1608 Winter Was Coming
Hehehehehe~
Former 2nd queen Sedora smirked.
It hasn't been easy for her to hold it in. She stood beside the officials, her expression as solemn as theirs.
She offered her prayers to the heavens, though not for Maclaine's sake.
No... She was giving thanks to the heavens for this glorious day!
Good heavens...
The Maclaine bastard was finally dead.
Sedora had a sadistic glint in her eyes. Why should she be in agony while he keeps living happily?
Her favorite son, the 2nd prince, died in the hands of the temple of Dragmus. But why was Sirius' luck so good as to evade assassination while the other royals targeted died?
It was just not fair!
She had lost her sons, only having one daughter, already married off.
It's almost 2 and a half years since the ordeal happened. And during this time, she lived like a soulless corpse, finding it unbelievable that her strong gallant sons could die just like that.
You must know she only got word of their death after Sirius' coronation.
She had already moved out of the royal palace, living in Maclaine's private estate on the other side of the Capital city.
She had been giving Sirius hell, planning to clear the way for her son, the 2nd prince, to take over. But when news hit her that not 1 but 2 of her sons were dead, Sedora felt her world crumbling down.
During this time, she had been gritting her teeth whenever news of Sirius exploded in the Capital.
His face in the many Baymardian newspapers during visits, his appearance in tenor cassette videos, news about his projects and plans for Yodan, his achievements, driving employment up and starvation down, everything made Sedora rage.
All this was supposed to be her son's achievements!
.
Yes!
Without Sirius, Baymard would've still signed that bloody treaty with Yodan. So why were many secretly calling Sirius the best ruler since the original founder?
Blasphemy!
How can this little brat be so good?
Fedora didn't believe it!
It must be luck. The little punk was no better than her bleached son. And since he and his brother, the 6th prince, were dead. Then what was she fighting for anymore?
Heh.
Sedora wiped her fake teardrops away.
In this era, women held less significance than men. It was a patriarchal society.
There were of course women who cared for their royal and noble daughters to death. But she fell into the latter category, feeling her daughter being a bride to her.
Look at it!
If her daughter was a son, then even if her first 2 sons died, wouldn't she still have a chance at fighting for the throne and being queen mother?
Sedora had a little hatred for this daughter of hers. Since birth, the girl has always been cold and unresponsive, doing her own thing.
To make things worse, the good-for-nothing's performances in classes like calligraphy, poetry, and several other major subjects were all mediocre.
Do you know how many times Ivy and the others had mocked her for having such a mediocre daughter?
If not for her looks, she would have no good points.
Personality? Who the hell cares about personality?
All one needs is skills, beauty, and power!
To her, love was linked with power. If Maclaine was weaker, do you think she would love him so much?
Heh.
Love went hand in hand with status, wealth, skills, and potential.
How dare the poor ask for love? To Sedora, they don't deserve it.
This daughter of hers was a disgrace, nothing like her glorious self. Ever since her daughter was wedded 3 and a half years ago, she has seen the girl even once.
With that in mind, she focused all her attention on her 2 sons. So when the news of their death came, she felt childless.
.
Fate was too cruel.
How can Sirius survive and her sons don't?
No! She wasn't content seeing Maclaine and Sirius doing well.
In that case, why not drag them all to the underworld?
She swore she wouldn't die until she ended them. And Ivy also thought the same, seeing as she lost her precious sons.
In the end, the duo chose to end Maclaine's life before dealing with Sirius.
As King-father, Maclaine had many forces under his command. He was Sirius' biggest backer.
With him dead, Sirius should be more vulnerable.
That said, killing Maclaine wasn't easy. He was always heavily guarded and well-accompanied. The only times they could make a move was during lovemaking.
He typically withdrew his guards far so they didn't listen in on the noise.
It was during this time that the ladies made their move. But Maclaine showed no signs of surprise.
A decoy assassin also appeared and escaped, letting the guards believe it was the assassin who delivered the blow.
There were some signs that it was a weakling and mediocre person who made the killing. But one could argue that the wounds were opened and deformed even more from the constant pulling and dragging from the 'panicked' wives who loudly filed and tried their best to cover the squirting blood with their hands.
In the end, no one could say whether their speculations were true. But the reports did say they soothed the assassin fleeing.
That night, they had chosen to pleasure Maclaine together.
Coincidence or not?
Anyway, Maclaine was dead.
The 2 women gave each other a discreet look, wailing like there was no tomorrow.
The one they worked for was Sirius' distant cousin from Tenola.
His father was 4th in line for the throne if Sirius died.
At this point, they didn't care who took the throne. All they wanted was Sirius' death.
Their eyes glowed fiercely. They thought they hid their little actions well, but Sirius quickly saw through it all.
'Time to prepare.'
Winter was coming.
...
Like so, Yodan had a settling peace before the storm. But for the intruders in Soma, their peaceful time was about to end.
Landon calmly wore his battle gear, his eyes steadily looking at the clock on the wall.
It was time.
