Chapter 46: "Love and Power Struggle"

Clan Leader Owen grinned as he turned to Maro to see his disheartened face. But he was surprised when he suddenly laughed.

"Why are you laughing? The woman you almost married will now belong to your twin brother. You should feel betrayed! Unless you're a lunatic."

"Maybe I am a lunatic after all? Isn't that why you risked your arm, for me not to be suspicious of the general of my army, and let my guard down on the wedding that I was supposed to have?" Maro stood up, and shook off the dirt in his worn-out linen, gartered pants, "I know you want Seiro to be the King so that you can have him at the palm of your hands."

"What are you… talking about!?" he was cautious about the mercenaries around him who might stop trusting him.

"You will use the current King in gaining more power for you and your clan. I'm afraid he's too kind, inexperienced, and might be easily swayed by your words," he glared at the annoyed Clan Leader, "I feel bad for him. He does not know yet how his subjects' greed might negatively affect his reign."

"Nonsense!" the head of the Pho Clan said in an angry tone, then turned away. He grumpily walked out, before Maro could say anything else.

The dethroned King sighed, and turned his back from the guards to face the stone wall.

And moments after, tears fell on his cheeks.

Maro sat cross-legged as he stared on the wall, discreetly weeping as he thought about his beloved Ely. He pretended to be unaffected because he got used to not showing his weak side especially in front of his enemy, and deep inside it felt as if his chest was being ripped apart. It hurt him so much, and he wondered, in those past few weeks that they're together, had Ely moved on from him and accepted everything?

Besides, Seiro was her husband Adam, and he's a good person. Maro wouldn't be surprised if she'd fall for him, again, in such a short span of time.

When Ely and King Seiro got down the prison dungeon and peeked to see Maro's state at a distance, they only saw him sitting on the stone floor, his scarred back exposed.

"Can you at least give him better clothes? He might catch a cold…" Ely whispered to King Seiro.

The King looked at the things inside the cell - a mat made from weaved, dry grasses, and a thin chalice blanket with a few holes. "Since he's not going to be whipped, I'll ask him to be transferred to a room instead of staying in this place."

"Really? You can do that?" Ely asked him, "But what about Prince Kaio and your other allies? For sure, they will be against it."

"I shall convince them. I'm the King now, remember?" he patted her head, then told her not to worry.

And that night, he gathered all the Ministers and Clan Leaders. He told them about it, and as expected, they were against it, especially his brother.

"Do you know why I wanted him to be punished and to die in the dungeon?" Prince Kaio explained to him, "I want to make sure that he will never mess with your life ever again. Who knows, he might take the throne again from you."

"The Prince is right, Your Highness! You'll never know what the dethroned King has in mind," Clan Leader Owen quickly added, "They say that those who lived an evil life will live longer than those who lived a good life. You should be cautious. "

King Seiro furrowed his eyebrows and became lost in his thoughts when he heard about their sentiments. He felt that he had become the King of his nation, but what's the use of it if his allies just wanted him to follow all their orders?

"Did you all make me the king just to wag my tail to you like a dog?" he said in an angry tone, and all of them were surprised, especially Prince Kaio.

"Brother, that's not what we-"

"Kaio," the King turned to him, "In this crowded room, you're the one I trust the most, and you know that."

"Yes… But I cannot simply let the dethroned King live a better life. I want to have revenge on him for pushing you off that cliff when you were young."

King Seiro cleared his throat and looked straight into Prince Kaio's eyes. He clearly said, enough to let the others hear him, "What do you think will happen to me and Ely if I let you kill Maro? She will hate me for the rest of her life. And I'd rather die and kill myself than to feel her hatred towards me."

As the others in the assembly room talked about it within themselves, Kaio turned silent. He considered his brother's return as his second life already, and he didn't want him to kill himself and lose him again.

Since they were kids, Seiro had always been Kaio's favorite brother. He looked up to him and admired his kindness and compassion towards other people especially the poor and sick. He's also good in his studies and he was adored by the scholars and ministers.

The harp-shaped birthmark on King Seiro's side was a sign that he would be the King, and as strong believers of destiny, their parents had decided that he would be the Crown Prince. But days before his ceremony, Seiro fell down a cliff when they once went hunting with mercenaries and the late King in the Ancil mountains.

And the only person besides him was his twin, Maro.

Prince Kaio balled his fists as he recalled that he saw Maro standing alone on that cliff. He was never fond of him because he's cold and unfriendly, so the first thing that came to his mind was that he pushed his twin brother down the cliff.

"Fine," the annoyed prince uttered. He placed his hand on the King's left shoulder, "I don't want you to live miserably. If letting that ruthless man live will help your relationship with your beloved Elizabeth, then I shall allow him to transfer for a room arrest."