"Rodrick, I need something from you. And I hope you won't say no to me."
Rodrick laughed. He knew Eren's demand was coming. So he wasn't surprised. He had already decided to do everything to help Eren. After all, he helped Rodrick when no one else would.
"Tell me. I'm all ears."
Eren nodded before stating his demands.
"I want every kind of dirt the royal spies have on the House Lancelot. I want every classified detail you can gather about the city of Lancelot. And lastly, I would like individual profiles of some of the key members of House Lancelot."
Rodrick was shocked and puzzled by Eren's demand. He looked at Eren confusingly before asking him in a voice laced with doubt.
"When did House Lancelot mess with you or your guild? Aren't House Slughorn and House Re…"
Eren shook his head and cut the crown prince off mid-sentence.
"I can't tell you. I am only going to tell you what I want and not why I want it."
Rodrick reclined in his chair and rested his arms on the armchair. Another doubt surfaced in his mind.
"It's not House Lancelot that messed with you. No, it's you. You want to mess with House Lancelot."
Rodrick's face turned serious as he tried to understand the implications of Eren's actions in his head. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Eren before speaking grimly.
"Eren, you know I'll support you. But do you really know the consequences of your actions? Why must you go after House Lancelot? I don't see any connection it has with you.
Must you poke the bear when it sleeps peacefully and does no harm to you? I mean... ugh!"
Eren shrugged his shoulders before answering Rodrick's question.
"This is not something I want. But something I must do. Let's not beat around the bush. Can you do it? A simple yes or no will suffice."
Rodrick had stress lines on his forehead as he heard Eren's ultimatum. He had to say that this was the least convenient time Eren could ask him for a favor like this.
House Lancelot was always one of Edinburgh's powerhouses since its inception. Its importance in the kingdom's eyes had increased multi-fold against the backdrop of the war.
Furthermore, House Lancelot did not interfere in kingdom politics in any way. Meaning the kingdom of Edinburgh also had less legal and moral grounds to interfere in its internal affairs.
Still, Edinburgh wouldn't shy away from gathering dirt on House Lancelot just because it was cooperative with the kingdom. On the contrary, Edinburgh's secret forces needed to keep House Lancelot in check because it was so influential.
Eren guessed it right. He didn't ask Rodrick if the royal spies had intel on House Lancelot or not. He just asked Rodrick to hand it over.
Rodrick wanted to know the reason behind Eren's sudden interest in House Lancelot. But he knew Eren wouldn't tell him anything just because he asked nicely. Sighing, he replied defeatedly.
"Yes."
Eren smiled when he heard Rodrick's confirmation. He was about to say something, but then he saw Rodrick raising his index finger in the air, prompting Eren to let him finish.
"I'll give everything I can gather about House Lancelot to you, Eren. But you need to make sure that Edinburgh's interests are not harmed by your moves. And need I remind you that you might get your hands burned if you play with fire too much?"
Eren smiled lightly. "I'll try," he said, which didn't sound like much of a commitment to Rodrick.
'This guy's either going to ruin everything he has built so far or...' Rodrick contemplated. 'Or maybe', Rodrick said to himself, a hint of worry appearing in his eyes as he considered each option.
"Give me a few days to pull some strings. You'll get what you want like you received the Beast Transformation spell in the past."
Eren nodded. "Take your time, Your Highness. But do it right. And do it thoroughly," he said.
The butcher thought for a while before divulging the information he received from House Remus. Rodrick was the right guy for this type of information sharing.
"Rodrick, you might want to check on House Slughorn. I know you might think I'm inciting you against Slughorns because I have enmity for them. And partly, that might be true.
But let's just say that the Slughorns are about to make moves that are not in Edinburgh's best interests. Of course, you can choose to take preemptive action against House Slughorn or wait for it to commit treason.
But if you do take preemptive action, keep me in the loop. I'll help you with the clean-up to the best of my abilities. That too without charging Edinburgh a dime."
Rodrick snorted hearing Eren's words. "It scares me when you say you want to do something for free. Makes me wonder if there's something I'm not seeing in the whole picture."
Rodrick joked. But he treated Eren's information as a solid lead. If the Slughorns were really about to commit treason, it was time to get rid of them once and for all. After all, this period was less about diplomatic solutions and more about settling things with violence.
Plus, as the crown prince of Edinburgh, Rodrick had an opportunity to increase his popularity in the inner circles if and when he apprehended traitors of this caliber. The kingdom was also not worried about creating a void in the potion market because of Slughorn's untimely exit from the market. The White Raven potions along with a few other brands were perfectly capable of fulfilling rankers' daily and wartime needs.
'It's time to get rid of the fucking snake before it bites.'
Eren thought to himself as he made plans to strip House Slughorn of everything it had to offer before destroying it completely. Some old chapters in life need to be closed to make room for new ones, after all.
Eren and Rodrick chatted for a few hours after that. They had drinks and caught up on various subjects just like in the past. In the end, they both bid adieu to each other when concluding their discussion.
