A Ghost's Wish [MxM]

27. A Guest

The tension was thick as Oliver led Draco and his men back to the manor. He didn't fault his men for their trepidation. He had only shown such a display of brutality a few times before, and none of his men from Wynter had witnessed it.

Oliver sighed and stopped his horse, and the others slowed their steps, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Boss?" Ian asked cautiously.

"Were you able to understand the basic situation from my conversation with the Ravager?" Oliver asked with a frown.

They were silent and looked hesitantly at Draco, holding the sleeping Cora in his arms.

"With all due respect, we should have this conversation elsewhere," one of the officers suggested as he glanced toward Draco.

"Draco can be trusted," Oliver said, surprising them. To their knowledge, Oliver and Draco had just met.

The officer was persistent and continued his protests. "You mentioned the Bierzen prince, so these matters should remain within Bierze."

Oliver's eyes narrowed. "We're of Wynter, not Bierze. You will do well to remember that."

The men flinched from his coarse tone.

"I was understating when I said that the Belelots are greedy. They're a gluttonous tumor threatening to consume the world we know." Oliver rubbed his eyes. "They're hands are bloodier than mine."

Oliver's words were treasonous, and Ian had wanted to stop him. "Boss, he is still your Crown Prince—"

His words were stopped by James hitting his arm. "Don't bother, Commander. That man doesn't deserve the courtesy of being addressed as our Prince."

Mark, Sal, and Sarah mirrored James' dark look.  Sarah knew of the turbulent relationship between Oliver and Piers, while the others were present when Oliver confessed about the abuse he had endured.

Mark's fists were clenched so tight his arms shook. "Lord Draco, we normally don't toss around treasonous words, but Piers—"

Draco interrupted. "I know. I'm acutely aware of Piers' depravity." His eyes lingered on Oliver. "Considering I was present when he stabbed Oliver."

The air shifted once again and had turned hostile. Oliver caught himself rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Ah, they weren't aware of that incident."

Oliver gave a helpless laugh which was tapered off with a sigh. He closed his eyes and steadied his emotions. He knew that he still felt a violent anger stirring inside of him.

"I despise the Belelots... but that is nothing compared to the loathing I harbor for the man they call the Ravager King." Oliver's voice cracked from the surmounting anger. "He tends to make me lose my composure."

Piers may have been a terrible fiance and king, but the one who pulled all the strings and thrust the world into painful chaos was the Ravager King—the associate.

"How do you know him?" Sarah asked. "Have you met before?"

Oliver peered at the mountain range behind them, knowing that the bastard who visited him in his cell was there.

"Yeah," he finally answered. They may not have met in this lifetime, but they have met.

He turned his horse around, ready to leave the conversation. But Draco was the one who stopped him when he asked, "What did he want from you?"

Oliver's gaze remained on him. "He wanted everything."

The Ravager King had taken his family, Draco's home, and threatened to destroy his soldiers. The only thing he had left to give to the Ravager King was his life, and the King had also taken that.