The Crown's Seduction-Chapter 369: The New Monarch

With the crown now empty, now was the perfect time for Ahmed to make his next move. Queen Mineah was currently too busy trying to keep the kingdom together, and the constant pressure to find a new ruler was starting to get too much to keep at bay, there would be nothing stopping him from preparing Raul to be his puppet king with him behind the strings of it all.

"Is everything prepared for the inevitable takeover?" Ahmed casually asked Sage as he paced around a non-responsive Raul. "Do we have the support of the court?"

"They’ll support us whether they want to or not," Sage scoffed at him, her hands over her chest as she rolled her eyes. "It’s not like they have much of a choice with this idiot firmly in our control."

Ahmed couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Indeed, with Raul on their side, there was nothing anyone could do to fight against their claim. Well, technically, it was Raul’s claim, but they were the ones behind him pulling the strings at the moment, which technically meant that it was already their claim, to begin with.

"Have you refreshed your hold over him, at least?" Sage then asked back with a raised brow. "If I recall, that potion you gave him only lasts for so long."

"I’m already way ahead in that. No worries," Ahmed smirked, his hand dipping into his pockets to pull out the same potion bottle that he used to dose their idiot pawn from before. "I’m just about to give him another dose in fact."

"Good. I don’t want him slipping from our grasp," Sage hummed in satisfaction. "We’re too close now for either of us to screw things up."

"Mother, I know what I’m doing," he scoffed as he popped the lid off the bottle with his thumb. "I’ve already succeeded in killing off Nikolai, so anything beyond that should be easy enough."

It was pretty much a done deal that they’ve already won. The hardest part of their plan was to actually kill their king, and that part of the plan somehow miraculously happened without so much as a scar being inflicted on either him or his men.

"Open wide, idiot," Ahmed addressed Raul, who silently opened his mouth before the former jammed the bottle and forced him to drink more of the potion. "There, that should be enough for our needs."

"Are you sure? Maybe doubling the dose is the right play here," Sage curiously suggested. "It’s not like we’re running out of the stuff. You have more than enough to last us for a year, correct?"

"Just because we have a lot of the potion doesn’t mean we can waste it on just about anyone," Ahmed sighed as he casually threw the empty bottle behind him. "And besides, there’s no point wasting it on Raul of all people. We only need him to be king for a few days or so before he can transfer over the power to me."

It was the plan, at least. While they could take into account any potential hiccups like Mineah fighting Raul over it, they were pretty sure that there was nothing anyone could do once their puppet was in power.

"Good. Now let’s dress him up," Sage scoffed as she moved to add a kingly cape to Raul’s current outfit. Her eyes then narrowed as she noticed something. "What is that on his neck?"

Ahmed raised a brow at the question, his gaze turning to the necklace in question. "It looks like a pearl necklace. Didn’t really notice it last time, to be honest."

"Should we get rid of it?" Sage asked. "I think I saw Queen Xenia wearing the same thing during our queen’s birthday party."

He closed his eyes for a brief second before shrugging, "I don’t see why should bother, to be honest. It’s probably just a gift from a lover or something. Maybe an heirloom... Raul?"

"It’s a gift from Niran," Raul droned out. "I love her, so I keep it to myself at all times."

"Huh, so it is a gift," Ahmed shrugged. "We might as well leave it on him. Some might find it suspicious if something he always wore was missing on him."

"Must be an Ebodian thing," Sage scoffed. "They must like their pearls over there."

Ahmed scoffed back. "Regardless, we should keep moving. We can’t wait for things to happen any longer."

And so, they did exactly what they sought out to do. Dressing up Raul for the job, they then fed him the lines that he had to say before finally allowing him to lead them outside toward the castle. Acting as his supposed advisors, Ahmed and Sage followed behind their puppet, making their way to the castle without so much as allowing anyone to stop them. Soon enough, they were in the throne room, and all who were present just knew that something was about to happen.

"I demand an audience with the queen," Raul bellowed out.

Promptly, Mineah stood from her throne to greet them. "Ah, Raul. It’s been a while."

"Indeed, Your Majesty," Raul hummed back. "My investigations took a generous amount of time from me, and only now did I manage to catch myself up with the rest of the kingdom. I’ve heard there’s a plague currently ravaging the north?"

"You heard right," Mineah sighed. "There’s a lot going on right now, and I’m doing my best to rule on my husband’s behalf..."

There was a clear sadness in her voice as she spoke, and Ahmed did his best not to smirk at the thought of Nikolai being dead.

"My... My condolences," Raul stated, his tone almost sounding sincere. "Nikolai was my brother, and he was a great ruler who steered Valcrez through many crises over the years."

The mood in the throne room became somber as everyone present remained silent as if to respect their supposedly deceased king. Not that they knew any better. Either way, a more proper king was going to replace the dead man soon enough.

"I... I take it you’re here because of that?" Mineah asked.

"Unfortunately so," Raul nodded. "With the king gone and no heirs apparent, the line of succession falls to me."

"So it would seem," Mineah sighed as she sat back down on her throne. "I suppose we’ll have to prepare for your coronation. I’m sure the court will be ecstatic that I’m finally allowing someone to replace Nikolai."

Seeing an opportunity, Ahmed whispered something to Raul, to which the latter quickly nodded as he walked up to the queen and lowered his head to her.

"Look, I know I’m not my brother, but a promise that I’ll rule as justly as he did," Raul somberly stated. "While I may not be as capable as him, I’ll do everything in my power to at least match his abilities as a king. With your blessing, of course."

Smiling sadly, Mineah simply nodded. "I know, Raul. You’re family, so I believe that you’ll do a fine job in Nikolai’s stead," she sincerely stated. "You have my blessing. The coronation will have to be quick, however. There are still too many problems popping up for us to waste our time on simple grandeur."

"On that, I agree."

His role was finally complete, Raul then turned around to address all of those who were present, but not before looking at Ahmed to seek his direction before promptly speaking.

"To everyone hearing the sound of my voice, I, Raul, will now be the new king of Valcrez," he announced. "Prepare the citizens for a brief coronation, one born of necessity while we arrange for a quick transfer of power."

From where he stood, Ahmed couldn’t help but smile in glee as everything fell into place. He even moved to assist with the coronation procedures as they all arranged for a quick celebration for the new monarch. While it may not be as extravagant or ceremonious as Nikolai’s, it was still a coronation through and through, and as he watched Raul sit down on the throne and have the crown that would soon be his placed on his head, he confidently smirked at all of the plans that were coming to fruition.

"From this day forth, I, King Raul, will guide Valcrez through this current crisis!" Raul declared as he stood up from his throne. "While I may not be suitable for this position, I shall endeavor to do my best for this kingdom, even if it means abdicating should a more capable ruler show himself once this crises are over."

Ahmed grinned at the people’s response over Raul’s last sentence. He made him say that just in case to prepare the masses for an eventual transfer of power. It also added to weakening Raul’s rule, allowing them to challenge him and eventually necessitate a transfer of power to someone more ’capable’ of ruling.

Of course, that one person was going to be Ahmed himself. He just had to bide his time now. Soon, both the crown and Mineah would be his.