H̶e̶l̶l̶ Hail King || ONC 2021(Longlister)

XXX. Ren reminisces

"Do you remember the leader of that first case I tackled as the king?"

"Vaguely."

"I recognized him in the courtroom today. He was among the crowd of the protesters and was antagonizing people from behind the scenes."

"It can be a coincidence," Jupiter mused despite the mistrust on her face.

"When I think back, I am very sure he was present during the unrest after the fields caught fire as well. He was standing right beside the leader of the revolt. Two times can be a coincidence, three times smells like scheming."

"That...definitely is not a coincidence. What are you going to do now?"

Edward was evaluating hard the situation by the look on his face. Jupiter stood still as a statue until he spoke. "Go to Renard and tell him to join me in the library."

"On it, Your Majesty."

"Hey hey hey!" Edward lightly reprimanded but Jupiter was already running out of the door. Shaking his head affectionately, he went to stand near the Victorian-style window in his room. The castle was atop a hill and the window was at the back of his chamber that overlooked the city at the feet of the hill. The movements of residents were visible from his perch. Looking like tiny ants, they were all over the place, going the extra mile simply to get daily bread on their plates.

"What will I do?" he wondered aloud, his grumble echoing in the empty room. "Jupiter opened my eyes and she saved me from becoming the worst leader to go down in the history of the Cromwell family. I am thankful to her for finding me before I could destroy my father's legacy. What will she say or think about me when she learns about the acts I did in her absence? But how ironic?! When one does not care about the suffering of others, there is no suffering around them to see, and when you start caring, all they see around them is suffering."

He moaned in distress and exhaled. A knock on the door withdrew him from contemplation. "Yes?"

The door unshut and Jupiter's head came into view. "Sir Renard has been waiting for fifteen minutes. Are you OK" — she conspicuously glanced behind him — "Your Majesty?"

"I will be there in five minutes." Jupiter did not feel welcome at that moment, so she left him be.

In the next hour, Edward was done discussing the pressing matter of the second revolt. "What do you suggest?" Renard was staring at him unblinking. The blank look on his face was driving Edward crazy enough to want to pull his hair out from its roots. "RENARD!"

"Sorry, my king. I see no other way than to talk this out with King Ansal. We have no leverage over them, nor do we have any written document that states we are in a peaceful alliance with them. The only thing we have in our favor is years of friendship between the two kingdoms."

"Do you believe in that friendship?" Renard seemed hesitant, ergo Edward added — "Be honest, Ren." Edward noticed his advisor's rounded eyes, raised eyebrows, and slack jaw. He had shocked Renard. He used to call him by that nickname when he was four and smiled and gave a hoot.

"Sir..."

"Edward please."

"Edward, I am convinced that Ansal will not consider our request to restart the water supply. He is a man who takes and gives."

"Shall I visit Anna and take up this matter with her?"

"I doubt the Princess can persuade her brother. You know Ansal is a sly man, sweet from the outside and vile from the inside. The Princess is simply a bait to him away from the castle and a showpiece when within the confines of the castle."

"What else, Ren? What else?"

"First, send a letter to them and wait for their reply."

"I suppose."

Grasping the king's disinclination towards the suggestion, Renard reminded him - "It is the code of conduct."

"Hmm...What after that?"

"We wait for the outcome."

"The sky is blue," Edward declared in a sing-song voice and a deadpan expression.

Renard flushed before clearing his throat. "What do you mean by what after that, sir?"

"In case the outcome is negative, what then? Have you mulled over how we will proceed? Retaliation?"

"Let us keep retaliation out of the picture for now and hope for the best. If I were to provide an answer, it would be in opposition. Retribution should not be in the picture at all. Tirror is our neighboring kingdom; if both of us keep playing dirty, then war is sure to break out. People suffer in a war."

"Father keeps surprising me with his wits and ways. I realize why he pestered you about not stepping down from your position when he did from his."

"Oh." Renard blinked and then smiled shyly. "Thank you."

"It is a matter of fact I supplied. Anyway, you did not answer my question."

"If they don't provide us water from their canal, we will carry water from our river, Jeevan."

Edward gaped at him like he grew two heads. Composing himself, he wisely sputtered – "What? Are you out of your mind? It's a long distance. Many many miles."

"We have many many hardworking people to help."

"How do you plan to do it each day?"

"Not each day. We shall spend a few months building a canal and joining it to the existing one."

"You are smart."

"It is my pleasure to be of help," Renard replied with modesty.

"I feel dumb," the King shared.

The advisor laughed heartily, an image of a young smiling Edward playing in his mind.