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Wayne looked horrified and shouted in protest, “Your Highness, I would never betray you! The private soldiers exist solely to overthrow King Salvador and secure your ascent to the throne.
“You are a prince, and you have a rightful claim to it! I am nothing but a commoner. Even if I have control of the private army, that’s only a few thousand people! I could never rally enough support to challenge the king!”
Yuvan stared at Wayne, his breath heavy.
The reasoning made sense-Wayne didn’t have the influence to betray him on such a scale.
Even if Stone Village hadn’t been destroyed, the forces there amounted to no more than a few thousand men, including the “bandits” scattered across the districts. Many of them were little more than an unruly mob, lacking proper weapons and armor.
That was exactly why their strategy depended on the “bandits” to create chaos first. By spreading rumors of an impending war and heightening the sense of crisis, they hoped to stir public resentment against Salvador’s reign. The goal was to turn this unrest into support for Yuvan’s cause.
But for such a plan to work, the leader of the rebellion had to be from the legitimate royal bloodline. Yuvan, the son of the late Augustus and the younger brother of Sigmund, had this pedigree, which made the rebellion appear just.
Without it, the common folk would have little reason to risk joining an uncertain cause. After all, there were too many people struggling just to survive in the world.
Since it wasn’t Wayne, Yuvan shifted his gaze to Harvey.
He was just about to defend himself when Yuvan shook his head. “It’s not you, either.”
Harvey was speechless. He wasn’t even worth suspecting?
It was only natural that Yuvan didn’t suspect Harvey. The latter had arrived in Valken with nothing to his name, and in all those years in the capital, he hadn’t achieved anything noteworthy. He was far inferior to Eleanor.
When Harvey first came to Valken, the people addressed him politely to his face. But behind his back, they all looked down on him. He had no sway over someone like Craig.
Yuvan took a slow, measured breath, gradually regaining his composure as he sank into his seat. His gaze swept over both men.
“Tell me, is it Craig who’s been bought off, or is someone plotting to take what is rightfully mine?” he asked.
Wayne was still kneeling on the ground. He pondered for a while before he said, “It’s impossible for him to have been bought off. Only a few days have passed since you issued the proclamation. Our forces are scattered across five or six districts, and it took us over half a year to move them into place. The court has no way of uncovering that, let alone tracking down Craig to turn him.”
Yuvan’s gaze turned icy, piercing to the bone. “So, someone is indeed trying to steal from me. Who is it?” Over the years, Yuvan had gathered a mix of followers, including members of the royal family. But among the princes, only he and Harvey held real influence. The things they had wasn’t something just anyone could claim.
Yuvan ran through the list of suspects in his mind but came up empty-handed. Among his followers, the royal relatives were the least competent and capable. They might not all be as hopeless as Tiberius, but none of them posed a real threat.
The most suspicious person was still Wayne.
But ever since Yuvan had begun plotting rebellion, Wayne had been nothing but loyal. Many of his plans and strategies had come from Wayne’s counsel. Without him, Yuvan wouldn’t have his current strength, as he wouldn’t have managed to gather such a private army.
If Wayne truly had ulterior motives, he wouldn’t be kneeling here now. The moment Yuvan issued the proclamation, he would have fled.
“Harvey, take the men and head there tonight. Wayne, you will stay here.”
Yuvan couldn’t fully rule out Wayne as a suspect and needed to keep him close. As for Harvey, he was the one Yuvan trusted most.
Yuvan immediately ordered them to prepare ink and paper. He penned a letter and handed it to Harvey. “Tell Craig to take Sableton, Montfield, and Glenmoor at once. Then, detain the head of the Spencer family and bring him before me.”
Harvey took the letter and nodded. “Understood. I’ll leave tonight.”
“Go,” Yuvan said with a slight nod. Then, turning to Wayne, he ordered, “Summon Samson and Saul to see me.”
When Wayne and Harvey left the room, they exchanged glances without a word.
It wasn’t long before Saul and Samson arrived.
By now, Yuvan had shaken off the frenzied state from earlier and regained his composure.
Calm and collected, he began issuing commands, “Saul, we must hold Valken at all costs. Including the officials in the local authorities, how many men can we muster?”
“Your Highness, we can gather about 4,500 men, 2,000 of which are trained soldiers,” Saul replied. 4,500 men were a sizable force for Valken, but Yuvan shook his head. “Too few. The city gates must be defended. No one is to enter or leave.”
If the court dispatched troops to suppress him, 4,500 men wouldn’t be enough to hold Valken. Fortunately, the court was still preoccupied with bandit suppression. So far, Yuvan’s moves had gone according to plan. If they hadn’t, his uprising would’ve been nothing more than a joke.
“I’ve already ordered the city gates closed and the main roads to be dug up,” Saul reported.
Yuvan turned to Samson. “If war breaks out, we can’t run short on grain. Though we haven’t prepared adequately, starting tomorrow, you’ll purchase all the grain in the city and stockpile it.”
Samson had already drained most of his family fortune over the years. Yuvan clearly didn’t intend to fund the effort himself, and he even asked Samson to pay for it.
Samson frowned, clearly dissatisfied. “I’m afraid all the grain shops in the city will close. Procuring supplies won’t be easy.’
A cold gleam flashed in Yuvan’s eyes. “Then, break down their doors and take it.”
Samson froze. “We’re a righteous army. If we loot the grain, won’t we be no better than bandits? How can we expect the people to follow us after that?”
Yuvan sneered. “Are you dense? Have the local officers seize the grain under the pretense of sending it to the Southern Frontier for the war effort. This will enrage the people of Valken, and we can send someone to rally them to join the uprising. It’s a win-win situation.”
Hearing that he wouldn’t need to spend his own money, Samson was visibly pleased. “Understood. In that case, I’ll coordinate with Mr. Harper.”
That night, Yuvan didn’t sleep at all.
This was never the plan he and Wayne had carefully devised.
Starting a rebellion in a remote province, with no allies in the capital and attempting to storm it head-on- how absurdly difficult would that be?
Their original plan had been far more calculated. The idea was to amass an army large enough to begin a slow, deliberate march toward the areas surrounding the capital. There, they would establish a foothold and wait for an opportune moment.
At that point, with Eleanor scheming inside the capital and securing support from several influential families, they would have allies to bolster their position. After all, they had placed many of Henry’s daughters in noble households as concubines to curry favor.
Then, they would choose the perfect time, preferably when a war broke out. When the bandits and refugees caused havoc, Yuvan’s forces would then converge just outside the capital before marching straight in and storming the palace.
But all of that had crumbled because of the incident at Stone Village.
Tiberius had been captured and the suicide soldiers were now in enemy hands, forcing Yuvan’s hand far earlier than planned.
That was why he had hesitated for so long before taking action. The odds of success were far too slim. An uprising in the districts had little hope of shaking the capital.
Although the people knew about it and it sparked some discussion, many thought the so-called uprising and proclamation were just too ridiculous.
For one, the claim that Sandoria was attacking the Southern Frontier was dubious at best. Even if it were true, Sandoria’s ambitions had been a known threat for years. They had attempted comebacks before, so how could anyone pin that on Salvador’s supposed incompetence?
And as for the accusation of inept generals there hadn’t even been a battle yet, let alone a defeat. On what grounds could anyone claim the generals were useless?