Days later in the Mainland's royal court…
"London Leviticus!" a man's voice thundered across the royal court right in front of the empty throne. "How can you propose such a ridiculous idea?"
"It is not ridiculous, my lord," responded London to one of the twelve royal ministers in the Mainland. "My suggestion still accedes to the law of our mighty land."
"Even so, the Queen is nothing but an outsider the late king took in!"
"She is still the Queen, regardless of her origins!" London slammed his hand on the surface of the table, standing up from his seat. His eyes burned with firmness, staring at the man across from him. "When the late king took her in, aside from me, no one at this table raised such concerns."
"According to our law, if the king perished without a direct heir, the crown will naturally fall to his queen. This was the very reason I opposed the late king back then; it was too risky. However, you all told me I am being presumptuous to even think so far ahead," he continued. "Now, we are in this situation we could've avoided. Where are all the people who argued with me back then?"
"His and Her Majesty did not go through a proper wedding ceremony," another minister jumped into the discussion. "It is not valid."
"What sort of validation does the Queen need when it was clearly written in the royal family registry that she was the wife of the previous king?" London rebutted, calming himself down as he felt the minister was also backing down. "I will not fight for her if not for it."
"You will not fight for her if not for the benefit this shift of power will give you."
"The audacity!" London's originally feminine voice sounded firmer, like a man, thundering across the royal court at the slander his colleague had spewed. "I and my house pledged to protect the Mainland — no, we pledged to protect our kind from any injustice and give them equal rights, which we were deprived of for many years."
"The mainland had separated itself from the rest of the world, not because we wanted to live in seclusion, but to hide. Now that the Mainland had officially become a land that all other nations recognize and has taken the very first step to becoming a part of this world, I will let no one stop us from taking what was originally ours; freedom," London remarked, stressing each word so they all understand where he was coming from. "More than this silly idea that I would benefit from supporting the so-called outsider you kept addressing, I'm afraid you were simply reflecting your own greed."
"Slander!" the minister harrumphed, but London didn't stop.
"Then tell me why no one had raised concerns when the late king took in an outsider and made her his queen?" London's eyes burned, keeping them glued on the minister. "Aside from that, tell me why no one even tried to stop the late king from leaving the mainland and heading to the land owned by a Grimsbanne?"
London slowly scanned the faces around the long table, seeing how the faces of some of them turn red in anger. Very few of them kept a nonchalant and calm demeanor.
"We are not born yesterday not to know who the Grimsbanne are and what they were capable of doing, especially the Originals," he added with a tinge of disappointment in his voice. "Yet, you let the late king poke the most dangerous Grimsbanne, knowing the outcome was uncertain. I am simply being modest here and I'm trying my best to avoid broaching any personal issues. However, if I would be frank, I would say this was all a part of the wicked scheme to gain more powers once the king dies in the hands of the only person who wouldn't hesitate to take his life."
"London Leviticus!" the same man who had been arguing with London raised his voice, fuming in anger at the ridiculous slander London had spewed. "One more word, and I'll let you understand why this court exists."
London's irises dilated, smirking. "Show me, Lord Augustine. It would be an honor to be mentored by the great Augustine, who went missing the night Abel Grimsbanne attacked the royal palace."
Augustine Evans, the minister of finance, hissed at the presumptuous London Leviticus. His pupils constricted in anger, allowing his fangs to reveal themselves. Meanwhile, London didn't back down as he pulled an aura on him.
The tension in the royal court peaked, but some people sitting around the same table didn't show any trace or willingness to stop wherever this tension leads. A few of them showed slight concern, darting their eyes between London and Augustine.
This was the problem they all had been facing since the death of Maximus. Since the throne was currently empty, almost everyone just wanted to get a piece of the pie. However, with London guarding this pie and some of them unwilling to take part in this fiasco, things just remained stagnant.
This was in the royal court, though.
No one had an idea what was going on the other side of the day, but surely, it wasn't a stalemate like the royal court.
"I only rested for the past week, and here you are, bickering like children who don't know what's best for them."
Suddenly, amidst the growing tension between London and Augustine, a familiar calm voice of a woman echoed quietly in the royal court. Everyone froze for a moment, hearing calm footsteps approaching. When they recovered, they all slowly turned their heads in the woman's direction, only to see her stand in front of the empty throne.
"I kept wondering why no one came to rescue me when their queen was abducted by a barbaric man." Aries slowly sat down on the throne as if it was hers to begin with. "Now I understand. You are all too busy quarreling about who gets the biggest portion of the pie. I guess my late husband starved you all."
The corner of Aries's lips curled up into a smirk, leaning against her side as she propped her arm on the armrest. "What's with that look, Augustine? Don't look at me as if you were looking at a ghost — were you expecting that I had died? Oh, silly you. I'll let it slide since I am obviously entertained listening to how you want to disregard the law of the Mainland."
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om