Marquis Berghis closed his eyes in deep contemplation as his horse carriage carried him towards his destination.
He was standing before a crossroad, not physically, but metaphorically.
Indeed, there were two paths he could take from this point onwards, with devastating consequences should he fail in making the right choice. Just contemplating over this problem had given him many sleepless nights.
He was the Head of the esteemed Tonquello Family, a military titan in the Great Manta Kingdom. Their army was the largest of the nobles, second only to the Royal Army, and that was not achieved with any compromise in terms of the quality of their soldiers.
During the great war that just passed, their Tonquello army had been recognised for its significant contributions, including bringing up the rear and allowing the grievously wounded king to retreat from the battlefield, although he eventually succumbed to his injuries after returning to the capital.
But it was also because of their monstrous military might that he was in such a dilemma right now.
There had already been a few nobles who had spoken to him in confidence, hinting at their support for him to take the throne in a coup d'état.
In the past, Marquis Berghis would never have given it a single thought. However, the successor of the throne just had to be that wastrel king Roland. In Berghis' many years of attending royal court sessions, not even once had he seen Roland show his face.
Now that the kingdom had fallen into the hands of such a person, was it not doomed to ruin?
Princess Erin should have been the obvious option!
However, he knew that the conservatives in the ranks of the nobles would never allow a woman to take the throne, no matter how capable she was.
What fools!
He cursed in his heart, blaming them for the state that the kingdom had landed itself in.
Just as he felt anger slowly burning from within, the carriage slowed to a stop. He had arrived at his destination.
No matter, it is not like I have to make my decision right now. This banquet would be a good chance to gather more information. Even though the other nobles are hurrying me to take action soon, it can wait till after the banquet.
He buried his face in his hands, and when he removed his hands, the angered expression from before was no longer present. As a longstanding noble, he had already gotten used to controlling his expressions, especially when he was attending official events.
Berghis gave the door two light knocks, and his servant promptly opened the door to the carriage, allowing him to exit in grace.
"Greetings to Lord Berghis!" the guards to the palace gate did not bow even as they shouted.
But this was not out of disrespect. They were simply not supposed to do so.
The guards to the palace were not obliged to bow to anyone while they were on duty, not even to the king. After all, they were the first line of defence for the palace, and had to maintain complete vigilance at all times.
Even a split second of vulnerability could cost them their lives, compromising the safety of the palace as a result.
Berghis nodded in acknowledgement, then proceeded into the palace along with two of his servants.
This was the second time he had arrived at the palace in a single day.
He had just attended the Coronation Ceremony of King Roland earlier in the morning, but only after a few hours of rest, he had returned for a celebratory banquet in honour of the new king.
What a busy schedule. Does King Roland not intend to let us rest?
He grumbled in his heart, but he knew deep down that the reason both events were set on the same day was in consideration for the nobles who had travelled from faraway cities to the capital.
The longer they drag out the coronation events, the longer these nobles would have to be away from their fiefs. With the war having ended not long ago, every noble was busy stabilising their fiefs, and every additional day they had to spend away from their fiefs would result in an increased burden.
Berghis was not the first to arrive at the banquet hall. With his high standing in terms of both nobility rank and influence, many nobles immediately approached him to offer their greetings.
He politely returned their greetings, just like the well-practiced noble that he was, and was pulled into conversations left and right. His words were smooth and his experience allowed him to dominate most of the conversations, but he was slowly growing impatient as well.
What a waste of time. Why can't we just get this over and done with?
He was truly not in the mood for celebration right now. He still had to seriously ponder over what choice to make. This would deeply affect the rest of his life!
"Announcing of the arrival of Her Highness, Princess Erin!"
Exclamations of delight sounded out across the large banquet hall as the nobles turned to face the entrance.
Erin gracefully stepped through the open door, donned in a red gown that perfectly accentuated her figure. Even though she did not match up to Princess Helena in terms of looks, she was still a beauty in her own right.
From the moment she stepped into the banquet hall, the younger male nobles could not peel their eyes off of her.
Even though Berghis was already in his forties, he was still one of the first to approach Princess Erin to send his greetings.
As a Marquis, he truly had the right to be one of the first to greet the Princess, but he did not do so simply because he was entranced by her beauty.
"Greetings, Your Highness," Berghis gave a slight bow as he stood before Erin.
"You do not seem to be in good shape, Lord Berghis," Erin immediately spotted the deep dark circles under his eyes. "Are there any problems with the recovery works in Landfall City?"
"Thank you for asking, Your Highness. But the recovery works are going well," Berghis smiled upon hearing proper questions rather than the endless praises and pleasantries that he had been receiving all evening.
"Is there a problem with your family then?" Erin further inquired with a frown after getting her first guess wrong. "Or are you worried about the new king?"
This is it! This is why Princess Erin is different from all the other nobles! With such an intellect, why is she not the one sitting on the throne?!
Berghis' eyes opened wide in surprise as he heard Erin's words, "It is as you say, Your Highness. It is difficult to imagine a kingdom without the previous king. Moreover, I have never met His Majesty King Roland in any royal court sessions, so I am hoping that Princess Erin could spare me some advice on what I should do to best contribute to the kingdom under his reign."
"Don't worry, Lord Berghis. His Majesty might not have attended royal court sessions previously. But I can personally attest to his abilities. In fact, his intellect far exceeds my own!" Erin let out a helpless sigh as she replied, seeming to be recalling something from her memories.
"Surely you jest, Your Highness. I fear that even the previous king does not compare favourably to you in terms of intellect," Berghis gave a patronising smile in response, obviously unconvinced.
"You will see when his plans come into fruition," Erin could tell what Berghis was thinking, but did not bother elaborating and simply gave a vague response.
"Oh? Has he already shared his plans for the realm?" Berghis' face lit up upon hearing that. If he could learn of the king's plans, then it would be much easier for him to make his decision!
But Erin simply smiled in response before walking away to accept the greetings from other nobles, leaving him stranded and confused.
Of the many prince and princesses, Berghis was only truly interested in conversing with Erin. From his previous interactions with the rest of them, he had felt that none of them could compare to the eldest Princess.
Thus he only went forward to offer them a polite greeting when they arrived at the banquet hall, not bothering to strike up a conversation.
Still, there was one more person whom he had to talk to – the Chancellor, Duke Ivan.
"What do you mean? He left the meeting despite only having gone through 5 of the 121 matters?" Berghis managed to keep his volume low, but he still could not believe what he was hearing.
"That's right. That is the limit of what I am allowed to tell you, but that was exactly what happened," Ivan had a conflicted expression on his face. "But…it did not seem too bad?"
"What do you mean it is not too bad? Your Grace! This is complete dereliction of duty! How can you talk about it this calmly?" Berghis' face was livid.
"Isn't it?" Ivan cupped his chin with his fingers in contemplation. "But at the same time, it seems like I might have misunderstood something. The Prince and Princesses seemed to think it was a good idea, even Princess Erin seemed to be completely fine with it…"
"Princess Erin was fine with it?" hearing that the eldest princess had approved, Berghis could no longer comprehend the situation either.
With his understanding of Princess Erin over the years, she was not one who would tolerate incompetence.
There was even once when Princess Erin completely humiliated the previous Crown Prince by breaking down his proposal and ruthlessly questioning it part by part in royal court session, ultimately discrediting the proposal as trash in front of hundreds of other nobles.
The King himself had to step in to mediate during the awkward situation that resulted at that time. But it was this incident that had instantly elevated Princess Erin's position in the hearts of many nobles, including that of Berghis himself.
Would such a person try to cover up for her brother's incompetence?
Unlikely.
This was also the exact reason why Duke Ivan himself was confused. Just as they were deep in thought over this matter, a loud voice bellowed across the banquet hall, causing echoes in response.
"Announcing the arrival of His Majesty, King Roland!"
Just like everyone else, Berghis turned to face the doors, bearing witness as their new king entered the banquet hall.
Just like during the Coronation Ceremony, the young king took slow steps as he walked in, as if wanting to prolong the feeling of basking in everyone's attention.
What an egotist. You only got this position out of luck! Simply because you were too cowardly to join the battlefield in the great war!
Berghis sneered in his heart, but still went forth to offer his greetings. He could not openly show any form of disrespect for the king, or at least not yet.
"Greetings, Your Majesty," Berghis wore his usual smile and bowed when it was finally his turn.
"Greetings, er…"
"This is Marquis Berghis, Head of the Tonquello Family," Princess Erin spoke from diagonally behind the king.
"I see, so it's Lord Berghis, Head of the Tonquello Family!" the king seemed to just be parroting after the princess.
"Your humble subject congratulates Your Majesty on your Coronation!" Berghis was careful not to let his disdain for the king show in his tone or body language.
"Thank you, Lord Berghis," the king looked at Berghis' face before frowning a little. "You look tired, is there something wrong?"
Do you have to be so obvious that the Princess had told you exactly what to say? At least change it up a little! What a sham of a king!
"There's nothing wrong, Your Majesty. Your humble subject is merely worried about how best I could serve the kingdom in the future," Berghis was trying his best to keep the smile on his face.
"Hahaha! You do not have to hide anything from me, Lord Berghis. I already understand what is going on."
"Eh? What could Your Majesty mean?" Berghis was instantly shaken awake from his disdain of the king by that seemingly random comment.
"We are both men of high statures, so I definitely understand how it is like to be in your shoes," King Roland placed a hand on Berghis' shoulder before leaning in to whisper in his ears. "You are definitely much more powerful than I expected, but do not fret. I am well prepared, and have the perfect solution for you."
A cold chill swept over Berghis for a moment, but the experienced noble swiftly recovered, "Surely you jest, Your Majesty…"
"Hahaha!" King Roland laughed as he pulled back to a comfortable distance once again. "Do you doubt me, Lord Berghis? Regardless, you will soon see that I am a man of my word."
With that, the king turned to accept greetings from other nobles, leaving Berghis stunned in place, his heart beating faster than ever.
What was that? Had he already found out about our plans?
That wastrel king?
Impossible!