Supreme Spouse System.

Chapter 642: A Throne Without a King

A Throne Without a King

"Stop acting," he said, eyes drifting across their faces, pausing just long enough that each man felt exposed. Not a single person sat there without wanting the mess to work in his favor

No one answered.

A hush sank into the walls, making the air feel heavier above the wide wooden table. Not even the staff along the sides dared move, heads dipped, holding their breath like it might break something.

Flickering light came from the ceiling fixture.

Faint light danced on the smooth floor, then slid over wide eyes. Stillness broke as dark shapes twisted, moving fast beneath trembling skin.

Somewhere beyond the walls, a soft rattle of armor broke the hush - Leon’s mark on the city, stamped beneath cold stars. Footsteps tapped on rock. Metal creaked, shifted. Not loud, yet never gone - the kind of sound that settles into bones, telling you who holds what now, no matter how you feel about it.

A slight movement came from the young noble, fidgeting where he sat. A gulp tightened his neck, the noise cracking through quiet air like a twig underfoot.

"My lord..." His voice cracked before he forced it steady. "We simply believe that with King Gary absent, and Leon taking the throne... your position becomes vital."

A couple of people bobbed their heads just a bit too fast.

Renn leaned forward, hands spread as if offering something precious. "If you - Count William - stand, we stand with you. If you rise to claim power, the kingdom follows."

Smooth came the words, practiced. Underneath, a hunger twitched through each line.

Duke Selmen inclined his head, a measured, respectful gesture. "You are the shadow king of the North. With your influence... the throne isn’t far."

Out came the praise, spilling fast, one compliment crashing into the next.

Too eager.

Too hungry.

A shine so smooth it never needed asking. Quiet moves that always knew where to stand.

Stillness held him. Not a twitch broke the mask of his face, just quiet eyes and steady mouth, leaving them grasping at air. Then silence again, thick and unshaken.

Thoughts crawled through his mind, heavy, deliberate.

Always the same story. When Gary marches off to battle, his followers slink my way, desperate for someone else to follow.

Without Leon around... swearing loyalty would’ve happened by now.

Yet here they stand, trembling. Choosing a path feels dangerous today. One wolf seems stronger - hard to tell how fierce each truly is.

A quiet breath in. William let it out through his nostrils, measured, as if bracing under a sky about to break. Stillness came first. Then movement.

"Continue," he said.

Fingers pressed hard together, Baron Halden sat up straighter. If Gary comes back... that was what he started to say. The room felt too quiet suddenly. His knuckles were white from gripping so tight. Words came slower now, hushed like someone walking through tall grass. Everyone understands - he paused - what will happen then. Trust would vanish. Nobles? They’d look brittle. Untrue

A quick nod came from Renn, beads of sweat barely showing near his forehead. Punishment will come, he said under his breath - loss of land, deaths, maybe worse. His throat moved as he gulped, silence catching the moment. More could follow, he whispered, voice thinning out

A hush settled in, thick like damp wool. It sat on the ribs, slow and unyielding.

"And if Leon keeps the throne," Duke Selmen added, carefully, "then we must align ourselves with him. Or with the one who can challenge him."

Shifting in their chairs, the young lords stayed quiet. Some looked down, unable to meet gazes. Others exchanged glances - silent bets being placed - who would break first? Fear hung between them like smoke.

One by one, without rush, eyes turned toward William. Not loud, not sudden - just quiet attention piling up. His presence filled the space like a shadow stretching at dusk. Each person looked, almost pulled, though nobody spoke. Stillness grew heavier as faces settled on him.

A quiet stillness passed over William’s face, yet the atmosphere altered just beneath the surface - much like when a hunter stirs after rest. Around him, the walls drew inward slowly, having recognized their mistake far too late.

Well," he began, steady but edged like stone, "is that your way of standing beside me?"

Right away Renn spoke - too fast, almost like fear lived in the pause. "Yes, my lord."

Selmen stepped in just after, voice steady. "That’s right."

A few of the young lords dipped their chins in jerky motions, gazes skittering, jaws locked, fingers knotted out of sight under the wood.

A muscle under William’s cheek twitched, just once.

Then he laughed.

Soft.

Cold.

Dangerous.

A hush moved across the space, sharp as steel. Some lords pulled inward, their backs stiffening as though hit by something unseen.

Forward he leaned, arms settling onto the wood. Fingers wove tight, one by one, each movement measured. Darkness filled his gaze, sharp now, cutting through what little nerve still held them upright.

"You’re all very quick to offer loyalty when you’re frightened."

Halden opened his mouth, ready to object - yet William lifted one finger. Stillness followed.

Out came nothing, just empty air where sound should have been. Then quiet poured into the gap, heavy like wet cloth.

I’m still unsure, he said, voice calm like flat water - somehow that made it sharper. His hands lay slack on the chair’s edge, as though none of this mattered even slightly. That man knows what he’s doing, because only someone sharp could seize a city with just a handful of troops... worth watching close

Whispers twitched among the crowd of lords. Quiet unease slid between their ranks.

A hush fell over the group when one of the younger nobles spoke, leaning in close. His words slipped out quiet, like sound could summon Leon’s gaze. The fight with Aiden’s best had ended in defeat - camp against camp, noise rising without pause until dawn. Flames once painted the clouds, he said, and silence followed

Renn swallowed, his throat tight. "My scouts said the land around the battlefield still smells scorched. Leon’s forces look like devils when they march."

A faint tug played at William’s mouth, almost but not quite reaching a grin.

Burnt ground, demons on the move... He savored each syllable like a slow drip of syrup. Odd, yet it caught attention instead of just sounding wild

He stayed silent for a single beat of his heart.

Walls seemed to inch closer. Breathing grew harder without warning. Space disappeared slowly, then all at once.

No one breathed.

Over by the table, William looked from one face to another, not rushing at all. His silence stretched before words came out - thin, edged like a blade just pulled from its sheath.

"But listen carefully."

Back in his seat, a slight tightness pulled at his gaze.

It came on quiet, yet each person noticed. Like air shifting when steel slips half free from its holder.

If someone believes they’re able to control me...

If someone believes I’ll play that role...

Walk out that door now. Hope I never lay eyes on you two again

No one moved.

Sunken were the words - no echo came. They fell like stones through still air.

Falling into chests, then slipping down throats, finally resting in the hush just behind the eyes.

Frozen air locked everyone in place.

Not a breath.

Not a twitch.

Stillness crept into the fabric of the room, holding every thread in place.

Holding still came hard. Fingers bent into fabric, unaware. Jaw locked - tight enough to hurt. A pulse hammered inside one chest, too noticeable in the silence.

A weight settled over them, William’s presence heavy in the air. Not loud, yet impossible to ignore. Much like teeth shown by something that hasn’t stirred an inch.

It wasn’t rage.

Just silence, really. Not a word meant harm.

It was certainty.

That sort which simply stood without proof.

Just like that, the weight vanished - gone as fast as it arrived.

Up came the breath, sudden, as if breaking through water after too long below. The moment spun at the edges, unsteady on its feet.

Back against the seat, he let his arm fall across the edge. A quiet moment stretched out, still.

Loose fingers, a slouch in the wrist - somehow that carelessness cut deeper.

"Good," he murmured when none moved. "You’re smarter than you look."

A sigh slipped out after a pause. Then silence again.

Halden dragged a sleeve across his brow once more.

Renn exhaled shakily.

His eyes dropped, quiet now, a weight lifting from his shoulders.

One stayed silent. So did the others - afraid to break the quiet.

A hush settled into William’s words, as if he were turning something over in his mind.

Abrasive, yet distinct in its edge.

"Leon... is a storm.

Yesterday holds him now. Gone before today could start.

And me?"

A silence grew after his words, slow but heavy. It pressed down without sound, filling the space between breaths. Each lord sat frozen, sensing the weight build just behind their skull. The pause stretched, sharp and quiet, till thought itself seemed wound tight, ready to snap.

A hush settled before he moved, eyes narrowing just a beat too long. His mouth shifted without warmth, edges cutting like measured steps in silence.

"I decide which one walks into the future."

No one spoke.

Eyes locked, the nobles froze - air thin in their lungs, balanced on a line where dread met hope. Not certain now if they watched events unfold... or moved when someone else decided the next step.

A single tap of William’s fingers met the smooth wooden surface. Quiet as it was, the noise sliced into the stillness without warning.

"Gentlemen," he said, his voice calm, measured, "here is what we will do - "

He stopped.

A tremor ran through the ceiling fixture, each glass arm trembling while brightness bent and blinked. From corner to edge, darkness crept along plaster - bending, reaching - as if learning how to move.

A sound arrived - soft at first, then deeper. It rolled forward, slow but steady. Footsteps, maybe, shaking the ground beneath thick walls. Each beat louder than the last.

One moment they stood relaxed. Then every noble turned rigid together.

Renn took a deep breath. A question slipped out: "What just happened there..."

Backward glances were not something William gave them.

A flicker of laughter lit his gaze, subtle but clear. His lips lifted at one edge, like something quiet had clicked inside. The moment stretched, filled with a joke that never left his thoughts.

"Ah. It seems the night isn’t done testing us."

A sudden lift of his body broke the stillness. Fabric followed, unfolding wide behind him - almost alive - as if shadowed sails filling midair.

He told them to remain sitting.

Quiet worked just fine. Noise wasn’t required.

Frozen in place, the nobles followed without thinking, held fast like the ground had pulled them down by force.

Into the quiet hall he moved, feet meeting floor without rush, every motion measured. Not like someone checking a sound. More like something closing in.

His fingers touched the metal grip.

Paused.

And then -

He opened it.

The way ahead held only half-light, uneasy and shifting. Through the narrow hall, a chill draft moved, causing flames to flicker like hushed voices. Shadows stretched one moment, then shrank the next, never settling into shape. Just past the edge of vision, presence gathered without showing itself - silence holding its breath there.

William’s gaze narrowed.

Back he stayed. Not a move made.

He only whispered:

"...Interesting."