As the evening drew in, people had already gone back to their various abodes, even though they were disappointed and didn't get to see the wonderful view they came to see.
However, the ministers were still gathered in the grand imperial hall. According to their tradition, they must crown a new king the day the ancestral sword comes in contact with light.
The ancestral sword has been in the sacred coffin for more than fifty years. Since it came in contact with light that day, a new king must be crowned too, or else there will be disaster in the whole of Drakonia.
It was the hour of the monkey already [3pm to 5pm], they have seven hours left before the end of the day.
"What should we do now?" Thorneus, the minister of rites asked as he couldn't come up with a solution to the unexpected situation.
In the history of Drakonia, no heir has ever been unable to unsheath his ancestors sword so it was really unexpected.
"You all won't answer? I hope you know the consequences of not crowning a king today." He questioned and they all kept quiet because they had no solution.
"Why do I feel we are forgetting someone here." The Prime minister turned around and spoke.
"What about prince Maximus? He is eligible for the throne too. He may not be the crown prince but let's not forget he is also part of the royal family."
The ministers turned their heads to the prime ministers' direction because it seemed he was making sense.
"That's true, I agree with you." One of the ministers said in response.
"If prince Maximus becomes the king, what about the plaque of authority used to declare that only crown prince Roshan's generation will continue to succeed to the throne?"
"That is not a problem because we will only make prince Maximus the king for a short period of time, and he would be given the golden crown instead of the ancestral crown."
"Bravo, lord Zeres [Prime minister], your wisdom is magnificent," One of the ministers complimented.
The ministers ordered the guards to summon prince Maximus and Roshan.
_
"Have you gotten a solution?" Maximus' voice preceded him as he walked into the imperial hall.
"Why am I here? Go straight to the point."
"Your highness." The Prime minister stood up and bowed before him."
"I and my fellow ministers thought about a solution, and we have decided to share it with you. Why don't you take over the throne for a while? During that period of time, the crown prince will learn how to practice spells so that he will….."
"This is treason!" Maximus yelled furiously, he brought out his sword and pointed it to the neck of the prime minister.
"How dare you?!"
"How dare you tell me to overthrow his highness? Which one of you brought up this idea?"
"Your highness, please bring down your sword." All the ministers bowed and pleaded at once.
"Answer me now or else my sword shall taste your blood!" Maximus said as he raised his sword up to behead the prime minister.
"This will serve as a lesson to..."
"Stop it!" Roshan yelled from afar to stop his uncle, making them turn in his direction.
"Your highness. The prime minister dare to talk about overthrowing the throne, his punishment is death, please do the needful!" Maximus said to his nephew who was approaching him.
"Take down your sword," Roshan ordered, ignoring what his uncle said.
After throwing the ministers a deadly gaze, Maximus finally put down his sword and then faced his nephew.
"What is happening?" He asked confusingly. "Do you….also know about this?"
Awkward silence reigned for a while before Roshan replied. "Yes, I know…. and I am in support." Roshan answered and looked away.
"Did you just give up the throne of your ancestors?"
"That throne," he pointed to the throne's direction. "It is yours!!! Maximus roared with a fury that shook the entire space.
"I know! And I am not giving up. But, do I have an option now?"
Deafening silence reigned as the two men's minds sank in their words, their words held each other captive.
Maximus looked at the back, it seemed like he was the only odd one there. Everyone wants him to take over the throne since his nephew couldn't unsheath the ancestral sword.
"Please think about it again my lord, the day will soon run out." Roshan pleaded again.
"Consider our people. Just like they said earlier, it isn't forever, it's just for a while. Very soon, I will come back and unsheath our ancestors' sword and you will be able to go back to the border to continue to guard our people like you've always wanted."
Almost a minute passed back, Maximus didn't reply. Rather, his brain processed their words, he thought about it from his nephew's perspective and realized that was the only way to save the people from the situation.
"Fine. I will only agree to this, so as to save the people of Drakonia. But, you must come back and succeed to the throne of our ancestors as you've promised." He remarked.
"I will not forget our promise. Thank you my lord." Roshan said and bowed before him.
"Your grace is captivating, your highness." Everyone echoed and bowed before maximus for such a wonderful decision.
It was exactly the hour of the dog, [7pm to 9pm], when the guards began gathering the people of Drakonia.
They were surprised to be in the palace twice in a day, to see the same thing. Due to what happened earlier, they all had it in their mind that Maximus would also fail to unsheath the ancestral sword.
After everyone had settled, the prime minister walked to the front of the hall.
"Great people of Drakonia. We are sorry for what happened earlier. However do not panic, we now have a new successor to unsheath the ancestral sword."
"Here he is." He pointed to Maximus who was already walking towards him.