As Cedar strode through the ballroom, he tried to locate all helpful people. Thankfully, he found a few gold mines. Duke Lamont seemed to be a good choice for a new minister. That man had no grudge against Cedar and seemed peace-oriented. He might be trustworthy. Cedar decided to take note of that. The same thing held true for the parents of Duchess Duremont, who tried to make up for their older daughter's murder of the young Grace Ravillot in the palace still. They would certainly grasp all support they could get.
Like this, Cedar collected possible allies left and right. He was only met with the first unpleasant encounter that evening when he heard the news he had never expected.
Marchioness Jenna Peril was a woman that had planned to grasp for more power ever since she had come to the capital. Her husband had never been enough for her as she had coveted the second prince despite their difference in age, which had to be at least ten years. She had even shown obvious interest in Cedar after he had denied her numerous times when he had been fourteen. She clearly didn't truly like him. Jenna just wished to claim Cedar's power while using him, but she was quite stubborn and acted well. It was no surprise that he despised her with his whole heart, even when this woman was one of his mother's strongest supporters and the person that currently owned most stores in the capital and could control the economy easily.
But until now, Jenna hadn't truly been a threat to Cedar. That she announced something troublesome now ruined that small hope he had had though. Lady Peril just beamed as she told him what would be a huge problem. “I wished to share the news with you first, Your Majesty. As of two weeks ago, I divorced my husband.” How unpleasant.
Cedar could tell what this might mean. Jenna was grasping for higher-hanging fruit. Unfortunately, Cedar was currently the person standing at the highest rank and had no lover, which meant that he was a perfect target. He hated the very thought of Jenna approaching him again, but he didn't even show that. He just smiled at her and reacted like he would have when any other noble lady got divorced. “I see. I wish both of you a wonderful separated life from now on and hope that you may still get along amicably.”
Jenna fanned herself some air with the fan she always carried around while looking at him with her green eyes that seemed so poisonous that they might as well be killing Cedar slowly. “Thank you for your kind wishes, Your Majesty. Thankfully, the separation went by without any issues. Eugene and I are still quite close. Though... I just could not see him as a man while so clearly favoring someone else.” She showed her interest far too obviously.
Cedar could tell that his mother got upset because of that alone. A part of him wanted to intervene to keep Camille from overdoing it, but he knew that she would say whatever she wanted anyway, so he simply stayed quiet.
As expected, Camille already scolded the other woman with a cold look. “Pursuing someone else right after your divorce would be seen as quite shameful, Lady Peril. I do hope that you will hold back. Especially when it comes to men far above your station. People might call you desperate otherwise.”
As always, Jenna took insults with grace and just smiled back. “People have been calling me that for a long time. I do not mind anymore, Your Majesty. In fact, they might not be fully wrong either...” She looked at Cedar again, which was enough to make him nauseous. Thankfully, she changed the topic after that. “But I will not bother you with stories about my passion. You know this all too well. May I ask Your Majesty what you will do now that you are emperor? All of us knew that you would be the perfect ruler for Artias for a long time, and many are curious about what your first goal will be.”
Cedar needed to stabilize the capital, which had been completely ruined due to Theodore's neglect and the power struggle between the factions. But he didn't say that. “I fear that I cannot name a specific goal, Lady Peril. I am attempting to address all issues. The dangerous ones will come first, and the lighter ones later. This leads me to my next question too.” As much as it pained him, Cedar had to interact with Jenna, who had monopolized the market for beauty products like perfume and makeup fully. This troubled a lot of other stores, and Cedar couldn't just leave it like this. So, he forced himself to beam even as he had to ignore his desire to avoid this woman. “Lady Peril, I believe that we should have a conversation regarding the business contracts you introduced in the capital soon. Would you mind visiting the palace in a few weeks, once my busy work ebbs away?”
As expected, Lady Peril just saw that as his way of accepting her affections. A faint smile grew on her lips as she looked at him like he was a piece of candy she wanted. “Certainly not. I could never mind visiting you, Your Majesty. I will come to your call as soon as you write me a letter.” How eager to please she was. It was disgusting.
Cedar hurried to finish that conversation and quickly moved on to the next families. As the ball continued, he saw the less powerful ones specifically. The people here might not be political key figures, but they could certainly be of use. Cedar already planned what to do with every single person when a specific household caught his eye. The Valerian family was one of the last ones that seemed to be somewhat neutral and also one of the richest ones in the capital. That meant that they would be an ace for Cedar in the future.
The viscount, Raymond Valerian, was a thin middle-aged man with sharp features and dark black hair. His narrow gray eyes always made him seem strict, and that impression wasn't wrong. Raymond was a very proper man when it came to appearances in public. He always wanted to be composed and elegant. Behind closed doors, he was a power-hungry man that fully controlled everyone around him and had held his daughter in a figurative choke-hold ever since her mother had appeared from the capital after divorcing her husband. Cedar knew quite a lot about this man's schemes and what he valued. This person reminded him of his mother a bit.
Which wasn't a good thing.
But Cedar wouldn't let that keep him from using this man's fortune and business connections if needed. Though, there was a much brighter gem here, which just had to be polished a little before it could help Cedar out of a sticky situation.
This was Lucille Valerian, the young daughter of the viscount. A quite typical noble woman of the age of twenty-one with glowing red hair that stood out more than anything else. As usual, she seemed shy and could barely speak in public. As Cedar appeared before them, she almost trembled and hid her face from him without being able to deny her obvious fear at all. What a contrast this was to the stories about her picking fights with other noble ladies during events. There was more behind this. Cedar mentally noted to find out more about her. He could use this girl, he was almost sure. She was just three years younger than him, came from one of the last neutral families in the capital and lacked any sort of political aspirations while barely having any self-confidence.
She was perfect.
But Cedar didn't rush anything. He had to confirm many things before he decided on his ace. For now, he just interacted with the Valerians politely in hopes of them fearing him less after. Raymond stayed skeptical to the end though, and Lucille seemed quite scared. Well, Cedar could work on this later. He had some more time. For now, there were many other people he could meet.
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The ball lasted for seven hours.
By the time Cedar could finally step out of the ballroom, he was exhausted and merely wished to lie down in his bed. His smile was basically carved into his face by now as he choked down more and more annoyance. The first thing he did upon leaving was tell his mother that he had to deal with some pests and that she shouldn't waste her time with this. Camille luckily agreed and decided to return to Selena, probably to chat with her for even longer despite the incident before. Cedar reminded her to keep Claude in check once more before she left. Now merely Cedar's guard, Kai, and his servant, Harris, joined him.
That allowed Cedar to focus on even more frustrating matters. He knowingly ignored the many paintings of Blanche that lined the foyer as well as the stinging feeling in his chest that already worsened whenever he saw a glimpse of her silhouette. He forced himself to meet whom he had to face now.
Leonard Astame had been tense during the whole ball. Even his expression had given away that he didn't know why Cedar had made him his advisor. He had left the ballroom a while ago and now seemed to be waiting here to receive an answer.
Cedar wasn't in the mood, but this was important. He forced himself to step forward to meet the other man, his cape swaying a bit behind him as his crown still seemed to weigh him down.
Leonard stood there leaning against the wall with crossed arms and an expression that made him look like the assassin he had once been. He hated Cedar. He fully despised him. Yet, he forced himself to speak to him. “Why did you choose me?”
Cedar kept his voice as neutral as he could while he beamed at the other man. “Because you are capable. Theodore might have left the country to rot for the past year, but I have no intention of doing the same. You have the most experience here, so you will be able to help me stabilize the mess he left behind. I am aware that you hate me, but you won't even have to see me much. How often we talk is entirely dependent on you. Just deal with the documents, and if necessary, write letters.”
As much as Leonard despised the claim that Theodore had ruined Artias, he couldn't deny it. He only gritted his teeth for a moment and then spoke again. “That surely isn't the only reason you chose me.”
It was true that there had been another reason. Cedar didn't mind revealing this either, even when he was sure that it would shock the other man. “You're an assassin. Don't think that I don't remember that. I need you to take care of the people in my faction that want to use my reign as an excuse to commit one crime after the other. They don't necessarily need to die, but they will have to lose their title soon. And some will need to die. For example, Duke Vasquez, who may or may not be plotting to kill me already. You dealt with dirty things in the past, and now you will have to do it again. Not for my sake but for the sake of the nation. I presume you'll swallow the bitter pill of needing to see me to save Artias.”
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Leonard hadn't expected that. He did remember working for Camille and being ordered to kill Theodore all those years ago, but he might not have expected Cedar, who had been fifteen at that time, to remember him when Camille hadn't even been able to.
Cedar's memory had always been good though. He never forgot the faces of the people who could be his most valuable playing pieces. Leon happened to be one of them. Especially because of one specific conflict. “The war with Northern Ocrea wasn't resolved properly either. Their queen officially admitted defeat after Theodore slaughtered most of her men, but she is planning to get revenge. So, I need someone to end her life before she drags another hundred-thousand people down with her. Two wars were more than enough. You'll have to deal with that since I can't quite invite the queen and stab her here in the palace.”
It would be easy for Leonard to talk back. He despised the other man for killing his closest friend, so he had enough reasons to reject him. But he knew that he had no choice if he wanted the best for Artias. “I understand.” That was all he said, but it was enough.
Cedar was done with this then. He turned away already. “As expected. Then we'll see each other in the office in two days at eight o'clock. We have a lot to do. Good evening.” He left the hallway to go toward the foyer, his entourage following him.
They passed by some servants that watched them with a mix of concern and curiosity as they lifted their heads after bowing deeply. Cedar didn't address them. He would work on improving his people's view of him from now on, but he had to do a good job ruling them first. Then the memories of him killing Theodore would fade away, and this would go smoothly. But just as Cedar thought that, he caught a glimpse of something quite ugly at the end of the hall.
In all of his life, Cedar had never thought that he could hate a person as much as he hated Seraphina Duremont. This woman here was the former empress of Artias and Theodore's ex-wife, but none of that had ever mattered to Cedar. The only thing he saw when he looked at her was the dirty scum that had taken Blanche away from him after making her suffer for months. Oh, how he still remembered Blanche crying in front of him as she had realized that this woman was attempting to win over Theodore as that bastard hadn't even noticed what was going on yet. Every time Blanche had come, it had gotten worse until she had been sure that Theodore loved that witch, even when Cedar could tell that that had never been true.
But Seraphina hadn't even stopped after crushing all of Blanche's hopes and dreams by taking away the man she loved so much. No. Then this abomination had also set her sights on eliminating Blanche after finding out that the other woman had kept meeting Cedar each week. She had decided to see this as treason and had simply falsified enough proof to convict Blanche. Theodore had defended his angel for so long, but at some point, he had probably believed the accusations too. And then Blanche had met with Seraphina to offer her tea as she wished to beg her for a chance to stay in the palace, even when Theodore wasn't hers anymore. She had even searched for chamomile tea specifically just because she had heard that it calmed people.
That hadn't helped.
The ice-cold Seraphina had just used it to frame Blanche for trying to poison her. She hadn't even been clever enough to hide the poison vial in Blanche's room, where the other woman had actually poured the drinks. No, the vial had been found in the kitchen, which could never have proven Blanche to be at fault.
But the empress had pushed for an execution all the way until she had reached her goal. She had fully ignored Theodore's many attempts at pardoning Blanche, his growing despair as he kept trying to delay the trial and his constant offers to bring his beloved concubine into another city instead of having her be trialed. She had also ignored Cedar's countless letters and his right to testify in court since Blanche had been accused of having an affair with him, which had never happened. Seraphina had meddled with all parts of this trial to ensure that the verdict would lead to Blanche's death.
And just that had happened.
Even now, Cedar could only think about the aching in his chest when he thought about how Blanche had been executed. He hadn't even been there. As always, the second useless prince had never been there when it mattered. He had only watched from the sidelines. It wasn't like he hadn't tried to get permission to leave confinement. He had written to so many people to just be able to leave and help Blanche somehow. But when the letters to Theodore had returned with replies of someone trying to imitate the emperor's handwriting, Cedar had easily been able to tell why his brother hadn't let him come to the capital. Seraphina had intervened even there. She had probably also sent the people that had kept Cedar from reaching the capital after he had broken out of confinement just before the execution.
Everything had been ruined because of Seraphina. Cedar hated her so much that he would gladly set the world on fire just to see her burn to death.
A single glance at her made him see red for a moment. That was something Cedar wasn't even used to anymore. Years of bottling up his feelings had allowed him to control the violent temper he had shown as a child. He had never struggled so much to hold himself back from snapping though. The only reason he didn't draw a sword and behead Seraphina right now was that he had to make her suffer first. Then she would die right where she had killed Blanche. That was the only ending Cedar would accept.
His expression had probably shown his thoughts well. As he approached, Seraphina, who had once been so proud and calm, shrank in herself and backed away a bit. Her fingers grasped her dirty dress as she tried to keep herself from trembling. That Seraphina was even present here was a small miracle since she had found some unpleasant substance in her food recently and had needed to stay in the doctor's office for a while. Unfortunately, she was already recovering. Cedar would have liked to keep her from being able to walk around. Should he have someone break her legs? Maybe that would be a good idea.
But Cedar didn't even voice that threat. He could use a much different strategy with Seraphina. She already cowered as he grinned at her with all of his vile intentions showing. His voice was far too happy, revealing all of his disdain to anyone that cared to listen. “What are you doing here? I thought I was clear about you not appearing in my field of view, Lady Duremont.”
Seraphina began shivering slightly. She knew how much he hated her, and she couldn't hide how much he scared her. Yet, she had the nerve to speak in front of him. “Your...Majesty, I don't... I don't care what happens to me. But please don't drag them into this. I'm begging you. My family is innocent.” Her voice was hoarse and lacked every bit of the authoritarian tone that it had had in the past. And to be honest, that woman's eyes looked dead, as if someone had already carved away all traces of her previous personality.
But it wasn't enough.
Cedar would carve away all of her desire to live, just because of one fact. “Blanche was innocent too. I told you what would happen already, and you can trust that I didn't lie when I swore that I would behead you at the same place that her life ended because of you. You took away everything I cared about, so it would only be fair if I crush everything you adore from the inside out. You will regret ever harming her. I told you that, right? You will stay alive to see everything you love being burned alive before the flames will swallow you in whole too.” His smile widened. “And I think that your family would be a good goal to start with.”
Oh, Theodore's rage had been terrifying. Of course, it had. But his younger twisted brother was much worse than him.
Seraphina might know that too. After all, Cedar didn't just grab his sword or wrap his hands around her neck when he got angry. He also prepared a plan that would grate his enemy into dust by the time he was finished. Once he got serious, Seraphina would wish for death and would only receive it after begging for months. If he harmed her precious family, it would be so easy to make her surrender.
And Cedar wasn't even sure whether he was serious yet. He needed the Duremonts for his plan to stabilize the capital, so he probably wouldn't kill them. But when Seraphina would be locked in his cells, he could control what information she got. He would simply come up with some juicy lies about her family's suffering and watch her wither as she found out about what had allegedly happened. The only exception was Allen Duremont, who had personally broken Blanche's beloved butterfly clasp to frame her for treason, just because his sister had told him to. Cedar would make him wish to have never been born too.
The former empress didn't dare to talk back. She just lowered her head and began crying quietly despite always having seemed so confident in the past. “Please...” Apparently, she feared death, which wasn't surprising after that threat. She should rather look forward to that though. Death would be the nicest gift she could ever receive from Cedar. She had made a mistake making him her enemy.
Cedar didn't want to look at her any longer though. He glanced at Owen Maillont, Theodore's former guard and the head of the royal knights. That man disliked Cedar too, but he would still obey orders, especially when it was about punishing the person that was at fault for the previous emperor's spiral into insanity. “Sir Maillont, throw her into a cell for treason. The worst one we have. She won't get food for the next week. Just give her enough water to survive.” That should be a good first punishment after having to drink one of the worst poisons this world offered.
Owen had formerly looked so emotionless, but he couldn't even hide his resignation as he accepted the order with a nod, his sole eye gazing at the floor.
Apparently, Kai, Cedar's guard, found it funny to watch his arch-nemesis look so defeated. Even now, he couldn't stop making fun of him as a mocking grin appeared on his face. “You should let me take care of that, Your Majesty. He might have trouble with his coordination because of that little mishap.” He gestured to his own eye, still with that complacent grin on his lips, as if he wanted to show that the other man had lost one eye. He didn't need to remind anyone of that though. Everyone remembered how he had turned a simple duel hostile to remove Owen's eye before announcing that they would get revenge for Blanche's death. Cedar hadn't been able to fault him back then since seeing Theodore's shock upon watching his friend bleeding so much had been the intended goal. Now Kai overdid it though. “As your personal guard, I will become the leader of the royal guards anyway. So, obviously-”
Cedar couldn't keep his smile from growing as he faced his guard to cut him off. “No. Why would you?” He paused for a moment and let the shock sink in before he continued. “I never said that I would give you that position, nor did I say that you would stay my personal guard.”
Kai certainly hadn't expected that. Everyone knew that he had hated Owen ever since the other man had told him that he wasn't honorable enough to be a royal knight, so it was logical that he wanted to take the other's position. He hadn't thought that his master would deny him that. He seemed quite confused for a moment and then even angry. “But who else-”
Cedar was already fed up with his behavior, so he chose to remind him of his position. “Sir Owen Maillont will stay the leader of the royal guards for now. He will continue to teach the new recruits since he has always been reliable in that regard. When it comes to my personal guard, I am still pondering. It may be you. But only if you manage to trim your arrogance a bit.” He was silent for a moment, and when he received no response, he spoke up again in a harsher tone. “Understood?”
Kai gritted his teeth, but in the end, he had to admit defeat. He lowered his head and glared at the floor. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Good.” Cedar returned to walking down the hall after ordering the confused Owen to bring Seraphina, who was still crying as if anyone here cared about her, away. He prepared to finally do what he had wanted to do the whole day, which was bringing the flowers he had bought to Blanche's grave. Though, it seemed like he wouldn't get the chance to do that.
“Cedar!” Only one person would ever dare to call his name so loudly in public. It seemed like his dear mother had already returned to take away the five minutes Cedar had wanted for himself.
How exhilarating.