One day, when Hugo was 16, Athena had to go out to visit her older sister. While Athena was out, Gaston took advantage of this. He started making everything in the palace go his own way, and Hugo didn't like this one bit.
Speaking of Hugo, there was one thing that Gaston couldn't stand: he was jealous of how handsome his stepson was, and he was worried that Hugo would surpass his beauty. To keep this from happening, Gaston put his stepson in clothes that a villager would wear and had him work hand and foot all over the palace.
While Hugo did work in the palace, Gaston would keep asking his Magic Mirror, "Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the most handsome one of all?"
As Gaston expected, the Mirror responded that he was the most handsome one of all. Gaston didn't think it could get any better than this.
Athena had been gone for a long time, and Hugo wondered what happened to her. After two months of Athena's absence, Hugo had heard the bad news: Athena had died on her way home.
Gaston took full advantage of this. He usurped the throne and took over the whole kingdom. Hugo was unhappy with how his life was going, but despite this, he never complained. As long as he had the palace staff with him, he put his sorrow aside.
With the queen out of the way, Gaston was happy with his life. He was especially happy whenever the Magic Mirror said that nobody was more handsome than he was. Gaston thought that nothing could ruin this for him.