"That is why I have decided to run for a seat in the government."
The room became utterly still. No one dared to say a word as the bomb that had been dropped had yet to dissipate. Everyone's thoughts were running wild. But ultimately, their thoughts would end with, "Is she serious?"
Prince Zander felt his cheeks on fire as he thought that this was his mother's way of causing mischief. He knew how thoughtless his mother could be when making rash decisions. Being a member of the government would not be a good thing for her. Not only was she thoughtless, but she also had her mood swings. You never know when she will be fine and calm one moment and the next having a manic episode.
The stress of just running for a seat in government would probably cause her to go more insane. Since the passing of his father, his mother seems to have lost her mind. After some time, she went back to "normal" or as normal as she would ever be. He knew that her coming back would cause a massive tantrum.
Prince Zander put his head down and wondered what the other royals were thinking. He did not have to think for too long before he heard his Royal Uncle speak.
"That is not possible. Your name was never erased from the Royal Family Registry. Your son is a Prince! This would cause too many conflicts of interest. You cannot run for any government seat," said the King very sternly, making the others in the room shiver a little, but Lady Primrose stood her ground.
"Why? I am not a member of the Royal Family. If I were, would I not have a title? The only title that I ever had was that of Crown Princess. Even you three call me as the commoners do. Who would know that I am even a member of the Royal Family at this point?" said Lady Primrose as she also matched the King's stern gaze. "Do not think that you can intimidate me, Royal Brother-in-law. Remember that I, too, also took years of how to act grandly. If my Lysander had not passed on, I would be the Queen, and you would have no grounds to be so domineering in front of me!"
After saying her bit, Lady Primrose continued to look down on the King as he continued to stare at her sternly. The Dowager Queen did not like to hear her words, mostly since it involved her late first-born son. No mother wanted to be constantly reminded that she had lost a child. Regardless of the child was grown with a family of their own, it still hurt a mother to know the child she took her time to help develop had to pass before the parents.
At this moment, the Dowager Queen had slightly lost some affectionate feelings towards her widowed daughter-in-law. All these years, she had felt sorry for Lady Primrose as she was still young when her husband passed away. Yet, she never remarried and raised Prince Zander by herself. Seeing Prince Zander be an outstanding Prince made her appreciate Lady Primrose all the more.
Now, seeing her so ambitious with no regard to her son's feelings, who was obviously embarrassed next to her, made her a bit irritated. This is not how a noble Lady should behave, especially in front of the King and her in-laws. She gave a disgusted sigh and turned her head away.
The Queen was trying all that she could from frowning. Lady Primrose's words had seriously irked her. It sounded like she meant that she should be Queen. This was undermining her authority and position. She took a deep breath and waited for her King husband to pass his verdict.
The King looked at Lady Primrose and was reminded by her words that his brother was the rightful heir. It was just too bad that life is always full of mysteries. During his reign as King, King Jasper had not made many contributions due to poor health. He wondered what his older brother would have done differently in many situations, as his brother was the one that was adequately trained to handle everything.
During his youth, King Jasper passively learned what a good King should do. It was his brother who, from a young age, knew that he would be the next King that took his lessons seriously. Even Prince Zander had been learning everything since he was very young at being a good King. Prince Maxen started his studies late as they all thought that he would never have the chance to be King in his life.
Knowing all of this, his resolve softened as he felt that he had failed his late father and his late brother in being a good King and provider. All of this time and he never saw how Prince Zander grew up. Was it really so rough that his mother is now trying to run for a seat in the government? She could live off a Royal Pension for the rest of her life and never worry about anything. Why does she want to do this now?
"You asked why. Now it is Our turn. Why do you want to work in the government?" asked the King as everyone looked at Lady Primrose, waiting for her reply.
Even Prince Zander lifted his head to see what his mother would do. He wished that he could escape the room and pretend what he saw was just a bad dream. Lady Primrose began to dry her tears as she sat back in her chair.
"I feel that I have failed to live up to my dear husband's memory. Imagine, a young, healthy Crown Prince dies suddenly, and everything about him is swept under the rug. How long has it been, and no one has ever mentioned anything about him? Why? Was it Royal Father who said not to talk about the passing of his son? How will Prince Zander learn how great his father was? How will anyone know that Prince Zander had an amazing father when alive? This is not fair for his memory! Should he not have a memorial that everyone would know who he was in life? Do you feel no shame as his younger brother to sit proudly on a throne that should have belonged to him, and no one remembers anything about him?"
Lady Primrose's speech again made the room in uncomfortable silence. Her words echoing in their ears as the Dowager Queen had tears in her eyes. The King's gaze had softened again at the mention of his older brother. The only ones that did not seem to buy her story were the Queen and Prince Zander.
The Queen felt a slight panic in her heart as she understood that Lady Primrose was here to cause significant trouble. She was not aware of her end goal, but it would be epic from what she could see. The Queen feared that it could even change the future monarch. This thought made her feel cold sweat down her back.
She knew her husband and his late older brother had a very close relationship. Mentioning him now would make him waver in anything that Lady Primrose would say. Her words would cause a tremendous change in the future.
Queen Gennat knew that if the King gave into Lady Primrose's demand, it would be like dealing with a terrorist. She knew nothing good would come from this transaction. Although she sympathizes with her late brother-in-law's widow, she could never agree with what she wanted.
"We know this Lady Primrose well. She has never really cared that her husband died. What she cared about was that her husband, the Crown Prince, had died. Is it not apparent that she has always wanted power? In school, she first approached my husband, only to get close to Prince Lysander later. They met that way and even did such things as scare away all potential admires. She even thought that We were her love rival at one point until she saw that Prince Jasper liked Us enough to pursue Us. No. She was not a good Lady back then; she sure is not one now," Queen Gennat thought to herself as she clenched her hands and noticed that the Dowager Queen was very emotional, making her want to near have a panic attack. "This is not good! If the King agrees, I am sure that she would have won!"
Prince Zander stared at his mother like he did not know who she was. In his time living with his mother, she has never once volunteered any information on his father before. Every time that he would bring the topic of his father up, she would immediately start bawling her eyes out and would say, "Dear husband! Why did you leave me?"
Eventually, he stopped asking about him, and his mother never said anything about him. Why was she mentioning his father now? Is this how she really felt or was she trying to get something else? He frowned to himself as he wondered what his mother's ultimate goal was. He hoped that his Royal Uncle did not give in to her wants.
Finally, after a while of the King thinking over her words, he sighed and spoke.
"Lady Primrose is correct. Our Royal Brother was indeed a great man. He deserves to be honored and given the greatest of praise. However, Lady Primrose still cannot work in the government. If you are insistent, Prince Zander's title will be revoked, and he will have no chance of ever succeeding the throne in his lifetime. He will live the rest of his life as a commoner; not even a noble title will be granted to him or his future children. Are you willing to have Our Royal Brother's only son to lose such a lofty position?"
After the King dropped this bomb, Queen Gennat drew a sigh of relief as she felt her heart calm down. The Dowager Queen looked alarmed at the King, then at Lady Primrose. Lastly, her gaze landed on her grandson. The only grandchild that her late son left behind. How could she permit such a thing to happen to her grandchild? She had to think fast as she could not bear to see her grandson losing all the royal privileges he was born with; he already lost the Crown Prince title and his father. Why should he suffer more heartache?
"Lady Primrose, do not be so rash! Think of Prince Zander's future. He is a Royal Prince since birth. How can you have the heart to take everything away from him? There must be a way to settle this without you needing to take a position in the government," said the Dowager Queen, breaking the dead silence in the room as she tried to think of something to save her grandson when a thought came to her. "Why not we give you a title? A title worthy of Our son's widow. How about you become the King's Royal Sister?"