The Devil's Betrothed
Chapter 585: About Marquis Mortimer

Chapter 585: About Marquis Mortimer

Ana nodded. "He is the Lord of the largest territory in the kingdom, a crucial area that connects to Hatha, Thevailes, and parts of the Abetha border. All business relationships with Hatha and Thevailes are maintained through Marquis Mortimer. Also, he has his own strong military power which he had created under the guise of protecting borders with the three kingdoms. It is said that because of this, King Ailwin never upsets him as well."

"If something upsets him, there is always a fear that he will side with Thevailes and Hatha," Oriana commented. "Along with his own power and the other two kingdoms, he can create great trouble for Griven. In short, he is a ticking bomb, a potential great threat and King Ailwin must deal with him carefully."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Shouldn’t this threat be removed entirely from the root?" Oriana mused, thinking about Arlan. He was supernatural and could do anything he wanted, so why tolerate such troubles?

"Politics is not that simple, Your Highness," Ana, a finely educated daughter of the noble family, continued to explain. "Given that he owns the biggest territory with great power, they can revolt and create riots across the kingdom. Killing one person comes with the cost of killing thousands more and creating more numbers of rebels, then disturbing the peace of the entire kingdom," Ana explained. "If only he owned a smaller territory and less support, things would have been easier."

"How did he manage to gain so much power and that largest crucial territory in his hands? Didn’t king Ailwin see what could happen by letting one person have more power in his hands like this?" Oriana questioned.

"I’m not sure what happened two decades ago, as I wasn’t even born then, but I’ve heard some things from my family when they would discuss it," Ana replied.

"What is it?" Oriana inquired.

"Unlike other noble families that have ruled their territories for many generations, the Mortimer family is different," Ana began. "They rose to power quite suddenly. Before Marquis Mortimer’s family was in nobility, they were merchants. They arrived in this kingdom as travellers and set up their business. Perhaps he was blessed by the heavens because his business flourished quickly, and all his competitors were destroyed, making him the richest businessman."

"Interesting!" Oriana commented, prompting Ana to continue.

"Initially, in the past, the northeast territory was controlled by two most powerful and glorious noble families of that time among all the noble families in the kingdom. One family ruled the northern part and the other the eastern part. These families were relatives and collaborated to manage these large parts of the territory and were great help to king Ailwin’s ruling. Later, it was discovered that these two families were plotting against the King by siding with his enemies. All the evidences were found, and both families were annihilated, leaving none of their bloodline remaining."

"What?" Oriana exclaimed. "An entire bloodline?"

"Yes, Your Highness. It’s the rule that is being followed across the continent that if someone commits treason, their family and everyone they are related to, are punished with death. Even the women and kids are not to be spared. It is so that no one should ever dare to betray a royalty."

Oriana found it to be so cruel, "Is King Ailwin that heartless?" After interacting with King Ailwin closely for sometime now, she could not come up to imagine him to be so cruel.

Ana shook her head. "It was not His Majesty’s orders, as at that time King Ailwin was mourning his wife’s death and was unaware of what was happening far away at the north-east territory. It was Marquis Mortimer who carried out this plan along with other noble families who sided with him, under the guise of helping the King to protect the kingdom while the King was still grieving his wife’s death."

"Why does it all feel so suspicious?" Oriana murmured.

"According to my father, everyone was suspicious at the time, but no one could do anything as Marquis Mortimer had already taken control of that territory, and all the evidence pointed to those two families as guilty. Those who sided with Mortimer insisted that the King reward him for helping the kingdom by eliminating the traitors. The King could do nothing, as there was no evidence against Mortimer and by that time Marquis Mortimer had already gained a power that was not be trifle with. For the past two decades, he has ruled the largest territory alone, and till date no one can find any evidence to implicate him in anything."

Oriana raised a brow. "I wonder how my smart husband has not caught him yet and allowed such a person to be a threat to his kingdom?"

"I believe His Highness must have some plans?" Ana suggested.

Oriana smiled. "You seem to have so much confidence in my husband."

Ana lowered her head. "Do not misunderstand me, Your Highness, if I have spoken out of line. I was simply stating as a subject of this kingdom who believes their Crown Prince is a capable person and would not let an unjust thing happen to the people of this kingdom."

Oriana chuckled. "Why are you nervous? I don’t mind if you praise my husband. I know he is one of a kind and very capable. He has little tolerance for nuisance. Now, I wonder how he is going to handle it when the nuisance is at his doors."

Ana let out a sigh of relief and said, "Your Highness, you should be careful of his daughter."

"I believe she must have inherited the craftiness of her father," Oriana commented.

"It is said that she is spoiled by her father and has been raised with the goal of becoming the Queen of this kingdom."

"This Luis Marquis surely has wild imaginations," Oriana said, her eyes darkening as she thought while looking at her hand, ’How I would like to twist one frail neck. It would be fun when my hand slowly grips that soft and fragile neck and then slowly crushes it, causing the utmost pain but she won’t be able to make a sound even. Such a beautiful way of killing a spoiled and pampered daughter...’

"Your Highness?" Ana called out, noticing Oriana lost in thought while staring at her own hand.

The darkness in Oriana’s eyes faded, and she raised her gaze to look at Ana, only to hear her again. "We have reached, Your Highness."

Oriana nodded, seemingly lost in what had snapped inside her momentarily, but she was pulled out of it when Ana called.