Chapter 1: The Death of the Ruler

     

   

“The king has passed away!”

The messenger cried out at the gate of the palace.

The guards raised a black flag, signifying the death of the ruler.

“Your Majesty!” The servants’ cries were heard across the palace.

The storm that afternoon added a frigid feeling to their loss.

The group of court ministers entered the late king’s chamber.

 Inside was his wife — the Queen, together with their only son.

The ministers kneeled in front of the king’s corpse. “Your Majesty, take us with you,” they screamed in unison.

Hearing the people’s cries, the queen, holding the king’s corpse, started to breathe excessively hard and fast.

The crown prince approached the queen and patted her back. “Mother, are you alright?” he asked with anxiety.

The ministers started to panic. “Get the physician now,” one of them ordered the servants.

After a moment, the physician arrived and took the queen away from the king’s chamber.

The bewildered crown prince followed the physician when a seemingly older man with white hair and a grumpy expression arrived and stopped him. “Stay, Prince Alaric.”

“Chief Minister Eliphas,” he exclaimed.

The older man turned out to be the highest-sitting minister of the kingdom — Reginald Eliphas.

The Chief Minister then approached the lifeless body of the late king and looked closely at it.

There was a stain of blood on the corpse’s mouth.

He then glanced at Alaric. “Hail to the new King of Grellis,” he announced.

The court ministers kneeled in front of him. “Long live, King Alaric Clementine,” they shouted in unison.

“Is it the time for this?” Alaric asked, genuinely confused.

His father was dead, and his mother was in poor condition. He couldn’t bring himself to take over the throne in that situation.

The older man sighed heavily. “This kingdom would crumble if no king existed, even for a day.”

“The new king has one year to reach the right age to rule. A regent is needed, Chief Minister,” Minister Paxton said.

“Of course, a regent is needed. I respectfully nominate myself, for that matter.” The chief minister had a terrifying grin that sent cold shivers down Alaric’s spine.

An awkward atmosphere surrounded the late king’s chamber.

The ministers were too dumbfounded to answer the chief minister’s proclamation.

The silence let them hear the raging storm outside.

“The queen mother should be the regent.” Alaric finally shattered the deafening silence. He clenched his fist tightly, trying to counter the chief minister’s threatening presence.

The chief minister laughed hysterically, demeaning his statement.

“The people wouldn’t think so,” he told him, with so much certainty in his voice.

“Of course, he’s confident,” Alaric told himself.

After all, Chief Minister Reginald Eliphas was a war hero. He led the Knights to the great war years ago, then came back victorious with an additional vast territory for the kingdom of Grellis.

He was one of the reasons why their nation was thriving. The people and the knights held him in high esteem.

“Prince Marcano Clementine is eyeing the throne. He wouldn’t waste this precious chance to get a hold of it,” Chief Minister Eliphas added.

Hearing the words of the chief minister, Alaric became petrified.

Prince Marcano was the selfish brother of the late king. It was an open secret that he wanted to seize the royal power.

 Alaric returned to his senses when the Chief Minister gripped his right shoulder.

 “Choose what’s promising for you,” the older man whispered.

There was no better option in any of them.

Alaric knew that much.

Chief Minister Eliphas and Prince Marcano had both greed for power. And now that the king was dead, they had finally shown their fangs.

***

A month had passed since the funeral and burial of the late king.

The sun shone brilliantly that morning, reflecting Alaric’s radiant skin.

He was walking away from the queen mother’s chamber after visiting her.

After the late king’s demise, the queen mother fell into a black void of depression that permanently damaged her. She couldn’t talk, let alone live her everyday life.

Because of this, Chief Minister Eliphas became his regent.

No one was powerful enough to interfere with the older man.

“Your Majesty!”

Alaric heard a familiar voice.

He looked around to see Danko rushing towards him.

The man was his personal attendant. He was a knight until he gained irreparable damage to his body, thus making him his servant now.

“There is a problem, isn’t it?” Alaric asked his servant.

“Of course, there’s a problem. It’s been very problematic ever since I took over the throne.” He said to himself.

“Chief Minister Eliphas was looking for you,” the servant said while holding his chest, gasping for air.

 Alaric became pale at the mention of the older man’s name.

No matter how many times he met him, he couldn’t bring himself to face him without gathering much courage inside his heart.

The older man’s presence was too sinister.

There’s bloodlust, greed, and selfishness.

*****

“His Majesty, the king, has arrived,” the messenger shouted, informing everyone inside the court.

The ministers rounded up to welcome his arrival.

Alaric strolled up to his throne.

“The royal coronation will be held two weeks from now. Therefore, we must choose the next queen,” Chief Eliphas didn’t beat around the bush and directly stated the matter.

Alaric expected this much.

He knew that eventually, the Chief Minister would raise the subject.

In a royal coronation held in front of the public, a new queen should be introduced aside from the enthronement of a new king.

He swallowed his breath before answering the raised matter. “The late king had already chosen someone for that role a long ago,” he said with a trembling voice.

 It was the truth.

The late king had chosen Jestina Castemont for the role of queen.

She’s the daughter of Minister Castemont. Their fathers had been close friends ever since they were children, the reason Jestina was the only marriage candidate for him.

Fortunately, they liked each other.

Chief Minister Eliphas raised his right eyebrow. “Who is it, then?” His voice was low yet aggressive.

“Jestina of Castemont Family,” he answered as short as he could.

               The Chief Minister let out a spine-chilling laugh.

He focused on Minister Castemont, who was standing on the side. “Is that so, Minister Castemont? Is this your wish?” The older man said with arrogance in his voice.

               Minister Castemont didn’t answer the mockery of the chief minister.

“This kingdom would end because the people in it wanted enormous power but do not have the brain for it,” the chief minister added, obviously taunting Minister Castemont.

The poor minister clutched his fist tightly. “I do not seek power, Chief Minister. The late king had a soft spot for my daughter. Mocking her is mocking his decision.”

The Chief Minister didn’t seem to care for Minister Castemont’s words and instead laughed hysterically.

His laughter was so evil. It sounded like it was straight from hell.

Alaric couldn’t stand the mockery of the chief minister to the Castemonts. “I love the woman, and I wanted her to be my queen,” he said with fixed conviction.

It was the first time he confidently said something to Chief Minister Eliphas.

The chief minister glared at him and smirked. “A powerful nation is made of many things. Love isn’t one of them,” he said as he walked nearer to the throne. “There is someone most qualified for the position of queen.”

There was it.

Alaric knew it.

The ministers knew it.

The greed of the chief minister would play a role in choosing the next queen.

His evilness knew no bound.

“Who is it?” Alaric asked the older man standing in front of him.

“Asteria Eliphas, my daughter,” the chief minister answered.

All the people inside the court were dumbfounded when they heard the name of Chief Minister Eliphas’ daughter.

“The chief minister isn’t wasting any chances. He will grab every opportunity to seize power.” Alaric told himself.

He couldn’t believe that the older man would go to that extent.

Once again, an uneasy sensation filled the court.

Everyone was silent.

               Chief Minister Eliphas noticed no one dared to counter him; then he talked, “I will arrange your meeting with her, Your Majesty.”

***

Alaric was walking in circles in his chamber.

He was still enraged about the outcome of the meeting earlier that day.

How could the chief minister control even his romantic affair?

He drank the cup filled with sake in one gulp.

 When Alaric noticed the bottle was almost empty, he shouted, “Danko! Get a bottle of sake! I want to get drunk until I perish.”

His servant immediately handed him a bottle of sake. “What should I do, Danko? I want to control everything according to my desires, but I couldn’t do even a single thing because I am weak.”

 Alaric couldn’t hide his frustration. He let out his feelings to his servant.

“You are not weak. You are just new to the system, your majesty,” Danko said while pouring sake into his cup.

Danko’s words captivated his interest.

He thought that his servant’s words made sense.

“I want to hear your thoughts, Danko,” he said, convincing him to elaborate on what he was saying.

Danko scratched his head and realized he had just opened up a dangerous idea. “Well, I think you must gain knowledge about your enemies and hit them on their weakness, your majesty. That’s how the system works.”

Alaric stared at his servant without winking. He put his chin between his forefinger and thumb. “Do you have any idea how I could do that?” He asked him.

Danko moved closer to him and whispered, “There’s a man who worked for the knights before. He was in close competition with Chief Minister Eliphas for the title of knight commander until the latter became a war hero and took all the glory away. The man went away, never to return when Chief Minister Eliphas’ political ambition started to flourish.”

 “What’s with this man? How can he help me?” Alaric asked his servant once further.

“You have the same goal and intensity of hatred for Chief Minister Eliphas. The old minister was rumored to take credit for this man’s victory in the last great war. He can help you,” Danko murmured in a lower voice, fearing that a spy of the chief minister was lurking around.

“How could I find him?” The curiosity of Alaric for this man finally emerged.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend, they say.” He thought.

“There is one among the knights who knew his location. We can seek his help,” his servant said with enthusiasm in his tone.

“Send a message to Sir Byron if he could find our man,” he ordered Danko.

Byron was his personal knight when he was a crown prince. Now that he’s the king, Byron continued to join the knight’s expedition. “

As I should, your majesty,” Danko replied.