Chapter 136 - The New Montferrand

Chapter 136: 136 - The New Montferrand

The western hall was already full when Margaret entered beside Aurelian. No celebration had been arranged because nothing here deserved it. House Montferrand was not marking the rise of a new Head. It was surviving the fall of the old one.

Members of the secondary branch filled the centre of the hall, ringed by Crown officials and witnesses from Valebrand.

Most stood quietly in Montferrand colours, without the confidence Margaret expected from one of the Ten Great Houses, because all of them knew why they were there.

Only days earlier the main branch had controlled everything carrying their family name. Now many of its members sat imprisoned, others waited on judgment, and the Crown had seized enough documents to fill several rooms inside the castle.

Margaret had read some herself. Correspondence, financial records, orders bearing Estienne Montferrand’s authorization, lists of officers whose loyalty ran to the former Head rather than to Valleroy.

The investigation was still running, and today only decided who would be left standing afterward.

Aurelian walked to the front of the hall without checking whether anyone approved, and Margaret followed until they reached the man waiting before the assembled branch.

He was older than she had expected, close to fifty, dark hair touched with grey and a composed face that gave away almost nothing.

Edmond Montferrand.

Until recently he had carried weight inside the family while standing far enough from the succession that nobody outside Montferrand would have remembered his name. That was over now.

Aurelian stopped in front of him. "Edmond Montferrand."

Edmond lowered his head. "Your Highness."

Aurelian waited until the hall had gone completely silent. "The former leadership of your house has been judged. Your branch cooperated with the investigation, so from today the family is your responsibility."

Margaret watched Edmond closely, and his expression barely moved.

Aurelian raised one hand, and a Crown official stepped forward with a document already prepared. "As of this moment, you’re recognised as Head of House Montferrand."

Edmond took the document with both hands. "I understand what that means."

Margaret offered the small smile expected of a princess, with nothing real behind it. She did not know Edmond well enough to feel anything for him, and she had no intention of pretending that swapping one branch for another made Montferrand trustworthy.

Edmond returned the gesture politely before turning back to Aurelian. "You’ll have the family’s full cooperation."

"I know I will."

The answer came out calm, though the wording left almost nothing open, and Margaret caught several people behind Edmond stiffen.

That was the reality of the new Montferrand. They kept their lands, their name and their seat among the Great Houses, yet nobody was going home as though nothing had happened.

Several high-ranking officers had already lost their posts. Administrators tied to Estienne’s branch were being questioned, and more would stay under investigation for weeks.

Part of the family archive had been confiscated, Crown officials would remain in Montferrand territory until the restructuring finished, and every position emptied by the arrests would be filled under far heavier scrutiny.

Edmond was becoming Head of a Great House, and inheriting one that would be watched from every direction.

Aurelian laid out the conditions without raising his voice. "The members of the main branch already sentenced stay in Crown custody. The rest will be judged as the investigation moves. Any official who took part in their crimes goes, whatever his rank."

Edmond nodded. "Understood."

"Your military command gets reorganised as well. Officers already cleared can keep their posts. Everyone else waits for confirmation."

Again Edmond accepted it without argument, and Margaret wondered how much of that obedience would survive the journey home.

Possibly all of it.

If he had any sense, he knew his branch had been handed the greatest opportunity it would ever get along with the clearest warning anyone could give. Aurelian had removed one ruling line.

He could remove another.

Margaret’s attention drifted toward her brother. The thought had been sitting at the back of her head for weeks, though watching him up there made it impossible to ignore.

Osric was still King.

Everyone used the title, orders still moved under the Crown’s authority, his seal still marked documents, and officially nothing about the succession had changed. Yet her father was nowhere in this room, and Aurelian was.

Aurelian had directed the investigation. Aurelian had decided how Montferrand would be rebuilt. Aurelian was standing before one of the Ten Great Houses telling its new Head what came next. Piece by piece, he was using a King’s authority without wearing the crown.

Margaret disliked that thought, though it did not surprise her, and it was also why she had helped him.

Not out of trust.

She had warned Adrien about her brother for a reason, and nothing since had made that warning unnecessary, since Aurelian remained ambitious, controlling and hard to predict.

Montferrand had crossed lines it should never have gone near, and Arquenay had done the same before them. If Great Houses could ignore the Crown and behave as though Valleroy were a loose collection of private domains, the kingdom would tear itself apart eventually.

Osric had let that weakness grow. Aurelian was cutting it out, and Margaret could distrust the man holding the knife while still agreeing that some things had to come off.

The ceremony ran nearly another hour. Documents were signed, responsibilities transferred, and several members of Edmond’s branch formally accepted positions left empty by the former leadership. Nothing dramatic happened, which was probably the point.

When it finally ended, Edmond bowed once more. "I’ll make sure Montferrand doesn’t forget what happened here."

Aurelian held his eyes. "Make sure it never has to happen twice."

That was the last thing Margaret heard before the hall began emptying. She stayed as long as protocol demanded, then went back to her own wing.

By the time she reached her room, Nimbus was asleep near the end of her bed and the light outside had faded considerably.

Margaret crossed to the window. The sky over Valebrand had turned dark grey, thick cloud covering everything past the castle towers, and a few drops struck the glass while she watched, then several more.

Rain.

Margaret opened the window and let the cool air in. After a day spent among nobles, officials and the remains of a fallen ruling family, the sound was strangely calming.

She leaned against the frame and watched the rain spread across Valebrand.

At least the day was ending well.