Chapter 79: His Majesty the King in Distress (Part 1)
While Rodel was stoking his ambitions and hatred in the detached palace, a man in the heart of the Royal Palace was sitting with his head in his hands, groaning in despair.
“Good grief… How did he grow up to be so foolish…?”
In the room that resembled a conference chamber, a large round table was set, around which three individuals were gathered.
One was the master of the palace—the King of the Aiwood Kingdom, David Aiwood. He was Rodel’s father and the man who should have been reigning at the pinnacle of the nation. Normally, he would stand tall and exude an air of authority, but today he slumped deeply into his chair, his back hunched. What troubled the King’s heart was the misdeeds of his third son, Rodel.
“To think he would unleash magic on his classmates right in the middle of the classroom… What on earth is he thinking?”
“Perhaps he isn’t thinking at all, Father,” replied a young man seated at the table.
This was Richard Aiwood, the First Prince of the Aiwood Kingdom. In his mid-twenties, he had already been formally recognized as the Crown Prince, making his ascension to the throne almost certain.
“Or perhaps his brain has devolved to the point where it’s filled with chiffon cake instead,” he added with a hint of sarcasm.
“Richard, this is no laughing matter.”
“I have no intention of making you laugh. I speak in earnest.”
As the King glared at his son, Richard merely snorted in response.
“He is a beast with an inflated sense of pride. It was a mistake to expect any semblance of intelligence from him… It was clear he would cause trouble sooner or later.”
“…………”
The King fell silent, acknowledging Richard’s words with a heavy heart.
He had known this would happen… It was true. Rodel, though a member of the royal family, was a man devoid of compassion or mercy. He was a man who thought only of satisfying his bloated pride and desires. Though Richard was his half-brother, he had never considered Rodel as such.
“Why not just deal with him now, given the circumstances? You have a justifiable reason, after all.”
“Do not speak of things you know cannot be done. You are aware of this as well.”
The King had wished to deal with Rodel more than once or twice. However, that was unfortunately not an option. Rodel was protected—by the late Queen Dowager and the Concubine. All the King could do was isolate Rodel and the Concubine in the detached palace, preventing any harm from reaching those who worked within the Royal Palace.
“Honestly… Why did Mother raise Rodel in such a way…?”
The King spoke with a tone of bitterness. The two protective walls surrounding Rodel were the late Queen Dowager and the Concubine. While it is said that a child’s sins are the responsibility of their parents, the King had not been involved in Rodel’s upbringing or education. Rodel had been raised and protected by the King’s mother, the Queen Dowager.
The Queen Dowager… her name was Frederica Aiwood. Her reputation was impeccable—perhaps too impeccable. A master of manipulating public sentiment, she had once united many to overthrow the tyrant of a previous king. At that time, she had decentralized the interests of the Aiwood Kingdom, which had been centralized, laying the groundwork for decentralization.
Some mocked her as a woman akin to a courtesan, claiming she could capture anyone’s heart with just a few words. However, her accomplishments far outweighed such jests. That was why her faction remained strong even after her death, continuing to protect Rodel.
“…Despite being her grandsons, Grandmother never paid any attention to my brother or me. Honestly, I cannot fathom what she was thinking.”
Richard lowered his gaze slightly as he spoke. The “brother” he referred to was not Rodel, but the Second Prince, Andrew Aiwood.
“I do not wish to speak ill of the dead, but it seems as though Grandmother intentionally allowed Rodel’s education to fail. Otherwise, how could such a foolish Foolish Prince come to be?”
“…That seems unlikely. The mother who once saved the kingdom from a tyrant likely lost her ability to make sound judgments in her later years due to her affection for her grandchildren.”
The King sighed. Though he had denied his son’s words, he too was uncertain about what the Queen Dowager had been thinking. She had been a remarkable figure who had deposed her tyrant husband and saved the kingdom, yet she had originally been a baron’s daughter, forced into becoming a queen by the previous king. During that time, her family had been destroyed. Her relatives and her fiancé had been killed, all because they opposed her marrying into the royal family and had incurred the wrath of the tyrant.
(Having her family and fiancé murdered and being forced to become the king’s wife… She deposed her husband and seized power. Mother, what were you truly thinking…?)
The King pondered, but there was no one left to answer his questions. The Queen Dowager had taken her secrets to the grave, never revealing her true thoughts even to her own son. Was it that she could not trust the son born of a man she had not wished to marry? Or was there another reason altogether?
“…Enough of this sentimentality. Shall we discuss what comes next instead?”
A figure who had remained silent until now finally spoke up. The man who had been listening to the conversation between the King and Richard was the Chancellor—Velios Crocus. He was the father of Celestine and held power second only to the King.
“Though Rodel is a villain, he is a minor one. He cannot commit grand evils. What we must do is dismantle those who stand behind him.”
“…Indeed.”
The King nodded at Velios’s words.
The faction that had revered the Queen Dowager was a thorn in the King’s side, a political enemy that frequently obstructed him. He could not afford to let those who might rally behind Rodel and incite rebellion go unchecked. They must be crushed without fail.
“It has come to my attention that the influential figure of the faction, Marquis Aiger, has made contact with Rodel, who is currently under house arrest in the detached palace. It seems he is plotting something nefarious.”
“…Do not take your eyes off Aiger. If we can expose his misdeeds and capture him, it may provide us with the opportunity to dismantle the faction.”
“…Understood.”
Velios acknowledged the King’s command and began to take action.
For Velios as well, the issue concerning Rodel was not merely someone else’s problem. His daughter, Celestine, had been made Rodel’s fiancée due to the machinations of the Queen Dowager. To free her from such a wretched man, he needed to dismantle the Queen Dowager’s faction as swiftly as possible.
As Rodel schemed in the shadows, those who opposed him were also beginning to move. The conflict that unfolded within the Royal Palace, sparked by a single boy, would soon reach its climax.