Hagen looked over his own reflection in the large mirror placed inside his bedroom. He had a pair of black trousers as well as a black waistcoat over a silver tunic, a single signet ring on his right thumb to display his power without looking overly ostentatious. He wanted his vassals to sympathize with him and would use every tool at his disposal to do so, especially with Edgarth working against him.

Already Hagen noticed how some of his vassals let out signs of defiance to his authority. For now, they were just little things such as not arriving at the expected time or choosing not to stay at the houses chosen by Hagen.

Before, Hagen could simply impose his authority, knowing full well that his vassals would follow his decision. He didn’t have this certainty this time. He’d need to convince them that deposing Rass would be the right course of action. If he tried to do it by force, ignoring their concerns, then he’d have a much bigger problem on his hands.

Today would begin the talks to decide not only what course the war would take, but also if it would happen at all. Edgarth was already a given to stand against it. Viscounts Bole and Hardwick, on the other hand, were almost certain to follow Hagen. Viscounts Dyser and Cafferen, as well as viscountess Hawick, seemed to still be undecided.

Those were his direct vassals, but there were still some particularly powerful barons he had to pay attention to, namely Semar Teer and Crann Ullrich. Hagen wouldn't put it past those two to disagree with one another solely for the sake of it.

The bedroom door opened and Athalia walked in. She was dressed in a blue silk dress with a short train trailing behind her as she walked. “We’ve got a problem.”

“What else is new?” he asked while tightening his waistcoat.

“Edgarth arrived, and he brought a guest with him.” She came to a stop by his side. “Joran Skanler.”

Hagen paused. “Damn it.” The image of a portly man with a thin mustache and an excessive number of jewelry pieces flashed in his mind. Compared to Rass, Joran was a much more likable person, but that wasn’t saying much. Few people were as detestable as the current earl of Knight’s Crossing, both as a ruler and as a person.

Originally a simple knight at the time of Rass’s father, Joran rose to become a trusted counselor to the current earl. To Hagen, this only spoke against the man, as it meant that every atrocity committed by Rass happened with his consent, including what happened to both Vasilis and his wife Marietta. Still, he was a well-liked figure and would prove to be another hindrance to Hagen’s plans.

Hagen put on his brown coat. “Let’s go meet them. Every passing second is another chance for those two to poison more people against us.”

Athalia nodded and followed him towards the door.

Two pairs of guards greeted him as soon as he stepped out of the bedroom. Dressed in dark gray armor, those guards had been posted on every corner of the castle. Hagen couldn’t allow anything to go wrong here.

He and Athalia descended the flights of stairs, the sounds of commotion soon reaching them.

“How dare you speak like that to me you filthy commoner, I ought to teach you a lesson.”

“I’d like to see you try, you oversized pig. You and your cousin’s days are already numbered, but I wouldn’t mind speeding up your fate.”

Marietta and Joran faced each other down in the middle of the throne room. Edgarth stood by Joran’s side while Vasilis and Devran did the same for Marietta. The rest of the nobles present watched from further behind.

Body-wise, Joran was the perfect example of someone who had dedicated his youth to fighting, only to let himself go with age. His large belly threatened to rip open his golden waistcoat whenever he moved. When it came to clothes though, the man seemed intent on displaying all of his money through jewelry. Rings of both platinum and gold adorned each of his fingers while necklaces with different precious stones reached down to his chest.

Marietta, on the other hand, seemed visibly uncomfortable in her black gown. In fact, only the sheathed dagger on her hip didn’t look out of place. The dagger had a large green emerald for a pommel while its handle was wrapped in white leather. Despite being sheathed, Hagen knew that its blade was made of rippled steel.

Back when Rass Skanler had Vasilis and Marietta imprisoned in his dungeons, they only managed to escape thanks to the efforts of their son Devran as well as one Seimon of Halport. During the escape, they managed to steal a box with four honour daggers gifted to the previous earl.

They were all made of simple rippled steel, but their pommels were made of different precious stones. Marietta had the emerald one at her hip while Vasilis had the diamond one. Devran’s was likely hidden inside his clothes as he wasn’t one to display it around, but it should be the ruby one from what Hagen recalled.

That left out the sapphire dagger on Seimon’s hands. The older man seemed to be nowhere in sight. Now that Hagen stopped to think about it, he hadn’t heard of the man in a long while, ever since Vasilis disappearance years ago. He had to wonder if the two were connected somehow, and decided to ask about it later.

“Joran, Marietta, it’s nice to see you both in good health, but please restrain yourselves. Don’t forget what we’re all reunited here for.”