Lean

III

BEOMGYU

One week had passed since his father took the throne, and the tension was at an all-time high. Since becoming king, his father went to work on the realm of Mirage. He caught up on pressing issues that had been neglected since King Shin's death. He assigned new staff members to take care of matters concerning the realm and adjusted the budget accordingly. His father mentioned that nothing was taken care of right before, alluding that King Shin had left him a mess to clean up.

The other major families in Mirage had reluctantly accepted his father's forceful taking of the throne. Beomgyu knew that if the other families hadn't owed them money, it would be a different story. There was only one council member who voiced his displeasure with the situation and refused to acknowledge his father as the new king of Mirage. The council member was Kang Seohyun, the leader of the Kang family. Due to Kang Seohyun's power over one of the five kingdoms in Mirage and the tensions between their families, his father had to tread lightly with the situation. He instead imprisoned the leader of the Kang family and set a date for a trial in court on counts of treason.

The rumors flew about his father's right to take the throne and of King Shin's mysterious disappearance. Beomgyu couldn't help but think the two of them were connected in some way. His father was never shy about voicing his displeasure with the former king. Was his father the one who orchestrated King Shin's death? Beomgyu knew that he had to hold his tongue on the subject. Suspecting that either his family or someone loyal to the Chois had assassinated the late King Shin in order to take control of the realm of Mirage was treason. The questions and possibilities didn't leave his mind, though.

The short trips Beomgyu used to take to visit street vendors or to practice archery were now accompanied by the imposing presence of his father's loyal bannermen. The other bannermen guarded King's Palace and the city guards, once loyal to the old regime, now pledged allegiance to his father. His father described his new force as unstoppable and that his plan went much better than expected. Beomgyu still couldn't forget the bloodshed he witnessed when his father first took the throne. He stood in horror next to Yeonjun as he witnessed multiple knights lose their lives to his father's bannermen.

The shimmering vision he had of King's Coast was now painted with crimson blood. His heart longed to escape back to Aurumstone, where he could find solace in the archery field during the day and seek refuge on the rocky beaches at night, drowning his thoughts in wine and beer. No longer could he do that, at least not now with the tension so high. He was now a prince, heir to the throne after Yeonjun.

Yeonjun was handling his new title much better than him. Their father would invite them to the court where he sat on the throne delegating matters of the realm and handling egregious crimes. Beomgyu reluctantly went once and swore himself not to go back after nearly falling asleep with the boring politics. Yeonjun, though, went every single time that his father offered. He seemed to actually enjoy the sessions, even offering their father advice over dinner.

One evening, after his father departed from the banquet hall and the two of them were left alone with Soobin, Beomgyu decides to bring up his newfound interest to him.

"You've been attending court with Father a lot," Beomgyu inquires, "Are you preparing for the day you'll have to take the throne, or are you actually having fun?"

"Both," Yeonjun murmurs, slicing into the roasted meat on his plate. "You know, Father wants you to go, too."

"I have much better ways to spend my time," Beomgyu mutters, "My chance of becoming king isn't very probable, especially when he marries you off and you have sons of your own."