Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 161 Seizing the throne
Norway's land is barren, and its taxes are far lower than those of other regions. Eric's standing army consists of only a 500-man palace guard. Sending 300 men to occupy Zealand means that only 200 men remain in the entire city of Oslo.

"That's too stingy. We should cut other expenses and squeeze out 100 pounds a year to hire more guards."

In the following days, the old king was busy taking stock of the accounts. Occasionally, he would mutter to himself while facing the ledgers, and then suddenly freeze for a moment, as if possessed by some evil spirit.

One day, he seemed to see the figure of his eldest son.

"It must be a hallucination. This guy is having a great time in Bergen, why would he come back here if he has nothing better to do?"

The old king lowered his head to continue working on the accounts, but his eldest son's face drew closer and closer until he was right in front of him. "Father, I'm back."

Why did you come back?

Eric said expressionlessly, “I have something to tell you. I heard that Nils found a crown in the longhouse of the lord of Schleswig.”

A crown? Why would Horst forge a crown without permission?
The old king closed the ledger, his previously dull eyes suddenly brightening. "What are your sources of information?"

“Niels wrote to me saying that Horst’s study contained a map of Oslo and two letters.”

The old king slowly stood up, leaning on his desk. "You want to accuse your uncle, claiming he covets my throne?"

Young Eric sighed, took out two letters, written in a simplified form of Norse script, which had already spread widely in Nordic society. The old king took the letters and read them aloud word by word.

After his father finished reading, young Eric clapped his hands and had the soldiers bring in two nervous and uneasy clerks. "You want to interrogate them yourself?"

Ten minutes later, the old king dismissed the two traitorous officials and focused his attention on his eldest son.

Since he had contact with Nils and obtained Horst's letters, and considering the recent series of events, the old king concluded:
"Was it you who secretly orchestrated Niels's easy conquest of Denmark?"

Eric looked dejected. "Yes, my original plan was for him to plunder Schleswig along the way, but he took the opportunity to gamble everything. These lowly fellows love to gamble; they'll risk anything for the slightest chance. Ragnar, Ivar, Vig, Gunnar—in the end, these country peasants surpassed us nobles. As king, you have to lower yourself to deal with Ragnar, a junior. I wonder what you think about that?"

Ignoring his eldest son's subtle sarcasm, the old king gazed at the empty hall and vaguely guessed his purpose—not to offer advice, but to seize the throne.

Yes, those soldiers were clearly following his lead, obviously bribed, probably with money smuggled from Bergen.

Slumped back into his seat, the old king rubbed his forehead. "I've been feeling listless lately and unintentionally overlooked your plans. Since we've lost, I have nothing to say. The question is, what do you intend to do with Eve and Heath?"

“Killing one’s parents will incur the curse of the gods, and I will stay away from such a sin. It just so happens that the temple you funded has recently been completed; let them become shamans, serving the gods for life, so they will no longer be burdened by worldly affairs.”

As the conversation progressed, Eric's speech became increasingly fluent. He then took out paper and pen and began helping his father draft an abdication decree. At that moment, in a dark corner of the hall, Eve covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face, and tiptoed away.

After returning to her bedroom and changing into civilian clothes, Eve secretly escaped to the harbor. The midday sun shone directly on the rough wooden dock, where dozens of boats of varying sizes were moored beside the pier, and the waves lapped against the hulls with muffled thuds.

Are there any ships going out to sea?

Eve asked again, and learned that two merchant ships were about to set sail, one for Landeneum and the other for Schleswig. Suddenly, the muffled clanging of metal came from afar, and a large group of guards rushed to the dock, their scale armor gleaming blindingly white in the sunlight. Landeneum, Schleswig.

Two choices tormented her reason: should she go to Rendinium to seek refuge with her aunt Sola, or go to Schleswig to find Nils—the man who had admired her for over a decade?

At this moment, the captain couldn't help but shout, "Hey, are you coming or not?" Although he didn't understand what was happening, the appearance of a large group of armored soldiers on the street meant that chaos was inevitable. The captain was only thinking about getting away as soon as possible to prevent the ship and its cargo from being seized.

Eve squinted and looked up at the sky. Now that her brother was in power, she was no longer a beloved princess, but a woman with the title of princess. Even if she escaped to Londinium, she would only become a bargaining chip in political transactions.

Ultimately, she boarded the Kirk ship bound for Schleswig, where Nils rose rapidly through the chaos, and even if he did not become King of Denmark, he at least had the title of Duke.

Before the soldiers arrived, the Kirk ship weighed anchor and set sail. As Eve watched her hometown recede into the distance, her vision became increasingly blurred, and she could only try to remain calm and comfort herself.

The Duchess, that sounds nice too.

Enduring the covetousness of the captain and sailors, Eve arrived in Schleswig unharmed. When she saw Nils again, he seemed to have changed; the silly grin on his face had vanished, replaced by a gloomy-faced ruler surrounded by a large retinue.

"your Highness?"

Niels dismissed his incessantly chattering attendants, poured Eve a glass of mead, and listened with an unusually indifferent expression as she recounted her recent experiences.

Haha, I didn't expect the fat guy to have this kind of guts. I misjudged him.

Having learned the whole story of Eric's usurpation of the throne, he seemed to be deep in thought. He then summoned two maids and said, "You have traveled a long way and are exhausted. Please go and rest for now."

"Nothing else? I think we have a lot to talk about." Eve, taken aback and slightly flustered, left the lord's hall at the urging of her maid.

For the next ten days or so, she was confined to a narrow bedroom, with maids bringing her food and water regularly, as if she were under house arrest.

One day, a maid told Eve that the lord wanted to see her.

Lord? It seems Nils is still struggling with his title, neither daring to call himself king nor content to be a duke.

Eve tried to figure out what the guy was thinking and decided to offer some suggestions to prove her worth.

After changing into presentable clothes and carefully grooming herself, she leisurely entered the lord's hall. Nils still looked tired and irritable, repeatedly examining a parchment map, surrounded by three chattering knights; judging from their accents, two of them seemed to be Anglo-Saxons.

"Please wait a moment, allow me to adjudicate the territorial disputes for the knights first." During this time, Nils was exhausted from the noise from his subordinates.

Besides the merits and talents of the recipient, he also had to consider the internal balance: Viking raiders, Anglo-Saxon militia, sailors, and surrendered local nobles. He had to be careful not to let any of them become too powerful and affect his own authority.

(End of this chapter)