Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World

Chapter 203: The worried Falmer

The grand royal chamber of Luak’s castle was a symbol of opulence, one that mirrored the desire of swallowing the whole North. The tapestries and curtains lining the walls were crafted from the furs of bears and foxes, luxurious materials in the North, expensive enough to buy a whole village. Yet, despite this grandeur, there was a stifling sense of decay, like an old tree ready to fall.

Falmer lay sprawled across a massive bed that took up nearly half the room, surrounded by a dozen women. They were all naked, but some of them had bruises all over their pale skin, while others pretended to be asleep with tight shut eyes, curling their bodies as if trying to disappear. None of them dared to move or speak, even though the beast was asleep.

Cough.

Cough.

Suddenly, a rough cough broke the silence. Falmer jerked upright, his hand clitching his throat. His mouth was dry, his throat burning as if he had swallowed dirt. He struggled to swallow but couldn’t, his throat felt tight and scratchy, making it hard to breathe.

"W-Water!" Falmer tried to shout, but his voice was hoarse and weak. He looked around the room, his eyes wide with desperation. "M-Maids!"

Despite hearing him, none of the women moved. They were too afraid to draw attention to themselves. Falmer’s eyes darted around the room, desperate. His gaze stopped on a jug of water resting on the table next to the bed. With a grunt, he crawled over the women, pushing their bodies aside without a care. One of them flinched as his knee pressed into her ribs, but she stayed quiet, biting her lip to stop herself from crying out.

Falmer grabbed the jug and drank the water in one long gulp, finally easing the painful dryness in his throat. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and glared down at the maid who lay on the bed, pretending to sleep. She was still, but Falmer knew she was awake. He could tell by the way her eyelids trembled and her hands shook slightly.

"Well, do not just stand there like an idiot!" Falmer roared, his voice filled with fury. He struck the guard across the face with the back of his hand, hard enough to send the man stumbling. "Find out what’s going on!"

The guard swallowed his pride, his face stinging from the blow. "Yes, my king," he said stiffly, bowing before rushing down the hallway, his boots echoing off the stone floor.

Falmer’s face twisted in anger, watching the guard’s figure disappear into the darkness - "Useless," he muttered. "Every single one of them is useless."

He continued walking toward his private study room, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling gnawing at him. But the quakes beneath his feet would not stop. The walls groaned as the quivering intensified, and a small part of him began to feel something he hadn’t felt in years, fear.

"It’s probably nothing," he muttered to himself. "Just a small quake. Nothing to worry about."

Falmer entered his study room, and for the first time in ages, he locked the doors behind him. He even went as far as to slide a thick wooden bar across the door. He had always been reckless and did not usually trust his instincts, but tonight something was gnawing at him. He could feel that something dangerous was nearing him. This feeling drove him to take this measures.

Though no cries or alarms had echoed through the palace, the silence itself felt like a warning. It was too quiet. The kind of quiet that settled over a battlefield right before the bloodshed began. And, Falmer was right, something was indeed wrong within the capital.

Outside the palace, the real threat was already moving.

Henry and his cavalry advanced through the capital’s streets, their horses’ hooves muffled by the thick layer of snow covering the ground. Inside the houses, the people who heard or saw it, remained still, afraid to even make a sound.