Each year the Kingdom of Khearia throws a festival in remembrance of one of their most beloved kings who had tragically perished along with his wife and second son. His first son, Prince Fabian, was the only one to survive. Witnesses claimed his cro...
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"Before we assassinate Fabian, it's important that we find out the other players at hand." James said in the royal language, his pronunciation a slightly lousy after years of little use.
ㅤHe tapped his finger against the table, looking around at the men around him. King William sat at the head, Harrison and Duke Chamberlain sitting across each other on his end. Out of the other four men, James only recognised two, an Earl and a Marquess. All of them were varying ages past middle age, except for one man that sat next to the duke. His resemblance to the duke was vivid, he was probably only a decade older than James himself, probably the Duke's son. James had never greeted these men before, but he recalled their faces from childhood. James sat on the other end, opposite the king, sceptical eyes falling on him.
ㅤ"Is that really necessary?" one of the older men questioned, laying a napkin on his lap as multiple footmen came round with their meals, setting them delicately in front of each man. "Shouldn't we focus our efforts on speed, killing him before they get wind of our plan?"
ㅤThe duke shook his head. "It's going to be impossible to keep this from them entirely, it's possible they already know His Majesty King William is rebelling against their plans. We can only delay our response for so long before they assume we're up to something."
ㅤ"Even so," the man cleared his throat, "what could we possibly gain by delaying it? Our relationship with the Espians will only further strain and there might not be anything left to solve in the end."
ㅤ"Lord Tenby." James said, sneering a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I agree with your concerns, however, this isn't simply Fabian acting on his own. His Majesty King William has already discovered ties to Theos royalty which should concern us; and on the night of my father's passing there was an army in the palace. I believe Fabian was simply following another player's plan. Simply killing him would only remove a dying leaf from a diseased plant. We ought to uproot the whole thing."
ㅤ"And what of our international relations in the meantime?"
ㅤ"I believe collecting more information takes priority." James maintained.
ㅤThe earl pulled at his collar nervously. "You have no authority to speak to me in that way," he growled, "Duke Chamberlain, you're not really suggesting this mannerless criminal is Prince Julian, are you? He's speaking nonsense."
ㅤJames beat the duke to it. "Actually, I do have that authority, Lord Tenby. You may consider my words nonsense but I know better than anyone else what happened. My brother was only twelve, we can't assume he's playing on his own."
ㅤThe duke nodded. "Prince Julian is right, killing King Fabian without knowing more is reckless. His death would not only signal a civil royal disagreement with other countries, leaving us vulnerable, but it'll cause the other players to hide and wait for their second chance to strike when we don't expect it. Gods forbid the Ashadis catch wind of what's happening, they may feel tempted to join the Espians in an invasion."
