"So, the Emperor is really dead." Jonathan began as he and the other two Kings approached the glass coffin and placed their hands on it.
"Obviously." Sylvester said as he looked at the Emperor with a scowl before turning to look at him and his Mother with a curious look on his face. "How did he die again?"
"Suicide." His Mother replied with a sad sigh. "I found him dead at the bottom of the Imperial Tower with a note on his desk."
At her explanation, all the Kings nodded their heads in understanding before they turned back to look at his father who was barely forty years of age looking so pale. Timothy would be lying if he said he didn't suspect that the Kings were looking at his father's body for foul play. Something at the back of his mind told him that the leaders of the other three kingdoms that made up Lyvera, did not believe the story his Mother had told them.
What else did they want to believe? That his Mother killed his father? That was ridiculous in every way shape or form. His Mother was a gentle soul, sure she could be hard as steel but that was only because she believed that she had to be strong given their circumstances.
Okay, his mind was now making things up and creating enemies for him where there was none. He had to relax and focus on which girl to marry instead of wondering whether he would have a coup on his hands by dusk.
"This note, could I see it?" Andrew asked from the other side of the glass coffin with a raised brow of clear suspicion.
"Sure, it's in the Imperial Office. However, only the Emperor has the right to enter the office. Seeing as neither I nor you are the Emperor, we will have to wait until my son is crowned before we can open the office and peruse all we like with the contents of the note." His Mother said with a thin smile clearly resisting the urge to act out at the almost blatant accusation.
"How then did you know there was a suicide note?" Juliet asked with a sly smile as she walked down the stairs till she was on the same level with everyone else. "You entered the office without being an Emperor yourself."
Timothy bit his lip at his aunt's words before he let out an exasperated sigh. "My father, is right here. He is dead by reasons written in the note that you don't trust my Mother to tell you about, so what if, we all take a breather and come back to this in the next two moons. For now, we should focus on burying my father." He said as fast as he could before he came to a stop and calmed his heavy breathing.
Here he was, over two decades younger than the Kings and his family speaking to them without honorifics or subservience. He had done what he had never done and to say he was shit scared was an understatement, nonetheless, he had to say this, he had to rein them all in lest they lose the narrative. Let his father first be buried, then he will be crowned, once that was done, with him obviously having married before his coronation, then they could squabble amongst themselves all year long.
"You've heard the Prince, we shouldn't lose sight of our duty." Abraham said before he gave Timothy a nod of respect which had him look at the ground nervously.
Did the King just tell him he had Timothy's respect? That was insane, that was beyond crazy! His first words to the Kings since the last time they'd seen him a year ago, and he'd already earned his respect.
"First, I should let you all get to your rooms and settle down before we reconvene in the dining hall for breakfast where we could discuss the logistics of my husband's burial and then the plans for the coronation." His Mother said with a small smile before she waved the Chief Servants and the Head of Guards over to guide the monarchs and their daughters to their quarters.
"I hope you would let us remain in the Imperial Tower until we get our new Emperor crowned in the presence of all?" Abraham asked as he turned to look at Timothy once more with a curious expression.
Among every King in the room at the moment, this man was the one he respected the most as things stood. Jonathan and Sylvester had barely given him a glance of acknowledgement, whereas this man had given him a look of respect. If there was anyone he would want as a father-in-law, it would be this man, too bad his daughter was not someone he wanted to be anywhere near. He couldn't even meet her eyes for fear of her giving him a smirk that would send shivers down his spine.
"Naturally, we wouldn't have it any other way." His Mother said with a pleased smile before the three Kings walked out of the throne room through the side door and into the hallways that would lead to their quarters.
"I am going to look deeper into my brother's death." Andrew said the moment the throne room was cleared and it was just the Augustus family that remained.
"You think he was murdered?" His Mother asked with raised brows.
"I know my brother and if there is one thing he isn't, it's that he isn't suicidal." His uncle said as he walked closer to his Mother, a move Timothy immediately copied as he tried to give Andrew the feeling that the room might be devoid of guards for his Mother, but he was there should his uncle have a funny feeling.
"Then please investigate, however, I will investigate with you."
"Why Anastasia, being the Queen of the Crownlands and Empress of Lyvera doesn't keep you busy enough?" Juliet asked as she also came closer to him and his Mother.
This was a very comical thing to witness from the outside. Here the great and powerful Augustus family stood at opposite sides of each other, subtly threatening death and destruction on each other only a day after the Emperor was found dead. If Timothy didn't know better, he would say his uncle and aunt didn't care much about his father and were only interested in what his father had left behind, the throne.
"I can handle all three things."
"Or, you handle being Queen and Empress, while also handling the burial of your husband and the probable coronation of your son." Andrew said with a thin smile.
"Probable." His Mother reiterated. "Are you saying my son wouldn't inherit his father's throne?"
"No, I am just saying that things can change between now and the next two moons." Andrew said. "For all we know, the three Kings could look at your son and decide that he isn't deserving of the throne and give it to someone more deserving."
"And I suspect that is you right?" Timothy asked as he walked closer to his uncle until he was in his face. "Are you casually talking about treason dear uncle?"
"Me, treason? Don't be ridiculous dear nephew, all I am doing is pointing out potential problems that I hope you and your Mother would be able to sort out in time." Andrew said with a knowing smile that forced Timothy to bit the inside of the mouth nervously.
He couldn't help but wonder whether his uncle knew he was a bastard. Surely he didn't, right?
"That's a relief, for a moment there I thought you were after my crown." Timothy said instead, with a glare. "Good to know you've still got my back as usual."
"I am happy to be of some relief to you your Highness, especially in these trying times." His uncle said with a smile before giving him a small bow.
With that, left the throne room with his daughters, who were about five and eight years younger than Timothy, and Juliet who gave him and his Mother a small bow with a smirk.
The moment the side door closed, he let out a fearful sigh and spun around to face his Mother who looked back at him with a worried look on her face. He could see the fear on his Mother, a fear he felt as deeply. This was no longer a speculation or something they could casually toss around in their conversation and planning, this was a full blown war against their uncle who had the allegiance of his aunt.
"There's nothing to worry about Andrew investigating father's death right?" He asked his Mother.
"Your father committed suicide, I went through the note and it said the reasons why, but that's not the point, the point is that your uncle and aunt know something. I don't know what they know but I fear that they know you are not… you know." She said with a shake of her head for his to fill in the gaps.
"Could, he fabricate evidence to prove you and I somehow had something to do with his brother's death? Could he really make it seem like we killed the Emperor to hide our secret?" He worriedly asked as he looked around the empty throne room for any observers.
"That's a strong possibility." She said with a nod. "But not to worry, you will focus on finding a wife among the three girls while I will focus on making sure your uncle and aunt don't frame us for your father's death with the reason for us killing him being the truth of your heritage." His Mother finished with a whisper.
"Okay Mother." He said with a nod of agreement before they both turned to walk out the throne room. "Also, I don't like that Zelda girl, she is a walking disaster. She is arrogant, condescending and a little to smart to be by my side."
"I am not asking you to fall in love with anybody Tim, I'm just saying find a powerful wife." His Mother said as they walked through the side door. "A powerful wife doesn't have to be someone with the biggest army or the most money, it could just be a girl with a lot of balls." His Mother said with a chuckle that had him look away in embarrassment.
Hearing his Mother say the word balls was something he would have gone his whole life without hearing, but then again she did have a point there. He was not going to make a decision from the standpoint of love or which family had the most money and biggest army, he would simply speak to them and decide which of them would be as strong as his Mother.
Finding a woman like his Mother was not going to be easy, there was no one like her. She didn't come from a powerful family, she didn't come from the richest family, but she was able to rule an Empire alongside his now dead father. She was strong, confident, had the necessary amount of arrogance, was politically good and could act when necessary, which girl could he find that would have all these skills and use them for his benefit, because his wife would have to know that he was a bastard if she wanted to protect him better while he ruled the Lyverian Empire.
This meant he didn't have to consider Zelda. Her family may be the second most powerful family, third richest and may have the second biggest army, but her family wasn't what he had to really consider. I'm the end he would be marrying a girl, and it would be in his own best interest that he didn't marry a girl who would make his life even more miserable.
Better for him to choose a woman that was already infatuated with him enough to be able to overlook his heritage and instead fight by his side against any other enemy that would threaten his throne. Better to marry someone safe.
It was between Elizabeth and Violet in the end, he just prayed to the Ancients that he chose right.
**************************
Moments later, they arrived at the dining hall to find them all seated at the table with their breakfast laid before them all. This was going to be a tense conversation, he could tell before he took his seat beside his Mother who sat at the head of the table. His uncle and aunt were probably itching for a chance to counter whatever brilliant idea his Mother came up with, just to stroke their egos and make it look like she didn't know what she was doing.
"So the Emperor would be buried in a sennight, correct?" Jonathan asked as he ate his meal beside his daughter who locked eyes with Timothy before looking away from him with a shy smile that Timothy let out a small smile at. Gosh, she had a beautiful smile.
"Yes." His Mother replied. "There will be a parade before his burial, then a ball after his burial in which we will show the people the unity of the three Kings behind their soon to be crowned Emperor."
"Like the sound of that, but what is the plan after the ball, how will the coronation be organized?" Sylvester asked as he ate beside his daughter Violet who kept looking at him so much so, that he had to pry his eyes away from Elizabeth who had just bit her lips in a sensual manner that had had him really excited, to look at her in askance.
The moment they locked eyes, she gave him a small smile but kept her eye on him like she was trying to memorize him or something. It was painfully obvious that she liked him, so much so that his Mother had to use her legs to touch his in order to get him to realize that he was slowly beginning to glare at the poor girl who looked sad.
Great. He was supposed to choose a wife between the two girls and not even an hour had passed and already he had begun to openly show his preference. He had to at least pretend that he was trying to make a decision or his Mother would berate him for looking for love instead of a powerful wife.
A small nod and apologetic smile to the girl was all it took for her to go from heartbroken to a full blown smile that he had to look away from. The speed at which she had forgiven him was quite a sight, but that didn't mean it did anything inside of him, he still felt attracted to Elizabeth.
"We will invite all the Lords in Lyvera to come bear witness to the crowning of the new Emperor, we will invite jesters and actors from across Lyvera for our entertainment, the best wine sellers and cooks and everything else necessary for the feast." His Mother said.
"Good, good, for a moment there I almost feared you would tell us that you wanted your son to marry before his coronation." Juliet said with an over dramatic sigh of relief that forced Timothy to snap his eyes away from Elizabeth, who was once more doing things to his head to flare at her.
Was this his aunt's attempt at causing havoc to him and his Mother's plans? It seemed silly and childish which annoyed him and scared him at the same time, but what if her little prodding actually did some damage? What if her little question actually made the King's think again? This made him panic as he looked around the table to observe everyone's reaction to his aunt.
The three Kings, however, didn't even flinch or consider what his aunt had said, they simply continued eating their breakfast like she hadn't said a word. A reaction his Mother was pleased with but his uncle and aunt weren't. As for the Princesses, Elizabeth looked at his aunt with a glare as if to threaten her to not come between him and her, while Violet looked at his aunt in utter confusion as if she couldn't fathom anyone saying anything like that.
Zelda on the other hand looked at his family curiously, particularly at his cousins who had brown skin and black hair before locking eyes with him who had brown skin but ginger hair. Her inspection seemed to last forever before a smirk broke out on her face.
His paranoid self immediately thought that she had somehow figured him out, before he relaxed when he realized that him with ginger hair was old news. His father had commented on it once, but that was it. His mother after all was white skinned with ginger hair, it was kind of understandable for him to have her hair and his father's skin. With a relieved sigh he looked away from Zelda and met the eye of his Mother who smiled at his aunt.
"Of course my son will get married, but when he will marry, is up to him.".