Revenge of the Duchess

Chapter 39

A/N: I own nothing but plot. Enjoy!

****************

With the reveal of the Colchis princess being disqualified, the aristocratic faction also knew that Prince Jason whom they supported as the next heir to the throne was no longer a puppet they thought they could control. Plans were made underground for a coup.

The movement of foreign troops into the Cuoran nation did not go unnoticed by the Cuoran crown princess and the second prince. As a test for the future Queen, King Zeus handed all authority of dealing with the situation to Crown Princess Thalia. King Zeus would put on a facade of not being aware of the storm brewing in order to not alarm the aristocratic faction while Crown Princess Thalia and Prince Jason dealt with things underneath the surface. But Thalia was sure that her father just wanted to spend out the rest of his reign visiting his women.

"He's here, Your Highness."

"Let him in," Thalia stated.

Ethan Nakamura stepped in and bowed.

"Welcome. Have some tea before we began."

Thalia observed the former member of the White Knights Order. Nakamura had dark circles underneath his eyes, and he was looking more gaunt than when he was still a knight.

"You've been working hard," she noted. "Eat and rest a little before you make your report."

Nakamura cracked a slight but grateful smile, the effort looking as though it could nearly break him. Thalia calmly sipped her own tea as Nakamura wolfed down three sandwiches and cups of tea. Though she was eager to hear the information the former White Knight had brought, the haggard appearance of Nakamura made her sympathize with him.

After Ethan Nakamura had been used as a scapegoat in the fiasco that was the attack on the future Duchess Jackson and Princess Piper of the Cytheran nation, the Nakamura family had been dragged down into the pits. They might have been nobles in name, but with no source of income and a reputation that was no more than dirt on the bottom of the Castellans' shoes, it had been hard for the Nakamuras to survive. Thalia had guessed that the former White Knight would be seething with rage and eager for revenge against the people who had used him and then tossed him aside. After all, the enemy of an enemy was an ally. She had been curious what information Nakamura heard when he asked to meet privately with her.

Brushing off the crumbs from the corner of his mouse, Nakamura handed over a thin file of documents summarizing his information. He still had friends in the White Knights Order who sympathized with his firing from the White Knights Order.

"Pretty risky of you to enter the imperial castle," Thalia noted as she scanned the papers.

"I wanted to prove my loyalty."

Thalia curled her lips slightly. Nakamura had been loyal to Luke Castellan until the latter had made him a scapegoat. It was a reminder that she had to use Nakamura carefully.

The information that Nakamura gathered overlapped what her own intelligence network had provided proving that what information gathered was correct. The aristocratic faction was indeed gathering mercenaries and hiding foreign troops from thee Colchis kingdom in order to strike at the Cuoran nation. Large amounts of money was being poured to sustain these troops. Thalia wondered if she could force the aristocratic faction to pour more money into paying these mercenaries to run the Cuoran nobles' coffers dry.

"Very well," Thalia said finally. "I look forward to our collaboration."

"I thank you, Your Highness. You will not regret it."