Bab 45: Chapter 45: The king II

It took a while for the king to decide but when he saw Hugo Cobalt and Christopher Cross at the assembly for Geoffrey's departure, he was finally able to formulate his idea completely. Thus, right after, he had them both summoned to the palace and not two hours later, the two were already riding the train embarking to Suffox.

So, why those two? Like he told them, his main consideration was that they were good friends of Charlton and thus have more chances of convincing his nephew to return to the capital. Aside from that, since Charlton declined his invitation thrice, then perhaps they could come up with a reason to convince him otherwise.

Of course, that was only for face value because as said, he already suspected that his nephew wanted to return to the capital. So, the real purpose he sent the two was so that he could figure out Charlton's reason for retuning. How?

First, Hugo Cobalt was Charlton's compatriot during exile and their friendship was close enough that though the Cobalts were staunch monarchists, it would not seem like Hugo was sent there just so that he could listen in to Christopher's and Charlton's conversation and later report to the king.

On the other hand, the reasons behind why he sent Christopher Cross was more complicated.

The Cross family has always maintained a neutral stance politically. However, since Duke Argent Cross began negotiating marriage between his daughter, Annalys, and Geoffrey with queen Loretta in the past, he has become suspicious that he too wanted to vie for power.

Perhaps it was only his suspicious mind thinking that for Argent nor his family has never crossed the line, and maybe the reason for the match was just because Loretta and her lady-in-waiting, Melissa Cross, the sister of Argent, were very good friends.

Still, he couldn't sleep at night thinking that if that union were to happen, his life might be in peril. Why?

His relationship with queen Loretta has deteriorated to the point that they couldn't even talk while remaining civil. Since she was good friends with the Cross family, he couldn't help but think of the possibility that if Annalys were to marry Geoffrey and they were to have a son, then soon after, for them to consolidate power, they would try to get rid of him.

That's why he intercepted the possible union and grant the royal decree betrothing Geoffrey to the daughter of the Maxwells. Now, why did he choose Serena?

Though he disliked Loretta, he knew that amongst his sons, Geoffrey has the most potential. Aside from that, he understood Geoffrey's character the most. Though he belittled him at times, he knew that he was capable and more importantly, he would not allow a bloodbath to happen just so that he could take over the throne.

Serena was the only biological offspring of Duke Simoun Maxwell. Thus, even though her family was not as powerful as the Cross, having Geoffrey marry her was still a politically advantageous match. What's more was that since the heir of the Maxwells was only an adopted son, the ducal couple would have no reason to be more politically ambitious.

Now, going back to Christopher Cross, he knew that his father, Argent, has tried to matchmake his daughter to Charlton. Though it was reasonable given that Charlton was indeed the best catch amongst all the eligible bachelors of his age, he still couldn't help but suspect that Argent's motivation was his power hungriness.

Charlton has rejected the offer thrice in the past but who's to say that he won't take the opportunity now? If his intention for coming back was to enact some from of vengeance, then marrying Annalys would be his next course of action.

Of course, these may only be his own assumptions and the reason might be because Argent's daughter, Annalys was madly head over heels in love with his nephew. However, be that as it may, if the two families were to be unified through marriage, then there were implications that he could not ignore.

Thus, sending Christopher as envoy has two purposes.

One, to send the message that he was already aware that there have been talks of possible union between Charlton and Annalys.

Two, since Christopher was the vice minister of Justice, if Charlton's only reason for returning to the capital was to reinvestigate the case of his father's death, then he (the king) was open to that idea.

Now, the report Hugo shared when he arrived was something beyond his expectations. Although Charlton agreed to return, the reason became something fantastical.

And that was, the Cross family was asking help from Charlton to come between Annalys and Leonard because the crown princess was trying to matchmake them.

Initially, he assumed that the Cross family just made that story because Argent still wanted to continue matchmaking the two despite his (the king) message. However, as he investigated, he found out that his wife has come to an agreement with duchess Emma Cross to have Annalys marry as Geoffrey's second wife.

Although he may seem indifferent to Geoffrey and Serena's plight, it was only because he did not see any problem with them not having a child yet. He was still hale and healthy. Why the need for another successor? Besides, if something were to happen to Geoffrey, he still had 3 other sons as spares.

In fact, it was favorable for him that Geoffrey and Serena still have no children because with that they can all maintain the status quo. Furthermore, Serena was a good crown princess. Though she has the tendency to monopolize the limelight, she brought more good publicity to the royal family than anyone ever had. So, why not?

He understood the reality of Christopher's family's predicament because of Leonard's origin. He understood Serena's predicament because of her love for Geoffrey, and so, he just found it funny and entertaining that the situation was what it was now.

In any case, he doesn't want Geoffrey to marry Annalys. He also doesn't want Charlton to marry her either. Now, if Annalys were to marry Leonard, the Cross family would be tied to Geoffrey's faction, but it won't be the same as her marrying Geoffrey. By then, the Cross family would only serve as second fiddlers, and all his worries would be laid to rest.

If not because of the issue regarding grand duke Charles' death, then he would have abused his authority to grant a royal decree.

Anyhow, there was no use in crying over spilled milk. Besides, his good daughter-in-law was already taking care of it. Perhaps he could just give her a heads-up and given how smart and capable she was, he knew that she would understand the implications. Meanwhile, he could just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

TBC

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