Chapter 8: Morning of June 5th, 366 (Raymond)
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Raymond entered the audience chamber hand in hand with Emily. He was finally rid of that oh-so-perfect Alice. Already fed up of hearing how great she was before they'd even met, she'd proceeded to outrank him in every single school exam ever since. She just didn't seem happy unless she was superior to him in every possible way. Even swordsmanship! Why was a women training in swordsmanship? Worse, why was she good at it? Memories of Alice soured his mood, so he glanced back at the face of Emily to calm himself. Reaching the front of the room, he greeted his parents, before noticing the presence of Robert. Why was he here?

Isabelle spoke up first. "Given the conviction and banishment of Alice Sandoval, the engagement between her and Prince Raymond is annulled. Instead, we recognise Prince Raymond's pursuit of Emily Crawford, with formalities to be finalised at a later date."

Raymond and Emily beamed, but their expressions soured as Edward started to speak. "Since Raymond has shown himself easily misled and incapable of leadership, we deem him unfit for the throne. Raymond shall be stripped of his title of crown prince, which shall pass to Robert."

Robert kept a neutral expression, obviously forewarned. Emily stuttered, unable to speak. Raymond boggled. "You... You can't do that. I am the first prince. The throne is to be mine!"

Isabelle sighed. "And once again you show why you are unsuited to the throne. You have used false charges to throw away one who would have been a great asset to the kingdom, merely to satisfy your own feelings of inadequacy. Yet you are unable to comprehend what you have done wrong. A king must think first of his kingdom, and not of himself."

"What sort of reasoning is that? A king is the ruler of his kingdom. He can do whatever he likes!"

Even Edward was wearing a look of disappointment. "While I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, I have to agree with Isabelle. This incident could be badly damaging to the royal family if the fact of Alice's innocence spreads."

"So what? It's not like anyone can do anything about it."

Isabelle looked disappointed, which made Raymond even angrier. Why was everyone always looking at him like that? Always comparing him to Alice, always thinking what a disappointment he was in comparison. And now that he'd gotten rid of her, they were going to swap him out with Robert? As Raymond glared at him, Robert spoke up. "If you were in fathers position, and the Sandoval house demanded your head in compensation for the loss of their daughter, how would you react."

"I would reject their demands, of course."

"And what do you think would happen next?"

"What do you mean next? I've already rejected their demand. The issue is closed."

"House Sandoval is unlikely to think so. What would happen next is that they talk to other nobles, spread the story of what happened. That a prince had their daughter unjustly banished, and the king refused them justice. Nobles would begin to think 'what if my daughter is next?' Perhaps House Sandoval takes matters into their own hands, sends assassins after you. The king would have little option but to respond to such a thing with force. But now we've lost the trust of the noble houses. Will we still be able to raise levies? Will they join the Sandoval's against us? A king who acts unjustly is paving the way for civil war."

Raymond's mouth opened and shut like a goldfish. Civil war? Anyway, it was Edward who had signed the banishment order, not himself. Yes he pushed for it, but it still wasn't his fault. This wasn't fair! But before he managed to get any further words out, Emily had started mumbling. "No, this isn't what she promised... I was meant to be queen..."

Isabelle's eyes narrowed. As quiet as Emily had been, in the silence of the chamber everyone had heard it. "Please would you elaborate on that statement. Beginning with who 'she' is."

Emily jerked upright, obviously surprised that she'd said anything out loud. After a few seconds of panic, she managed to calm herself enough to respond. "I apologize, I misspoke. I meant 'he'. I was talking about Raymond."

Raymond stared at Emily, wondering why she was so terrified at the queens question. Of course he had promised her she would be queen. Isabelle seemed to have something else on her mind, looking at Emily with the look of disappointment she normally reserved for Raymond. She rang a bell to call back the dismissed servants and guards. "That will be all for now. Raymond, take Emily back to your chambers. I believe the two of you will have a lot to discuss." She then started whispering to a page, too quietly for Raymond to hear.

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