“Stay sharp. His objective must be Lady Anastasia,” Lady Byron whispered into my ear.
Yeah, I figured as much. If he wanted to turn this bad situation around where most of the greater nobles were distancing themselves from him, his best option was to get the Sevensworths, with their enormous amount of authority, on his side. Considering how the Sevensworths were currently protesting him, his fastest option was to forcibly take Ana as his wife. If he and Ana conceived a child together, most likely my father-in-law would relent.
Due to religious influence, divorce was a very easy process in this country. If you had no children and it was found that your spouse had an affair and created a child with someone else, that was immediate grounds for them to marry that other person instead. There weren’t many of these dishonorable cases in the noble world, but the law was clear about these situations. Currently, Ana and I didn’t have a child together, so the king was trying to use that to his advantage.
“I’d like you all to consider this suggestion. Thank you,” the king said before leaving the room—and us—in absolute silence.
Everyone was thinking of what their best move was. If this law was ratified, they would have two options: comply and give over members of their families to be hostages, or rebel against the royal family.
Judging by the crowd, the first prince’s faction approved of the law, most likely because they thought it would give their daughters a chance at becoming queen. The majority of them were lesser nobles, so barring any kind of special circumstance like the one this law presented, there was no world in which their daughters would be considered for the position.
Both the neutral faction and the fourth prince’s faction were in a precarious position. Not only were the heads of their houses currently sitting out in protest, but now there was a possibility that they might have to rise up against the new king in order to keep their daughters from being taken. Doing so would mean a battle between their combined forces and the first prince’s faction, which could very well spark the start of a civil war.
At first, making this proposal during a time of turmoil among the nobles seemed like the new king was digging his own grave, but after thinking about it a little, I realized it was a very well-thought-out plan.
Usually, the two protesting factions would rebel, but there was currently the threat of a foreign invasion hanging over all our heads. Having a civil war now would be the worst possible idea, so there was a high probability that the nobles would allow this law to pass in order to keep the peace so there wasn’t unrest if the country was attacked. And if it was passed, the king would be at a huge advantage and primed to acquire House Sevensworth as an ally. Having hostages would also make it hard for nobles to revolt in the future. His desperate plan had a good chance of success thanks to the Thorsdale situation.
“Well then, I think it’s time to put this to a vote,” said Viscount Lefou, who was in charge of recording votes for all policies.
“Wait a moment,” someone interjected. I was surprised to see that it had come from someone in the first prince’s faction: Baron Lillard. “I believe that Duke Sevensworth should be the one to record all the votes for this matter.”
Though he used to be a staunch supporter of the former crown prince, after the prince had rejected his daughter during their graduation party, the baron had jumped right to the first prince’s faction in a fit of rage. He was the only duke supporting the first prince, but it hadn’t been too long since he’d switched sides, so he was still treated as an outsider. Now that I think about it, his daughter hasn’t become engaged to anyone else since then. She’s certainly a childless young woman.
“I agree. I believe that Duke Sevensworth is best suited to do this,” my eldest brother from House Valvalier said, his eyes still cold with anger. There was nothing that could make him stomach this deal that threatened his precious little sisters.
“I agree as well.”
“Me too.”
Voice after voice erupted, agreeing that I should be the one to record the vote. Usually, this would be the assembly speaker’s job, but the current speaker was a core member of the first prince’s faction, and it would be similarly inappropriate to appoint someone from the fourth prince’s faction also. Plus, if a complete record of voting was not presented, it would be viewed as tacit approval and mean this hostage law would go into effect.
The Sevensworths were objectively the best option for this role. The minimum requirement to coordinate a vote was authority, which the Sevensworths had in spades, and my father-in-law had even been the one to do this in the past. He’d left our house in the perfect position to appear impartial.
However, there was something that bothered me. Our new king must’ve realized that I’d be chosen for this position and that I would now have the power to nullify his law proposal. Does he want me to take this role?
To some, the task of recording votes could bring with it the temptation to try and influence the results; however, that kind of petty interference was beneath a household of the Sevensworths’ wealth and status. We wouldn’t be tempted by something as trifling as that, so it was hard to think that he was trying to tempt me with petty bribes.
The only other duties of the vote coordinator were to sign at the top of the final document and present it to the king, at which point it was customary to listen to any small requests the king had, such as to fetch him wine, cheese, and so on. One’s honor was very important for nobles. They’d save face by listening to the king’s requests. Oh, I see. He’ll try to use this custom to his advantage.
“Duke Sevensworth, please make a decision! At this rate, your wife will be swept off too!”
Hearing this loud voice brought me back to the situation at hand. To the crowd, it must’ve seemed like I was reluctant to take this role.
“Of course I accept the role,” I said to all the panicking nobles.
Hugo, this was part of your plan too, wasn’t it? You might’ve wanted a fair fight with me, but I don’t intend on playing along. After all, Ana’s future rides on this. I’m going to use anything I can to destroy this plan, and by doing so, I’ll push this king into a corner. Sorry, but it doesn’t look like we’ll be having a fair fight anytime soon. I touched my chest where the ring lay hidden beneath my shirt and looked out the window at the sky.