To be honest, Annan knew he was in the wrong.
If not for that, Annan would have been the one demanding answers. After all, it had been an assassination attempt.
But a far more serious accusation had been thrown at him first, and he could not deny it. Everything happening in the Broken Mountains bore his unmistakable stamp.
"You used the same despicable tactics on me that you used against the other lords!"
Annan did not deny it. He merely asked, "If your people had food, clothing, and peaceful lives, how could I have stirred them up?"
Grand Lord Raymond said nothing. He kept glaring at Annan.
They were one step away from an open break.
Or perhaps they had already crossed that line, and it simply had not worked. The attempt on Annan's life had been a test.
Still, Grand Lord Raymond suppressed his anger and changed the subject. "I hear my nephew attacked you?"
"He did. I nearly burned to death," Annan said with a sigh.
Grand Lord Raymond stared at Annan, whose hair had not so much as curled, and gained a deeper appreciation of his shamelessness.
He still could not understand how Annan, with nothing but a band of mercenaries to help him, had managed to expose so many cracks in his firm grip on the Broken Mountains.
"I don't understand."
Annan went straight to the point. "Isn't Kilian your son? You sent him on an assassination attempt you knew would fail. Was it to clear the way for another son?"
It was an extraordinarily bold thing to say, but tonight was the Night of Honesty.
"I need an exceptional heir. Who that heir is doesn't matter."
Grand Lord Raymond fixed Annan with a dark stare. Then he leaned forward slightly and said in a low