Chapter 125

　　Present

　　"-Nothing to do with the attack. Argyle is innocent. I ask that Havencroft join him in bringing the true culprit of the attack to justice. With your support, Argyle will have the means to bring the Succession War to its rightful conclusion." Amara spoke through a pre-recorded message.

　　Kal observed her carefully, immediately noticing the signs of distress and hardship on her face. Wherever Amara had been the past year, she had suffered for it.

　　"As you can see, Baron Caledon, we have little choice. Argyle has agreed to turn over Amara in exchange for our complete support." Duke Mason Havencroft explained.

　　"I find it hard to believe that Prince Argyle only recently freed her from her imprisonment. Augustus had her confined with Corsairs?" Kal asked with scorn. No one would find that answer plausible. It was likely that Argyle had her the entire time, waiting for the moment when freeing her would bring him the most benefit.

　　"Regardless, she must be returned. Havencroft will never abandon one of their own." Mason replied, gesturing for Magnus to keep calm from next to him.

　　"I understand. But what does this have to do with me?" Kal asked. He had made significant gains over the past year, his forces expanding rapidly. But he was still insignificant to this conflict compared to the Ducal Houses.

　　Every day, more and more stories about the war made their way onto the Imperial Net. Everywhere the borders between one Ducal Sector and another met, forces belonging to the two sides came into conflict.

　　Skirmishes had escalated into invasions, and thousands of planets exchanged hands daily. Tens of millions have died, and waves of refugees have plunged the more stable worlds on the interior into chaos.

　　"Very little, except for your connection to Mare. Argyle has made it clear that he wants Ouroboros. Since Mare is its Pilot, she would need to accompany it or have her connection severed." Mason explained, looking at Mare gravely.

　　"That could kill her." Magnus said, his tone making it clear he had no intention of allowing that to happen.

　　"You see the dilemma, I cannot put Mare in danger, but I am required to hand her over to Prince Argyle as part of our agreement. The only way to avoid that would be if she were no longer here or a part of House Havencroft." Mason clarified, and Kal caught the meeting.

　　"You want her to come with me? Of course, Caledon has always been open to her." Kal offered with relief.

　　"There is more to it than that. Mare would still be part of Havencroft and the Royal Family. She would need to join your house officially." Mason stated with implication in his voice. Kal was at a loss to understand before Magnus interrupted.

　　"You will need to marry her, Kalen. If you do, Mare will enter your house. She wouldn`t be a Princess anymore. She would become Baroness Caledon.` Ouroboros would come with her as dowry, along with a sworn oath that Havencroft will do everything possible to keep Caledon from this conflict." Magnus explained.

　　"Argyle would have to accept this once we explain that it was the wishes of the Emperor before his passing." Mason added.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

　　"You said it yourself when you left Terra with her that the celebrations were intended to be an announcement of your betrothal. We`ll support that idea. Neither Argyle nor Augustus can undo the Emperor`s command. I`m confident all the Ducal Houses, on both sides, will uphold it once we make it clear that you both will remain neutral and make no statements regarding the succession."

　　"I don`t know what to say." Kal stammered, turning to Mare, who smiled at him. He smiled back, and he knew his answer.

　　"Of course, I agree." Kal stated firmly, and Mare squeezed his hand tightly.

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　　"I`m sorry, Kal. I seem always to be dragging you into my mess." Mare said softly.

　　They were both in his quarters aboard his Starship, waiting to return to Caledon. He had thought they would leave immediately, but Duke Havencroft wanted them to stay until Argyle agreed with their conditions before setting off.

　　"It`s our mess now." Kal joked with a smile. "I would have been part of this regardless, Mare. I stole you away from Terra and gave you shelter on Caledon. Neither of the Princes would respect my desire for neutrality. I`m more than happy to use Havencroft as a shield. At least now, Argyle will have to respect our independence or risk alienating his greatest ally."

　　"I was surprised your father agreed to it. I always thought he didn`t like me." Kal said, changing the subject. Mare laughed at the comment. She hugged deeper into his arms, placing her head against his shoulder as they stared at Havencroft hovering outside the window.

　　"He still doesn`t, but he`s seen how far you are willing to go to protect me. I believe Mother had something to do with it as well. Remember that strange conversation I had with her the morning before the attack on Terra? She kept trying to pry information out of me about you. I had thought it was a concern for how close we were becoming, but now I think it was something more." Mare mused.

　　"I had thought it was her discovering how close I was becoming to the Empress. What other reason could she have?" Kal asked, and he felt Mare shake her head against his chest.

　　"I`m not sure. I suppose we will find out soon."

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　　Amara waited in the storage hold of the Starship for word from Havencroft. She had been forced to send a message to her husband on behalf of Argyle before they began to negotiate her release. The truth was she believed that he had nothing to do with the attack on Terra.

　　Her time with Johnathan convinced her that Augustus was the true culprit, and she had shared that fact with Argyle as soon as she was placed back into his care. But the reality was Argyle was at war, and even family couldn`t be fully trusted, not when the stakes were so high.

　　Her arms crossed, she waited with a pair of Argyle`s Imperial Guard, both wearing Exosuits and carrying Lasrifles.

　　It was only after nearly an hour that her brother appeared.

　　"It`s done. Havencroft has agreed, but there are some caveats." Argyle said, gesturing slightly for the Guard to pull back. With no one nearby to hear them, Argyle lowered his voice.

　　"Havecroft will join my side in the succession war, throwing their full support behind me. You will be transported to the surface immediately. But you should have told me that you had already entered into an agreement with Kalen Caledon regarding Marella. I dislike secrets, sister." Argyle stated, his tone flat and hard.

　　"What are you talking about?" Amara asked with genuine confusion.

　　"Marella and Kalen are betrothed on our Father`s orders. You didn`t wait long after finding out he was to meet the envoys. You work quickly."

　　"I had no idea. I will be honest with you, Argyle. I broached the subject with mother, but I didn`t have an opportunity to pursue it further before we were attacked. There is no marriage agreement." Amara replied.

　　"There is now. They are to be wed, with Ouroboros as dowry and Havencroft ensuring their independence and safety. The nerve of them to think that a Titan is a toy they can give away. They have no right to it." Argyle growled, his fist clenching beside him.

　　"It doesn`t matter. Kalen is unaware of Father`s plans for him. The envoys will meet with whoever wins the throne, which will be you with our support. Marella, Kalen and Ouroboros is irrelevant. If it truly matters that much to you, have Marella declare her support for you as well, along with Caledon." Amara advised.

　　Argyle thought for a moment, running through the situation in his head, before nodding.