"Do you mean to say that we have left the entire capital in the hands of the furia?"
Sonco's nickname for the new empress mother tickled a grin out of the frustrated Corco. It seemed like the estates had kept the rumor mill going after his departure. Although he really wanted to ask for details, work came before play. Thus, Corco addressed the more serious part of his uncle's claim first.
"No, the Ichilia clan only controls the small court. The grand court can't be in session without an emperor anyways... and there's no way the Ichilia clan will take control of the entire Ancestral Hall. The small court on the other hand? That one they already own."
After he had come back from the tomb, he had sent a messenger to call his uncle into the city walls. Meanwhile, he had tried to make progress on his would-be assassins. First he had looked for his original main suspects: The master of the armory and the head of the imperial guard. However, since the morning session of the small court, both of them had committed suicide, to no one's surprise. When he arrived at their mansions, Spuria's men stood ready to plead leniency for the families of the suspects. Even the corpse of the unfortunate guard Corco had killed in the Raven Yard had disappeared without a trace. In general, a string of coincidences came together to hinder any investigation. The mere thought of that woman's stranglehold on his family's palace was enough to suffocate Corco as well.
After he had run his head against the same wall one too many times, he realized how pointless it was to leave the home advantage to Spuria. Thus, he had left the palace to meet up with his allies at the Saqartu clan's mansion in the inner city. At the moment Corco, Sonco and Primus sat around a small table in a private room. They had to forge a proper plan. At the same time, Corco had tasked the prime minister to get them access to the empire's treasury. If he wanted to find out the truth, he would have to go through their books and see if the accusations of embezzlement against the emperor's former warriors held any water.
"Ichilia clan? Prince Corco, You mean that more than just Lady Ichilia are involved?" a shocked Primus asked from the side.
"It would be impossible for that woman to take control of the entire palace by herself. Not within half a year and not against the will of princes and prime minister. I'm sorry boy. I would have never let you go had I known that it was already this bad inside." Sonco turned to his nephew with a frown.
"It's not that bad," Corco answered, accompanied by a wave of his hand, "We forced all the actors on stage sooner than they might have liked, so I'd say my palace sleepover was a decent success. Gaping wound notwithstanding."
With his head, Corco gestured to his injured arm. Primus, meanwhile, tried his best to follow the conversation.
"Prince Corco, who are those actors you forced on stage? The Ichilia clan and Prince Amautu?"
"Yeah. Prime minister Chaupic is also a bit of an unknown," Corco added.
"The prime minister? Prince mentioned that he seemed shaken when he saw the emperor's remains."
"He did. He seemed shaken. The man's an advisor though, which makes him a politician. All decent politicians are great actors. It's their primary function."
"Prince Corco, I believe we should not judge so harshly. Surely, most advisors would be true to their lords? They were appointed by the lords after all. If they were treacherous, they would not reach their position, or not hold it for long."
Since Primus had lived under the rules of the clans all his life, it was no wonder he would have no practical knowledge on governance. To the eastern lords, even their own warriors were little more than tools. No wonder the young noble could not fathom one of them ever being disloyal.
"So what exactly do you think an advisor does? What are his priorities?" the teacher asked his student.
"Of course his priorities lie with his lord. He ought to support the lord's rule to the best of his ability. How could it be anything else?" At first, Primus rattled off his memorized knowledge with confidence, but a look over to the smiles on Corco and Sonco's faces and his voice began to falter. By the end, he was mumbling to himself. Since the kid seemed lost, Corco decided to help him out a bit.
"An advisor's priority, first and foremost, is to make his master think that anything the advisor does is for the masters own good, no matter what it is. His second priority is to make his master believe that whatever the advisor does, no one else could do. Third, he needs to explain why every success was thanks to his advice and any failure in spite of it.
"Those are his priorities and nothing else. That's how an advisor gets his position and that's how he holds it. Anyone who lacks in these three skills will see himself replaced by a more gifted liar. Never trust a politician, remember that. It'll get you far in life."
Although Sonco looked amused by Primus' slack face, he left the kid with his thought. Instead, he moved the conversation back into its the proper tracks.
"So you believe Chaupic committed those... monstrosities on your father?"
"I didn't say that. I'm pretty sure he wasn't involved in the mummification. That does not mean he wouldn't be involved in the assassination though. Mine or my father's. That is, if my father was in fact killed." As he recounted the evidence in his head, Corco realized just how little he knew about the capital's machinations.
"Then why would the furia try to cover for Chaupic and remove evidence from the palace? Surely she made an enemy out of the prime minister when she tried to sacrifice him in the court today?" Sonco asked.
"Chances are the two worked together before, so she threw him under the bus to cover her own tracks. This way, she can also make sure she doesn't lose any pawns in the palace."
"And what about Prince Amautu?"
"Not him. At least not for my assassination. I saw my attacker. Red hair. pale skin. Angular features. The only easterners Amautu should have access to should be the people of that Olbit Kallas. Kallas is from a kingdom called Borna. The Bornish don't have red hair. Now, I know that because I spent a good few years over there. On the other hand, there's no way Spuria would know. I'd guess that all foreigners look the same to her."
His lips pursed in determination, Primus returned to life as he jumped up from his chair.
"Then we know who did the deed! We must call an assembly of the lords and let that she-devil and nasty servant taste justice! Posthaste!"
With his usual calm, Sonco put his giant hand on Primus' shoulder and pressed him back into his seat.
"Calm, kid. Once you succeed your father's estate, calm will be your most important skill. This one would do well to remember that too." He pointed at Corco who ignored the jab at his moody personality. Much rather than talk about his flaws, the prince wanted to show off his deductive skills.
"Since there's no concrete evidence, we can't punish Spuria, or Chaupic. Without evidence, there's really nothing we can do. With some luck, we'll end up finding the assassin's body before anyone else does. Until then, it's enough that we know who our enemies are. I don't care much about myself anyways. What I'd much rather do is find the monster who robbed my father of his rest."
"It seems you have thought everything out, so you must have a suspect for this as well. Ichilia again?" Sonco probed.
"That woman does not have a reason to do this to my dad. She did love him after all, at least as far as I can tell, and has given him three children. She had plenty of opportunity, but I just can't find a motive. Amautu on the other hand." With a frown, Corco looked down on his hands. "I'm not sure just how obsessed he is with that scholastic drivel, but if he is brainwashed enough, I could absolutely see him spitting on Yaku traditions just to prove his dedication. I just hope my brother isn't that far gone yet."
"And your father's warriors?"
"That's an obvious sham. I'm not even gonna consider that General Atoc would betray father."
"I'd rather not ask, but." For a moment, Sonco halted. "Elder Caelestis..."
According to the head priest, the former emperor Caelestis Pluritac had paid regular visits to his son before and after Titu's death. It seemed hard to avoid suspicion for him. All this time, Lord Saqartu had avoided this topic. He would know that Corco wasn't willing to consider this and as a result treaded as lightly as he could. He still stepped on a land mine.
"Bullshit!" Corco shouted, as his fist landed on the table. "My grandfather has always been fair and earnest towards every member of the family, even me! And he's always been close to his son. Close to everybody! In that entire fucked up family, he was always the normal one, the calm eye in that fucking storm of a palace. If I can't even trust him anymore, then who would I trust!?"
Sonco saw Corco's agitation and allowed himself a sigh. If his nephew wanted to secure the throne, his outbursts were the biggest problem. However, now was not the time to breach the subject. His nephew was still young. If he had flaws or blind spots, Sonco just had to make up the difference.
"I apologize. I only tried to consider all possibilities... and I never liked the man, you know?"
Once he realized what he had done, Corco calmed down right away. His temper had gotten the better of him again. There really wasn't any reason to attack his uncle just for being thorough.
"You don't like anyone north of the narrow sea, uncle," he said with a gloomy smile.
"As far as evidence on the culprits of the mummification goes," Corco grabbed into a large bag behind himself and pulled out several pieces of paper, which were covered in mysterious markings. "While I was down in the grave I made sure to get fingerprints from father's body.
"Fingerprints?" As far as the crown prince was concerned, Primus once again asked all the right questions. He started to wonder how he had ever lived without someone as convenient as him around.
"A method to identify who touched my father's body after his mummification." With a confident smile, he pointed at the papers covered in fingerprints. "Each of these prints are from a different person, and they're unique for anyone in the world. Most of these prints will be from the dead servants, but there's a good chance at least one of them will betray the conspirators. Now all I need to do is find an excuse to collect finger prints from anyone suspicious. There's also a few other tests I want to do, but I will need the right equipment first. It'd be best if I had Ronnie around, but at the very least, we'll have to wait until Fadelio is back to go down that path."
"Speaking of which, where is that dim attendant of yours?" Sonco grinned.
Corco ignored his uncle's evaluation of the warrior. Now that he was reminded, he was too concerned to care about a little joke.
"Fadelio has been out for a while now. I've sent people to inform him of what happened to his father, but I'm afraid it's already too late. If nothing else, he should be able to stay out of trouble if someone targets him. The man is far more capable than any of you might imagine."
With a wave of his hand, Sonco dismissed Corco's concern.
"You best prepare well for tomorrow's banquet, my boy. I can guarantee you, the furia will try her best to make you look as foolish as possible in front of the estates."
"Which is the entire point of the charade, I guess. Tomorrow, I'll have to try and attack back. That woman will only get more and more brash if I can't get a proper hit in soon."
Although the prince was eager to discuss potential counter-measures for the banquet, they were interrupted by a knock on the door. After Sonco's affirmation, a servant of House Saqartu entered the room and announced Fadelio's return. When Corco saw his attendent, his relieved face stiffened once again. With a stiff body and ashen face pointed at the ground, the warrior didn't seem in good spirits.
"Master Corco, it seems General Atoc will not be able to offer any support." His trembling hands were clenched, the dried blood still visible between the fingers.
"I heard," the prince answered in a grave voice, while he touched his friend's shoulder. "We'll make all of them fry for their crimes, but not now. We all have to calm down first and avoid mistakes. Tomorrow, I need you in the camp in case there is a challenge. I'll be taking Primus with me as my attendant." Although his reasoning was sound, in truth, He wanted Fadelio out of the spotlight for a while. The prince could afford to be rude, but for an ordinary warrior, a defiant glare towards a lord could spell his death.
"Yes master." Fadelio looked into Corco's eyes, as his face firmed and his hands eased.
"So were have you been? We were already worried another assassin had gotten to you."
For a moment, Fadelio considered his words.
"After I heard about the general, I wasn't feeling too well. I wandered the outer city for a while, to clear my head."
Again Corco sighed. Their return to Medala had been far less glamorous than he had envisioned. By now, all of them had received some wounds, physical and otherwise.
"We should all get some rest and work through what happened today. Uncle Sonco, if it's alright with you I'll be staying here for now. I'll be damned if I'm dumb enough to trust the palace one more time."
"But Prince, would the lords not say that Prince is not man enough to face his fears in the palace?" Primus asked.
"Fuck 'em. I hope the rumor spreads. If even an imperial prince has to be afraid of the palace, the one in charge of the small court is not doing her job correctly. We should hope Spuria is dumb enough to make such a simple mistake. It'll make all our lives much easier."
__________________________
"You failed."
"So what should I have done then? Believe me, I couldn't have been nastier if I tried, but that guy didn't budge an inch."
"From what I heard, he looked close to breaking. Rather than worry about us, you seem more afraid of the brute's retaliation."
"Who dares!? Who did you hear that from!?"
"From your servants of course. You didn't think they were really your servants, did you?"
"How dare-"
"You forget your place, servant! My master gave you all you have today. It would be just as easy to take it all away."
"No! Honored Lord, this slave wouldn't dare!"
"Good. You look much better down there, grovelling like that. If you want to make up for your mistake, you best try a bit harder. Tomorrow is your last chance. If what you said is true, it should be easy for you to ruin Prince Corco's reputation. It's him or you, don't forget that."
"Of course, honored master. This servant will obey."
__________________________
"What were you thinking!? You tired to kill a prince of Pluritac!"
"So you would not wish to help your son climb the throne then?"
"..."
"If the prince died to a foreigner assassin, we could blame them and make sure they don't get a foothold on Yakuallpa. Once we hold the silver throne, we are free to do as we wish. Was that not what you wanted?"
"...no matter what, this was too risky. You knew I would not agree to this, that was why you planned the deed in secret. Stars be blinded, you tried to kill imperial blood!"
"No need to worry, there will be no more attempts on his life. Prince Corco won't have a claim left after tomorrow anyways. House Ichilia will make sure of that."
__________________________
"Our position now is almost too good to be true. Divide and conquer."
"Yes, it has been going quite well, hasn't it, old man?"
"Haha, as the princes fight for the crown, we can spread ourselves in the crevices all we want. Hollow out the emperor's title and give the empty shell back to the most obedient candidate."
"You have spread like weeds. Be mindful of your greed. It is unbecoming."
"So Lord would prefer to strengthen the princes instead? I thought that was why we entered this alliance? To take the power out of the palace?"
"Just because we might have similar goals for now does not mean that I have to trust you. I know what your people have been doing, so you best restrain yourself. Otherwise I might just turn around and aim my axe at you."
"Please calm yourselves, honorable friends. No need for unrest. We did not meet for a squabble, but to deliberate on tomorrow's banquet."
"Surely either or both of the younger princes will have prepared to take down Corco. We won't mind if the prince is humiliated, but he cannot lose his claim. More claims will only drag things out further, and we are the ones to benefit from additional time."
"However, our information on tomorrow is limited. We will have to adjust quickly. Let's see to it that this war for the throne continues."
"May it outlast the stars and the oceans."