Part 1This Time, I Let My Family Fall

When Princess Adelina returned to the capital from her lands, my younger brother flung his arms wide, planted himself in front of her carriage, and shouted for everyone to hear, "My father says we've got all the troops and supplies we need. Next month, we rise. Once someone else is sitting on the throne, I'll be a prince—and you'll be worth less than our family dog!"

The entire Grand Avenue went deathly silent. I scrambled out, forced him to his knees, and pressed his head to the ground until his forehead was raw and bloody, covering for him by claiming he'd lost his mind.

The princess's expression softened. When the King heard, he only docked Father a year's pay and let the matter drop.

But my brother couldn't bear the shame of being dragged away in front of everyone. That night, he hanged himself, leaving behind nothing but a note written in blood and covered with my name.

When Father and my elder sister found out, they had his body thrown out without a proper burial. They praised me for my quick thinking and said I'd saved the family.

Even my wife, who had always been cold to me, turned gentle from then on.

I never imagined that a year later, when I suddenly fell gravely ill, they would drag me into the family chapel while I was in agony, force me to my knees before my brother's portrait, and break both my legs.

Father and my sister watched coldly. "Percival was just a boy trying to show off for the princess, and you drove him to his death!

"You didn't really think you saved this family, did you? The Arkwrights have a war record to stand on. Even if His Majesty had heard, he would have laughed it off. Why would he punish us over a joke or two?"

My wife wound the same white silk my brother had hanged himself with around my neck, her face like ice.

"In your next life, don't be so full of yourself."

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day the princess returned to the capital.

My brother ran out laughing. I lowered my head, sipped my tea, and pretended I hadn't seen a thing.

I was a disgraceful bastard son who had never once been acknowledged by House Arkwright. So if every last Arkwright went to the block, what did that have to do with me?

* * *

The moment Percival finished speaking, the entire Grand Avenue fell dead silent.

Then a deafening wave of screams erupted.

Princess Adelina pulled back the curtain of her carriage. Her expression shifted from shock to alarm and back again. A maid helped her down, and she stared hard at Percival.

"Young lord, you must be joking."

Percival flushed red, and then a smug look crept across his face. He planted both hands on his hips and raised his voice.

"Who's joking? My father is the Grand General of the frontier. He's got a hundred thousand elite troops under his command, and he holds the defense of the North Gate. When the time comes, we'll march out through the North Gate and strike straight at the palace!"

He turned toward Father and our elder sister, Cecily, who stood at the side of the street, and showed off, his voice grating with arrogance. "Father, Cecily, isn't that right?"

My heart sank. Without thinking, I glanced at Father and Cecily.

Father stroked his beard, shook his head, and laughed fondly. "This boy. We've spoiled him rotten at home. He'll say anything."

Cecily folded her arms, her eyes full of indulgence, and lifted her chin at the princess. "My little brother is young. He just wanted to catch Your Highness's eye, that's all."

Neither of them denied a word of it, and the people around us sucked in sharp breaths.

"The Arkwrights have guarded the frontier for three generations. Their record is unmatched. Those hundred thousand Arkwright soldiers don't answer to the King. They answer to the general!"

"And the Arkwrights hold the North Gate too. If they really meant to rebel..."

"Shh, keep your voice down! That's the kind of talk that gets heads chopped off!"

But not even the threat of the headsman's ax could quiet the uproar.

The talk in the crowd grew wilder by the second. Some were already claiming the palace was crawling with Arkwright spies and that the King was a king in name only.