Meetings of the Privy Council are held early in the morning.
Before the Council (Parliament) begins its work, the King meets with the Privy Council. He then meets with the Council of Elders, after which the general meeting opens. Meetings of the Privy Council and the Council of Elders are the last on the schedule. The king can either attend them or skip them.
One thing was certain: since meetings with those who could be called his supporters were vital, the King never missed meetings of the Privy Council.
It became something of a tradition for the King to be late, but the elders of the Privy Council had to arrive at the meeting room in advance. Jules was no exception.
The meeting room of the Privy Council was located on two levels. Bookcases filled the walls and propped up the upper gallery; the gallery was flooded with sunlight, which, however, did not reach the lower shelves.
The shelves were densely packed with volumes containing the minutes of the meetings of the Privy Council from the very founding of Dalcatir to the present day. Some of them were so old that it seemed that as soon as they were opened, they would crumble into dust.
There were twelve chairs around the rectangular table: with the exception of two seats at the head of the table, the rest were arranged in groups of five opposite each other.
And in the last place on the left sat Spencer Grimaldi. The advisors who arrived one after another shuddered as soon as they saw him in the hall. They looked at Spencer with such wariness that they would not have looked at a person from the underworld.
At the same time, Spencer Grimaldi maintained a serene expression on his face. The same could be said about Yuls, who was sitting next to him.
The situation in the Privy Council before the opening of the session of the Council (Parliament) was almost the same as last year. Claude is always late. The king will arrive even later than Claude.
Jules slowly looked around. Still nothing has changed. Young aristocrats were rare. At best - himself and Viscount Cover. With the arrival of Claude, another one will be added. If Luigi Frankopan had been alive, the ranks of the Privy Council would have been filled with youth, but this was not destined to happen. On the contrary, the empty seat, which changed hands several times, was eventually reoccupied by the one who occupied it before - Count Grimaldi.
-......
If Adi... If the Count allowed her to continue to live like Adrian, would she eventually be able to end up here among them?
Yuls came up with this ridiculous idea. However, Adrina did not really fit into such a situation. She was not like these rotten, ossified people.
—His Highness is late.
At this moment one of those present spoke. It was the Count of Montauk. The Montauk family is one of the clans of the central-west region, part of the Council of Elders.
The count, whom the late king had once introduced to the Privy Council, did not get along with anyone here. The fact is that unlike the Council of Elders, which mainly adhered to the Aristocracy Faction, the Privy Council consisted of royalists. The Count of Montauk was a royalist, but after the death of the former king he defected to the Aristocracy Faction.
Grimaldi also belonged to the Council of Elders for a long time. The entry of Spencer Grimaldi into the Privy Council, as in the case of the Earl of Montauk, occurred at the will of the king. Both of these appointments were exceptional cases.
The time for the meeting arrived, but two seats were still empty. Three secretaries standing in the gallery on the second floor were taking minutes. For now, all they could write down was the fact that the King and Crown Prince were late for their meeting.
Sounds from below usually carry upward well, but sounds from above do not travel down so easily; nevertheless, because of the silence that reigned here, every rustling of the deep foam could be heard. The only noise in the silent hall seemed quite frightening. Even if it was just the scratching of feathers.
Fortunately, soon the announcement of the Crown Prince's arrival came from outside. The silence was broken by the sound of doors opening, and Claude entered the hall. Stopping the guardian knight who was about to follow him, Claude ordered him to wait outside. Judging by the fact that he correctly assessed the situation, he seemed to be of sound mind.
Claude took pride of place near the entrance. Since the meeting was important, he did not behave as usual.
It is extremely rare to see Claude, who does not unbutton his clothes, does not yawn, or commit other acts inappropriate to etiquette - at most once or twice a year.
"If only he could always remain like this..."
Spencer thought about it. When Claude looked so decent, he seemed like the current King. The only problem was that he usually behaved very badly.
— Is His Highness delayed?
Claude raised an eyebrow at someone's harsh words. It was not that he was on excellent terms with the Privy Council, but there had been no enmity before, but today hostility was clearly felt.
- Looks like it.
Claude answered and looked up. The Secretaries could be seen moving their feathers. Count Montaque spoke next. In the Privy Council his rank was high enough to have the right to vote at such meetings.
— Count Grimaldi was summoned at the behest of Your Highness?
- That's right.
Claude replied. At the sight of his face, expressing bewilderment - like, what's the problem? - The faces of the others were distorted.
- You look like I committed a violation of etiquette.
“Even if a place becomes vacant, is it not counterintuitive to bring back someone who has been expelled?” Moreover, this place was supposed to be taken by Mr. Frankopan.
At these words, Claude just chuckled briefly.
- Yes, to enter here, you need to be at least the level of Luigi Frankopan. Do you think there are many people in Jonad who are capable of taking this place? And how many of them are there who are equal to Count Grimaldi?
There were none. Even if we do not take into account Grimaldi’s talents, this count was distinguished by exceptional loyalty to the king. This was understandable, since he raised the prince to the throne with his own hands. No matter how outstanding a person was, without loyalty to the monarch he could not be nominated to the Privy Council. And the fact that Luigi was shoved into this long-empty place was due only to the guarantee that he, being the king’s nephew, would at least not commit treason.
Ridiculous. Incapable of betraying Luigi?
Claude didn't believe it. If even he himself, his own son, was waiting for the moment when the king would give up, then what can we say about Luigi?
“Besides, this place originally belonged to the count.”
When the Count killed Luigi, it seemed unclear, but now it was becoming clear that for Grimaldi it was the most effective choice. And Claude benefited from this too.
“However, the count was deprived of all rights. “He could not return to court,” Count Montaque objected.
Was there really a black cat running between them? Claude didn’t understand why he was so persistent in getting into trouble.
— Was the condition of deprivation of rights for life?
At this moment, Jules spoke. The eyes of those present focused on him.
“He was only deprived of his position at court.” Did His Majesty take away his ownership of the lands? Or deprived him of the right to hold public office?
There was some inexplicable confidence on Yuls’s face, who said this with a smile. Spencer Grimaldi looked like he didn't understand why he was taking his side.
Claude felt something similar. More precisely, he could not fully understand whether Jules was taking the side of Count Grimaldi or helping him himself. At that moment, Jules' gaze fell on Claude.
“……It helps, that is.”
“He is still Count Grimaldi, and this place originally belonged to Count Grimaldi.”
Claude then continued:
— Are there any problems with the fact that I nominate him?
It seemed like everyone had something to say, but no one said a word. The man who had placed the third prince on the throne and who had once been the king's closest ally, Count Grimaldi, now took his place next to his son.
The nobles could not help but understand what this meant.
Count Grimaldi is dangerous.
However, he recently lost all of his children. That is, this greatness will not be inherited and will be interrupted at the count itself. If you look at the result, maybe everything is not so bad?
Strange glances were exchanged in the Privy Council. They will likely meet separately to discuss the issue. And neither the Crown Prince, nor the Duke of Woodpecker, nor Count Grimaldi will be allowed into that conversation.
- Nobody answers.
Claude continued talking.
- Does this mean that I can assume that there are no problems?
Several people opened their mouths, but did not utter a word. As soon as Claude finished his sentence, the sound of a door opening was heard from behind. The eyes of those present turned to her.
All seats at the meeting of the Privy Council were occupied. Except for the most important thing.
The King always arrives last.
- So there are problems.
He said this as he entered the hall. Servants and knights stood behind the King. The king was the only one who was allowed to bring outsiders with him to the Privy Council. Walking inside, he glanced first at the count standing next to him, then at Claude, who was sitting in a place of honor, and grinned.
“Judging by custom or legitimacy, there must have been many other people here besides the Count.” Those who were on the Privy Council even before Grimaldi.
Having said this, the King turned his gaze to Spencer and added:
“Although most of them had their heads cut off.”
It was Spencer who deprived them of their heads. Even if he did not do it with his own hands, according to his plan, the elders were eliminated one by one.
- Greetings, Your Majesty.
The crowd exclaimed in unison. Their voices carried through the meeting room, echoing slightly. The King walked forward slowly and sat down in the place of honor at the head of the table, opposite Claude.
- Count.
Then he spares him a glance.
- Welcome back.
The king officially confirmed this. Now Grimaldi is allowed to set foot in the Court again. From that moment on, no one dared to deny Grimaldi's presence.
And the Count smiled.