Chapter 379: Ash’s Real Name

Magnus stared at Horace for a couple of seconds in silence. The air was tense as he debated his next move. He could tell Horace was completely serious in his offer, and it made him wonder where he and, by extension, the Empire got their confidence.

Smiling, he chuckled and shook his head, "It’s a funny joke."

"You have a daughter who is 21, I believe." The room became tense again as Magnus stared at Horace, wondering. Horace looked into his eyes and smiled softly, "You have a daughter, and we have someone who has Royal Blood."

"Ha." Dryly chuckling, Magnus couldn’t believe what he was hearing anymore. "You, someone, have one of Theodosius’s children ready to work with you. When would you have even made contact with them?"

"Forgive me. I wasn’t clear enough. We have one of his bastard children. Whilst the claim isn’t as strong as a legitimate heir, he still has one. Moreover, he has an army behind him. Only a thousand and a bit strong, but still an army."

Horace could see the scepticism in Magnus and understood. To somehow have one of the Emperor’s bastards was incredibly rare and lucky. "Halfdan. Go get him." The small man sighed and got up. The three waited for nearly five minutes as a large shadow formed behind the curtain. Halfdan walked in first, followed by Ash.

"Please meet Ash. Bastard child of Theodosius."

Ash was so tall that it was hard for Magnus to tell his hair colour at first, but after the man sat down, the grey that was almost platinum became obvious, only one dynasty in the world having it. Looking at the man, memories came back to Magnus. "I see. Your mother. Was her name Livia?"

Ash looked at Magnus with uncaring eyes, nodding once. There was no doubt in Magnus’s mind anymore. Scritchching his head, he looked Ash up and down. Whilst marrying his daughter to a bastard would be a hard ask in normal circumstances, Ash was different. "It makes things easier that his mother is Livia." Looking at Ash, he frowned, "Is she dead now?"

"Yes."

"Who is this woman?" Horace cut in, asking with interest. He had assumed Ash was a normal bastard, but it seemed not to be the case. Magnus looked at Ash and sighed, unable to tell what he was thinking.

"Livia was one of the Emperor’s lovers in the past. There was nothing special about her other than her looks." Nodding towards Ash, he smiled, "Much like him, she was a tall woman, with deathly pale skin and dark black eyes. It’s actually a good thing he inherited so much of his mother’s looks. With that hair and everything else, the older generation will instantly be able to make the connection. After all, Livia was famous for her looks back in the day."

Horace smiled, "So, do we have a deal?" Stretching out his hand, he waited patiently for Magnus to accept.

Magnus looked at Horace’s hand before turning to Ash. "What’s your real name. Ash isn’t it. There’s no way."

For the first time, Ash showed some emotion. Displeasure was all over his face as he leaned his head back, "Livius." Looking down on Magnus, he frowned, "I don’t see why it is relevant."

"Many of the nobles are shallow. A name goes a long way. Ash is a peasant’s name. Livius is not. But that’s not all. Do you honestly want the throne? I’m not wagering my life on half assed motivation."

Ash closed his eyes and fell into deep thought. It didn’t give Magnus much confidence. "I want to destroy the man who threw my mother away. If that means taking his throne, so be it." Despite the justification, it was hard to find any emotion in his whispering voice.

Magnus looked back down at Horace’s hand. His mind spun. The Emperor’s children, bastards or not, all hated their father. Because of that, they could all be split into two groups: those who wanted to get away from him and those who wanted to take what was his.

"Fine." Taking Horace’s hand, he put his faith in Ash’s motivation. It was something he had seen enough times in his other brothers and sisters to trust. "But if he betrays me, I will destroy him and tell the Emperor of your plot. I won’t suffer because of his failures."

"Perfect." As if ignoring Magnus’ threat, Horace playfully clapped his hands together, "You should have him meet your daughter. We will begin soon." Horace got up with Halfdan and left the table. Staring at Ash, Magnus couldn’t help but feel he was taking a dangerous risk.

He wanted his family to have a connection to the throne. Ever since his family became Archdukes of Severia, the Imperial family has made sure to never marry into it. It was too dangerous to give the Maximus family more power than they already had. He had a chance now. Down the line, this could easily be a gateway into taking the throne. Instead of being the second most powerful, they could hold the top two positions.

It was tempting, something that would be nearly impossible otherwise. But looking at Ash, he could tell he had no desire to actually rule, only to destroy Theodosius. All it took was careful planning, and he would have a puppet as the Emperor.

"I will take you to meet my daughter. Make sure to cover your hair when we leave." Ash nodded and pulled his hood over his head.

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"He has arrived, Your Majesty." Alfred nodded to the servant and quickly went to the nearby guest room. Inside, he saw Ivan lazily lying on the sofa, throwing and catching a small decoration from the table.

"Prince Ivan," Alfred said happily, getting his attention. Ivan quickly sat up with a wide grin.

"Your Majesty." Like seeing an old friend, he got up and went over to Alfred, hugging him.

"I know I sent word to your father, but allow me to congratulate you on re-forming the Empire. I honestly didn’t believe it would happen so soon."

Ivan spun around and fell back onto the sofa. "My father deserved the Empire; he was just too cautious to seize it. I simply gave him the motivation." Ivan playfully smiled, "But, I don’t think it’s over."

"Yes." Alfred frowned. "The Slathans betrayed us."

"I have some people in Henrich’s court. It seems your bastards were a major reason why." Ivan saw Alfred’s frown deepen and knew it was still a topic to be cautious around.

"I doubt Henrich will declare war on me with his daughter in my lands, but the same can’t be said for you." Clicking his tongue, he shook his head, "Michael. He visited me before, and he went over there." Pausing, he glanced out the window. "How sure are you that Emperor Henrich will align with Michael?"

"The Slathans have always tried to keep to themselves. The church was the only major power that had a direct influence inside their lands. Michael is giving them a way to keep religious legitimacy without institutional power meddling in affairs."

"So likely." Ivan nodded sternly, "Okay. We will address that when the time comes. For now, we focus on more important things." Alfred smirked and stared into Ivan’s eyes, "Severia."

"You have a plan?" Like a child who had seen a new toy, Ivan was giddy with excitement. Alfred had heard that Ivan had changed since reforming the Silesian Empire, but seeing him now, he couldn’t tell; the man was still his playful self.

"Theodosisus’ time is over. I’m still in the early stages, but a plan has been started to dispose of him with a more... favourable Emperor." Ivan’s grin grew with each word. Chuckling, he fell back into his seat.

"So what do you want from me. I doubt you asked me to come so you could brag."

"The influence I have in Severia is minimal. Frankly, it’s too far. I need Alexei’s support. Be it manpower, pre-existing spy networks or a simple piece of land to use as a base of operations. I just need something to make my work easier over there." Alfred looked as Ivan closed his eyes and fiddled with his rings. The playfulness he had shown the whole time was gone, replaced with a serious attitude that he had rarely seen.

"It will cost you." Alfred nodded, expecting that. "I’ll give you two options. Either send over military support to help quash the rebellions that are popping up because of our religious reforms, or a shipment of gold and food."

Alfred frowned. Neither was good. He needed his forces here to help pacify the conquered Commonwealth lands, and he required the gold and food to aid in the repair of the lands. Looking at Ivan, he knew the man had made the demand on purpose.

"I’ll send the military aid." Choosing the best of the two options, Ivan smiled and nodded.

"I’ll send word to my father to make the preparations for you. In the meantime, I will check out the academy I’m sending my daughter to." Ivan got up and looked down at Alfred. "How is your kid?"

"Fine. Still recovering." Alfred said flatly, and once again, Ivan knew it wasn’t a topic to press.