Reborn To Change My Fate-Chapter 312 - Three Hundred And Eleven

Derek could not hold back his anger anymore.

He lunged forward across the table. He reached out with both hands and grabbed Captain Nigel by the collar of his dirty shirt. He pulled the man up from his chair with terrifying strength, his knuckles turning white.

"You cowards!" Derek roared. His voice shook the small room. His dark eyes blazed with a murderous fury.

He pulled Nigel closer until their faces were inches apart.

"The Thompson army fought courageously!" Derek shouted in his face, spit flying from his lips. "My brother fought to protect this kingdom! Only to be betrayed by traitors and cowards like you! You sold your honor for your life!"

Captain Nigel did not fight back. He did not try to remove Derek’s hands from his collar. He just hung there, tears streaming down his face. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"I know," Nigel wept loudly. "I am sorry, Your Grace. I am so sorry. I am guilty. I have lived with this shame every single day. I see their faces every time I close my eyes. I deserve to die."

Derek looked at the broken, weeping man. He saw the genuine remorse. He saw the heavy burden of guilt that had aged Nigel for years.

Derek’s breathing slowed down. His grip on Nigel’s collar slowly loosened. He realized that killing this man would not bring his brother back. This man was just a pawn in a much bigger, much more evil game.

Derek angrily let go of him. He pushed Nigel back slightly.

Nigel stumbled backward and fell hard into his wooden chair. He covered his face and continued to sob quietly.

Derek stood up straight. He smoothed his dark cloak. He took a deep breath, forcing his mind to become cold and logical again. He needed to focus on the real enemy. He needed to focus on Prince Liam.

"Prince Liam sent assassins after you," Derek stated calmly, looking down at the crying man. "He has been hunting you for months. He sent his men to the border to kill you."

Captain Nigel nodded slowly, wiping his nose with his dirty sleeve.

"He didn’t send them just to silence you," Derek continued, pacing slowly across the small room. "He spared you before. He could have killed you anytime. He sent the assassins now because you took something from him."

Derek stopped pacing and looked sharply at Nigel.

"Because you held evidence of his treason," Derek declared.

Captain Nigel nodded his head vigorously. He sat up straight in his chair, his eyes wide.

"Yes, Your Grace," Nigel confirmed. His voice was steadier now. He wanted to help. He wanted to make up for his cowardice.

"Prince Liam is planning something terrible," Nigel explained, leaning forward over the wooden table. "He colluded with the West."

Derek frowned deeply. The West was a dangerous region. It was filled with people who possessed magic. For centuries, magic wielders had been feared, hunted, and segregated by the normal humans of Eudora. There was bad blood between the capital and the West.

"Liam went to the leaders of the West," Nigel revealed. "He made a deal with them. He had them make weapons for him. Special weapons. Magical items that normal armies cannot fight against."

"Why would they help him?" Derek asked, his mind racing to understand the depth of the betrayal.

"Because he promised them freedom," Nigel answered. "He promised them that if he rules Eudora, if he becomes the true King, they would never suffer segregation again. They will be allowed to live on their own lands without fear. He promised them that the mass murder of magic wielders from the past won’t ever be repeated when he takes the throne."

Nigel shook his head in disgust.

"And they agreed," Nigel said. "They believed his lies. They started supplying him with dangerous magical weapons."

Derek clenched his fists. Liam was willing to arm dangerous people just to seize power. He was willing to risk the safety of the entire kingdom.

"But that is not all," Nigel continued, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "He also sold information to the Mercians."

"The Mercians?" Derek gasped. "The enemy we just defeated?"

"Yes," Nigel nodded firmly. "He sold them state secrets. He told them our troop movements. He sold them our vulnerabilities in exchange for heavy chests of gold. That is why the war was so difficult. Liam was helping them from the inside. And he stacked all that dirty gold in the secret vault of the church in Strathmore."

Derek felt sick to his stomach. His brother had died fighting an enemy that was being fed information by their own Prince.

"To protect his secret," Nigel said, pointing a finger in the air, "Liam convinced his father, the King, to appoint Adams as the new High Priest of Strathmore."

"He put his own puppet in charge," Derek realized.

"Exactly," Nigel nodded. "Father Adams is an evil man. He was placed there to oversee the affairs of the revolutionary movement. Because the High Cathedral of Strathmore was essentially the government in that region, Father Adams had total control. He overtaxed the poor people. He stole their food to feed Liam’s secret army."

Nigel’s face twisted with pure disgust.

"I even have evidence of the evil things Father Adams has done," Nigel said, his voice shaking with anger. "Rape. Extortion. Murder. The list was many. He hurt the innocent people of Strathmore every single day. But because of Prince Liam’s protection, he went scot-free. No one could touch him. The local guards were too afraid to arrest the High Priest."

Nigel reached into the inside pocket of his dirty, heavy coat. His hands trembled as he pulled out a thick bundle of papers. The papers were old, folded carefully, and tied together with a thin leather string.

He placed the thick bundle on the wooden table, right under the warm light of the lantern.

He pushed the bundle across the table toward Derek.

"I did not just run away, Your Grace," Captain Nigel said proudly. He looked up at Derek, seeking redemption in the Grand Duke’s eyes.

"I stole his private lockbox before I fled," Nigel declared.

Derek looked down at the bundle of papers. It looked like a simple stack of old parchment, but he knew it was the most dangerous weapon in the entire kingdom.

"I have the records," Captain Nigel said clearly, his voice finally strong and brave. "I have the correspondence of their evil deeds. I have the actual letters, written and signed. From Prince Liam to Father Adams. And from Prince Liam to the Governor of the West for aiding the Prince in his treason."

Derek stared at the letters. His heart pounded in his chest. This was it. This was the proof he needed. This was the key to destroying Prince Liam and avenging his brother’s death.