Chapter 40

• The following days passed by like a blur. The royal bodyguards’ investigation was closed soon after the woman that the kitchen staff identified confessed that a court official was involved. The said court official, in turn, revealed there were three more others involved in the conspiracy. The motive was that if the king had no more heir, he would have no choice but to take another young, fertile wife. It was unfortunate for them that General Ril’m was there and thwarted their evil plan.
• The king, while still sick, immediately adjudged the death punishment. Everyone involved was executed on the same day by beheading them publicly at the city square a couple days later. All their families were separated and were sent to become slaves in the different outposts of the kingdom, except for the Northern Border, as the Commander-in-Chief didn’t want any servants—especially slaves, for that matter—and civilians up there, and they might be compromised. The real reason was that Daramir was too soft for this kind of people. They didn’t do anything bad but were punished for what their family members had done. Nonetheless, he thought that the king was lenient enough to not have all the family members killed to avoid retaliation in the future. Maybe the king thought he would just cross the bridge when he got there. It was never easy to guess what was in a person’s heart, after all.
• Neither Ril’m nor Skamerius entered the prince’s private bedroom, since they thought it was improper. Only the trusted maidservants and eunuchs put the Crown Prince to sleep. Above all, they were just there to guard and keep the heir apparent preoccupied while the king and his brother-in-law were sick and couldn’t accompany the child.