Chapter 77 - Behind the Network

Chapter 77: 77 - Behind the Network

Aurelian nodded toward Vikir.

"He can tell you more about that part."

Vikir stepped forward from behind Adrien’s chair. Standing before kings and Crown Princes was clearly not where he was most comfortable, but his voice remained steady once he began.

"I was held there considerably longer than Lord Adrien was aware the camp existed. I saw prisoners brought in regularly, and I saw others taken away. Wagons arrived using paths away from the main roads, guards rotated, and different groups of prisoners were separated depending on where they were being sent."

Laurent looked directly at him. "And you’re certain this wasn’t something established shortly before my daughter was taken?"

"No, Your Majesty." Vikir shook his head. "It was operating well before that. I cannot tell you exactly when it started, but what I saw required organization that had already been in place for some time."

There was no hesitation in his answer, and Adrien could see Laurent studying him carefully. Vikir had no reason to exaggerate any of it. If anything, the way he spoke made the whole thing sound worse, because there was nothing dramatic in his tone. He was simply describing what he had lived through.

Amelia spoke next, her tone considerably quieter than Vikir’s but no less serious.

"I treated some of those who were recovered." Her eyes remained on Laurent rather than the humans opposite them. "Several were badly underfed. There were old restraint wounds, infections that had gone untreated and injuries that couldn’t have come from only a few days in captivity."

She paused briefly.

"Some had clearly been moved before they ever reached that camp. Whatever Adrien found was only one part of the route."

Lucien followed once Amelia finished. "The location matters as well. They were operating close enough to Edevane territory and the routes leading toward Sylvamir that it couldn’t have been accidental. Whoever organized it knew which roads were watched, which areas weren’t and how to move people without attracting attention."

His gaze settled on the human side.

"A small group of criminals doesn’t maintain that kind of operation for years without support. Someone was providing money, information and protection."

Margaret had remained quiet throughout the testimony. She looked toward Laurent before speaking.

"Vikir was also the person who brought the evidence to the Crown. He found me first when he reached the capital." Margaret rested her hands together on the table. "He carried copied ledgers, payment records, names and routes. House Arquenay appeared repeatedly."

She glanced briefly toward Aurelian.

"Once I understood what the documents contained, I brought Vikir and everything he had directly to my brother. We acted as soon as the Crown knew what was happening."

Laurent didn’t respond immediately.

Adrien could tell the distinction mattered. Valebrand had failed to discover the operation for years, but once the information reached Margaret and Aurelian, they hadn’t buried it or delayed acting against Arquenay.

For a meeting built around blame, that difference mattered. It didn’t erase what had happened, but it at least proved that the Crown hadn’t knowingly protected Gaspard once the truth reached the right people.

Aurelian finally leaned forward.

"There is one more thing."

The room settled again.

"Gaspard Arquenay was interrogated before his execution." Aurelian’s expression had become noticeably colder. "He confessed that the operation wasn’t created solely for profit. He had been receiving instructions from people he never met directly."

Laurent’s eyes narrowed.

Aurelian continued. "Millions of crowns were delivered to him physically, outside official accounts. Different messengers were used. No seals, no names, nothing that could lead directly back to whoever was paying him."

Vael’s expression changed for the first time since the meeting began.

"What were the instructions?"

"At first, small things. Routes. Delayed reports. Allowing people through areas that should have been monitored." Aurelian paused. "Eventually, they asked him to help establish the network you’ve just heard described."

The Crown Prince looked toward Laurent.

"And according to Gaspard, there was an objective behind targeting elves."

Nobody interrupted him.

"They wanted conflict between Valebrand and Sylvamir."

The words changed the room more effectively than any raised voice could have.

Adrien watched Laurent carefully.

The elven king’s earlier irritation disappeared beneath something much more controlled. Vael leaned slightly forward, and even Osric seemed to understand that the conversation had moved beyond what Gaspard had personally done.

"Someone paid millions of crowns to make us blame one another," Laurent said.

"That is what Gaspard confessed," Aurelian replied. "He claimed he didn’t know who was behind it. I had no reason to believe he was still protecting them by that point."

Vael tapped one finger against the table before speaking.

"Before this continues, there is something that needs to be made clear."

Aurelian looked toward him.

"Edevane is not part of Sylvamir." Vael’s voice remained flat. "Laurent speaks for his kingdom. He doesn’t speak for my territory."

Adrien noticed the slightest pause from Aurelian.

Apparently, that detail hadn’t been as obvious to him as it had been to the elves.

Vael continued before anyone could interrupt. "This operation also happened along my lands. My people were affected, and both my granddaughter and grandson were taken by those involved."

Amelia and Lucien remained silent beside him.

"So whatever agreement Sylvamir reaches with Valebrand does not settle what happened to Edevane. I expect compensation for my people separately."

Aurelian recovered quickly. "That’s fair. If the two territories were affected independently, then both should be represented independently."

He looked between Vael and Laurent.

"Then I’d like to ask what both parties require from Valebrand before this matter can be considered settled."

Laurent remained silent for several seconds.

"As you know, relations between our kingdoms haven’t been particularly good for some time." He looked directly toward Osric. "What happened here only made an already poor situation worse. And if I may be direct, the noble families beneath your Crown appear to have been escaping your control."

Osric’s jaw tightened.

This time, he said nothing.

There wasn’t much he could say.

Adrien had seen enough during the past months to know Laurent wasn’t inventing the problem simply to insult him. Arquenay had grown comfortable enough to operate like a separate state inside Valebrand, and Aurelian himself had admitted there were other Great Houses that needed dealing with.

The truth was often more irritating when someone else said it.