Juan pulled back the blade and plunged it through his own neck in a quick moment. Silence prevailed in the room as everyone watched with horror as the boy king slowly fell to the ground.
"What the hell!" The Autumn King jumped back as he saw the dead body of the boy king lying on the floor.
"Lucy, call for a healer quickly!" shouted the Grandmaster.
Lucy nodded and sped out of the tent, pushing aside the open-mouthed knight on her way.
"Wow, to think the supposed knight you captured just now killed his own king, that's quite a coincidence, I would say," said the Spring King with a hint of mockery in his tone.
"What?! Are you accusing me of this murder?!" the Autumn King yelled at him. "Are you saying I'm the murderer here? I have nothing to do with this! I never killed him!"
"You're the one who summoned him here, aren't you? You're the one who wanted a formal meeting! You're the one who captured the knight who seemingly ran away from this island! How did he even manage to escape through our eyes, my kings? Think about it. How was a simple knight like him able to escape the clutches of a large kingdom that surrounded the entire island with its naval ships? How is that possible?" Spring asked, looking at his fellow kings.
They were all silent, looking at the dead bodies of two young men on the ground.
"Mind your words, Redigal!" the Autumn King's anger flared up in his eyes. His mind was going mad as this was not what he had envisioned when he came here. "I am not a murderer! I didn't kill anyone!"
"You're either a fool to bring someone like him here or you're too cunning and fooling us by making us think this is not your fault and it was all an elaborate plan of someone," said the Spring King, his voice no longer cool and collected.
It was as if he was also affected by the murder of the boy king.
Then suddenly Lucy barged into the tent with a healer. The healer quickly kneeled and checked on the king, touching his pulse and checking for wounds.
She inspected the boy king and moved on to the next body.
After a few minutes, she stood up and said, "The death was quick. The blade had perfectly connected with his heart." She looked at the Grandmaster. "Both of them are gone!"
"It's him!" shouted the Autumn King, pointing his finger at the Spring King with fury in his eyes.
The Spring King shook his head. "We all understand who's behind what! Your denial is simply ridiculous!"
"Enough!" The Grandmaster interrupted, his voice calm and composed. "This is getting out of hand. The high table meeting is postponed to a further day. Take the bodies and cremate them and don't let anyone know what happened here." He then turned towards the Autumn King. "Do we understand each other?"
"Yes, sir!"
Spring walked past the Grandmaster and went outside. The others followed suit except for the Autumn King, who remained standing near where Juan lay on the floor.
"Bastard! How dare you do this to me? How dare you betray me!" He shouted and started to kick the corpse of the knight. It made a loud thud sound that echoed across the whole camp.
His anger was still boiling inside him, but he knew there wasn't much time before everyone pointed their fingers at him.
It was clear from the start that the Spring King had set him up. There wasn't any doubt about it anymore. This must be the work of the Spring King. And yet… why would he want to frame him? Why would he try to make him look guilty of this crime? What could possibly motivate him to commit such a heinous act against the Autumn Kingdom?
He decided to go back to his guest room and think with his advisors.
Since there was the grandmaster here, he was sure no one would think of doing anything funny.
...
On a rooftop of a two-storey building overlooking the sea, King Redigal stood leaning over the edge of the roof. His face was of utter calmness like a man who was simply enjoying the cool breeze of the earth after a battle of death.
A figure appeared beside him, a woman dressed in a black robe. Her short white hair swayed in the wind while her eyes glared at the ocean below.
"Give the promised gifts to his family. Tell them the debt has been paid and he was no longer a convict," the King said, his eyes never leaving the horizon. "Tell them he died a hero."
"Of course, Majesty. They shall receive the news soon enough," she replied calmly.
"The characters have been introduced, and now is the time to reveal the plot. Soon the world will see the truth. Let the game begin…"
Redigal smiled as if he already knew the ending of the story.
***
The sun was setting fast.
"I thought I told you to keep quiet!" spoke the Autumn King, trying hard not to lose control of himself. "Why can't you just listen to what I tell you and obey me instead of doing whatever the fuck you please?!"
"And I've told you countless times: I'm not your fucking servant!" Elora snapped back at her father, something she had never done before.
She was so angry with her father for putting the whole Kingdom in jeopardy.
She was so angry that she wanted to slap the old man across the island.
But what could she do? He's her King and her father…
She had begged him to give her this assignment as she knew there was something wrong with the whole situation. And her father had disregarded her feelings and moved on with his plan.
Which had become a fucking mess for the entire Kingdom!
Now they were both paying for their foolish decision. But she couldn't blame herself completely; her father should have listened to her warnings.
"I don't want you to mess up your fucking words at the next meeting. Because if you mess up, we're this close-" he pointed his index finger "-to getting banned from the council. Do you want that to happen, Dad? Do you really?"
Her voice was trembling with rage.
"Don't talk to me like that! Don't treat me like some child who doesn't know anything! I've lived way more years than you. I've played more games than any of those stupid kings there, and this Redigal... He's just a kid playing with his hormones. Nothing more than that. Just a brat!" he sneered and chugged the wine bottle again.
Elora took another sip of hers. She knew this was an opportunity the gods had sent her. An opportunity to seize the throne and make the old man pay dearly for everything he had ever done to her.
She hated him for that very reason: he always treated her like a weakling, a little girl who needed protection and care. That's what he used to say every single night until she grew tired of hearing those same damn words every day.
If she could just tackle him on this matter, he wouldn't be able to deny her value, and he would have no choice but to acknowledge how strong she truly is.
"Guess what Dad, the times have changed. Your plays have become old and brittle. Even a passing peasant knows you are going to take a shit just the way your legs are positioned," she said. "This is not the place where you use your old play, Dad. Everyone knows what that is, and King Redigal sure knows that, and that's why he played you. This is the time when you use new wisdom and players for the politics, a new brain with ideas, a different strategy, and a better execution. Not this bullshit—" She held the glass between her hands tightly. "You need to change the way you think. Change the game itself. If you continue to do things the way you usually do, you'll end up losing this war."
"Oh, you think you know how to win this? Is that what you're trying to tell me, eh? You think you can beat Redigal in a political fight?" He laughed bitterly. "You don't even know how this works. I taught you everything there is to know about politics, son..."
"That's exactly what I'm telling you!" She raised her voice louder. "I might not know the ins and outs of the system, but I know how to read people. And right now, I can tell this Redigal is dangerous. He's got something up his sleeve, and it's going to hurt us badly unless we stop him now before it's too late. We cannot afford to underestimate him, especially since he's backed by the other Kingdoms. So do yourself a favor and listen carefully to me for once in your life, ok?"
"Alright, alright... I hear ya, Elora. I heard you. Now shut the fuck up already."
He sighed heavily and sipped the last drop of wine in the glass.
Elora had a triumphant smile on her face.
A new player has entered the board.