Chương 44: Chapter 44: The king I

"Your majesty, the train from Suffox has arrived and our scouts have confirmed that his grace alighted along with some of his servants."

King Edward V, the king of Windsor, who was standing before the mirror as the master of robes assisted him with the final touches of his attire for the evening hummed in response.

On Monday, Hugo Cobalt reported that Charlton has agreed to return to the capital. Thus, till yesterday, he was waiting for his nephew to drop by in the royal palace. Nothing of such happened but that was not beyond his expectations.

It would be hypocritical of him if he were to say that he never thought of putting grand duke Charles to death. However, thinking about it and actually doing it were two different matters. Still, though that was the case, no matter if the cause of his death was natural or not, he knew that he could not completely wash his hands clean of it. For in the end, the prison was under his jurisdiction, and it was his lapses that allowed for it to happen.

He felt pity for his younger sister, but he was still the monarch. Grand duke Charles was a threat and given the proof of his insubordination in the past, his death was something that let him sleep peacefully at night. Yes, there have been backlash with some people expressing their dissatisfaction, but be that as it may, it was not that concerning for despite Charles being a war-hero, he had been reduced to a convicted criminal. Thus, all he had to do was keep in his best behavior till everything dies down.

With regards to his nephew, he was still uncertain what to do with him. Unlike Charles, they had blood ties and though he knew that when it comes to absolute power, kinship plays of little value, he was not malicious enough to rid of his younger sister's only son just because he's afraid that he would seek vengeance. Besides, his conscience on Charles death was clean.

When the issue regarding the succession for the position grand duke of Suffox arose, his sister called and begged him to intervene. In truth, if he decided to keep his arms crossed regarding that matter, it would have been favorable for him because Suffox given its inner turmoil would self-destruct.

However, on the last minute, he decided to extend an olive branch because of sentimental reasons and that Charlton was once his favorite vice minister in the past.

When he went to Suffox, he was welcomed by his nephew with some resentment. Though he knew that it was misdirected, he understood his reasons. Thus, instead of anger, he gave him an explanation. Grand duke Charles' death has already been investigated and the cause was natural. On the other hand, although he knew that he has been sick in prison, he could not have sent him home because he had to lead by example.

He doesn't know how much of that Charlton accepted but by the time he left, Charlton after his peaceful ascension as grand duke has proven for everyone in Suffox to see that he was still loyal to the crown.

He would have let everything pass and leave him and his sister in Suffox to lead a peaceful life if not for the continuous failed infrastructure projects under the ministry of works.

Charlton was once the vice minister of works and given his incomparable achievements, he had been very much celebrated by everyone, including him. Thus, when another mishap happened and 'the times' has published a news alluding the need for a new person in-charge, he began suspecting that the accidents could have been related to him.

That was not to say that he was certain because he doesn't think that Charlton would be dumb enough to use his own newspaper publishing company to make obvious that it was his premeditated plan. However, what came to his attention was that Charlton seems to heva the intention of returning to the capital.

So, what he wanted to know was for what reasons? Was he thinking of vengeance? Or was he thinking of just investigating the cause of his father's death?

Thus, he sent royal envoys to invite Charlton to the capital to test him. When he did not accept the invite by giving the excuse that he was still mourning, he decided to label the ordeal as coincidental, but his suspicion remained.

Mishaps on infrastructure projects continued and though he initially suspected Charlton, he doesn't believe that his influence could go that far. However, just to ease his own mind, he still sent two more envoys to check. To which he again rejected.

Now, though he still suspected that Charlton was behind some of the small-scale infrastructure accidents, he had no doubts that the tragedy in Torton had nothing to do with him.

Originally, King Edward V really has no thoughts of having Charlton return to the capital. However, since his mind have been conditioned to think of him and then add the implication by the news from 'the times' remaining fresh in his mind, he decided that it was high time for Charlton to return to the capital.

Take note that what he meant by the word return was not something permanent. He could not appoint him as vice-minister again given that he was the grand duke and has duties of his own, and even if he could, he wouldn't. Having Charlton permanently back in the capital would let him widen his influence in case he's just hiding his intentions. Aside from that, he afforded to remove Charlton from the position in the past because no matter how talented he was, he was not irreplaceable as there were many others eager to prove their worth. Even now, he still believes the same.

So, what was Charlton's purpose if not to take charge? Well, that was yet to be decided but what was more important was that his presence would elevate the morale of his courtiers and more importantly, it would redirect the attention of the ton and the masses.

Now, question was, how would he invite him to get him to agree while at the same time, easing his own worries?

TBC

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