>>5742279>>5742300>>5742367>>5742477>>5742491>>5742517“Queen Ekaterine isss right,” you say as you push past him. “We are done.”
“So you know nothing about Prince Alexos’ whereabouts?” the Youthful Paladin presses, raising his voice slightly and drawing a flinch from his younger brother. “That is not what Prince Rufos told us!”
You slowly slightly, because Eka does. This is, in an of itself, troubling…
But luckily, you have ALREADY spoken with Prince Rufos.
“You mean the SSUPPOSSITIONSS he made, under the CONFIRMED influenccce of a demon, while making claimsss upon the throne which he hass ssincce renounccced?” you hiss quietly, not bothering to turn around. “You have nothing, becausse there ISSS nothing. King Archosss died of old age and illnessss. Prince Alexxosss dissssappeared while one crusssade.”
You give a sidelong glance to the Seocndborn Prince, who gulps,a nd nods.
“Asssk him again, now that you have freed him from the sssame demon I ALSSSO ssaw fit to free him from, and you will have your answer.”
“And if I used the <Zone of Truth> to do so?” Marzineo asks. “What then?”
“Then I would think long and hard about how that will appear to the people of thisss cccity, when your order isss harassssing and interrogating the Royal Family in their moment of grief and misssery,” you say flatly. “Asssuming oen can even trussst the memory of one who sspent sso long under a demon’sss thrall.”
The Youthful paladin opens his mouth to say something else, but thinks better of it. He shuts his mouth, and clenches his jaw, but stays put as you and Ekaterine leave.
“I’m sorry you had to go through all that,” Ekaterine says, when you are alone once more. “But… At least it is all behind us now, right?”
You know that isn’t true, of course. The Paladins will remain a thorn in your side for a long, long while. You can’t even have troublesome young Marzineo killed, not right now when your hand in affairs would be immediately suspected and the council knows the means to make you talk… And with the sudden feeling of weakness and exhaustion which ahs overtaken you, and which persists, even a duel would be ill-advised.
You and Ekaterine retire to your room—well, Eka’s room—within the palatial estate, so you can rest and recover. In the days that follow, the two of you are moved from this room to grander accommodations, ‘fit for a king’ as one might say. And you are, effectively! Oh, they call you ‘Prince-Consort’ here, due to what Ekaterien refers to as ‘parochial patriarchal laws from some bygone era’, but she’s already talking about reforming those in her tenure as Queen of Hawksong. Even if she weren’t to do so, well, does that REALLY make you any less a King? The Queen is pregnant with your spawn. You have her heart, and her ear, and her trust. What is THIS, if not victory, at last, and absolute?
…Right?
