Quite recently I realized that I live in a nasty shithole, but not in the literal sense, but figuratively. It’s not that I don’t know the joys of a comfortable life, on the contrary, I’m happy with the way I live now. I am served daily by servants and maids, they do all the household and heavy work for me, they feed me and even wash me, and I, in turn, manage the royal palace, which no one else is able to do correctly and efficiently.
Sitting in a huge office with a high ceiling, decorated with all kinds of masterful patterns on the walls, in the light of the sun's rays penetrating through the window, I sorted through stacks of papers with various orders, letters, reports, documents and other things.
And although I had to do only part of this work, I was already accustomed to the fact that the royal family dumped almost all of their responsibilities on me while the owners of the country themselves were unable or did not have the desire to participate in state politics. This is precisely the problem: they no longer want to fulfill their royal duty, but only care about their own well-being and this greatly irritates me.
Sitting comfortably in a chair, sipping a sweetly aromatic drink from my cup, I carefully try to read the letter, barely deciphering someone’s clumsy handwriting. Fortunately, I’m used to this and have long since learned to read even barely recognizable symbols written on paper. The letter itself did not have any benevolent character, but rather, on the contrary, was bad news from the east.
Having read the letter, I angrily crushed it into a ball and threw it into the fireplace, where it instantly burned, and then exhaling in relief, with a slight creak, I leaned my back against the high back of a soft and comfortable chair. The sunset was already visible outside the window, and I had only managed to finish all my work for today. I'm afraid if this continues, I'll soon die from fatigue. I am no longer a young man and I can really fall like a king and not get out of bed for twenty years in a row, so these are not empty words, but a possible reality.
«Looks like the king's advisor needs his own advisor.»
I chuckled to myself, having already taken the pen and dipped its tip in ink, starting to write on a blank sheet of paper my own order to find a new assistant to govern the state.
Fortunately, I can afford to hire one such person, and the treasury fully allows this. The main thing is to find a worthy person, and not just anyone who just wants to earn gold. Once I already hired such a man, a guy fifteen years old, who couldn’t even read, but could only scratch his long tongue incessantly, so they took him for lying and hanged him in front of the city gates.
From the severed hands, the townspeople immediately realized that he was a thief, but this somehow did not reduce the crime, however, this did not matter, the main thing was to show that lying to the owners of the kingdom was strictly punishable and was punishable by death.
I quickly finished writing the order and put the piece of paper aside, but as soon as I finally relaxed, I immediately heard a lonely knock on the door. Once they knock once, it means they are waiting on the other side for permission to enter. Members of the royal family knock on the door twice and then the owner of the room must come up and open the door himself, but since the knock was the only one, I could only say loudly in a calm and even voice:
"Come in."
The door opened with a creak and a servant of very mature age stood in the doorway. Judging by his dirty street clothes, he is from the stables and has been tasked with delivering some kind of oral message. Apparently due to ignorance, but at first he confused me with His Majesty, as always.
“Your Maje... ahem-ahem... that is, Mr. Rudrin, an ambassador from Durshlagdt showed up at the palace. He desires an audience with His Majesty."
“At this late hour?”
I sighed tiredly and reluctantly began to rise to my feet.
“I’ll go down to him myself. You are free."
“As you wish, Your Maje... ahem-ahem... Mr. Rudrin.”
The man said and immediately disappeared, closing the door behind him, and meanwhile I rose to my feet and stood in front of a huge mirror, examining myself.
Black short smooth hair, narrowed dark amber eyes, a thin neck, very short stature, like a teenager, and a red and gold jacket with white trousers. This is what His Majesty’s chief adviser looks like, it’s been a while since I looked at myself from the outside and I looked very tired with bags under my eyes. I need sleep and urgently.
«But first we need to deal with him.»
Leaving my office, I slowly walked along the corridor towards the stairs in order to go down to the throne room. Walking past the luxurious portraits of members of the royal dynasty and heroes of the past, I could only hope that the ambassador came here not for the sake of another provocation, but for a truly important matter, but I sense that it was still a provocation. It is sad.
The corridors were empty at that time, and all because I had reduced the number of the garrison and, accordingly, the security of the royal palace, which is why I could not feel safe. I could have been killed at any moment, however, I am not His Majesty and I don’t know who would have taken it into his head to kill the king’s chief adviser. And even knowing this, I was still a little afraid for my own life, because I could very well accidentally cross someone’s road and become someone’s target.
Walking down the circular staircase, I found myself in a throne room, quite modest for royalty, lit by a single chandelier and decorated with three flags, but with a luxurious throne decorated with scarlet velvet and the coat of arms of the royal family. The throne was empty at that time, and in front of it stood a man in an aristocratic robe of dark brown colors, with long gray hair, his arms crossed behind his back.
Approaching him from behind, I already realized that a grin was displayed on his face, and this means only one thing:
«Another provocateur.»
I sighed tiredly and when I came closer, the ambassador, having clearly heard the sound of approaching steps, turned to me, and his gaze instantly changed from joyful to dissatisfied.
"Who are you?"
The old man said rudely, clearly realizing that I am not a royal person. Everyone knows that the royal family has golden hair, so it was not difficult to guess, especially when you see a dark-haired man, albeit mature.
"Draun Rudrin, Chief Advisor to His Majesty, greetings and welcome to Ran."
I said with all calmness in my voice, observing all the rules of decency accepted in noble society. The ambassador only snorted with displeasure in response to my words.
“Where is your king? Why did you come here instead of him?”
“Before answering your questions, would you please introduce yourself?”
“I am Ambassador Edreo Simyu, from the Duchy of Durshlagdt, remember me. I am here on behalf of Duke Fellrik and must meet with King Lef, I need to convey a message to him personally. Why should I wait for him?”
«Impudent.»
I was angry inside myself at him, but I didn’t show it in plain sight, continuing to maintain a calm expression on my face.
“His Majesty is seriously ill and needs constant rest, and I am acting as king until His Majesty recovers.”
I answered and immediately received a caustic answer.
"I do not care! Do you dare waste my time here and now?! You insult me, you insult the Duke! Have you decided that you can endlessly neglect your guests as you please? Who do you even think you are?!”
“The king is ill and cannot attend. I'm here instead of him. So tell me why you came here."
More and more irritation crept onto the ambassador's face. In addition to the fact that he was impudent, he also tried to look offended despite the hospitality we provided. I could not respond rudely to the ambassador, I know very well that even such a trifle is a serious threat of war, and yet I endured and waited for the opportunity to strike my blow at the pride of this old idiot.
“And why, I wonder, didn’t the king entrust the meeting with me to his son? Is his heir also ill or unable to attend for some other reason?”
It was a fair question. According to the laws of Lakuus, if the monarch is not able to govern the state and conduct royal affairs, then this should be done by the closest relative from his wife to his uncle. However, in this case, the king, by his own decree, did not entrust power to any of his relatives, and the duties of His Majesty passed into my hands.
I tried my best to maintain order in the kingdom, calmed down disgruntled nobles, politely drove away ambassadors from other countries, I also did the same with representatives of vassal families and it was damn difficult. And recently, the eastern duchy of Durshlagdt has begun to send envoys on one mission or another more often.
What I felt now was a huge and unbearable stress and I even thought about fleeing this country along with my entire family, leaving the country in a state of anarchy, but I could not act so rashly. People relied on me, and I could not let them down so stupidly by succumbing to selfish desires.
“For now, the king has entrusted the crown to me.”
I answered the ambassador in a calm and even voice.
“So address me according to your position.”
“Do you think I don't know much about etiquette?”
The old man ground his teeth.
“I will tell Duke Fellrick everything you told me here! He will send you a letter in response to this disdain for our union!”
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
As far as I knew, the Duchy of Durshlagdt under the previous king was part of the kingdom of Lakuusa. When His Majesty ascended the throne, his brother received the title of Duke of Durshlagdt, and then for some reason quarreled with His Majesty, declaring independence and his own claims to the royal throne. Somehow the war between the brothers was prevented, but relations between them continued to remain strained. Even trade was poorly conducted, they did not trust each other.
Perhaps Edreo, speaking about the alliance, relies on the vassal agreement, which is still officially in force in the kingdom of Lacuusa and wants to finally break it off on the basis of insulting his own representative. If so, it would provide an excuse for the Duke to go to march to Ran, the kingdom's capital, and might even persuade some of Lacuus's vassals to join the Duke's banner.
“In that case, I will wait for the letter and will be sure to convey Duke Fellric’s words to His Majesty. If this is all you came here for, then I ask you to leave the palace. The guard will see you off, and now forgive me, but my work today has made me very tired, I need to rest.”
I clapped my hands three times and a pair of guards with short clanking blades dangling from their belts came out from behind the main doors with a loud clang of armor.
“Escort this gentleman to the exit of the palace.”
“As you order, Mr. Rudrin.”
One of the guards responded in a low voice and then addressed the ambassador.
"Please follow me."
“Tch!”
The ambassador clicked his tongue.
“I hope this is our last meeting.”
«Me too.»
I said to myself and went to my chambers while the ambassador hurried out of the palace, muttering something under his breath.
It is possible that we should soon expect the outbreak of war, as was written in that letter: Durshlagdt troops are gathering on the border with more than two thousand people. I can’t believe that Duke Fellrik was able to gather such a huge army, he clearly used the services of Western mercenaries, or there in the east they collected exorbitant taxes from the population by collecting peasant militia. In any case, he would never prepare for war just like that, and this means only one thing:
«He wants the title of king.»
On my way through the candlelit corridors, I came across the same servant who had delivered me the message about the arrival of the ambassador. He was coming from the direction of my office with another message, and when he saw me, he voiced this very news:
"Mr. Rudrin, Prince Monrid wants to see you."
«Oh no.»
"Okay."
I sighed tiredly and asked.
"Where is he?"
"In the chambers of Princess Ilifreeta, Mister Rudrin."
After hearing what I heard, my face twisted in a grimace of disgust, and I quickly hurried to the princess’s chambers.
«He's doing it to her again... damn bastard.»
I quickly ran to the princess's chambers and knocked on the door, as my position told me to do. Although I had powers equal to the king, I am still a servant of the royal family and must obey all its members, regardless of whether they are ignorant children or infirm old people.
"You can come in."
I heard a man’s voice behind the door and grabbed the door handle with a creak and pulled it back.
The door opened and the sweet smell of an aphrodisiac immediately hit my nose, dizzying me, and white underwear that belonged to the prince was scattered on the carpet decorated with ash-red patterns. The luxurious chambers of the princess, illuminated by a single candle behind which, on the very edge of the bed, sat the half-naked golden-haired Prince Monrid, and behind the curtain Princess Ilifreeta lay motionless, taking deep breaths and exhalations.
The second prince had a very attractive appearance and a charming voice for his age, which makes him a very skilled person in terms of seduction. And although he looked good, inside this man there lives a real monster, which in principle should not have existed. This man has absorbed all the evil, all the worst that can exist in this world. I tried to hide my own disgust for Prince Monrid and entering the princess’s chambers I politely greeted him:
“Draun Rudrin is here, Your Highness, did you call me?”
“When I tell you to come to me, you should not walk, but run.”
Monrid said with dissatisfaction in his voice, getting up from the edge of the bed and throwing off the blanket hiding his nakedness.
“Why should I wait for you? Answer me, Draun."
“Forgive me, my prince, I worked hard today and was very tired.”
“I don’t want to hear any excuses from you.”
The prince said sternly as he began to dress in his robes, simultaneously glaring at me with a stern look.
“You are not a fool, Draun, you must understand that you are just a chain dog carrying out my orders.”
«Ugly»
Mentally I was angry with him.
“What's the matter, Draun? Don't you want to ask me for forgiveness? Do you think I'm not the future king of Lakuus? Do you think I’ll put up with your irresponsible antics?”
I would like to answer that his older brother has more claims to the throne, but I have no desire to make unnecessary fuss about this now. Instead, I knelt down and hit my forehead on the floor, begging the prince for forgiveness.
"I beg you, my prince, forgive me."
"And it's all?"
The prince said angrily and I had to add.
“I assure you, this will not happen again.”
"What-what?"
The prince said sarcastically, putting his foot on my neck, squeezing my bones, ready at any moment, if not to kill me, then to seriously cripple me.
“Do you little puppy think you’re a dragon? What kind of stupid apology is this? Should I remind you how you should apologize or are you going to do it yourself?”
How I hate him, I constantly have to endure his stupid antics, his cruelty, lust and arrogance. Time will punish him, but now I will have to bow to him and endure all his blows.
“I beg your forgiveness, my prince, please punish your stupid puppy.”
As soon as I fell so low, the next moment I received a kick to my face, flying slightly back. The pain spread throughout my dizzy head while there was a booming ringing in my ears, and everything suddenly went dark in my eyes.
"Fucking dog."
The prince snorted and spat in my face.
“You all constantly have to be reminded of your place, how annoying it is. When I become king, I will force everyone in the palace to wear collars so that everyone knows exactly who is the dog and who is the boss. You will all bark on my orders, you will tear each other on my orders, you will do everything exclusively for me alone. Yes, it will be so. You will all obey your master, and if not, you will simply squeak. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha ha~!”
«I'll kill you, you bastard!»
I clenched my fingers into fists, barely restraining my anger so as not to attack the second prince and beat this insolent creature to death.
The prince, meanwhile, dressed in his robes, stood with his back to me and finally told me why he wanted to see me.
“By the way, why did I call you? Oh yes, that’s right, I heard from my friend that in the Empire, some house called Von Gleos seems to be throwing a ball in honor of Princess Friederike’s coming of age. They say she is such a sweet beauty, like a sparkling lily, I want to see her. Bring her here."
«Are you crazy?!»
I almost shouted, but holding back and getting to my feet, I collected my thoughts and gave a different answer:
"I'm afraid I won't be able to carry out your order."
The prince turned to me with a furious expression on his face. He was clearly very annoyed by the answer he heard.
“Are you stupid? Do you dare refuse your future king? Do you want to be hacked to death? How dare you even open your mouth? Did I tell you to speak?”
"You misunderstood me, my prince."
I bowed my head guiltily in front of him and explained.
“The fact is that the von Gleos family is the most influential family of the Antigone Empire, they will never listen to us. If I had sent an invitation inviting Princess Friederike to come to the kingdom of Lacuusa, I would have been immediately rejected. To them we are just a barbarian kingdom with savage customs."
The prince's eyes widened even more than before, he was angry, very angry, so much so that in his anger he overturned the table next to him, smashing all the cutlery on the floor.
“HOW DARE THEY?!”
The prince shouted angrily.
“SO I AM THE CROWN PRINCE OF THE KINGDOM JUST NOT GET WHAT I WANT?! WHO DO THESE ANTIGONS THINK THEMSELVES ARE?! VILE INSECTS!”
Prince Monrid was extremely stupid. He is absolutely unfit to be the ruler of the kingdom. This idiot, who destroyed expensive tableware, considers himself the center of the whole world, as if everyone around him should obey only him and does not tolerate absolutely no refusal. This always happens when he encounters reality and the fact that not everything is under his control and if an ordinary person accepts this reality, then Prince Monrid simply refuses to see this reality and furiously rejects it. He will never learn to live like a normal person, he is spoiled and will remain so until the end of his days.
«Do you really think that an influential family of the Empire will fulfill the demands of the kingdom?»
I sighed to myself and voiced new idea out loud:
"I have an idea."
Prince Monrid's furious breakdown stopped and he raised his questioning gaze to me and asked:
"Idea?"
In response, I nodded and replied:
“You can go to the Empire yourself for the ball and meet Princess Frederica yourself. I’m sure she’ll fall in love with you when she sees your unearthly beauty, inviting the very angels of Sod.”
"Huh?"
The prince did not understand.
“Are you suggesting that I go to a distant Empire to meet her? Am I supposed to sit in a carriage all day and shake like a caged dog?”
“N-no, I’m not that...”
“Shut up! I don't even want to think about it! Either you bring this fucking girl here or you're dead! If you can’t even carry out such a simple order, then why do you need your life?”
Monrid said and walked past me and left the princess’s chambers.
“I need to see her here and as soon as possible. Do this or you will die. I will assign a person to you to monitor how you cope with my orders. Don't let me down, Draun."
After these words, Monrid left the bedroom, and I, in turn, sighed with relief. I was just filled with anger because of the words of this piece of feces. He wants truly impossible things. If His Majesty would allow me more, then I could raise my voice not only at this thick-headed prince, but also at the depraved queen who raised him this way. The character of these two was disgusting, but they could never surpass the character of the first prince. He is much worse than all of them.
The king himself, although a capable ruler, was also no better. His Majesty, more than anyone else, loved to enjoy life, he was a merciful ruler, but he did not like the self-sacrifice of others or his own. He loved his life more than anything or anyone else. He clings so strongly to the opportunity to live even longer that he is ready to go even against the Gods.
This is what I meant when I thought about living in a shithole. This place may not be literal, but it reeks of crap coming out of the mouths of the rulers of our country. The king, the queen, the first prince, the second prince, the third prince, none of them are worthy to have power over this country. That’s probably why I understand Duke Durshlagdt’s claims to the royal throne of Lakuus.
However, among all of them there was one person who, although unworthy of the royal throne, was more innocent than anyone else, and this was Princess Ilifreeta. Looking away in her direction, I could only look with pain in my heart at her exhausted naked body, covered with bruises, and dried tears were visible on her reddened face.
Her body was struck by a terrible curse, everything below the princess's neck died, and she forever lost the ability to walk on her feet and even move her arms. Coming closer to her, I saw how her lips were trembling. This time the bastard stuck his pod in her face instead of just inserting it into the crotch between her legs.
The golden-haired girl looked at me with a pleading look in her eyes. For years she lies day after day in the same bed, every night the first and second prince comes to her to rape her while she is deprived of the opportunity to see the world with her own eyes and can only read books while the maids are afraid of her because of superstitions that she allegedly shares her a curse with those who stay close to her for a long time.
In those sad blue eyes I see only one thing: the desire to die as soon as possible.