Later that day, somewhere in the castle was a man that sat on the large chair in the room known as the throne room. He smirked liking the feeling of the spot.
This would soon be mine. The man thought. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he was startled when he heard someone speak out.
"What do you think you're doing?" The man on the throne almost jumped up. He looked up to see Joseph walking up to him. When the man realized who it was he sat back down, getting comfortable in the chair and spoke,
"What's wrong? The crown will be mine very soon." The man spoke as if he was the rightful person to be King.
"The King's not dead yet." Joseph hissed.
"He will be soon." The older man smirked.
"Martin, you're awfully sure of yourself to believe you will become King even when the real King is still alive."
"But not for long." Martin replied almost in a sly voice, but Joseph didn't catch it.
"You don't care for your brother or his sickness!" Joseph yelled out.
"It's his fault for falling ill." Martin spoke as if it truly was the King's fault for being ill. The man stood up and walked over to the Priest, but before he past Joseph, he stopped to say. "It's not like I poisoned him or anything." Joseph gritted his teeth. Martin proceeded out of the room. When he turned the corner and was out of the Priest hearing range. Martin whispered quietly to himself. "I will be King."
The news about the King's passing shocked everyone in the town. First they lost their precious Queen and now their King. A huge wake was set up for the King. Peasants were unable to go because the wake was set up for royal family members and close friends. So, instead they would send gifts and flowers. Some that were too poor to do either just prayed that his soul would make it safely to the next world. With all the commotion with the King's passing, there was still one question on everyone's mind. Who will become the next King?
Everyone knew of the King's one and only child, but by law if the next heir was under the age of 18, then they were ineligible to become King. The Prince would have to wait until his 18 birthday which then he would be qualified. That was not the only condition; the Prince would also have to marry before the day of his 18th birthday. Until then, if there is someone in the Royal family that is over the age of 18, they are appointed to become the substitute King until the rightful heir is suitable for the throne. If the King had many children, then the oldest son would be eligible for the throne first. He would have to marry by the age of eighteen. If the son decides against the marriage, it will fall the next son in line. If for any reason that the King's son was nowhere near the age of eighteen, then a replacement would be used.
How this would work, is whoever is over the age of eighteen being a brother, uncle, ect, whatever relation to the King, will become a substitute until the heir is ready to take the throne. Because the substitute is only on the throne for a temporary amount of time, they do not have to get married. Once the heir is worthy of the throne, the replacement King will have to step down from the throne. However, if the heir does not wish or does not meet the requirement that the heir must do to become King, the stand-in King will become the permanent King. He does not have to marry unless they want to. Since he was not the original candidate, they don't have to follow those requirements. The only candidate was the King's younger brother.
The villagers watched as he was crowned King and did not have a second thought. They believed that he would rule the Kingdom as his older brother did, but they were wrong: dead wrong. He was nothing like his brother. He destroyed the peace that his brother took his entire life to build. The new King agitated the other nations, which broke out in a war that lasted several years. The women would cry as they watched their loved one's leave them. The men would promise to their wives that they would be back in one piece, which many did not. Numerous villagers began to panic because they did not understand why the King was making them go through this. The once peaceful nation was now in chaos and it was entirely the King's fault.