Den of Vipers (13)
This was it. Gobert shut his mouth.
His father was of course a good man, the one who had spared Gobert's life, but he was still one of the vipers in the royal palace. He might be the most humane of the bunch, but his venom was no less deadly.
No one knew what might come back to bite him if he gave the wrong answer here.
"I'm already placing those who will realize my intentions in key positions in the palace. When I announce you as my successor, they'll shield you from the backlash."
"Father, I have no intention of becoming king."
"But you must become king."
Gobert answered with silence.
"You're next in line after Elua, Gobert. But naming you successor now would cause quite a stir."
"You're right, Father. And as I said, I have no desire to be king."
"But you must become king."
"Father, I must say it again—I have no intention of—"
"Gobert. Do you think I became king because I wanted to?"
The king gave a bitter smile.
"People have a tendency to misunderstand. They think everyone wants to be king. But that's not true. It's not the king's own will that makes a king—it's the will of those who want to use him. Wearing the crown is like thrusting your neck halfway into the guillotine."
Gobert said nothing. Keeping his mouth shut was the wisest course right now.
"Become king, Gobert. I've already begun the preparations to make you my successor. And above all..."
Gobert sat still, waiting for what came next.
"Elua is pulling the intelligence bureau and the palace mages into her fold, Gobert. You might not realize it, but there's a dangerous undercurrent between my people positioning you for the throne and those she's recruited."
"I hadn't heard. And forgive me, Father, but even if I'm pushed into becoming king, what could I possibly do? I'm a nobody with no foundation. I couldn't bear the weight of the crown."
"That's why I've appointed you as forward commander."
"Pardon...?!"
Gobert was struck speechless by the absurd declaration, as shocking as hearing Bertrand say he was going to run an inn.
"Go to the forward command. Take control of Lucia's six legions and wait."
"What are you saying?"
"By the time you go, I'll have finished selecting and placing those who will support you. Bide your time, then return to the palace at the right moment. At the head of your legions."
Gobert could only gape at his father, utterly baffled.
"Return at the head of the legions? Why?"
"By then, the palace and capital will be engulfed in the chaos Elua's faction unleashes. Use your legions to sweep them away and claim the crown legitimately."
"You're telling me to... stage a coup...?"
"Not a coup—a loyalist force, Gobert."
Gobert spotted the flaw in that statement.
"Father, Elua is the rightful heir. How can opposing her be called loyalty...?"
"Elua won't be in the palace by then."
"What do you—"
"While you're away on your duties as forward commander, Elua will be executed for treason."
An eerie silence descended on the office.
Gobert doubted his own ears. Anyone hearing their father declare he would execute their sister would react the same way.
As Gobert reeled in shock, unable to speak, the king laid out his plan.
He would send Gobert to the forward command like a demotion. Then pin treason on the emboldened Elua and Duke Alvis. The details didn't matter. If the king said it would happen, it would.
Elua and Alvis would be executed, and Gobert would step in to quell the fierce backlash. If one couldn't be taken care of, prioritize Elua. Duke Alvis had the noble council behind him, making him trickier to "deal with."
"You'll be the kingdom's savior, Gobert. By then, the palace will be filled with your supporters, and with you commanding six legions, the noble council won't dare oppose."
Gobert's ears rang; nothing else registered. The only words that stuck were "Elua" and "executed."
"Father... how could you execute Elua..."
"Elua's condition is deteriorating... If left as is, she'll only hinder a smooth succession, Gobert. If she's going to die anyway..."
Gobert shouted, cutting him off.
"Father! Elua is your daughter—my only sibling!"
"Can you even call that thing your sister? Family?"
"Then what is she if not?!"
The king's smile faded slowly.
"Gobert... The truth is, Elua is plotting to kill you."
"Pardon...?"
"She's caught on to my intent to pass the throne to you instead of her, so she's planning to kill you first."
"Father, do you really expect me to believe that...?"
"And if you don't?"
Gobert fell silent.
"What then? Will that stop Elua's assassins from coming to your quarters? Or suddenly cure her madness and make everything normal?"
The king looked at him pityingly.
"Gobert, a king doesn't do things because he wants to, nor can he avoid them because he doesn't. The palace has immense currents you can't refuse, shifting every moment. I became king by not fighting them—and you must do the same."
"I can't understand that."
"That's politics and power for you. They can change kings overnight."
Gobert clamped his mouth shut, saying no more.
"Gobert... Do you remember what I told you when you were young?"
The king spoke with a sigh and a bitterly sweet smile.
"The palace is a den of vipers. They tear and kill each other until only one remains..."
For days, Gobert holed up in his quarters, replaying his conversation with the king.
A horrifying plan to kill his own blood. Gobert could never condone it.
But refusing the forward command was impossible, and even without it, the palace would fill with those opposing Elua. Defying his father's orders after arriving would be even harder.
The situation demanded Gobert become king, and his father would aggressively remove obstacles. For a king with no base like Gobert to inherit stably, a storm of blood would rage in the palace for a while.
Whether Gobert took the command or not, as long as his father lived, Elua's fate was sealed.
"Elua..."
To Gobert, Elua was a precious little sister.
Until Bertrand came to the palace, she was the only family who treated him without prejudice.
Gobert vividly remembered Elua before she lost her mind. Sneaking over the inner palace's vine fences at midnight in her small body to escape the watch keeping her from her "abandoned" brother. Bringing snacks pilfered from the kitchens in her skirt hems, chattering as they shared them—the kind, adorable girl. Giggling at the strict chamberlain and stuffy ministers' scoldings—his one and only sister.
When girlhood Elua swung a longsword wildly, Gobert armored up in plate mail, taking countless blows to finally wrest the blade away.
Exhausted from wrestling him, Elua collapsed and said she was grateful he never gave up on her.
Whether sincere or madness-spoken nonsense, Gobert didn't know. But even if she'd gone mad, he couldn't abandon her like his father. He wasn't a viper, and he wouldn't bite her to death.
Besides, Elua could be healed. Gobert admitted her state was dire, but hadn't she acted almost normal with big brother Bertrand around?
But... Gobert had no power to stop his father. Already indebted for his life and pushed to the palace's fringes, how could he sway the king?
Left alone, everything would follow his father's plan. Going passively to the forward command would make it worse.
Now, as a powerless bastard with no title, no one watched him. But as forward commander? His still-vital father and loyal key ministers would monitor his every move. He'd face far more restrictions than now.
After agonizing, Gobert opened the safe hidden under his bookshelf.
He wasn't a complete fool; it held items for unavoidable situations.
Grabbing a glass vial of white pills, he thought.
Using her since she's dying anyway? That's just how the palace is? A den of vipers?
He couldn't accept that.
I can't be king. I was never raised as heir.
The rightful heir Elua must become queen. Sure, there'd be fierce opposition from her haters, but that was trivial. With her brother commanding the kingdom's strongest six legions backing her, it was nothing.
If only Father weren't around...
Gobert stared silently at the vial in his hand.
This is the only way a powerless me can protect Elua...
Father... If she's dying anyway, then you're going to die someday too...
I'm sorry. But Elua is more precious to me than you.
Gobert too bore the Sirdanel blood. The dormant viper stirred, raising its head.
"What the fuck..."
After hearing all of Kosa's story, my head throbbed so badly I had to clutch my forehead.