Our meal was abruptly put on hold, as the look on Rosa’s face made it clear that the letter’s contents required immediate attention. It was hard to tell whether Marie was happy for the discussion to end or whether this was another item to add to the list of Rosa’s wrongdoings.
In any case, the four of us were now seated at the table in the third-floor meeting room.
Frost broke the silence. “How bad is it?”
“Nearly the worst-case scenario.”
I suspected I’d regret asking, but I needed to know. “What’s the worst-case scenario, Rosa?”
“A coup d’etat. Though considering he likely poisoned Father, this isn’t very different.”
Solana finished reading the letter and handed it to Frost. “In the first place, this is blatantly illegitimate. He must be relying on the courts’ famed efficiency.”
“Or he plans to dissolve the courts. With how popular they are, it wouldn’t be too difficult.”
The letter still hadn’t made it to me, and I was getting impatient. “What did he do?”
“Sorry, I should explain. Father died last night after I went home, and they immediately held a private nobility council meeting.”
“Private? It doesn’t work that way, does it?”
Solana shook her head. “No, of course not. And there weren’t enough council members in attendance, so they didn’t have a quorum. Any decisions made there are meaningless.”
But invalidating them would require the courts to act, which would take years. “I see, so it’s a sham. I assume they appointed him as the new king?”
Stolen story; please report.
Rosa laughed bitterly. “Of course. They claim to have a signed letter from Father as well, which is obviously fake. The two hadn’t spoken in over a year. But naturally, verifying it would take valuable time, and in the interim, he would pretend to be king.”
Frost cleared her throat. “Not that we intend to allow that, right?”
Solana patted her on the shoulder. “Of course not. His Highness is in quite a hurry to hold his coronation, so it will be a bit tricky, but I think we have enough time.”
“I had hoped to prepare for this more carefully, but I suppose we’ll have to make do with the resources we have. Even if I don’t have the overwhelming support of the council on paper, I know for certain that he doesn’t either. And I have Father’s approval in writing, observed by multiple witnesses. And of course, the dragon’s approval, which he so bitterly desired all this time.”
This was news to me. “You were chosen by a dragon, Rosa?”
She nodded. “Yes, all the heirs visit the dragon who guards the north once we’re old enough. Its approval is one of the qualifications to rule, though it doesn’t always select just one candidate as worthy. In this case, though, I’m the only remaining heir it selected.”
I got the feeling there was a difficult story behind the word remaining, but it didn’t seem like the right time to ask. “He took being rejected poorly, then?”
“Well, to be fair, the dragon didn’t just reject him – she left him with a nasty burn on his face to boot. Silver really doesn’t like Elder Brother. It seems she told my younger brother to come back later, though – that if he tried, he could become worthy.”
Rosa grimaced. “I was sort of hoping he’d step up so I could stay out of all this. But it seems I can’t escape the responsibilities of my birth, in the end.”
Solana turned to Rosa. “What of the temple? Last I heard, the central temple was in Sonem’s pocket. Has your auntie made any progress there?”
Rosa sighed. “Last I checked, Aifé had responses from 5 of the satellite temples offering their support, but the other 3 have yet to act. I think that’s at least enough to invalidate the central temple’s position, even if it’s not a strong majority.”
Rosa then turned to me. “Helian, your help would mean a lot to me, obviously, since a saintess’s word carries weight in the kingdom. But I’m not going to ask you to put yourself in danger just to help me with a family dispute…”
I shook my head. “I can’t just stand back and watch, Rosa. You’ve got my support, naturally. What’s he going to do that Coroban or Atropa couldn’t, anyway?”
