Roland knew the winds were always changing in the royal family because Benjamin almost took his place as crown prince and he had always been afraid that he would be the outcast of the Maximus family.
In fact, according to Sigrid’s precognitive dream, Benjamin did become emperor although he gave up the throne after only a day.
Sigrid knew because Emmah and the queen had almost cost her the position she was working hard to keep. She had always expected to fight against Emmah but the queen had taken her by surprise. She had once time thought that they would be allies but things did not work out as she hoped.
Elarin knew of these winds because it had taken the murder of a royal consort and framing of a queen to put her where she was. Just like those two had come and gone, it was not impossible for the same thing to happen to her.
It was why she was not very troubled with the illness of the king and safely secure in the knowledge that she had a royal child that guaranteed her safety.
"Anyway," Duke Thorin continued. "Alexander convinced the noble lords to join him and work together. He talked about the success in the capital of the kingdom and the poverty of the north. He told them that he was not interested in power, he just wanted is old lifestyle back."
"And they believed him!" Elarin exclaimed in disbelief.
Duke Thorin laughed. "They were fools indeed but there is no denying that he made them rich. They put aside their insecurities and saw profit instead of destruction. They set up farms, shops, trade routes and sold nuts through the empire. They even started to export the nuts out of Medoris.
I do not know what kind of luck Alexander Ridley had but he found seven other types of nuts in The Mystic grove over the years. Other nobles sent in men and they came back dead or empty handed. Other people also tried their luck but they were not successful, only Alexander ever was.
He transformed the north into a nut empire--a powerhouse of trade. He was given the name the nut king by the people. He built schools, hospitals, roads and even started to take care of the soldiers that served on the northern boarder.
By the time the crown prince realized how powerful the exiled prince had grown it was too late. His influence scared the old emperor himself as he saw the the north seceding from the rest of Medoris.
Some of the emperor’s advisors urged him do away with Alexander but the fourth prince had a different idea. The emperor was not famous in the north but his son Alexander was and it presented a unique opportunity. He advised his father to use Alexander as an extension to himself to rule in the north but, their father-son relationship was strained. Alexander was not willing to be under his father’s thumb anymore. He had a strong grudge against his brother for killing his son."
Duke Thorin cleared his throat. "According to his side of the story, he and the dead crown princess had been involved long before she ever met the crown prince. The crown prince had seen her in the market when she was shopping with her maids.
He took one look at her beautiful face and fell in love. He did not even court her but went straight to her father and demanded for her hand in marriage. Because of his position, her father was not able to refuse.
Alexander was away at the time, the emperor had sent him to another city for an inspection. By the time he returned, his brother had married his beloved."
"So they loved each other too much to let go even after she was married." Elarin drew a conclusion to Alexander’s love story.
Duke Thorin nodded while taking a sip of water. "It is exactly what happened. For him, the child that was killed was not a tool to help him steal power, it was the fruit of his love with his beloved.
The woman that was killed was the great love of his life, Lady Isolde Davis. His grudge against his brother Leon was deep, deeper than the ocean’s sorrow. In order to broker some peace between the crown prince, royal family and Alexander, the emperor gave him the title of Grand duke under his mother’s maiden. His independent house was named Larkhaven after his grandfather. He even adopted the name and became Alexander Ridley Larkhaven. Since then, he kept to the north and never stepped foot in the capital ever again."
"Until now." Sigrid said.
"Oh." The duke responded curiously.
Without twisting and dallying, Sigrid got her phone and showed them footage of the banquet covered by a Medorian television.
"The golden throne is empty, all the noble lords are seeking to be the next emperor. Alexander Ridley had tossed his hat in the ring." She said. "Honestly, the way I see it, that man was born to be an emperor. He took a wasteland like the north you have described and turned it into the second most successful region of Medoris. He provided for the people in a way their emperor did not. If I was a Medorian and we were voting, he would have my vote."
"Mine too." Elarin said.
"But grandfather, how did you know this story? You are even familiar with details that other people are not aware of." Sigrid was very curious about this.
"It’s true. I have never heard of a love story between Alexander and Isolde." Elarin nodded.
Roland had not heard of it either.
"I heard it from the man himself." The duke smiled with joy. "Remember that our two empires were always competing for the region of Nemoris. Our side sent spies into Nemoris an did theirs. I was a spy pretending to be a businessman and he was a real businessman introducing his nuts to Nemoris.
I was on the run because my identity had been found out and he was on the run because someone had tried to assassinate him. Anyway, I saved his life but we both ended up with injuries and we had to hide for three days in an inn in a small village.
I don’t know why he told me his life story, but he did. The assassins that were coming after him had been sent by his brother the crown prince. He asked me for advise after sharing his story and I told him that a man who leaves his enemies breathing is a man that has surrendered his head and he should make sure that he has prepared his coffin and put his affairs in order.
On the fourth morning, his men found us and we went out separate ways. Three months later I heard that the Medorian crown prince was dead and the fourth prince had taken his place." He turned his head and looked at the sky, "I have often wondered if my words led to the death of the crown prince somehow."
It was the second time in his life that duke Thorin was sharing this story and the first time he was asking this question out loud.