Trapped in Another World With No Magic

Chapter 98.4: Bonus Story: Battle for the Imperial Crown Part 4

Clink clink clink!

The sounds of a metal teaspoon tapping against the ceramic of the cup are the only noise at the otherwise awkwardly silent tea table under the outdoor pavilion once more.

The company is as pleasant as can be, short of one's own parents, as Byleathea practically raised Thermihk. In fact, it's more than just 'practically'. She nursed him, tutored him alongside Sundenelle, and watched over him when he was ill. The only one who would compare would be his nanny, who also was present for many of the same events.

That said, with a consort and her daughters assassinated, and Byleathea and Sundenelle considered even more disposable, it's easy to worry that they could be next.

And, as the younger brother of the heir apparent and Crown Prince declared to the people, Thermihk is effectively an adversary in these tumultuous times.

He honestly hates it.

He misses the days that he and Sundenelle would run around the gardens and orchards, looking at bugs, running from snakes, poking each other with sticks and grass stems, and otherwise getting into mischief the lower-ranking royal children could get into. He never saw Byleathea's status nor Sundenelle's resultant abnormal rank as a bastard daughter. They were his mother figure and sister before anything else.

"Do you need anything in the annex, Lady Byleathea?" asks Thermihk, finally summoning the courage to break the ice.

She pastes on her smile, which holds a surprising level of warmth in spite of being her diplomatic expression.

"We are well stocked and shouldn't need to trouble anyone for the time being. Thank you for asking, your Highness."

"It's only natural. Though, I had hoped you would begin moving to one of the villas..."

"I'm afraid I couldn't bring myself to leave my daughter, and she refuses to leave her home. I'm sorry for worrying you, Prince Thermihk."

He remains thoughtfully silent. It's the same dance they've been doing since the Emperor passed. Byleathea isn't as valued by Sundenelle as the Emperor was, it seems. And, for all of her intelligence, Sundenelle doesn't seem to grasp how much danger she is in at the Imperial Palace. His brothers don't share the same integrity or morals that Thermihk does, as the two respective mothers for those who stand the greatest chance of claiming the throne are far more ambitious than Byleathea or the Second Consort who was assassinated.

"Have you heard any rumors about her Grace Consort Thennia, my Lady?"

Byleathea shakes her head sadly. "No. Only that she and her daughters were murdered and their bodies set aflame." She clutches her teacup nervously. "Dreadful... How could something like that happen within the Imperial Palace?"

The prince sighs. "That is what I'm looking into myself. Unfortunately..." He looks to the side, disgusted with even thinking it, even though it's the most likely answer. There are lots of people who will pick off rivals. Taking out the weakest standing members of the Imperial Family will raise the guard of the more important members, but it will also serve as a threat to them. The Empress is the true wife of the Emperor, while the Consorts are legal partners, but with lower standing than the Empress. The Empress and her children are the true heirs to the throne before anyone else, and by eliminating any possible competition for her children, she sends a message to both the other princes and princesses, as well as the nobles, that there is no victory in taking any other side than her son's.

Not that such a thing usually prevents a succession dispute, but it's very possible that the Empress, Crown Prince, or even the First Consort's family are thinning out the competition before the true succession battle begins. It's not unthinkable that Sundenelle could have had a hand in it, but she would be mad to believe, short of assassinating everyone in the Imperial Family, that she could ever become Empress as a bastard Princess.