The Red King [Book II]

XI

'What is it that you're actually aiming for?' Llwyd asked.

ㅤWandering under loggias in the late evening, basking in cooler air, James had been accosted. Because he wore plain clothes, none of the night-duty soldiers had recognised him outright, their suspicions minor. After all, why would a king walk around in a plain tunic? Despite the invisibility James had sought, Llwyd knew his face.

ㅤ'You're bold,' James criticised. 'I'm surprised you survived Fabian with an attitude like that.' Then again, he had run away.

ㅤ'He wasn't quick to kill people and me being outspoken wasn't an exception. He was soft-hearted. That's why he was loved dearly.'

ㅤJames didn't spare a glance. 'He was quick to kill thousands.'

ㅤ'That...' An uncomfortable squirm. James already knew what was coming. 'He was young, terrified and he'd temporarily lost his mind. I don't know. People didn't seem to accept he was the same person so forgiveness came quickly.'

ㅤLlwyd surprisingly seemed more objective than others. He didn't bristle to Fabian's defence, keeping his assessments political and from the perspective of others. It did, however, keep his views obscured, despite boasting of being outspoken.

ㅤIt was weird for James: getting stripped of his anonymity and being chained to a place where someone knew Julian. He'd gone from an inhuman ghost, born from no one and sibling to none, to having his brother returned to him. Uttering the forbidden curse of his name so easily and hearing another say it so casually, acknowledging Fabian's existence like he was just in the next room, James' soul felt half-empty.

ㅤ'The sicker King Godfrey got the better, really,' Llwyd went on. 'Fabian should've poisoned him earlier, like I said he should've.'

ㅤJames stopped. His reaction came late. '...What?'

ㅤThere was a beat of silence. Llwyd was mildly surprised by James' shock. 'Oh,' he said. 'I guess you wouldn't know about this, would you?'

ㅤAnkaid and Theos had been conspiring, as King William had suspected before. None had found evidence of this fact and it hadn't mattered once the two kings were dead. Yet, maybe it still should.

ㅤ'What did King Godfrey have to do with anything?' James spoke lowly despite changing language, glancing over his shoulder.

ㅤLlwyd smiled nervously. 'I expected you to ask about the poisoning... King Godfrey mentored Fabian because he was too young to rule by himself. Did you really not know about this? He'd basically stepped forward as a second father.'

ㅤIt was utterly preposterous. King Godfrey and King Leonardo were a bow to a blade. Completely incompatible and hostile, the two mutually despising, they'd wanted nothing to do with each other. So, why would King Godfrey have cared for the child of his most public enemy?