Royalty in Death - an In Death series fanfic (J.D. Robb)

Chapter 29

Sora Ul-Hazimir, being the eldest child of King Prama and his first wife Queen Yuri, was supposed to be the future heir of the throne - if only her mother gave birth a month in advance.

The one who stole her position was someone with a commoner's blood. And that someone, who was born few weeks before her, received the greatest affection from the royalty. She was even searched and prioritized in social functions despite having average features. 

In everybody's eyes, Sora was nothing but a substitute.

"Just because you're a second-born doesn't mean you're dispensable.", the Queen told her. "You must exceed your eldest sister or else she'll steal your place someday."

Because of that, Sora harbored a deep hatred towards her sister. But that emotion only escalated when she met one of Harmin's princes, Lamook.

The purpose of Lamook's visit was to negotiate a political marriage, in which Sora never cared at first, but the Queen has her own plans.

Using her authority, the Queen arranged a banquet meeting with Prince Lamook so that her daughter could meet him without any problems.

And that's how Sora fell in love in an instant.

Of course she knew about his wives and concubines, but her feelings never wavered a bit. 

"We're both reprimanded since young to follow our family's tradition.", Lamook told her before he left. "And grew up without an option to disobey it."

She might have seen herself in him, being a first-born of Harmin's first Queen yet disregarded because of birth positions, that's why she was attracted, but realized it was not.

The Queen was overjoyed upon learning her daughter's feelings. Unfortunately, her plan was muddled when the King chose the eldest daughter to be wed with Lamook.

The night before the wedding, Sora received an instruction from her.

"Tonight your sister will be staying in the dome garden to practice her Offertory Dance. Once her instructor retires, go there and offer an assistance since you're pretty skillful in handling Hussars. Once opportunity strikes, kill her."

It was easy for Sora to deceive her sister and took the advantage of her naiveté. She even enjoyed seeing the horror on her sister's eyes as she slashed her small body, and with the blood pooling on the floor and screams drowned by the silence of the night Sora, for the first time, felt powerful.

The missing bride stormed the next day.

Sora flawlessly pulled an image of a concerned sibling and a sympathetic bride when she ended up marrying Lamook to avoid the scandal. 

Several days later, her sister's body was found in an abandoned lot and tagged as murder of passion when rumors about an illicit affair spread out. Of course it was a fabricated lie planted by the Queen.

Sora was overjoyed to be with the person she loved despite being in a foreign land chained with several factions. However, her husband was a contented man with low ambitions, so she had to make some ways for him to participate in nation's affairs - even if she'll connive with higher-ups just to increase her chances of becoming a queen.

Discovering Princess Petun and Kyrios' affairs was an accident. That night she was strolling at the adjacent balcony when she heard a serenade, and when she checked it out she overheard their conversations.

She was planning to report it to Lamook for a severe punishment, but knowing her husband and his growing fondness towards her sister led her otherwise.