Chapter 41
A month had gone by since Roseline became unconscious.
It had been the longest month of Louis and Kingston's lives.
The palace had gradually returned to its normal routine. Maids went about their duties, palace officials handled their responsibilities, and the guards remained stationed at their respective posts.
For many, the fear and uncertainty brought by the storm had slowly faded.
But a few still remembered it vividly. Or perhaps they simply didn't wish to forget.
How could they? A weapon had been handed to them just like that. They needed to make good use of it.
Louis and Kingston, they were always by Roseline's side. Almost attached to her bedside.
Especially Louis.
He had practically turned Roseline and Kingston's chamber into his courtroom. Whenever there was an important report or matter that required his attention, it was brought directly to the chamber.
Kingston had repeatedly told him to leave the court matters and allow him to take care of Roseline.
"Go and attend to your duties," Kingston would say. "I'll take care of my woman."
But Louis never budged.
"No," he would simply reply. "You can attend in my stead."
What they don't know is that..
Louis stayed beside his sister for two purpose; to help her stabilize her awakening power and.... to allow the fish take the bait!
He was waiting for his bait to catch before reeling it in. While also taking care of his precious little sister.
And none of the people in the room also knows what Roseline was going through, only he knows because he had passed through it once.
They all did not know the imperious state she was. If he should leave her for a second, she might burn to ashe. Everytime her body goes hot and the power becomes uncontrollable for her, he would use his own power to circulate it and guide it back to where its needed. Stopping the heat from leaking out of her.
The reason why kingston could seat beside her now, closer to her. Why everyone could now approach her unlike before when the room itself felt like an Oven.
The royal family also made sure to visit Roseline every morning and evening.
Her uncles and aunts from her mother's side came frequently, unable to stay away from her for long.
Louis and Roseline were the last surviving bloodline of their father's royal family.
On the night of the purge, the rebels had made sure to eradicate the entire royal family.
They had searched everywhere for the young prince and princess.
For months, they searched.
But they found nothing and eventually, they gave up.
Who would have thought that the overlooked prince—the little boy they had neglected and stopped searching for after only four months without news of his whereabouts—would one day return?
And not just return. He returned to serve them a dish from the afterlife.
Louis cleansed the palace in the most brutal and unforgettable way. After his ascension to the throne, no one dared to think of rebellion or treason again.
Every report was still delivered to him, even when he was absent from the court. No one dared to openly question his absence.
No one dared to plot against him either. They all knew that anything concerning the princess was a taboo.
The official explanation was simple. The princess was sick. No one knew the cause.
They only knew that she was unwell.
But rumours had a way of spreading.
At first, the whispers circulated among the nobles.
Then gradually, they began to reach the commoners.
Before long, the whole palace was in an uproar.
"Who started these rumours?" the Minister of National Affairs demanded. "Find out immediately. Send investigators after them!"
"But—"
The Prime Minister interrupted.
"We should inform His Majesty and allow him to decide what should be done."
The Left Minister immediately turned toward him.
"Aren't you the one who has been leading the court since His Majesty stopped attending?"
His voice rose.
"And haven't you been making important decisions and only reporting them to him afterward?"
The courtroom fell silent.
"So why can't you make a decision now?"
The Prime Minister's expression darkened.
The Left Minister continued mercilessly.
"You know very well that His Majesty has barely attended court for the past two weeks. He has been avoiding court matters completely. The files on his table are piled high in two rows."
"If we wait for His Majesty to make a decision, won't it be too late to salvage the situation?"
His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Prime Minister... are you perhaps one of the people who started these rumours?"
The peaceful court immediately descended into chaos. Voices rose from every corner of the hall. Some officials defended the Left Minister. Others quickly came to the Prime Minister's defence.
Before long, the court had divided itself into three groups. One remained neutral, One supported the Left Minister. And the other supported Prime Minister Lawrence.
It was perhaps one of the most chaotic and embarrassing court sessions in the history of Highcrest. The officials nearly came to blows. Almost pulling and hitting eachother.
That evening, after the court session had finally ended, Lucas reported everything to Louis. He didn't leave out a single detail.
Lucas had always attended the court to observe and monitor its activities. He was there to keep track of important discussions and reports, and he would only intervene when necessary.
He had been ordered to do so by Louis himself but something had changed two weeks ago.
The same week Louis stopped attending to court matters.
During one of the meetings, Prime Minister Lawrence had openly insulted Lucas. "Don't put your dirty mouth into matters concerning the nation," Lawrence had said coldly. "These matters are not for a lowlife and an illiterate like you. You are here to guard His Majesty, not interfere in royal meetings."
Lucas had frowned. "I was ordered by the King to attend. Are you questioning His Majesty's command?"
But Lawrence's words only became harsher.
"The King gave that command when he was thinking clearly. Now, he's bothered and overstressed because of his sister's illness. He has forgotten about the rules of the court." A jab to lucas but was actually indirectly an insult to Louis, coating it to look as if he was guarding the court rules.
In his eyes, an unhidden contempt as he swept it over Lucas frame.
"You cannot take advantage of that to involve yourself in court affairs. Guard the throne if you must, but don't say a word."
It was as though Lawrence was telling him: You are merely a dog meant to guard. So guard the empty throne in the King's absence.
The court is mine now.m, not yours. And perhaps... not even your King's anymore.
After narrating everything, Lucas watched Louis carefully.
To his surprise, Louis chuckled. "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time."
Lucas was stunned. He wondered what his King meant.
"I expected something like this to happen when I stopped going to court," Louis continued.
"And when I even told you to stand in for me." Louis leaned back, his smile growing colder." I knew something like this would happen eventually. "
"It took him two weeks to show his true colours." He chuckled again. "So, he couldn't wait any longer."
Lucas remained silent, still trying to understand.
Then realization dawned on him. When louis had told them to get ready, all the shadow guards a month ago, after Roseline fainted, he was already preparing for this!
Louis's eyes turned sharp. "Tell the Shadows to remain alert every second."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
And from that day onward, Louis completely closed himself off from matters concerning the court.
He left everything in Lawrence's hands.
As for the rumours spreading throughout the kingdom? Louis had only one response.
"Let them circulate."
The more people who heard them...
The better.
Because while everyone believed their King had abandoned the court because of his unconscious sister, Louis was simply waiting.
Waiting for Lawrence to make his next move.
And when he finally did...