The King opened his eyes excruciatingly slowly, but Leon could tell that even then, it took his mind a few extra minutes to catch up. His gaze was hazy and unfocused, his blank expression barely changing even as August began frantically calling out to him.

“Father! Father, I’m here! Can you hear me?!” August practically shouted as he hurriedly took the King’s hand.

“August!” the doctor interrupted as August began to lightly shake the King. “Give your father a moment! Step back!”

The doctor’s aura spiked, impressing his will upon the young Prince. August was forced back, and the doctor stepped between him and the King.

“I’m… sorry, I lost myself for a moment,” August whispered as he took a few steps backward and composed himself.

Antonius walked over and clasped his shoulder. “We’re all excited that Father is waking up, but let’s give him some space to come to his senses.”

“Yes, yes, you’re right,” August replied as he let Antonius lead him away from the bed and closer to the opposite wall from where Octavius was waiting.

Leon redirected his attention to the Second Prince, and he saw that Octavius was quite blatantly not looking at the King, and instead staring at the floor. Every few seconds, though, he’d look up and hatefully glare at August, Bronze, Penitent, and even once or twice directed his glare in Leon’s direction. Otherwise, he looked pathetic, barely holding himself up with anything that might resemble noble posture, bags were forming under his eyes, and his clothes were wrinkled.

Leon, relishing Octavius’ current circumstances a bit, returned the Prince’s glares with a victorious smile. He wondered how much the Second Prince knew about his exploits under August since he didn’t seem to be too wary of Leon even though Leon’s power now vastly outstripped his own fifth-tier powers.

He was a bit worried about the Prince’s punishment, though. By all accounts, Octavius hadn’t been nearly so far gone when the King secluded himself as he’d gotten by the time the war started, so Leon could see the possibility that Octavius might be forgiven by the King. If that happened—

“… Kyros…?” asked a weak, hoarse, pained voice.

Leon’s heart almost stopped as he recognized the name of his grandfather, and he slowly turned his gaze away from Octavius and back to the King. He saw the King’s eyes stuck on him, but still unfocused enough that his eyes almost seemed to be staring at the wall behind Leon.

“… Kyros…!” the King repeated as he began struggling to push himself up in bed, his eyes still fixed in Leon’s direction.

The doctor rushed to the King’s side while everyone else stared at Leon in utter bewilderment. Most of them knew who he was, of course, but it was still beyond startling that the King had been able to recognize him as a member of House Raime despite the state he was in.

“I’m not Kyros Raime,” Leon said, not knowing what exactly else he could say.

It didn’t seem anyone else was listening, though, as their eyes quickly turned back to the King as the doctor managed to get him up and tucked enough pillows behind him to keep him comfortable for a little while.

“Be quick, I can’t say for sure how long he will be awake,” the doctor said as he then stepped back, his movement drawing the King’s attention away from Leon.

“Father!” August cried out as he rushed forward, ignoring Antonius’ half-hearted attempts to hold him back. The youngest Prince fell to his knees at the side of the bed as he took his father’s hand and brought the King’s knuckles to his lips.

The King took a deep breath that seemed to steady him a bit, and his eyes focused on August.

“I… know you…” he quietly stated. “August…?”

“Yes, Father, it’s me!” August said as tears began to fall from his eyes. “You’re back!”

“That… can’t be…” the King muttered as he squinted at him. “August… is…”

“Your Majesty,” Penitent said as he stepped forward, his surprisingly mild and neutral voice cutting straight through to the King’s mind as far as Leon could tell, for the King immediately turned his eyes toward the Paladin. “You’ve been asleep for a long time. Many things have changed in these past few years. Do you remember what Bronze and I told you the last time you were awake?”

“The… last time…?” the King murmured as he scrunched his face up in thought. “Things are… cloudy, I can’t…” The King went silent as his expression cleared up into one of deadly seriousness. “I remember you telling me something about a war.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, there have been two, but the most pressing concern has been the conflict between your sons, who you left to steward the realm in your absence.”

“Conflict… Yes, I’m starting to remember,” the King said, his voice growing stronger with every word until it sounded almost normal, if a little tired.

“Your Majesty,” Penitent continued, “the perpetrators of this violence have been brought before you. The Princes Octavius and August have been fighting for months, now. The death toll stands in the hundreds of thousands.”

The King didn’t verbally respond, but he managed to sit up a little straighter as a hint of color appeared in his deathly pale cheeks. He turned to look at August, still kneeling at the side of his bed, and at Octavius, who was sitting down and refusing to meet his father’s eyes.

“Your Majesty, we need guidance in this critical time, so much is different than what it was only a few years ago,” Bronze said, his deep voice taking on a pleading tone that Leon hadn’t thought him capable of.

The King took a deep breath as the room fell into a silence that swiftly became oppressive. No one wanted to speak while the King considered the problem as best as he was able.

“The Legions?” he finally managed to ask after what seemed like an eternity. “Where are they right now?”

“A couple have been completely destroyed, but most of them are currently deployed in and around the capital,” Bronze replied.

“Send them back to their assigned locations,” the King ordered, before immediately reconsidering. “Have five remain around the capital, I’ll leave it to you to decide which to choose. What about the nobles?”

“Many of them have seen their personal armies destroyed and many more have been killed,” Penitent explained as quickly as he could. “There are others still deployed in the field with their retainers, however.”

“Send their retainers home, too,” the King croaked. “Tarry not, I want them back in their palaces and castles as fast as human legs can carry them. Their Lords, however, must stay and give an accounting of themselves to me personally. All who disobey are to be branded traitors and subject to all punitive measures that apply.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Bronze said, wasting not a moment as he ducked out of the door to relay the King’s orders to the waiting soldiers outside, who would then pass those orders on to everyone else in the capital.

Leon briefly contemplated how everyone would take it. The King was back, so there was cause to celebrate, especially since it heralded the end of hostilities. However, August had come so close to seizing power in his own right and his supporters had come so far that he could easily see many nobles and even some Legates pushing him to oust his father and take the throne now that they were so close to it.

He didn’t think such sentiments would get very far, though, given what he could sense about the King’s injured aura and with both the Bronze and Penitent Paladins enforcing the King’s will.

“Where are the others?” the King inquired. “My wife. Isabelle, Stefania? Trajan? Why are so few here to see me?”

“Most of them are out of the city,” Penitent replied. “The Queen is currently being held in house arrest, while Brimstone is out in the city ensuring that order is kept while it remains under Legion occupation. Earthshaker is dead, killed by Sir Leon over there.” Penitent gave Leon a quick nod of acknowledgment, while his tone lacked any tone of accusation that might’ve worried Leon some.

“Sir ‘Leon’?” the King asked as his eyes returned to Leon. “You look familiar, yet I don’t know you. Identify yourself.”

Leon didn’t take a single step forward, nor did he genuflect before the King. Instead, he simply said, “I am Leon Ursus, Your Majesty.”

The King looked Leon over completely, taking full stock of Leon’s appearance—no armor, the simple sword strapped to his hip, his build, hair, facial features, aura…

“You don’t look like a Valeman,” the King said after taking Leon’s measure. “You look more like a Raime.”

Leon sensed the eyes of everyone else in the room flickering back to him, but his gaze remained unwaveringly fixed on the King.

“So it would seem,” he said, neither confirming nor denying the blatant accusation in the King’s words.

King Julius glared at Leon for a moment before seeming to let the matter rest. He turned instead to his children. He didn’t, however, speak to August or Octavius first.

“Antonius!” he said as a warm smile broke out across his face. “Come here!”

The young scholarly Prince put on a beaming smile as he strode forward and embraced his father. King Julius held the Third Prince close for a few seconds as they whispered into each other’s ear, and when Antonius pulled away, he had tears in his eyes and a smile wider than the Naga River plastered over his face. He returned to where he’d been standing in the room and politely went quiet.

“Now, you two,” Julius growled as he turned to regard his feuding sons. “What in the name of our Honored Ancestors have you two done?!” He was clearly gaining strength as he more fully woke up, and by his voice alone Leon might’ve thought him recovered in full. The only thing that proved this vigor didn’t extend into the rest of his body was its complete lack of energy; the King remained in his bed barely even moving his head to glare threateningly at August and Octavius.

“Father…” August began, his voice cracking as he went quiet. Octavius wasn’t even able to get that much out as he could only sit there in his chair, hunched over like a beaten dog, and tellingly not meeting his father’s gaze.

“Eh? What was that?” Julius loudly said as he tried to lean forward. “You must forgive me, your father is an old and sick man, so I can’t hear you! I mean, you must be speaking now, because I know you would never defy me when I demand answers! So speak up!”

“Uncle Trajan is dead, Father!” August cried as tears began flowing down his cheeks. “He was murdered by the Earthshaker Paladin on Octavius’ orders!”

The King sank back into his pillows as shock froze his expression in place. He stared at August in disbelief. Then, his head began to slowly turn towards his second son. Still, Octavius didn’t make eye contact.

“A damning accusation,” the King murmured. “Octavius, my boy, come here.”

Julius extended a shaking arm out to Octavius, his hand outstretched for the Prince to take.

But Octavius ignored it and said not a word.

After a long, tense moment, Julius let his arm fall down upon his bed covers. “Will you not even speak in your own defense?” he quietly asked. “Is this crime that your younger brother is accusing you of true?”

“He’s not my brother,” Octavius whispered.

“I must’ve not heard you correctly,” Julius said, his paradoxically vibrant light brown eyes narrowing in anger, “repeat yourself, and speak up.”

“August is a bastard!” Octavius shouted. “He has no right to our name and no right to call himself a part of our family! He’s nothing more than a baseborn bastard and if you had any sense in your skull you would’ve given him and that whore mother of his to the elements upon his birth!”

Julius was speechless as he stared at his son in shock. Leon could practically see the man’s heart shattering before his eyes, and he couldn’t help but feel terrible on the King’s behalf. Leon had no idea what kind of family dynamic existed before he became embroiled in their disagreements, but if the King’s expression of utter shock and surprise was anything to go by, it had been, at least on the surface, relatively harmonious.

And now the King was seeing just how badly it had splintered.

Julius didn’t languish in sadness for long. Only a few seconds after his face fell, he began struggling to rise as his face contorted in fury. “You would dare… to speak of your family in… such a way!” he sputtered as he struggled, with August, Bronze, and Penitent all rushing forward to aid the King as he tried to stand.

“Please, King Julius,” the doctor said, though it seemed clear to Leon from his unenthusiastic tone that it was a token effort at best, “you need your rest, don’t try to stand.”

“I’ll damn well stand!” the King shouted, his voice shaking. His eyes had locked Octavius in place, the Prince shrinking down into his chair like a child that knew he was about to be punished.

For a moment, Leon saw Octavius glance at Sapphire pleadingly, but the blond Paladin didn’t once look in his direction. She simply stood by, unmoving, as if she were a statue and nothing around pertained to her.

“I… will!” the King shouted as those who’d come to help him began entreating him not to rise. However, his weakness was not one he was yet able to overcome, and Julius slumped back down into his pillows. “You there! Sir Leon!”

Leon looked up in surprise, unprepared for being called out.

“I order you to do what I cannot! Discipline that insolent child!”

Leon fought to contain his smile as the King’s furious look told him exactly what to do. With his lightning magic and without any hesitation, he seemed to cross the room in a single step to the sound of thunder. Antonius and August held their ears in pain from such a loud sound in such a closed environment, but everyone else was mildly irritated at worst.

Octavius, however, barely had a chance to move his hands upward before Leon’s open hand struck him across the cheek so hard that it lifted him out of his chair and sent him sprawling across the floor.

“Y-You!” he shouted as he turned back up to Leon, blood flowing from a cut on his lip and his cheek rapidly turning red. He looked more pained by the humiliation and surprise than the actual pain, though.

And that didn’t satisfy the King. “AGAIN!” he roared, to which Leon was only too happy to comply.

The lightning mage backhanded the arrogant Prince, sending him face-first into the wall.

“You will explain yourself to me!” the King wheezed. “What did… you do?!”

“Give him some space, everyone,” the doctor suddenly interjected as he pushed August aside to take the King’s arm and rested his fingers against his wrist.

“Arrest… arrest him…” the King groaned as he sank further into his bed, his eyes slowly closing.

Leon then took a little initiative and kicked Octavius in the stomach, ensuring he wasn’t going to try and get off the floor. Leon wasn’t going to get the immediate execution he’d wanted, but he knew that the arrest order was likely the best he was going to get, at least for the time being.

For his part, Octavius did little more than lay there on the ground not even trying to get back up. It was as if all Royal dignity had left him, leaving him not even capable of trying to get back to his feet.

“I’ll escort the Prince back to his chambers and set up a guard detail,” Bronze said as he picked Octavius up by the scruff of his neck like a kitten. “Let’s go, boy. If I have to carry you out of here, I will, but it’ll demean your entire family, so I’d prefer if you walk out of here on your own two feet.”

Bronze practically pushed Octavius toward the door, making little attempt to be gentle. The Paladin gave Leon a quick nod as he walked past, and though Leon was tempted to ignore it, he at least gave Bronze a quick nod in return.

The King had fallen back to sleep, whatever the doctor had done to wake him back up having worn off. Everyone else was quiet for a few seconds following Bronze taking Octavius away, but once it was clear that the King was out again, August turned to the doctor and asked, “How long until my father wakes again?”

“I can’t say for certain, but it should be sometime tomorrow,” the doctor replied. “He should have enough strength then to eat on his own, so ensure that his servants are ready. He’ll be confined to his bed for at least a few days, perhaps as long as a week depending on how his recovery goes. He should be fully ambulatory and no longer need my assistance after that, though, so I will go and prepare my things for my departure.”

Without another word, the doctor quite unceremoniously followed Bronze out of the room.

“I think I’ll go and see to my affairs, too,” Leon said before anyone could respond. “I’ve got some things of my own to get in order.”

“Sir Leon!” August cried out, stopping Leon in his tracks. “Please, stay awhile, there’re many things we have to discuss!”

“Whatever you have to speak with me about can wait,” Leon replied. “I have a couple of ladies waiting on me, and they are where my priorities lie.”

August looked like he wanted to argue, but then he thought better of it.

“I understand, Sir Leon. I’ll send for you tomorrow.”

And like that, Leon left them to work out their own devices. He was a bit curious as to what would happen with Sapphire, but at this point, all he wanted to do was to get Maia and his retinue and then find Elise. Everything else could wait.

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