An Understated Dominance - Chapter 2546

When Nathaniel finally regained consciousness, evening had already fallen.

Outside his room, Lycas and Bryce stood on guard with a team of elite soldiers.

His mother, Cynthia Spanner, stood anxiously at his bedside, accompanied by several imperial physicians. The moment she heard her son had collapsed, she rushed over with the doctors in tow.

Nathaniel was her only child. She had poured everything into raising him, ensuring he had the very best. Fortunately, he had lived up to every expectation—standing out among the princes and earning the right to compete for the throne.

Lately, Cynthia had been carefully planning Nathaniel’s future. But just as everything seemed to be falling into place, this sudden crisis had shaken her deeply.

Thankfully, the situation wasn’t critical—he had only passed out from stress.

“Nathaniel, how are you feeling? Are you alright?” Cynthia asked, stepping quickly to his side as he opened his eyes.

“Mother? Why are you here?” he asked, rubbing his aching head as he slowly sat up.

“I heard something happened, so of course I had to come check on you,” she said.

She took a bowl of medicine from the maid and gently brought it to his lips.
“Drink this. It’ll help you recover.”

He nodded and drank it down in one motion.

“Even the most priceless treasure isn’t worth your health,” Cynthia said, trying to comfort him. “If you really want it, I’ll have someone find another one for you. What matters now is that you get better.”

“I know,” Nathaniel replied. “It’s just that everything happened so fast. In the heat of the moment…”

His voice trailed off as he clenched his fists, his face darkening. After years of collecting those treasures, to lose most of them in a single night—it was enough to drive anyone mad.

“I already know what happened,” Cynthia said calmly. “You don’t have to worry about it anymore. Leave the rest to me.”

“What? Have they caught the thief?” Nathaniel asked, eyes narrowing.

She shook her head. “No. No one’s been caught, and we’re not in a position to go after them.”

“Mother, what do you mean?” he asked with a frown.

“You were set up,” Cynthia said with a sigh. “You rushed in, blinded by ambition. That’s how they trapped you. Let this be a lesson.”

“Set up?” Nathaniel’s frown deepened.
“You think Logan set me up?”

He didn’t have hard proof, but he wasn’t naive. The vault was breached right after Dustin handed him the Dracan essence. No matter how he looked at it, all signs pointed to that man.

The place had been packed with traps and tight security. Nathaniel was convinced that only someone of Dustin’s caliber could have triggered the alarms and vanished without a trace.

Still, even if he suspected Dustin, he couldn’t move against him without evidence.

“He’s just the muscle. There’s someone else behind him, pulling the strings,” Cynthia said, her tone turning grave.

“Then who is it? Who’s targeting me?” Nathaniel growled.

He clenched his teeth, rage burning in his eyes. At this point, only Matthias and Tristan stood in his way. If either of them were scheming against him, he swore they’d pay the price.

But Cynthia seemed to read his thoughts and shook her head. “It’s not Matthias or Tristan. If I’m right, it’s your father.”

“Father?” Nathaniel froze, disbelief flashing across his face. “That’s impossible. He’s always favored me. Why would he send someone after me?”

Cynthia sighed, weariness creeping into her voice. “Nathaniel, your father always puts the nation above all else. The Dracan essence is tied to the country’s fate—it’s not something you should meddle with.

“If you’d surrendered it, you might’ve left a good impression. But now that you’ve chosen to keep it, you’ve made a grave mistake.

“You’re not the crown prince. You don’t have the right to shoulder the destiny of the nation. That’s why he had to take the Dracan essence back.”

“Still, he could’ve just told me. Why resort to all this?” Nathaniel frowned, confused.

He couldn’t fathom why Valon would go to such extremes. If he wanted the Dracan essence, he could’ve simply sent someone to ask for it.

“The king’s mind is hard to read,” Cynthia replied. “Your father has his reasons. For now, let it go. Pretend it never happened, do you understand?”

“Mother, what if you’re overthinking this? What if he doesn’t even know?” Nathaniel asked. He still struggled to accept her conclusion.

“Nothing in Oakvale escapes your father’s notice. Without his order, who would dare steal from your mansion?” Cynthia reasoned.

While Nathaniel lay unconscious, she had already launched an investigation. Only a handful of people knew he had the Dracan essence, so she thought it would be easy to trace the leak.

But her efforts led nowhere. Even with the Spanner family’s considerable influence, she found no solid leads.

All she discovered was that whoever orchestrated the theft had access to an intelligence network far superior to hers. And in Dragonmarsh, only the royal family had the power to eclipse the Spanners.

Grace commanded the royal intelligence network and answered only to Valon. That meant everything she did had the king’s implicit approval.

That was why Cynthia urged Nathaniel to drop the matter and act as though nothing had happened. Going up against Valon would only end in disaster.