The Dragon Lord's Aide Wants to Quit [BL] Chapter 439: Want In?

Riley Hale was really interesting.

Just as he’d claimed, the promising substitute who’d stepped in for his ailing father, a longtime advisor to the Crown Prince, truly was double-dealing.

It was an incredibly risky move considering many of the prominent elven houses had retained their influence precisely because the Elowens allowed those positions to be passed down through the generations. Normally, that meant the next heir had every incentive to safeguard their family’s standing, knowing that a single act of disloyalty could cost not only their own position but potentially their entire house’s place at court.

Yet despite that, someone who looked so mousy had still found the nerve to risk it all.

The night remained quiet over the Elven Castle, with only the faint glow of moonlight reflecting off damp stone pathways and the occasional rustle of leaves stirring the silence. Hidden within the shadows of a high balcony, Crown Prince Rowan watched a familiar figure carefully slipping past the outer perimeter ward, moving with the confidence of someone who clearly knew exactly where he was going.

Rowan found that rather amusing.

"Your Highness," one of the captains quietly asked from below, "shouldn’t we arrest him now?"

"No."

Rowan didn’t even bother taking his eyes off the retreating silhouette.

"In fact, make it easier for him to leave."

The guards immediately looked at one another.

The Prince continued before anyone could object.

"Not too easy, though. If he finds the route suspiciously convenient, he’ll become cautious. I want him to believe he escaped entirely through his own ability. At the same time, pay close attention to how he’s been getting through our defenses. We’ve overlooked something, and I’d rather discover what it is than arrest him before we learn anything useful."

The captains exchanged uneasy glances.

They honestly couldn’t understand what their Prince was trying to accomplish.

War was practically at their doorstep, yet instead of capturing an enemy spy while they had the chance, their own Crown Prince was deliberately helping the man escape without the spy ever realizing it.

Just what exactly was Prince Rowan thinking?

__

Well, to be fair, the currently confusing royal had initially thought the exact same thing as the guards the first time he heard about it.

Because as one could possibly tell, this wasn’t even remotely his plan.

Not even close.

If anything, Rowan knew he’d never have come up with something this unhinged himself. The last time they convinced themselves they’d devised a particularly bold strategy, they’d only ended up getting caught anyway.

So despite how questionable the whole thing sounded, he ultimately chose to go along with Riley’s plan. After all, if there was anyone in that room whose schemes deserved the benefit of the doubt, it was undoubtedly him.

Others would probably dismiss that as empty praise. Rowan, however, considered himself more than qualified to make that assessment, having personally experienced what it was like to have Riley completely turn the tables on him.

After all, the Crown Prince still had a one hundred fifty-year sentence hanging over his head as living proof of the Dragon Lord’s mate’s competence.

Surprisingly, the whole affair hadn’t unfolded in hushed whispers or beneath the cover of darkness. There had been no secret rendezvous beneath some secluded bridge or coded messages passed between shadows.

It had all begun in broad daylight when the Dragon Lord’s mate casually informed him that there was a mole among his own people.

__

Thanks to the rather unconventional mortal method of tracking Riley had employed earlier, they’d managed to narrow the culprit down surprisingly quickly. Rowan’s first instinct had naturally been to arrest the rat before dragging him somewhere private for a very thorough conversation.

Riley, however, immediately stopped him.

"No."

Then as if realizing that Rowan was some noble, the aide just added, "I suggest you do something else, Your Highness."

The much shorter man lightly tapped the report in front of him.

"Kindly keep him exactly where he is. At least in the meantime."

The Elven Prince frowned and remained silent for a moment before asking, "Are you aware of what exactly you are suggesting?"

"Yes, it may seem rather unconventional, but I’ve always believed in keeping friends close," Riley continued, "and enemies even closer."

"...?"

"Just make sure he doesn’t expose himself, and don’t let your people catch him just yet," Riley continued, sounding as though he’d already thought this through long before the conversation ever began. "Beyond that, simply decide what you’d like him to overhear."

Rowan looked at him curiously.

"And I’m guessing you already have something in mind?"

The Dragon Lord’s mate nodded.

That was how they eventually arrived at the decision to publicly announce a battle that everyone throughout Eryndra would inevitably focus on, one that would supposedly revolve around the elves and Dragons making a final stand against the advancing merfolk.

Well...

That was how it was supposed to look.

Because the real objective had never been the merfolk.

It was the wyverns.

After learning that the merfolk were little more than a smokescreen being pushed forward, Riley argued that if they wanted to lure the true enemy out into the open, then they first needed to present something equally valuable for them to pursue.

Rowan admittedly hadn’t understood what he meant. He was probably still hung up on they would even want to lure those monsters out into the open in the first place when it wouldn’t do anyone any good.

But before he could voice the question, Riley looked up at him and asked,

"Why do you think we’re making sure everyone knows where the strongest people in Eryndra are supposedly going to be during this campaign against the merfolk?"

The Elven Prince thought about it for a moment.

"...A diversion?"

"There is that."

Riley nodded.

"But honestly, it’s more of a bait."

"And the bait is making everyone believe the important people are somewhere else?"

"No." Riley shook his head. "That’s just the icing on the cake."

He smiled.

"As for the bait..."

He lightly pointed at himself.

"That would be me."

"You?"

"Me."

Riley looked almost amused by Rowan’s reaction.

"They’ve been looking for me, haven’t they? Publicly, even. At this point, even someone living under a rock knows the wyverns want the Dragon Lord’s mate. But with me supposedly remaining inside this fortress surrounded by the strongest people on the continent, getting to me wouldn’t exactly be easy."

Rowan heard every word.

He simply wasn’t convinced any of it qualified as good news.

Just to make sure he hadn’t misunderstood something, he instinctively glanced toward Kael.

Surprisingly...

The Dragon Lord looked more annoyed than alarmed.

Knowing Kael’s mental processes when it came to his mate as well as he did, Rowan immediately made adjustments in his mental calculations.

If Riley’s plan genuinely placed him in unacceptable danger, Kael would’ve already rejected it outright instead of merely looking irritated.

"I’m assuming," Rowan carefully began, "that you have a way out."

"I do."

"And a reason for drawing them toward you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do have that too."

Rowan hesitated.

"And that would be..."

There was a brief pause.

Feeling that he might’ve already crossed the line by asking too much, the High Elf quickly attempted to correct himself.

"Of course, only if you’re comfortable sh—"

He never got to finish.

"I’m letting them come here," Riley said matter-of-factly, "so I can freely go there and see things for myself."

Rowan almost shook his head, thinking his ears weren’t working properly. Because he wasn’t certain if he had really heard Riley say he was going to go there and see things for himself.

"What?"

"Well," Riley replied with a shrug. "Considering how lucrative I’m about to make this whole situation for them, and after all the fuss they’ve made just to come see me, I figure the least I can do is make things a little more tempting.

"That said, I’m also a rather ironic person, and I happen to believe in self-worth. I think I’m valuable enough that they should at least meet my effort halfway instead of expecting me to hand myself over on a platter."

He smiled.

"So while they’re busy coming here..."

His finger lightly tapped the map of Wyrmfall.

"...why shouldn’t I take the opportunity to swing by their place first and see whether I’d even like it there? A little ocular inspection never hurt anyone, did it?"

Rowan simply stared.

The frightening part wasn’t even what Riley had just proposed.

It was the fact that he’d said it with a perfectly straight face, perhaps even sounding faintly amused.

Not a single hint of hesitation.

Not even the slightest stutter.

To him, this genuinely sounded like a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

"Everyone just needs to keep acting normally," Riley concluded. "If everyone plays their part, everything should fall into place."

He looked back at Rowan.

"So..."

A small smile appeared on his face.

"Want in?"

And that was precisely how the Elven Prince found himself making enough noise to ensure the entire continent would have no choice but to look in their direction.

He could only hope this completely unhinged plan actually worked.