Rightful Ruler
Rightful Ruler
"Your Former Majesty, please have your men lay down their weapons" A knight said from behind the capital's large gate. The only former majesty that existed was of course Brennan Bosque and he could hardly believe the treatment he was receiving.
Plus, adding 'former' to his title HAD to be against etiquette! There was no real tell, no former king had willfully abdicated in Bosque even until now. They usually just died! Were they treating him like a dead man?
The thought made Brennan all the more furious. But he knew one thing for certain, these people had no intention of allowing him to return to the throne!
"Honorable knight!" The voice of Stuart shouted after giving Brennan a sidelong glance.
"Please just permit us entry, given the situation with the undead, we cannot let our guards down. The former king must be safely escorted into the palace!" Stuart continued causing Brennan to be shocked. Sell out!
'Go with it, this is the best way' W transmitted to Brennan who reeled in his shock. His pride was not letting him admit the 'former' title, but Stuart had already done him the favor.
"Yes! I DON'T FEEL SAFE!" Brennan shouted with a hint of anger. Stuart silently prayed for his future, the king would have it out for him later!
The knight behind the gate didn't respond, he was seriously considering the words of both Stuart and Brennan.
After a short while, the knight finally spoke.
"Your Majesty, you need acting lessons" The knight responded. Brennan's eye twitched. Acting lessons for a king? Who would dare put up a facade in front of him?!
Of course, all of this anger was only superficial. Brennan's thoughts were much calmer than he let on. He believed that causing a scene would force either Duke Lansworth or the current king to appear.
If they didn't… Well, he might really need to take up arms then. Leaving him at the gate was not just a sign of disregard, it was also a sign of hostility. You are not welcome!
Fortunately for Brennan, his face still had some value. It only took some a few more minutes of angry tirades before the 'king' showed himself.
Exiting from a carriage, the elegant and refined appearance of Miller Bosque greeted Brennan.
"Brother" Miller said with a smile.
"Hahaha" Brennan only laughed in reply.
"Let him in" Miller told the knights who didn't act upon the order immediately. The former king came with a force of over 100 individuals. While a single royal company COULD suppress this group, that would still be costly. Letting them in was not wise.
But after Miller shot them a second glance, they had to put away their grievances and open the gate to the capital. The large gate opened up and within a few minutes, Brennan and Miller found themselves inside the same carriage.
The carriage was decorated modestly, but some gold linings failed to hide the importance of the people inside. This was a carriage for Bosque royalty!
The two siblings didn't talk much on the way to the palace. Neither did they talk much as they entered it.
"I shall see to it that your company is properly compensated" Brennan Bosque told Stuart once they reached the palace. It was time for them to part ways. These knights and adventurers wouldn't be allowed into the palace if they had no business there.
"Dear brother, don't worry about it, I'll take care of this matter" Miller said still wearing a disingenuous smile.
The adventurers and knights could see the political discourse, but they cared less. The knights were eager to return to their family, and the adventurers were just eager for a paycheck. The deaths this time were small, but the battlefield imprinted in them a traumatic and harrowing sight. They wanted to leave this capital pronto!
Sensing the adventurers haste, Miller dismissed Brennan and had some guards lead him into a guest room. He stayed and took some time to explain to the adventurers where to claim their reward before finally leaving. This short interlude actually took an hour, Brennan and Miller did not meet in the throne room until 30 more minutes later.
Miller was of course sitting on the throne, while Brennan stood and looked around the room with familiarity.
"You've changed nothing" Brennan commented.
W who had been hearing their conversation for a while now couldn't help but become curious. He borrowed an eye as painlessly as possible from Brennan and admired the throne room's decor.
Brennan only sighed inwardly while pretending all was still good. Living with a monster inside you was not good at all! Who would have figured?
"Let's not beat around the bush, I can't give you the throne." Miller told Brennan who frowned. Though the two were siblings, Brennan was still older than Miller by a good 20 or so years.
"The young are impetuous" Brennan did not intend to bring up the topic so simply.
Miller did not take Brennan's words seriously at all, and only held an indifferent smile. There was no time for tomfoolery. Miller did not know the full extent of the Duke's goals, but the continent if not the world could very well be at stake.
"Where are my children?" Brennan diverted the topic.
"They are safe" Miller replied coolly.
Hearing this, silence reigned in the throne room. The knights and other staff didn't utter a word while the two kings looked at the other. The tension made everyone feel uncomfortable. No one broke the silence, so W took the initiative.
'You don't need to be king' W transmitted to Brennan who immediately put on a pensive expression.
"Why?" Brennan muttered silently.
'You just need to have the same or most of the rights of a king' W replied. Brennan was now truly in deep thought. W's idea was not bad, but would Miller allow it? He seemed unwilling to give up the throne after all.
"Will you excuse everyone else from the room?" Brennan asked Miller who instantly declined the offer.
"That didn't fare very well for my nephew" Miller responded irking Brennan. How could he call him a nephew? He hadn't admitted their blood relation! But, Brennan also realized that he didn't need to.
Miller and him did not look vastly different. Although they wouldn't be confused for siblings too easily, no one could deny that they both looked a lot like their father.
"Hmph, well my request is simple then. I'll formally retire as king…" Brennan told Miller with much difficulty. But the latter didn't even bat an eye.
"You just have to leave me with all the rights of a king!" Brennan told Miller who once again did not bat an eye.
"Ok, but my orders will take precedence" Miller said to Brennan who frowned. At this rate, Brennan would one day form wrinkles in the form of a sad face.
"You might suppress me" Brennan told Miller who for once actually frowned. This was hard.
Miller had no actual interest in the throne, just the power it had to help the duke. But that was also why he needed to keep the throne. His orders needed to be prioritized.
"Sigh… This is the problem of having more than one ruling party" Miller muttered. He studied this under the duke's household before. He knew quite a bit about politics.
"In that case, how about we split the rights?" Miller didn't need to be able to manage all state affairs, for example. If Brennan wanted that power, he could suit himself.
'Are you interested in military rights?' W asked Brennan.
"This wasn't the agreement" Brennan replied to W. Wasn't he supposed to help get back his throne?
'As long as you can secure yourself the same rights you will be king, just not in name' W told Brennan who wanted to lash out.
"That's not happening right now!" He grumbled loudly. The people watching were thinking the former king might have lost a screw or two.
It was at this moment that the throne room's door suddenly slammed open.
"Your Majesty! There are intruders! The Harvest march is also approaching the capital again!" A servant came carrying a distressing message.
"What?!" Miller asked in shock.
W also reacted by frowning mentally while Bloody who was restless inside Brennan's body stopped flowing and became curious.
"Explain!" Brennan himself asked.
"The- The Marquis must have only retreated temporarily!" The servant wailed feeling pressured by both the former and current king's sharp gaze.
"Not that, the intruders!" The knights in the room already moved to protect the king, and a few even went over to protect Brennan in case anything happened.
"Ass- Assassins!" The funny stutter of the anxious servant did not make a single person laugh.
"They must be the assassins that were intercepting our caravans" Miller said audibly. Those assassins were not easy to handle, he learned that the hard way!
With the threat of assassins, W had no choice but to be on guard. He and Bloody were the only ones that could really protect Brennan!
The latter might be a B-class magic swordsman but that alone was not enough! He was no longer at the peak of the B-class thanks to his previous illness!
'Brennan, let Bloody and I handle this!' W declared to the former king who stood rooted pensively.
"Brother, what do you think about ruling over the Harvest March?" Miller asked finding a solution. He only needed to rule over the parts connected to the forbidden forest.
"Deal!" Brennan shouted as a response to W in the heat of the moment.
Immediately thereafter, his senses faded and W took over. Not just that, he activated his sixth sense. No one would be able to hide from him!