Path of the Hive Queen-Chapter 423: Dissidents and Informants

Path of the Hive Queen-Chapter 423: Dissidents and Informants

Regina didn’t generally enjoy acting like this. However, occasionally some theatrics were appropriate. And she did have a few negative feelings to work through. It was easier to suppress the urge to do violence when she had two people kneeling in front of her in apparent contrition.
Well, three people, actually, but she didn’t hold anything against Daine. And usually he wouldn’t have to kneel, either but the situation apparently called for it, and she would only show him preferential treatment in a deliberate manner.
Regina leaned back in her throne-like chair. It wasn’t her actual throne, since she didn’t want to do this in public, for obvious reasons. She’d already made sure no one else unexpected was around to eavesdrop, and kept a bit of her attention on looking for other minds.
“You were aware of this for longer than you would like to admit, clearly,” she noted.
Marquis Relains winced slightly, dropping his head further. “I apologize, Your Imperial Majesty. I had little concrete information to go on, and did not want to raise unnecessary alarm.” He hesitated for a moment. “And to my shame, I was conflicted. I know there is a reason these men approached me, I admit it. I only hope to show that my loyalty is with the country and the crown going forward.”
Regina nodded slightly. While she wasn’t sure how long he had been in some kind of contact with the more dissatisfied traditional nobles — though, she could tell, it usually wouldn’t have been more than some grumbling at parties — he had been ‘cultivated’ by Daine for a while now. And he had informed the spymaster and gone to this meeting to pass along information. “I see. Feeling doubt on occasion is understandable, as long as it does not lead to wrong actions. I look forward to further loyal service from you, my lord.”
She paused for a moment, looking at them and tasting the shape of their minds. Then she glanced at Daine. “Lord Daine, please fetch the written s prepared for the occasion, then take your place at my side.”
“Yes, my Empress,” he muttered, rising to do as she’d bid.
“You may rise, Marquis,” she continued. Then Regina fixed her gaze on the last man still on his knees. “As for you, Baron Theraln … what do you have to say for yourself?”
The last nobleman lifted his head. He looked slightly defiant, though she could feel how hollow that feeling was. He didn’t actually think he had done nothing wrong, either; it was just the natural tendency of people to think they were in the right. “I could give an eloquent speech, Your Majesty,” he said. “But actions speak louder than words, and my most important defense is in my action, because here I am. I could have simply remained quiet, I could have participated in any conspiracy, but instead I spoke up, and I am now here, kneeling in front of you. My Empress.”
Regina hummed tonelessly. “That you are, I suppose. And, indeed, perhaps you could have. What do you think, Lord Daine?”
“That someone could have committed worse treason is hardly a valid argument to defend them, Milady,” Daine said. “Should we give every proper, law-abiding citizen of the Empire a medal? That said, he is here now and that took courage, even if I expected better from you, Lord Theraln.”
Regina nodded. “You have a point. I would not call your actions treason, Baron … not truly. But I am also not inclined to reward you for getting cold feet, such as it is. Your information will be judged by its worth, and I will remember what you did, or didn’t do.”
And I suppose having two informants is better than one,
she thought sardonically. Honestly, she’d also have expected better from Baron Theraln, but perhaps that was stupid, since she barely knew the man. That he’d been a follower of Duke Bluegrass and thus on Kiara’s side in the civil war did not necessarily mean he shared Kiara’s political ideals.
“I thank you for your mercy, Your Imperial Majesty,” Theraln said through only slightly gritted teeth. “I will strive to prove my loyalty in the future.”
“Of course.” Regina smiled slightly. “Do stand up. Now, tell me why, specifically, you decided to come — and I don’t mean because Robin was there.”
She had her doubts about whether the baron would have come forward if Daine hadn’t visited him — apparently, an already scheduled meeting about information regarding retired knights, ironically enough. It presumably helped that Relains had pointed his presence out to Daine before. Theraln maintained that he would have, and to be fair, he had pretty much spilled the information immediately, according to what Daine had said and what she could sense from him. She supposed they’d never know what would have been.
Theraln stayed quiet for a moment, presumably collecting his thoughts. “I have been skeptical regarding the eventual goals of this war, my Empress,” he finally said. “As well as the long-term prospects for the Empire. But my doubts about the feasibility of fighting it have taken several blows recently. I have learned more about your factories and the ‘pipelines’ that feed and equip our soldiers. The thought of fighting against the gods is not a pleasant one, but it does feel like we are winning.”
Regina nodded. “But that’s not all.”
“No, I was also disappointed by what I heard at this meeting,” he admitted. “There was far too much talk about the glory of our kingdoms and the good old days. They hardly seemed to have any real plan for the future, or at least not one that considered the long term. Evidently, they were against the recent changes in the Empire’s culture, and there was a lot of talk about what to do, but too little regarding their implications or where we would be in twenty years, never mind a hundred.”
“Neither traditionalist nobles nor religious extremists are generally famed for their forward-thinking capabilities,” she commented sardonically. “I hardly know what you expected. But do go on, Lord Theraln. What
did
they plan?”
“If the instigators had a real plan, they did not share it with everyone, Your Majesty,” he replied. “Instead, this meeting seemed meant more to introduce themselves and each other and to connect everyone together. They spoke about building a network and letting those of us with justified concerns speak to each other. They also discussed security measures. Meeting places will be changed each time, with dates and locations only given to everyone shortly beforehand; and they established code names and code phrases.”
Daine cleared his throat lightly, continuing at Regina’s nod. “In your opinion, did anything they do actually constitute treason, legally speaking?”
Theraln visibly hesitated. “I am hardly as knowledgeable regarding the law as you, Lord Daine. Perhaps? I do not think they openly spoke of revolt, and they shied away from gravely insulting the Empress as well.”
Regina frowned. “On that point, what is your impression, Lord Daine?”
“They are evidently guilty,” he responded promptly. “But having more information and more evidence would be preferable.”
Regina nodded. Conspiracy against the crown was, in fact, on the books as a serious felony. Not the type that would see you executed immediately, probably, but it wouldn’t be out of the question either (though in that case the charge would overlap with high treason). She could definitely arrest them, at least in the sense that she had justification and probable cause, but he had a point that there were still a lot of open questions.
“What is your impression, Lord Relains?” she asked. “Do you concur in this assessment, or is there something else you would like to point out?”
The young marquis was frowning thoughtfully. “I would caution Lord Daine not to underestimate this group,” he said slowly. “I know for a fact there are several men that share their sentiments who were not present this day. It would not be completely surprising if they actually held several gatherings. And while they were clearly careful not to, directly, speak anything treasonous, I think that was on purpose, not due to any hesitancy they might have felt. I am hardly an expert at such things, but it strikes me as a simple rhetorical trick, where you start with small, innocuous statements, get your interlocutor to agree, and then slowly lead them deeper into the mires, until they are convinced they agree with a much more radical course. Perhaps something like that, anyhow.”
Regina considered their answers for a moment. “Is there any indication that they are backed by or in contact with the Esemen or Westerners?”
Theraln and Relains actually exchanged a look, while Daine frowned more heavily. “No, my Empress, I do not believe so,” Relains answered, while Theraln shook his head in agreement.
“I see,” Regina said. “If you haven’t already, please write down everything you remember of this meeting. Try to capture every detail and recall exact words if possible. Do not speak to each other until you have completed this task. Going forward, you should keep to your normal routine, but we will likely call upon you again, so be ready.”
They agreed, bowing again. Regina spoke a few more words to dismiss them politely and waited until they were gone to turn to Daine. She didn’t trust either of these men enough to involve them in this discussion, but there was a reason she’d wanted to see them in person instead of just reading s. At least she could be reasonably certain they were not secretly hidden psychics or affected by psychic mind control.
Of course, that didn’t mean at least one of the other people involved might not be.
“What do you know of these people’s leaders, Robin?” she asked, finally giving the files he had brought a proper look. It looked like there were dossiers of the he people in question included.
“It seems none of the highest leaders holds a great title or a high political office, My Empress,” Daine answered. “At least, not as far as I can tell. Their exact leadership structure is frustratingly vague. Several men spoke at this gathering, but it would be foolish to assume they were the sole leaders, or even the highest-placed. What’s clear is that there is some kind of organization already, though. The question is how strict or flexible it is. I hesitate to speculate too much based only on two s of a single event.”
“That sounds like they appeared out of thin air, but they didn’t,” Regina noted. “You had your eyes on them already, didn’t you? Or did you truly miss this entire thing completely?”
Daine hunched his shoulders slightly. “Many of the people we have identified were familiar to me,” he said. “But this speaks to a higher level of organization than I had previously thought possible. I never identified the leaders as warranting so much interest or thought that the discontent had already veered so far into treason and conspiracy. A shortsighted failure for which I must apologize.”
“Don’t beat yourself up too much, just work on fixing this,” Regina replied, turning the page.
She stared at the picture for a moment. A good rendition; as they still didn’t have photographs, at least not ones convenient for normal use. Regardless, Terreck Destan was one of the people listed as potential leaders, though probably not the ultimate leader of this group. Zephyr’s partner — or ex-partner? Though Zephyr had said he would string him along until their investigation was finished — looked like nothing special. (Regina wondered what he saw in the guy, but honestly, while she must have had the capacity to understand that kind of thing, she’d clearly lost it). Shaking her head, she continued, flipping through the rest of the dossier. Most of these people she was at least vaguely aware of.
She paused on the last page, staring at a familiar face for a moment, then snapped it shut with a vengeance. The paper caught on her claws for an instant and tore slightly, but she ignored it.
“So,” she said abruptly, “Recommendations for dealing with them? Should we send in the police, the military, my psychic students, or just observers?”
Daine straightened up, clasping his hands behind his back. “For now, I recommend putting them under increased observation, but remaining as covert as possible, my Empress. As our informants said, there are likely more people involved who we have not identified yet. I would prefer to make a clean sweep, so to speak, once it comes to that. Of course, we need to keep monitoring the situation and reassessing based on current factors.”
“See it done, then,” Regina replied with finality.
So, no letting anyone know we
’re on to them. Pity.
She’d really wanted to summon Neralt and show him her displeasure, but she could recognize that impulse was unhelpful. “I’ll keep my younger students out of it for now, but I will be taking opportunities to peek at the minds of those involved wherever possible. Prepare your informants without tipping them off. Be alert to any signs of potential psychic influence, and send me your agents to double-check their training where possible. Also, keep me informed.”
He half-bowed. “I will, Your Majesty.”
“Good. I believe you have work to do, then.” Regina paused briefly. “On that note, I wanted to ask about your assessment of the situation to the west.”
Daine nodded. “The elves have finally asked for support from us,” he noted. “The dwarves are best positioned to provide this support at the moment, along with some flying drones. Current s indicate they will clash right away; the battle might even have started already.”
“It seems it has,” Regina said, quickly reaching out to the psychic link to check. “The initial phase, at least.”
“Diplomatically, I advise keeping all of our promises, but we should not need to throw many of our troops into the grinder just yet,” Daine said. “This is their territory. We have been fighting the majority of this war, bearing its brunt without their help. The elves are ready for this fight, and operating on their home ground. They must take point.”
“Noted,” Regina said drily. He wasn’t the only person who thought so, and she understood the reasoning.
It didn’t mean she hadn’t already diverted troops. Ben was drawing up more plans and adjusting deployments as they spoke. But she did understand, and she wasn’t eager to throw her drones into this particular chasm either.
Regina focused on her drones on the ground for a moment. There were still Imperial diplomats in Ariedel, of course, along with some other drones, and Imperial forces — mostly just officers there for coordination right now.
They were currently starting to clash to the west of the city of Ariedel, farther out from her position and her reach. She assumed the Westerner army would be trying to advance on the city to take it, but it couldn’t be their immediate goal. The elves were ready to defend their territory with blood and steel, and Regina remembered enough of the last war fought over it to be confident they’d make the enemy bleed.
Iseis was already present as well, Regina noted. Speaking to the leaders in Ariedel at the moment. Well, at least that was one Champion on their side. Now the question was if the Westerners’ Champions could do enough to tilt this fight in their favor.
Regina suspected it would take a while, if nothing else. From flying drones, she’d watched the elves prepare their ground. The forest was their home, and they knew how to trap and decimate unsuspecting human soldiers in it.

Chapter 423: Dissidents and Informants