The Royal Contract

Two days ago, at the Palace of the King, the Council of Elders was summoned by the King. He wished to discuss the position of his son as the heir to the throne.

"I am aware that the Council is considering replacing my son with another heir." He directed his words at his brother, the Duke of Blackstone House. "I know that under our laws, you have every right to do so if you can prove that my son is not fit to be one."

"Your highness, the Council members are still deliberating on this matter. We are still considering your son in the position." Duke Frederick replied to his brother's statement.

His brother was still the King, and he had much respect for his position as the head of their kingdom. He would give his son, Prince Edward, the benefit of the doubt that he might still be worthy of the crown.

"But you are also considering Alexander, your son, as my next heir. Is that right?" The King stated, this time, he looked around the room and observed the expression of the other Council members.

"Yes, Sire, we are. Alexander is the next in line to Prince Edward." Lord Bailey was the one who answered the King. "But we are also aware that he is reluctant to take the position."

"So, what we have here is a prince who wanted to be a king but is not qualified yet to take the throne. And a prince who fits the criteria of a king but refused to be one." The King believed he surmised the situation correctly as the rest of the Council nodded in agreement.

If Alex were his son, he would have agreed to his coronation because he admired what he already achieved for himself. But Edward was his son, and he had to support him no matter what.

"I believe that is the case, my King." Count Wellington agreed with King Edward.

"Then, what do you think would be best in our situation?" King Edward asked, wanting a solution that would be favorable to his son. He would cooperate with them and find a way to put his son into his position than go against them and declare an internal war inside the kingdom.

One by one, the Council members made several suggestions, glad that King Edward was amicable to their situation. As much as possible, the Council of Elders wished that the transition from a new king would be void of conflicts.

Finding a reasonable solution to their dilemma was essential. The King, together with the members of the Council of Elders, wanted the same thing. A solution that everybody would be satisfied with and agreeable.

"I have an idea. I hope you would all hear me out." Lord Asthorne spoke up among the voices that enveloped the room. Suddenly, everyone stopped and looked at him. "My King, if you would allow me to suggest something, I might have a solution that could help our situation."

The King and the Duke looked at him with high expectation. Lord Asthorne was not born with a noble right, but his intelligence and contribution to the throne had rewarded him the title to be one.

"Go ahead. Tell us what you have in mind." King Edward turned his full attention to one of his loyal supporters. 

He was sure that his loyalty had always been to him. So, whatever his idea was, it would surely benefit his son.

"My King, here is what I suggest we should do." Lord Asthorne enumerated the plans he had come up to the head of their kingdom and the Council members.

With the consent of King Edward, Duke Frederick, and the Council, the plan was vetted and approved by everyone. The Duke was assigned to execute what they agreed upon in the meeting.

Thus, presently, the Duke of Blackstone House flew across the ocean to see his son. He sat across from Alex, having their breakfast. His wife sat beside him, happily chatting with Alex about his fiancé, Daniella.

"Oh, I wish that Daniella is here. I would have loved to see her." Alex's mother uttered in her soft tone.

"She wanted to come, but she already was busy with other matters." Alex excused Daniella's absence in their meeting. "But she will be delighted to see you tonight at dinner."

"We look forward to seeing Daniella tonight." His father spoke up after taking a sip of his coffee.

At the moment, neither his wife nor son was aware of the real reason why he had decided to visit him. His wife was too excited to see Alexander that she did not care about the purpose of their travel. 

"Yes. I have a lot to discuss with her about the wedding plans." Duchess Katherine uttered in pure excitement.

When Fred told her that they would immediately fly to visit Alex and Daniella, she was over the moon with happiness. She could not wait to see them.

She did not care about her husband's reason why they were visiting because she had her purpose of wanting to see Daniella.

"Isn't it too early to be talking about the wedding?" Alex asked his mother, not expecting that she would be talking about his marriage at this time. "The wedding is still more or less five months away."

He thought that he still had a lot of time before dealing with the wedding preparations. Besides, he was not even sure if there would be a wedding. 

"You boys don't have a clue of how much time wedding preparations require. But don't worry, I already talked to Laura about it, and she had agreed to help in handling it from this end." His mom continued to mumble about what she already had set up for Dani and him.

"Is it necessary for the wedding to be that extravagant? Dani and I are thinking that we want it simple and small, just family." Alex was a bit overwhelmed about the wedding his mother was planning.

"Of course, Dani's father and mother would be expecting only the best for their daughter." His mother said, but she could understand what his son was saying. But people would be expecting that their wedding would be one to talk about for centuries.

"Fine. I will tell Dani later about your plans." Alex said with a blank expression, but the wheel in his head was speeding up as he thought of what Dani would think about the wedding.

Until now, he had not decided on what he would do about the wedding and his relationship with Dani. His connection inside the Council had not come up with a solution to his problem.

With regards to Dani, if ever they ended up getting married. He wanted them to be married because they both wanted to be. And not because the Empire required him to present a wife.

"There is another reason why we are here today besides talking about the wedding." His father stated, bringing his son's attention back to him.

"If this had something to do with you, trying to convince me to take on the throne again. You already know my answer to that, Dad." He answered his father, wanting the topic of him becoming King closed.

"It is about the Empire, but not exactly about the title. We have a proposition that we want you to hear first before you decline." His father entered the topic like he was in a negotiation. 

His father was good at that, baiting first before going for the kill.