing clear in the silent hall. "I want the future."
Lloyd closed his eyes for a brief second. Here it comes, he thought. The avalanche.
"I choose him," Seraphina said, pointing a gloved finger directly at Lloyd.
The entire room turned. Hundreds of eyes swiveled to the back of the chamber, focusing on the unassuming man in the dark tunic who looked like he would very much prefer to be on a different continent.
Lloyd opened his eyes and met Seraphina’s gaze. There was apology there, but also steel. She wasn't asking. She was moving a piece on the board.
"I choose Lloyd Ferrum," she declared.
The silence that followed Seraphina’s declaration was profound. It wasn't the tense silence of impending violence that had filled the room moments ago; this was the stunned, vacuum-like silence of a collective brain freeze. It was the sound of several hundred political paradigms shattering at once.
Lloyd stood in the focal point of that silence, feeling the weight of every gaze in the room pressing down on him. He kept his face impassive, a mask of polite confusion, but internally, his mind was screaming. It was a long, sustained, high-pitched scream of frustration.
Of course, he thought bitterly. Why would anything be simple? Why would she just want a trade agreement? No, she wants a husband. And not just any husband. She wants the one man in the room who is already juggling enough matrimonial chaos to fuel a soap opera for three seasons.
King Liam was the first to break the tableau. He let out a sound that was halfway between a cough and a laugh. "Lloyd?" he asked, his voice thick with suppressed amusement. "You want... Lloyd?"
"Is there an echo in this fortress, King Liam?" Seraphina asked, her gaze never leaving Lloyd. "I spoke clearly. I choose Lloyd Ferrum."
Arch Duke Roy looked at his son, then back at the Queen. His expression was a complex tapestry of pride, confusion, and the headache of a man who realized his workload had just tripled. "Your Majesty," Roy said, his voice measured. "My son is... honored, I am sure. But this is... unexpected."
"Is it?" Seraphina asked. She took a step forward, closing the distance between herself and the Bethelham delegation. "Who else? Who else in your kingdom understands the threat of the Seventh Circle as he does? Who else has the mind to rebuild a nation broken by corruption? Who else has the strength to stand beside a Queen and not be overshadowed?"
She gestured to the room. "Look at your court, King Liam. I see warriors. I see politicians. I see men who follow orders. But I need a partner. I need a visionary. And Lloyd Ferrum is the only man on this continent who fits that description."
Lloyd felt a grudging respect for her pitch. She was selling him like a high-end weapon system. She wasn't talking about love or romance; she was talking about utility, strategy, and power. It was a language the people in this room understood.
"He is also," King Liam pointed out, leaning forward with a predatory grin, "currently entangled in a rather... complex domestic situation. I believe he is recently married. And engaged. Simultaneously."
A ripple of murmurs went through the crowd. The scandal of Lloyd’s personal life was an open secret, whispered about in every tavern from the capital to the border.
Seraphina didn't flinch. "I am aware of his... commitments," she said dismissively. "I am a Queen. I do not concern myself with the petty jealousies of minor nobility. The laws of Altamira permit a consort to have multiple alliances, provided the Crown takes precedence."
She looked directly at Lloyd. "I am not asking him to abandon his family. I am asking him to expand it. I am offering an empire. I am offering the resources of an entire nation to fuel his projects. I am offering him the third crown."
Lloyd’s mind raced. The Third Crown.
He did the math instantly. He was already the de facto merchant king of the North with his AURA empire and the upcoming salt monopoly. He was the secret Minister of Innovation for Bethelham, the King's shadow hand. And now... King Consort of Altamira?
It was too much power. It was dangerous. It put a target on his back the size of a moon.
Chapter : 1730
"Your Majesty," Lloyd spoke up finally. His voice was calm, the voice of the reasonable man in a room full of madmen. He stepped out of the shadows, walking slowly towards the table. "You honor me beyond words. But a proposal of this magnitude... it cannot be decided in a moment. It involves the laws of two kingdoms, the honor of three houses, and the stability of the entire region."
He stopped a few paces from her. Up close, he could see the tension in her jaw, the slight tremor in her hands that she was hiding behind her regal posture. She was terrified. She was gambling everything on this.
"I am not asking for a decision today, Lord Ferrum," Seraphina said, her voice softening just enough for him to hear the plea underneath. "I am putting the offer on the table. The war ends today. The alliance begins today. But the seal... the seal of that alliance must be you."
She looked at King Liam. "Those are my terms. A full cessation of hostilities. Open borders. Intelligence sharing. In exchange for a betrothal contract with Lloyd Ferrum."
King Liam drummed his fingers on the table. He looked at Roy. "Arch Duke? He is your son. Your heir."
Roy looked at Lloyd. For a moment, the father and son locked eyes. Roy wasn't looking at him as a subordinate. He was looking at him as an equal. He saw the trap, but he also saw the opportunity.
"It is a heavy price," Roy said slowly. "But peace... peace is worth a heavy price."
"It is not a price, father," Lloyd said, cutting in before Roy could trade him away like a prize horse. "It is a negotiation."
He turned to Seraphina. "Your Majesty. You propose a union to end the cycle of hatred. A noble goal. But a marriage is not just a treaty. It is a life. If I were to accept... I would have conditions."
"Name them," Seraphina said instantly.
"Not here," Lloyd said. "Not in front of an audience."
Seraphina smiled. "A private audience, then? To discuss the... terms of surrender?"
"To discuss the terms of partnership," Lloyd corrected.
King Liam clapped his hands together, the sound echoing like a gunshot. "Excellent! We have a proposal. We have a counter-proposal. We have the makings of a historic diplomatic incident or a wedding. Either way, I am entertained."
He stood up. "We will adjourn. The Ferrum family will consult. The Queen will rest. And tomorrow... tomorrow we will decide the fate of the continent."
The adjournment was less of a dismissal and more of a tactical retreat. The various factions split off into their respective corners of Ironhold, buzzing with the frantic energy of a kicked beehive.
Lloyd found himself in a private strategy room with his father and King Liam. The moment the heavy oak doors—correction, the reinforced iron doors—closed, the pretense of formal diplomacy vanished.
"You have a talent, Lloyd," King Liam said, pouring himself a goblet of wine from a sidebar. "Truly. Some men attract trouble. You attract crowns. It is a unique skill set."
"I am not seeking crowns, Your Majesty," Lloyd said, sinking into a chair and rubbing his temples. "I am seeking to survive the week. Do you have any idea what this does to my life? I have a pregnant wife at home. I have a fiancée in Zakaria who thinks she owns a percentage of my soul. And now a Queen wants to make me a King Consort?"
"It is a predicament," Roy admitted, though there was a distinct lack of sympathy in his voice. In fact, he looked proud. "But look at the map, Lloyd."
Roy gestured to the wall map of the continent. "Bethelham in the North. Zakaria in the East. Altamira in the South. If you marry Seraphina... and maintain the alliance with Amina... and your position here..."
"House Ferrum becomes the nexus of the world," King Liam finished. "You would effectively control the trade, the military intelligence, and the political direction of the three greatest powers on the continent. You wouldn't just be a Lord, Lloyd. You would be the Emperor in all but name."
"I don't want to be an Emperor," Lloyd snapped. "Emperors get assassinated. Emperors have no free time. I just want to build my machines and kill Devils."
"And this gives you the resources to do exactly that," Liam pointed out. "Think of it. Altamira has mines. Rare ores. Ancient magical archives that have been sealed for centuries. As King Consort, you would have access to all of it. Your Aegis project? You could build a legion."