Chapter 922 - Price of a Favor

Trafalgar remained leaning over the desk for a moment before he began.

"As you know, I was invited into Myrrhvale territory as an observer. Officially, my job was simple: watch the succession and make sure no other Great House, or any outside family for that matter, was influencing who became the next head."

Caelum nodded once. "Yes. That much I understood."

"There were already several observers before I arrived. Lucard au Vaelion was one of them. Zafira du Zar'khael was another, and there was at least one more who never became particularly relevant to what happened."

Trafalgar's fingers rested against the edge of the desk.

"Lucard being there bothered me immediately. After everything we've learned about House Vaelion, seeing one of Roderic's sons sitting inside another Great Family's succession was enough to make me suspicious."

"What caused that suspicion to grow?" Caelum asked. "Did you find anything directly tying House Vaelion to what happened?"

"Not directly." Trafalgar paused. "But Nyssara's death reminded me too much of the mine."

Caelum's eyes sharpened slightly.

"The material involved felt familiar," Trafalgar continued. "The way everything had been hidden, the people connected to it disappearing, dead names still being used afterward. It wasn't identical, but there were enough similarities that I couldn't ignore it. If we woke Esmond and put the details in front of him, I wouldn't be surprised if he recognized some of it."

"But you cannot confirm that House Vaelion was involved."

"No. Not yet."

Caelum considered that carefully before answering. "If they were, the consequences would be severe. Interfering in another Great House's succession is already enough to turn the others against them. If they were also connected to the assassination of Lady Nyssara, House Vaelion could find itself facing all seven remaining families."

"And they wouldn't survive that," Trafalgar said. "No Great House would."

The conclusion settled heavily between them. Accusing Vaelion without proof would be reckless, but proving something of that scale would change the balance between the Eight completely.

"The person I could prove was involved was Kesh Varlan," Trafalgar continued. "Admiral of the Tide. One of the strongest political and military factions inside Myrrhvale."

Caelum had clearly heard the name before, but he said nothing and allowed Trafalgar to continue.

"He'd spent years manipulating the succession from inside. Moving people, hiding records, using men who were already dead to keep documents and operations alive. He controlled information, used his own soldiers, pushed Corvyn in the direction he wanted and made different heirs look responsible for things they hadn't done."

"Efficient," Caelum said. "And dangerous."

"Very."

"It explains why the succession remained unresolved for so long," Caelum continued. "If the people responsible for determining the truth could not even identify which faction was acting honestly, choosing a head would have been extremely dangerous. One wrong decision could have handed the entire family to the person manipulating the crisis."

"That's basically what was happening."

Caelum's gaze stayed fixed on him. "There is something else I am curious about, Young Master. The rules attached to observers are not generous. You are permitted to witness and report. You are not normally permitted to enter restricted sectors, investigate sealed records or involve yourself directly in internal enforcement."

Trafalgar knew exactly where the question was going.

"If you prefer not to answer, I will not press you," Caelum added. "But if you do answer, it stays with me. Why were you searching those places at all?"

Trafalgar went quiet.

For a few seconds he looked toward the snow beyond the office windows rather than at Caelum. There were people he would never give that answer to. Valttair was one of them. Most of House Morgain was another.

Caelum was different.

He had chosen Trafalgar long before there had been anything worth choosing. His loyalty had survived every change that followed, and Trafalgar had very little doubt that if saving his life ever required turning a blade on Valttair himself, Caelum would do it.

So he told him the truth.

"Lyren di Myrrhvale asked me to investigate."

Caelum did not react immediately.

"I knew him from years ago," Trafalgar continued. "We met during an Academy expedition to Primordial ruins. When the succession got worse, he contacted me. He believed someone was interfering and needed somebody from outside Myrrhvale who could move without already belonging to one of their factions."

"And you agreed."

"I did."

"Knowing you would have to violate the terms of being an observer."

"Yes."

Caelum remained silent long enough that Trafalgar knew he was weighing the answer rather than judging it.

"Why?"

"A favor," Trafalgar said. "That was the payment. I helped him and Nerith solve the situation, and now House Myrrhvale owes me."

Caelum's expression became more serious.

"A favor from one of the Eight Great Families is not a small reward."

"Exactly."

"But I am not certain the reward justified the risk, Young Master." Caelum's tone remained controlled. "You entered another Great House's internal conflict, broke restrictions that could have carried severe punishment and involved yourself directly in a succession that had already lasted years. I am occupied with several matters at present, so I cannot follow every decision you make personally. Please be careful."

"You don't need to worry about that. I'm always meticulous."

"Yes," Caelum said. "That is one of the reasons I chose you over every other heir."

Trafalgar held his gaze for a moment.

"I'm glad to hear it."

He settled back into his chair.

"In the end, Kesh died before they could get everything they needed from him. I also can't set foot in Meraval again for the rest of my life, which I consider a fairly reasonable outcome after everything I did there."

Caelum accepted that without visible surprise. "A great deal clearly happened below the surface. Still, you achieved what you went there to achieve, and within reason, the result favored you."

Caelum shifted the conversation without hesitation.

"Then I believe we should move to Lord Darian. What he has learned about Maeron may be more immediately relevant to House Morgain."

Trafalgar's attention sharpened again.

"Yeah. I'm definitely interested in that."

He leaned forward.

"Update me."