I had been summoned to the palace urgently, which could mean only one thing.

  Father was dying.

  His room smelled of sickness – the scents of decay and sanitizer and anesthetic that told you someone was barely holding on, completely overwhelming the perfumes that were used to try and mask them. His presence could barely be felt in the room, a far cry from the weight that used to saturate the air any time he was around. I had gotten used to it even though it scared me, so I found myself missing it now.

  The two court physicians were at his side; one was currently checking his pulse, while the other stood by, watching with concern.

  My brothers turned to face me as I entered.

  Elder Brother nodded and turned back to Father without greeting me. Gen ran over and embraced me. I could tell from his red eyes that he had been crying, and I couldn’t blame him.

  Even if our relationship with Father had been strained, it was still agonizing to watch him suffer like this, and even if it would be a relief for his struggle to end, we didn’t want to let him go.

  Though Sonem probably couldn’t wait, because he could only get what he truly wanted if Father was gone.

  Not that I planned to allow that.

  Without warning, Father raised his other arm slightly, and whispered to the physician at his side.

  The physician turned to face me. “He’s asking for you, Your Highness.”

  Gen nodded and patted me on the shoulder. “We’ll talk later. Go.”

  I walked to his bed as calmly as I could, and then kneeled at his side. I tried to stop my hand from shaking as I took his.

  His voice was barely louder than a whisper. “Hana.”

  “Yes, Father.”

  “I’m glad you’re okay. He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

  “He tried, but he failed.”

  “That’s good. You’re the only one I can rely on.”

  I nodded. “I know, Father.”

  “I’m sorry to ask this. There’s no one else.”

  “Okay.”

  “I won’t ask you to forgive me. When I see Fuyu again I’ll beg on my hands and knees. Do you think I’ll see her again?”

  “I’m sure you’ll see her again, Father. We’ll all see her again one day.”

  He tried to nod his head, but his muscles were too weak, so it merely looked as if he were trembling. “I’ll only ask one thing. You deserve to be free. But please do one thing.”

  “Okay, Father.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “Please keep the people safe. The kingdom needs you. Without you, everyone will perish. He’ll turn it all to ash.”

  Suddenly, the crest on my hand burned red-hot, and I began to sweat. What the fuck have you done, Father? Do you realize what you’ve done?

  He recognized the expression on my face and realized his mistake. “Hana… You promised Silver, didn’t you? I’m sorry, I’ll take it back.”

  I grimaced. “You can’t take it back, Father. But it’s okay, you didn’t know. I should have told you.”

  The annoying thing about Virtue was that an oath to protect held power even if I never uttered it aloud. And the request he’d made of me was something I wanted to do all along, so… it was merely a more concrete thing now.

  He squeezed my hand as best he could with his atrophied muscles and smiled. “Thank you, Hana. Can I talk to Haruko?”

  I shook my head and tried not to cry. “She’s not here right now, Father. Would you like to speak to Gen?”

  “Okay Hana. Thank you.”

  I nodded and slowly stood from the bed, gesturing for Gen to come over.

  The life that awaited me now was pure hell, but on the bright side, I supposed Virtue would listen to me more often in the future.

  Once Gen finished speaking to Father, and it became clear there was no one else he wished to speak to, Sonem excused himself in a huff.

  I pulled Gen aside. “We need to talk.”

  He nodded. “Okay. Let’s go next door.”

  The palace had multiple rooms shrouded with a magical barrier that could suppress sound, to counter most attempts at espionage. As luck would have it, there was one such room right between Mother and Father’s chambers, so they could easily have private discussions about emergencies without having to travel to another part of the palace.

  Gen slowly walked to the table and took a seat near the door. “What’s going on?”

  I pulled out the chair opposite him and sat. “I’m going to become the queen.”

  He frowned. “I was certain you didn’t want to.”

  “I don’t want to, but I can’t exactly let that piece of shit become king, can I?”

  He looked very guilty. “I could do it, you know… you don’t have to sacrifice everything.”

  “You have more to lose than me, Gen, and you know it. You have a baby on the way, don’t you? Congratulations, on that note. I’m very happy for you two.”

  He nodded. “Thank you. Still… are you sure?”

  “Yes. But I will need your support, if you think you can offer it.”

  “Of course, I’ll do anything I can. Do you think it will help with the council if I support you publicly? I can confirm the dragon’s blessing as well, since I was there. And to tell the truth… when I spoke to Father earlier, he said he wanted you to be queen.”

  “I’m hoping it will help with the council, yes. Though I suspect it won’t be enough. Father already drafted a notice long ago declaring me his heir, just in case it would be needed. But with the state of the council, I think even that won’t be enough to convince them. The prospect of Sonem as a puppet ruler is too appealing.”

  “You’re probably right. What do we do, then?”

  “We fight for the public’s approval, and at the same time, we force the opposition to recuse themselves. If we can prove they’re in bed with Elder Brother, it will make it obvious that they can’t vote impartially, and their only choice will be to step back.”

  “I see. Then your supporters will outnumber your opponents.”

  “Yes, assuming Sonem doesn’t have them all murdered.”

  Gen grimaced. “As reluctant as I am to suggest it, Hana, you should probably have your supporters put their position in writing, so that killing them is less effective. It might save their lives.”

  A good point. “I’m glad I spoke to you, Gen. I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “Will you be moving back to the palace, then? I don’t know if I’d feel safe here, personally, with all the hidden passages. I think most of the servants are in his pocket by now.”

  I shook my head. “No, I’ll be operating out of Solana’s estate. It’s much safer there, and I’ve been relying on her for advice all this time anyhow. On that note, I’d feel much better if you and your family came to stay with us… it will make it easier to protect you.”

  He nodded. “That’s a very good idea. Thank you for offering, we’ll get ready as soon as I return home.”

  “This is going to be messy. I’m sorry you have to be involved.”

  “It’s not your fault, Hana. I should be the one to apologize… I could have done something about this a long time ago if I was brave. It’s funny how I used to want to be like Father, but now that I realize how similar we are, it just makes me feel guilty.”

  “He did his best, I think. It just wasn’t good enough.”

  Gen looked out the window. “We’ll have to be better.”