Ryan asked the nobles to leave.

 

 

As they filtered out, three remained behind; Lilith, Charity, and Aldelmo. They had been in the back, watching from the bench seats. When the last noble walked out and the door was closed, Ryan took a moment to activate the ward around the room to keep eavesdropping to a minimum.

 

Reed fell back onto the throne as Ryan stepped out of his body. This caused a rather shocked reaction from several of the people present who weren't up to date on what had happened. Kyle looked rather upset, "You can't-"

 

Ryan stood in front of the throne, looking like a tall lanky man in his late teens. He had black, spikey hair that was cut short, brown eyes, sharp nose, and strong chin. He was dressed in a black silk suit with a black tie and a flared lapel. On his feet were a matching pair of black dress shoes. He had a cream-white dress shirt with the top button undone along with his tie loosened just enough to look casual.

 

Ryan looked at Kyle, "I can't WHAT? You're the nut job who thought it was a good idea to make me acting king!" He swung his finger around, "I'm done with lying to people! That's what's caused all this trouble in the first place! People keeping secrets! We tell everyone who is running the government what is going on, and then we take it one step at a time."

 

Reed was looking around, seemingly a little confused. Ryan looked back at him, "Hey, thanks for keeping quiet and letting me run the show. I appreciate it." Ryan walked down the steps to grab a chair from one of the tables the nobles were sitting at and dragged it over to the bottom of the dais the throne was on, "We need to figure this all out."

 

Sir Ector and Sir Robert looked at each other, then up at Reed, and over to Ryan. They both spoke in near unison, "Can someone explain what's going on?"

 

Ryan nodded, "Quick summary." He pointed at Reed, "He died." He pointed at himself, "I was summoned by the gods to take over his body and do the god's bidding." He pointed back at Reed, "He came back from the dead thanks to the crown prince putting a slave collar on his body with Reed's name on it." He pointed back at himself, "I have recently figured out how to astrally project out of his body, but I'm still bound to it, but we'll work something out."

 

Sir Robert frowned, "Wait a minute, so... only one of you made an oath to the king, right? Which one?" Ryan raised his hand. Sir Ector continued, "So YOU are the King's regent?"

 

Ryan nodded, "Yup, but it is STILL Reed's body, so he has a stake in all this."

 

Lilith and Charity both walked up to Ryan. Lilith just looked him up and down. Charity extended a hand to shake, "It's a pleasure to officially meet you, Ryan."

 

Ryan smirked back at her, took her hand, then gently kissed her knuckles, "The pleasure is all mine." Charity snatched her hand away in surprise and blushed furiously, but looked far from unhappy about it.

 

Lilith, on the other hand, looked mildly annoyed, "So, you are the one who saved me-" She glanced up at Reed, "Not him?" Reed suddenly looked rather uncomfortable and started to sweat.

 

Ryan abruptly sat up straight and lost his smirk as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Well-l-l-l-l... mostly me. He's been my co-pilot for a while, not that I knew. It's complicated. We're been sort of... rubbing off on one another for a while now, we just didn't know it. It's complicated."

 

Lilith leaned in and peered intently at Ryan, "You don't look anything like the man in your mist projection."

 

Ryan pulled away and frowned, "Huh?" He looked at his hands, then flipped them over a few times before abruptly rolling up his sleeves, "Where are my scars?" He looked around before manifesting ice in the shape of a plate that was polished to mirror sheer on the table's surface. Upon looking at it, he leaped up and away, "WHAT?"

 

Everyone was looking on in curiosity mixed with a bit of concern. The headmaster spoke up, "Is something wrong?"

 

Ryan slowly inched up to the reflective surface and peered at it, "That's... me... in my goth phase." He rubbed his chin and felt how baby-smooth it was, "I was an insufferable piece of shit back then. Nobody could tell me what to do. A rebel without a clue." He looked around the room, "I spent so much time hanging out with the artsy-fartsy crowd taking drugs and getting laid I flunked out of college and..." He looked back at his icy reflection, "That's why I had to enlist in the army." He leaned in close to touch his reflection, "I burned all my bridges. Pissed off everyone in my family." Upon touching the icy mirror, it abruptly shattered and evaporated. Ryan backed away and looked at his hand, "What's going on?"

 

The Saintess spoke up, "I told you, this power is from the Demon Lord. He used it to appear in different places where he could fight while his body stayed somewhere safe. It's a FORM of astral projection. He projects his soul somewhere and forms a new body around it. The new body takes on whatever appearance the Demon lord wants." She gestured to Ryan, "This... must be how you see yourself."

 

Ryan pointed at his chest while glaring accusitorily at the Saintess, "So you're saying I see myself as a cringe-tastic, snot-nosed, know-it-all punk?" He paused for a second then relaxed his body language as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Okay, that makes sense."

 

The queen stood up and raised her hands, "Wait... before this gets too far off track..." She turned to look at The Chancellor, "Could someone explain WHY Reed is the regent in the first place?"

 

Reed nodded in agreement, "Yes. I'd like to know that as well. This seems like sheer lunacy to me!"

 

Ryan rolled his eyes as he fell back into his seat, "Isn't it obvious? It's your son's doing."

 

The Queen turned slowly to look at Morgan, "Is this true?"

 

Morgan withered under the gaze of his wrathful progenitor, "Well... yes? Lance and I were talking and... both of us tried to give up our claim to the throne, saying that the other would be the better choice." He pointed to Lance, "He's far more popular."

 

Lance sighed, "Brother, you know I do not have a head for politics or legislation! Popularity does not a king make! He must know the law and be familiar with our history, our culture, the many wheels of government, and how they turn." He shook his head as he looked at the floor, "I have no skill for statecraft."

 

Morgan looked at his brother and seemed saddened, "Despite my best efforts to convince him to take the throne, claiming I would stand by him as an advisor he-"

 

Lance looked up with a scowl, "If you are making all the decisions, why do I have to play the figurehead?" He slammed his fist on the table making his lovely medium-length blond hair shake perfectly in the light, "I might be a bastard, but I do have my PRIDE!"

 

Ryan coughed loudly. Everyone looked at him, "I might be from another world, but it always seemed to me that the term bastard is applied wrong." He glanced around, "It shouldn't be a term of shame for the child, since the child had no choice in the matter, but instead should be a sign of shame for the parents involved because they are the ones who need to take responsibility for their actions." He shrugged, "Maybe it's just me."

 

Most of the people in the room looked at Ryan rather shocked, except for Morgan, Lance, Reed, and The Saintess. The three boys looked at him like he said something they all had wanted to hear.

 

The saintess, however, had a different take.

 

"He's from America." Everyone turned to her as she continued, "They have a different way of doing things over there. In my country of Japan, we take family and lineage very seriously. In America, they... well... for better or for worse, they don't care about your past, only what you are worth."

 

Ryan nodded, "Damn straight. We call it a meritocracy. We... try... to let the best be in charge. It doesn't always work, corruption is a problem, but... in theory..." He shrugged.

 

Morgan cleared his throat, "Tangent aside, I remembered reading about something that happened similar to this situation in the royal archives and talked with The Chancellor about it. So-"

 

The Queen dropped back down into her seat and rubbed her eyes, "This doesn't explain WHY." She looked at the Chancellor, "We discussed this. I made it clear I wanted Morgan on the throne."

 

The Chancellor nodded, "You did... then Morgan made it clear that if he was put on the throne, there would most likely be a civil war within three months. If Lance was put on the throne instead, we would lose the support of the nationalists and without them, war preparations would be impossible. They would sabotage anything that might grant Lance further military might on principle." He gestured towards Reed, "By placing Reed on the throne, we kick the issue down the road. I was hoping that both sides would be so unhappy with Reed that they wouldn't start fighting with one another in hopes of waiting to see if the King got better."

 

Morgan slowly shook his head and looked at Ryan, "But then you gave that little speech of yours... I'm quite puzzled how you got everyone so riled up by the end. To start, I thought you were going to scare them into open revolt."

 

Ryan gestured to the two heads of the military orders, "Simple Military Style Motivational Speech. Scare the crap out of the rank and file, then give them a way out that is surprisingly appealing. I was a lieutenant, you know." He sat up, "Speaking of, we need to sweeten the pot." He pointed at the Saintess, "And you got me thinking."

 

The Chancellor turned to look at Ryan, "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

 

Ryan put his feet up on the corner of his table while holding up a single finger, "Checks and Balances!"

 

The Queen blinked, "What?"

 

Ryan spread his hands wide, "It's the foundation of American Government. We assume everyone is a crook, so no one person is allowed all the power. So..." He pointed to the Chancellor, "Your new title is, Master Of Coin. On top of all your other duties, you are now in charge of approving the spending of money, and only you. Armies may march, laws may be passed, but nothing happens without money to grease the wheels. You now have sole control over all the cash. You can't choose HOW to spend the cash, but you can choose NOT to spend the cash." He pointed at Kyle and peered down his finger like the sights on a gun, "Everyone must come to you for the money to do anything."

 

The Chancellor looked so shocked that he didn't know what to say.

 

Ryan swung his finger around to point at the Queen, "You are now the High Legislator. No laws or decrees can be passed without your approval. You can make up any law or decree you want. Say whatever you want. But you can't undo any current laws or decrees, you can only make up new ones." The Queen's only response was to raise a single eyebrow.

 

He swung his finger around to Lance, "You, are now the Grand High General. You are in control of all the armies and forces of the realm. That means those four-" Ryan hooked a thumb at the Army general and the two heads of the knightly orders as well as Lily representing the navel assets, "All take orders from you. You can't pass laws. You can't even pay your soldiers, but you do get to enforce the law as well as oversee the protection of this nation." Lance just looked back in open astonishment.

 

He pointed at Morgan, "As for you, You are now the High Judge of the Supreme Court. You have no power to pass laws or enforce them, but you get to JUDGE THEM." He waggled his finger, "You decide if the actions that Lance takes are legal. You decide if a law passed should be struck down because it conflicts with previous laws or not." He nodded slowly, "You also pass judgment on those who break the law and decide what punishment should be handed out."

 

Ryan sat up and started to point around the room, "Someone to make the laws, someone to enforce the laws, someone to fund the laws, someone the judge the laws." He then spread his hands, "Checks and balances. If any one of you gets out of hand, the others will reign you in."

 

Morgan then spoke up, "And what if we all choose to work together towards malevolent ends?"

 

Ryan pointed at himself, "I retain veto power. I cannot do any of your jobs as all this implies I surrender my authority, but I retain the right to remove you from office and replace you if you get out of hand."

 

Lilith moved to take a chair next to Ryan, "A system of government where no one has all the power, but every faction has someone they favor in a position of power, while at the same time turning you into a virtual figurehead so nobody will be threatened by your regency." She turned to look at Ryan with a look of astonishment, "That's brilliant. Every faction will think they are represented thus having an excuse to maintain the status quo."

 

Lily slammed her hands on her table and stood up, "I would like to speak to my brother in private!"

 

Everyone turned to look at her. Lily looked back, appearing quite nervous, but resolved, "I know I am here only as an insult to those who backed the Crown Prince's ill-thought-out revolution, so you do not need me for these discussions and-" She pointed to Reed sitting in the throne, "It doesn't seem like you need him either." She bit her lower lip, "This is the first real chance I've had to speak to my brother since his return, so if you do not need us, I would like to speak with him about family matters." She looked to Ryan, "Privately."

 

Everyone glanced at each other before Ryan spoke up, "Of course. I understand completely. I commandeered your brother's body and used it without your family's permission for almost a year." He gestured to a corner behind the throne, "That area should be private enough if you speak softly. We will try not to drop any eves."