The Crown's Seduction
Chapter 317: Hades Coven

Chapter 317: Hades Coven

Raul let out a sigh as he made his way to an undisclosed location. With his position as the Minister of Defense now fully established, it was time for him to actually do his job. While it wasn’t the most glamorous of them all, it was a job that only he could fulfill as he did her best to look as unassuming as possible.

After all, he was currently making his way to grant a meeting request with a mysterious cult that just so happened to want to meet him.

’This better be worth it,’ he thought to himself as he trudged through murky mud and swampy lands. ’For a meeting spot, this is very much well-thought out and hidden away from the public eye.’

In truth, he had a hunch on who exactly were the people behind this supposed cult. His own party that he once supported had gone silent for a while now, not even giving him hints on what was happening while he re-established his relations with Nikolai and the rest of the royal family. They were still opposed to his half-brother the last time he met them, and he could only assume that they had something to do with this cult business if they suddenly decided to just go a step further and establish themselves as some kind of secret organization.

Still, that was just a hunch. For all he knew, this was yet another faction that wanted to cozy up to him to try and have him take the throne for one reason or another. Nevertheless, he was going to make sure he knew who exactly these people were and expose them should their intentions prove to be detrimental to the kingdom’s existence.

"Ah, you’ve finally arrived."

Raul raised a brow as he finally seemingly reached his destination. Looking around, they were currently atop a hill of some sort, and in front of him was a robed figure with a fox mask obscuring his face.

"So you’re the one that requested that I come here," Raul carefully stated as he made sure to keep himself alert at all times. "What do you want from me?"

"From you? Well, that would be telling," the man in the fox mask cryptically replied. "For one, we simply want what is best for the kingdom, and you will be the one to help usher in that new era of peace and prosperity that we want."

Raul narrowed his eyes at those words. That alone meant that this group was some kind of faction that vied for control of the throne. They wanted him for his claim for the crown then, which meant that the stakes of him finding out who they were just considerably shot up.

"So you say," Raul pondered as he crossed his arms. "And what is your group called?"

"Ah, that would be better explained somewhere more.... Discreet."

Raising his brow further, Raul squinted as the masked man gestured for him to follow him. He didn’t know where they would go, but for him to know more about this mysterious group, he had to play along and see where this would take him. At the very least, he knew that they needed him alive to play his part for the throne, which meant that it would be safe for him to follow since they wouldn’t just kill him outright.

"Lead the way then," Raul lightly nodded. "And don’t forget that I have my eye on you."

"Rest assured that we mean you no harm," the masked man bowed slightly. "We only seek what is best for the kingdom, and you still have a part to play to that end."

Taking a breath, Raul did his best to remain calm as he began following the masked man’s steps. To his surprise, however, the man simply clapped before a hidden entrance suddenly appeared on the top of the hill.

"This way."

Nodding, he kept his eyes peeled for any traps or foul play as he followed the masked man down into the hill itself. The deeper they descended, the more Raul felt like he was getting far too deep into this cult for his own safety even as he reiterated to himself that no harm should be able to come to him with how seemingly important he was to them. Again, he just had to play along, and nothing bad would happen to him all while he gathered information about this obviously dangerous cult.

Coming across a set of stairs, Raul blinked as he simply followed the masked man’s pace. Wherever this hidden base was, it was deep underground as the temperature of the air around them began to cool into a chilly embrace. Torches dimly lit the spiral staircase, making sure that they wouldn’t trip and fall to their deaths as the depths of this secret base almost made it feel like they were descending into hell itself.

"We’re finally here."

Raul perked up as he heard the masked man’s words. True enough, they finally reached the end of the staircase and they found themselves in the middle of what looked to be a massive forum. Around them were seats all filled with people in robes and masks. He tried to make out the identities of some of them, but unfortunately, they were all too well hidden for him to even try to parse their identities.

"Who are you people?" Raul couldn’t help but ask as the man in the fox mask turned to face him once more.

"We, Lord Raul, are the Hades Coven," the masked man replied as he stood atop the center platform of the forum. "And before you ask, I am the leader of this Coven. You may call me Fox, as that is simply who I am before all of our members."

Raul narrowed his eyes as he gave the members another look to see if he could gain something more to relay back to Nikolai. The longer he stared at them, the more he noticed that they were all wearing animal masks to hide their identities. Some were wearing eagle masks, while others were wearing unassuming rat masks that made them look harmless by comparison.

"First of all, we would like to offer you our congratulations on your new post as the Minister of Defense," Fox declared. "For that, we give you our heartfelt applause."

As if on cue, the masked people around him exploded into applause as they all clapped for him. It almost felt stiff as they all moved as one, none of them deviating from their patterns as their applause slowly trickled out as the seconds passed by.

"Now, with that out of the way, I suppose I should answer the question of why we called you here," Fox began as he gestured to the people all around them. "As I’ve already stated before, we believe that the current king is squandering the potential of Valcrez with his peaceful policies. We believe that we as a people are stronger than that. We should be entitled to more of the world than what we have now. To take what is rightfully ours."

"And you want me to do that for you," Raul scoffed as he crossed his arms. What he heard just now was just a war waiting to happen. Still, he had to play along to see where this all led to. "As someone that has a valid claim for the throne, you want me to help you with this dream."

"Exactly," Fox zealously declared. "Only you alone have the right to lead Valcrez to its rightful place in the world. You saw what Nikolai has done to our sovereignty by marrying that woman from Ebodia. He has decided to parley with kingdoms inferior to us, stalling our growth and attaching anchors to the kingdom that shouldn’t be there in the first place."

Raul inwardly scoffed at that. If anything, Nikolai’s marriage to Mineah had only brought prosperity to the kingdom. Still, he wasn’t going to say any of that.

"Hmm... You might be right in that regard," Raul bluffed as he scoffed. "Perhaps we have gone too soft."

"That is exactly what we stand for!" Fox eagerly stated. "You see that our potential is being held back by Nikolai’s weak rule. Only you can see what needs to be done, and with our help, you’ll be able to lead us into a future where nobody can stand in Valcrez’s way!"

In a different life, Raul would’ve eagerly said yes to such a proposition. Unfortunately for them, he was a changed man, and he was happy to instead try to see who exactly was behind Fox’s mask. This Hades Coven was a clear threat to the peace and stability of the kingdom, and he was going to make sure that they got the proper punishment that they deserved for trying to instigate a rebellion within their kingdom’s borders.

"You make an interesting proposition," Raul smirked. "Perhaps there’s a future in this."

"Indeed!" Fox declared as he offered his hand to him. "Together, we can lead Valcrez into a new golden age!"

Taking the deal, Raul shook Fox’s hand even as he already planned the group’s downfall with each second that passed. If anything, this was going to be an interesting investigation, and it would be a good way to truly establish his position as Valcrez’s new Minister of Defense.