That night, Prince Mo flew into a rage. His hands was clamped on his waist, corners of his thinned lips tilting down. He stared profoundly at the ceiling in utter exasperation. The maids and manservants were on their knees shuddering without daring to glimpse at the fuming prince. Without warning, he furiously swept the jug and cups on his table with his hand, sending them to shatter noisily. The maids and manservants gasped as they flinched affrightedly.
The ordeal was becoming redundant for him to absorb. The inception of his dispiriting circumstance could be traced back to the sprouting of the insidious rumour followed by his conspiratorial impeachment. And now, the bronze seal was no where to be found.
Hilbwet was speechlessly vexed. He stared fiercely at the panic-stricken servants.
"You mean none of you came in contact with a yellow box while on duty." His voice was harsh enough to infuse fright. The servants squeaked due to the strictness of the speech, jittering their heads vibrantly. How their heads never fell off despite the superfluous, energetic denial remained unexplainable.
Mo paced here and there, hands still holding his waist.
"Whoever is responsible for this must go in for it. They dare smuggle a spy into my palace." He swayed his eyes between the frightened-to-death servants on the ground. "I don't want these good-for-nothing servants in my palace."
"Mercy, your highness!" They pleaded shakily, bringing their faces to the ground. For sure if it gets to the king that Mo fired his servants due to the unknown whereabouts of the bronze seal, they would definitely get their heads decapitated and spiked on the palace gate.
After an unclear period of observing him, Hilbwet sighed and took the blame. Being Mo's loyalist since childhood, he was more than ready to not only share Mo's burden but also to take the fall for him.
"I'm at fault, your highness. I failed to inspect the servants cautiously. If I hadn't slacked off in performing my duty, this incident wouldn't have occurred." Mo turned his head slowly to Hilbwet.
"And what's the use of telling me that now?" Mo scolded as his eyes shone at his guard. The latter started and averted his sight by looking down. He had never seen Mo in such an angry mode.
With ostensible anger written on his face, Mo hated the fact that he fell for the bait of his opposing party. His anger could no longer be seethed as a result of the deluge of ill luck that overwhelmed him.
While the room was silent with a rigorous atmosphere, a silhouette entered the room.
"I have something to report." Mo looked up and it was six. He must have been done with the task entrusted to him.
With the side of his eyes, Mo glared daggers at the heads of the servants still kneeling on the floor.
"What are you doing there? Do you still need me to chase you out?" At once, the servants got up and scurried out of the room. Immediately they left, six reported in a small tone.
"Your highness, it's possible that those officials who started the rumour may have come across the second prince in one way or the other. The right-hand man of prince Karick visited the minister of justice today. they talked in the garden. Although I didn't hear the entire conversation, I heard the right-hand man say that the second prince promised to make the minister a grand secretary if he supports him to get the crown."
Mo huffed quietly, a little smirk superceding his dark expression. "Nice move! He is trying to take hold of the high court. When that happens, it would be difficult for his opposition to convict him."
"It's a nice move but House Of Berath will keep the ministry of justice in check." Hilbwet stated.
"That's true." Mo assented.
"I think the second prince is related to the disappearance of the bronze seal. He has high officials backing him up that he dares to involve such an authoritative object. He put the officials to the rumours then stole the bronze seal to amplify the 'authenticity' of your incompetence. It's a double edge approach." Hilbwet said after mulling it for half a beat. Actually, there was no evidence that the second prince had something to do with the sudden disappearance of the bronze seal, but they had the intuition deep down in them. Moreover, he was Prince Mo's greatest rival.
"Even if he has the bronze seal, he won't be able to use it because, one, he cannot dispatch troops without authorization, and two, he isn't the authentic keeper of the bronze seal. Any disregard to these two reasons will be a serious crime. I wonder what he is going to do with it." Mo stated thoughtfully. He would devise a plan to clean up the mess come tomorrow's assembly.
The early morning conference took place in the court filled with the ministers clothed in their office robes.
"The king arrives!" An attendant announced as King Elead grandly entered the hall.
"Long live the king!" The ministers bowed in allegiance.
"You may rise my dear ministers. We all know that we are on guard against the influential eastern princes. Before I chose a protector, I had received numerous memorials from those princes. After a protector was chosen, they were undeterred and kept writing memorials. I saw one recently asking for my response. They requested that I split the army of Everdusk into two."
The officials began to mumble among themselves. After a good while of exchanging thoughts, one official opinionated.
"Your Majesty, I think the princes of Dawcane are biting more than they can chew. They might as well request for the kingship of the eastern region. It's about time we deal with those princes, and conquer them once and for all."
"Minister Jeyold, you talk as if it's an easy task. If we turn all our attention to recover Raincut at this critical moment, other adversaries will seize the chance and cause damages. I suggest your majesty wait till they make a move. As for the memorials, do not give them your time." Another official (general Russ) opposed and aired his view.
"What general Russ said is true. I'd like us to be reminded that the prospective disaster may not necessarily come from the Dawcanes. It's just a mere speculation, so we shouldn't invest all our efforts on going at the Dawcanes." Marquis Zilot opinionated after the general had spoken. Minister Jeyold proceeded to counter and state his point clearly.
"Let's be practical here please. The eastern province was conquered eighteen years ago. Therefore, nothing is expected to happen from there. Now, in the whole of Raincut, the Dawcanes are the only party we should be wary of. Are they not worth investing our efforts on, Marquis Zilot?" Minister Jeyold glanced sideward at Zilot.
"Who said only an influential party can cause doom? Don't you think it's possible for a nobody to arise from the east?" The lieutenant governor suddenly interfered after which the king spoke.
"The doom must not be limited to the princes of Dawcane. The divination lacked precision, so we could only make a conjecture. We will not go for war until they've made a move." The court fell into a period of hush, gifting Karick the chance to steal a surreptitious sidelong glance at an official who immediately picked up the hint.
"Your Majesty, I wish to state my thoughts. No disrespect to the current bronze seal keeper, but a lot of doubts sprang due to his appointment. I suggest that we assess the keeper and answer the people." After finishing his thought, silent talks ensued. Mo was smiling in his heart but his face was placid. The Conference was becoming interesting.
"Minister of information bureau, you were so good with your speech. Answer the people?! I never knew you cared about the voice of the people. Speaking about assessment, you ought to be assessed as regards your inability to control the rumour that almost debased the royal court. The bronze seal's keeper was chosen by his majesty. Has it ever occurred to you that the people indirectly questioned the competency of his majesty by criticizing the third prince?" General Russ responded. The information bureau's minister blinked twice, realizing that he was openly getting implicated in the offensive committed by the people.
"The people were totally ignorant that the third prince was the keeper of the bronze seal. Had they known, they wouldn't have dared gossip about him." The minister defended himself. General Russ replied calmly.
"Whether they were ignorant or not, the fact remains that there was indeed a rumour. But as the minister of information bureau, you failed to control the rumour that was close to tarnishing the image of the royal court."
"But the rumour didn't last for long. If not, those rumourmongers would've been arrested and levied with a fine."
"General Russ, were you expecting an immediate upturn in the space of two days?" Karick abetted his follower. It took Mo only a millisecond to reply.
"But I controlled the situation within few hours." Karick chuckled lightly and sighed dramatically.
"Brother, that thuggish method of yours wasn't princely at all. It seems you've forgotten that protocols are usually followed when attending to governmental responsibilities."
Although Mo had different expressions playing in his head, they didn't appear on his face. It dawned on him that there was no way he could run from external trouble even if he stuck to his knitting. He voice became low as he answered his brother.
"What is princely? What are protocols?" After a good while of watching Karick with a pair of unreadable eyes, he proceeded. "Princely is not only a royal background but a dignified personality. Protocols are rules that are made by men. I have my own rules and system of taking care of issues as long as they pertain to me."
Albeit Mo had no foothold in the court but when he finished speaking, the court was silent in awe at the esteemed prince. King Elead couldn't hold back his smile following Mo's words. This was the son he knew.
"Father, I have a report." Mo broke the silence, reprising the ambience with fresh intensity. Bergwain arced his brows. Karick wore a pondering expression while the courtiers looked up in anticipation.
"Go on." The king permitted. Mo spoke after a momentary silence.
"I have misplaced the bronze seal." The courtiers started, sibilance buzzing everywhere. Who the hell does that? He misplaced an official seal and he had the balls to not only announce it in a conference but in front of the his majesty to be precise. What the hell is Mo up to? Karick thought in confusion. While the commotion was ongoing, Mo's face was radiating with what could be called a smile. No doubt he derived joy from the commotion he caused to ensue from the confused set of human beings.
"Minister of information bureau, didn't you say I should be assessed? Well, you don't have to assess me. Just give me a negative score already. As for those who want to impeach, you have a good reason." The minister was agape like he was seeing a horror movie. Mo's actual plan was to confirm his intuition. His gaze met Karick's but the latter looked away. He found it extremely difficult to decipher the tricks Mo had up his sleeves.
"How did you misplace the seal?" King Elead asked.
"It was stolen from me."
"It's carelessness then. You shouldn't be exempted from punishment." Karick said with a low-pitched voice. Mo cracked a laugh.
"Brother, why are you nervous? Instead of hastily giving out judgement why don't we carry out an investigation, or is there something you haven't done yet?" For Karick to side with his follower to propose assessment showed that he was aware that the bronze seal was lost. If Mo couldn't provide the seal it would put him in a dismal state, but Mo already thwarted the scheme. Also, the last question asked by Mo was hinting at whether Karick had yet taken care of the spy. Karick understood but put up a charade expression of confusion.
"What do you mean, brother?"
"Your Majesty, let House of Berath investigate the whereabouts of the seal." The lieutenant governor proposed. The king concurred.
"Superintendent, did you hear that?"
"Yes, your majesty. The investigation will kick off right away."
Mo observed that Karick was lost in thought, and released a smile of confirmation.