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635words
"I grew up with him. I have always thought of him as my own brother. When I learned his wife was with child, I went to the temple every day to pray for a safe delivery. But my lady wife thought I had ill intentions. She was willing to use her own child to frame me."
"I cannot bear it any longer! My lady, today I will prove my innocence with my own life! I only hope that you and my lord husband can be reconciled!"
With that, before anyone could react, she launched herself at a nearby pillar.
The force and speed of her movement made it clear she was intent on dying.
My heart leaped.
If Victoria died now, no matter how pitiable my own state, Richard would be spared.
The signal flare had not been found, and she would have died here, in my presence.
The living can never win against the dead.
Richard understood this too.
He could have easily reached out and stopped her, but he remained kneeling, only shouting her name in a display of feigned horror.
But the King's men were not fools.
A quick-witted young page threw himself in front of the pillar, intercepting Victoria.
They both cried out in pain and fell to the floor in a heap.
Victoria's suicide attempt had failed.
The King had her seized and thrown to the side like a sack of grain.
Richard began to panic.
The King rubbed his temples, his voice weary.
"You each tell a different story. I cannot adjudicate this matter. In the end, it is a family affair."
At this, Richard's eyes lit up.
He nodded eagerly.
"Yes, Your Majesty is right. It is a trivial domestic matter. When I return home, I will manage my household better. I will not trouble Your Majesty with it again."
I watched this scene with cold detachment.
The King had clawed his way to the throne through a bloody war of succession against his own brothers.
He would not concern himself with the domestic squabbles of a mere subject.
His words had a deeper meaning, one that only a fool like Richard would fail to grasp.
Richard was still pledging his loyalty when the King cut him off.
"I have concluded my investigation into the assassination. It has nothing to do with either of you. You need not concern yourselves with it further. However, Richard, your dereliction of duty must be punished."
Richard flinched.
He opened and closed his mouth, wanting to say something, but fearing he would only remind the King of his other failings, he swallowed his words.
He did not look repentant, only like a man who believed he still had a chance to start over.
But the King's next words extinguished that hope completely.
"From this day forward, Lord Richard is stripped of his rank and confined to his home. No one is to release him without my express command. All matters of his household will be under the authority of the Lady Protector, Elizabeth."
"Lady Elizabeth, for your valor in my defense, I name you Lady Protector of the Realm. From now on, you will kneel to no one but me. You will fear no one. As for your father's case, I will reopen the investigation and see that justice is done. However, until the truth is revealed, I do not wish to hear any more rumors coming from your household. Do you understand?"
I looked up and met the King's eyes.
He was helping me.
He was giving me free rein to punish them as I saw fit, as long as Richard did not die. It was, after all, a "family affair."
Joy surged through me.
I bowed my head. "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
