Mated To The Cruel Prince
Chapter 601: Change In The Winter Court

Chapter 601: Change In The Winter Court

High lord Karle was consumed by anxiety, his brow glistening with cold sweat as he waited for Prince Aldric. Despite sending messages back to the palace and dispatching scouts, there was still no sign of him.

"Didn’t you claim to have seen Prince Aldric?" he snapped at his assistant, who flinched at his tone. His nerves were frayed, and he lashed out at those around him.

His assistant responded cautiously, "That was the report from the Fae guard stationed at the border."

Lord Karle gripped the bridge of his nose tightly, fighting to contain his rising anger. The pounding of his heart reverberated through his chest, fueled by his worst fears. Aldric was nowhere to be found, intensifying his dread. Yet, the thought that his assistant might have been mistaken from the beginning was even more terrifying. Would all this be for nothing?

"Bring forth the fae guard who claimed to have spotted Prince Aldric," he ordered with a chilling tone.

Within moments, the trembling fae guard stood before the high lord. Lord Karle’s visage darkened with rage, his fury palpable enough to intimidate the stoutest of souls.

"Where is Prince Aldric?" he demanded furiously.

"M-my lord, I cannot say. I merely witnessed him at the border and relayed the information," stammered the guard.

"And now?" Lord Karle’s voice thundered.

"I assumed he was en route to the palace, my lord. I contemplated following him, but...," the guard trailed off, implying the peril he sensed in shadowing the dark Fae prince.

"You useless wretch!" Lord Karle’s boot collided with the guard’s chest, and he unleashed his pent-up frustration, raining blows upon the hapless fae. Why were those around him so utterly incompetent? The anger boiled within him, finding release in the physical exertion of his assault.

"Disperse! Find my nephew by any means necessary!" Lord Karle’s voice thundered as he issued his command to the soldiers.

Despite some soldiers having already searched for Aldric, they continued to obey out of fear of invoking the high lord’s wrath. Yet, as expected, their efforts yielded nothing. Lord Karle’s frustration grew, convinced that the fae guard had fabricated the sighting. It had been years since Aldric had visited the Winter court, and if he were truly present, why was he hiding? The rumors painted Aldric as anything but a coward, leaving Lord Karle uncertain of whom to trust or what course of action to take.

When a soldier arrived with news of an unknown group of fae feeding the villagers nearby, Lord Karle’s anger surged. He remained skeptical of the sudden appearance of these fae, immediately linking them to Aldric’s supposed arrival. However, his men reported no trace of Aldric, and the group lacked the royal insignia expected of any carriage bearing a member of the royal family.

Not to mention, why would Aldric bother to feed a group of destitute villagers? The tales circulating about Aldric depicted him not as a magnanimous figure, but rather as a terrifying predator who preyed upon both the weak and strong alike. He was an apex predator, a mad fae who thrived on danger. So, the notion of such a nefarious individual extending a gesture of goodwill by feeding hungry faeries seemed utterly incongruous.

Hence Lord Karle seethed with anger as he mounted his horse, surrounded by his uniformed guards. How dare a group of unknown Faeries encroach on his territory and feed a bunch of villagers without his permission? It was an affront to his authority, a direct challenge to his rule. They should have known better than to act without consulting him first.

With a fierce determination in his eyes, Lord Karle led his guards through the wintry landscape, his mind focused solely on finding and confronting these intruders. They were supposed to come to him first, bearing gifts as a token of respect, and only then would he consider permitting them to do whatever they wanted—after taking his rightful share of the goodies, of course.

Lord Karle hadn’t always been consumed by bitterness and anger. In the early days, he harbored grand visions for the Winter Court and yearned to see it prosper. However, everything changed when Nora married Oberon, and her eventual demise marked the beginning of the Winter Court’s decline in relevance and power.

It seemed as though Fae Queen Maeve harbored a deep-seated resentment towards Nora, and her actions appeared intent on dismantling the Winter Court as a form of vengeance. Swiftly, she replaced courtiers and ministers within the King’s palace with her own summer Faeries, gradually diminishing the once dominant presence of the Winter Court.

With King Oberon increasingly preoccupied with the establishment of Astaria, the Winter Court found itself left to fend for survival on its own. Unlike other courts, particularly the Spring Court renowned for its rich soil and agricultural prowess, the Winter Court languished in a state of decline. The land yielded little, with growth stunted, forcing the court to rely heavily on its craftsmanship and artistry, trading with other courts merely to sustain itself.

However, as other courts thrived under the leadership of their formidable queens, the Winter Court found itself lacking a strong contender. Regrettably, Lord Karle lacked the strength and aptitude of his sister, rendering him unfit to rule. To maintain trade relations with other courts, he compromised his principles, swiftly becoming a mere puppet manipulated by powerful nobles from neighboring courts.

The Winter Court soon became a pawn in the hands of these influential figures, with Lord Karle’s true nature emerging as he pursued his own self-interest. While the ruling class and nobility flourished, the lower Faeries were left to fend for themselves, their struggles ignored and their suffering overlooked.

But now, Lord Karle knew things were about to be shaken up with the sudden presence of Aldric, his nephew who had a fiendish grin on his face as he stared him down. The only problem was that Karla doubted he would live long to see that change.

Back to the present.....