Supreme Spouse System.

Chapter 554: The Third Option

The Third Option

"...you will need to choose sides far more carefully than you ever have."

The room went breathless.

Robert said nothing.

Smiled faintly.

And said in a voice only William could hear:

"You’re enjoying this."

William didn’t answer.

He only smiled back.

---

Silence sat heavy over the chamber, thick as wet velvet. The chandelier above flickered, and shadows twisted along the walls like listening creatures.

The nobles shifted in their seats.

No one wanted to be the first to speak.

But fear has a way of forcing voices out.

Renn broke.

"My Lord..." he said, swallowing hard. "You speak of choosing sides as if this were a game board. But this is our homeland. Our blood. Our lands."

Another noble, older, with shaking hands wrapped around his goblet, added quietly, "Leon’s soldiers are already sleeping inside our capital. Their boots still smell of ash. We hear them at night."

A nervous chuckle escaped someone.

Renn broke.

"My Lord..." he said, swallowing hard. "You speak of choosing sides as if this were a game board. But this is our homeland. Our blood. Our lands."

Another noble, older, with shaking hands wrapped around his goblet, added quietly, "Leon’s soldiers are already sleeping inside our capital. Their boots still smell of ash. We hear them at night."

A nervous chuckle escaped someone.

It sounded like a sob.

William leaned back slightly, folding his hands together, eyes calm.

"And that," he said, "is exactly why you have no luxury for foolish hope."

Murmurs stirred.

"King Gary is at war with Moonstone," William went on smoothly. "King Aurelian stands against him. Two beasts locked in a fight to the death."

He tapped the table once.

Soft.

Precise.

"When that war ends..." he looked at each of them slowly, "...one of them will breathe."

Renn’s jaw tightened. "And the other... dies."

William nodded. "Exactly."

Another noble leaned forward, voice tense. "If Aurelian wins... he comes north?"

"At the very least," William said softly, "he will test us. Or befriend Leon. Or crush us for being weak."

A beat of silence.

"And if Gary wins?" another asked.

William’s gaze sharpened.

"Then he marches with a victorious army," he said. "And asks why his own capital fell... and what you did to stop it."

The word "asks" dripped with mockery.

Renn whispered, "He won’t ask."

"No," William agreed. "He’ll kill."

A collective breath passed through the room.

Their eyes lowered.

Their shoulders tightened.

The idea of facing Gary’s wrath was worse than Leon.

"Then..." Renn’s voice cracked slightly. "What do we do?"

All eyes turned to William.

Some desperate.

Some doubtful.

Some already worshipful.

William’s smile grew.

"I chose a third option."

The air shifted.

Even Robert straightened a little.

"A third path," William continued. "One you would never walk on your own... because it requires a spine you were never forced to grow."

Some bristled.

Others stayed silent.

William leaned forward, placing his palms flat on the table.

"We ally with Skyfall."

Heads snapped toward Robert.

Shock.

Disbelief.

Anger.

Robert only lifted his goblet and took a slow sip.

William continued, unwavering.

"Skyfall helps us seize back the capital while Leon is distracted."

A noble whispered harshly, "That’s impossible—"

William cut him off with one raised finger.

"After Leon falls... we take full control of Vellore."

Renn’s breathing grew heavier.

William’s voice dropped.

"Then... while Gary and Aurelian are still bleeding each other dry..."

He looked down the table slowly.

"...we strike."

The word wasn’t loud.

But it was heavy.

Renn whispered, "You’re saying... we attack both?"

"I’m saying," William replied calmly, "we remove them."

Silence hit like a hammer.

Thumbs tightened around goblets.

Knuckles whitened.

"You can’t be serious," one noble said, shaking his head. "That’s madness."

William turned his gaze to him.

Madness lived there.

"I’m being practical."

He leaned back, folding his arms.

"Two exhausted kingdoms. One distracted capital. A divided north. A foreign ally with skies under their control."

Robert’s lips twitched.

William’s eyes flicked briefly toward him.

"You think Leon is your biggest problem?" William said. "He’s just the spark."

He looked back at the nobles.

"I’m offering you the fire."

A noble whispered, "Why... would Skyfall agree to this?"

William smiled.

A slow.

Quiet.

Sly smile.

Robert set his goblet down, finally speaking clearly.

"Because," he said calmly, "Skyfall doesn’t like borders."

The room stilled.

Robert looked around, blue eyes calm and cold.

"We like influence."

William nodded once.

"And lands," he added.

A long silence followed.

The nobles didn’t speak.

Couldn’t.

Their minds turned violently.

Fear.

Ambition.

Survival.

Finally, Renn exhaled shakily.

"...And if we refuse?"

William’s voice softened.

"You’ll die in someone else’s war."

He leaned forward.

"And your children will inherit nothing."

That did it.

One by one, their resistance cracked.

"I..." one noble murmured. "I don’t want to die to another king’s rage."

"I don’t want Leon deciding our bloodlines."

"I don’t want to kneel."

Robert leaned toward William slightly and whispered, just for him:

"They’re breaking."

William whispered back:

"They were never strong."

He turned back to them.

"And so," William said aloud, standing slowly, command returning fully to his posture. "Now think."

He walked around the table, hands clasped behind his back.

"A perfect plan."

Two footsteps.

"A perfect moment."

Three.

"A perfect alliance."

He stopped at the head of the table.

"And a perfect side."

He looked at them all.

"Choose."

They didn’t answer immediately.

Didn’t need to.

Their faces did.

Fear had been replaced by hunger.

Uncertainty by calculation.

Silence by acceptance.

William smiled.

Not wide.

Not warm.

Perfectly.

And in the flickering torchlight, Robert smiled too.

The room felt smaller.

Tighter.

Like a trap closing.

The curtains fluttered again.

Outside, Leon’s fires still burned.

The land was still scorched.

The marching boots still echoed faintly through stone.

And inside that room, the fate of kingdoms quietly tilted.

William stepped back to his seat.

Picked up his goblet.

Took a slow sip.

And said quietly:

"Now..."

The nobles leaned in without realizing it.

"...we begin."