Sustaining The King's Life 44 Duchess Feuerlon

Duke Feuerlon stared in apprehension. Although it is not the first time the king summoned him to the palace to discuss diplomatic affairs, he finds it new for the king to openly express his desire. The young king, at the age of fifteen, was ambitious and inquisitive as well as curious. He had many theories beforehand and had them studied by clairvoyants and mages directly working under the royals.

This was new. The king was young and free. Politicians from the palace and administrations were admiring his intellect, although the Duke heard several disapprovals on how the king had 'too much control' and there was 'no transparency' between them and the young king.

"An experiment?" One of the trusted members of the king's circle had said, Duke Feuerlon unaware of who it is. The king was enclosed in a barrier, as well as the other members, such as the duke himself. This setup was made due to 'precautionary measures' as the king instructed—resulting the duke to never even having a glimpse of the faces of those who he was talking to, yet he can hear their voice. No one was recognizable, but he was sure he heard at least eight different voices.

"Yes." The king answers. "I want to test if I can combine the magic; this will do good for the country,"

"What good will it do?" Asks a voice, a female, it seems. "Do you aim to improve the intellect of over more than a million people? Or are you planning to manipulate them to your will? Considering the fact that you plan to use a spell that will control the mind of a person?"

The king paused for a brief silence. "There is something I must do, although I cannot say it because it will only take on surface years from now."

"What will the experiment do, actually?" Asks another voice.

"It will alter the memory of the subject." The king answers.

"How?" Another voice. "For years of being a magician, I haven't heard of a spell that could alter the memory, even with the Opus."

"It will not exactly alter one's memory." The king says. "The mechanism of the spells can give way for it to happen. I encountered a spell that could severe and create pathways for new information to be pa.s.sed on, just like the spells if transferring a fragment of the memory; and another spell that would readjust information of timelines of our memory temporarily,"

"Hmm..."

Silence.

"What are your thoughts?"

"it is a brilliant theory, perhaps it would revolutionize Feuersturm for being the country of tricksters and manipulators."

The king chuckled. "You disapprove, uncle?"

"Yes." Answers the duke, mildly bewildered that the king revealed his ident.i.ty to the others. "It is mad. It is nothing but unethical. You will manipulate a person's memory and perhaps will affect their very soul. I do not want you to pursue such research or experiment, King Alexander."

"I disapprove as well."

"I do not want you to continue such thing, your majesty."

"Yes. I agree with them. You shouldn't."

"Huh?" A voice. "I don't see why not, my king. This is brilliant, as your 'uncle' had said. How can you prove you are right or wrong if you do not start now?"

Throes of disapproval followed.

"Well now that the other member had said it, it's right. Feuersturm will gain the upperhand and the king shall gain control in whatever affairs he wants to win over."

"By using underhanded tricks? What about glory! The dignity! The integrity of Feuer?"

**

"We tested it with animals. Snakes, mice, and even few squirrels and the like. Although it was limited. For an instance, we made birds believe that they could not fly, and it showed a very promising result. The birds walked for years. Years until it wore its effect when we did not use magic over it,"

"You plan to use it on our mother?" Bethrion says, emerald eyes piercing like daggers. "Not only you are preposterous, but this is simply out of bounds."

"The king orders it, Bethrion Feuerlon."

"And we object." Lucas answers. "Father?"

"I do not agree also."

Hostility flared up against the air.

"This is the king's command." Roth Adelard, the captain of the High Knights says, circling over the Feuerlon family along with the other knights. Each held the pommel of their sword, except Abe and Lorenz.

Sheila sighed. "I do not want to resort in such ways, however..."

Orwell and Lovellia stared in bemus.e.m.e.nt as they watched the building feud between the knights and the Feuerlon family. The Feuerlon brothers already had their hands on their weapons; Bethrion on the grip of his sword, and Lucas on his staff.
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"You shall abide by the king's orders; resisting now would be futile, since you are already in a blood oath spell..." Sheila mumbles. "But an order is an order. Whatever it takes, the king's words are absolute!"

The knights withdrew their weapons, as the lightning thundered and the entire vast echoed with a deafening pour of the storm. Their blades illuminated and gleamed against the light of the thunder, eyeing each other with hostility. Duke Feuerlon stepped forward, hiding the d.u.c.h.ess in his back.

"You will not alter the memories of my wife."

"Is that so? I'm afraid that we have to." Sheila says. "Knights!"

"WAIT!"

As if on cue, everyone stopped. Even the priestess' paused in surprise.

"Dear?" Duke Feuerlon exclaims, turning to his wife.

The d.u.c.h.ess sighed, her lips into a thin line. Her sons were looking at her with sheer confusion, their emerald eyes questioning.

"I agree to his majesty's terms." She says. "You can alter my memory."

"Mother!"

"Dear!"

"So you agree."

The d.u.c.h.ess held the duke's hand. "But this will not be permanent, will it?"

Sheila smiles. "It will not be."

"No, no... you don't have to do this, mother..." Bethrion says. "We can handle this. We will not let them—"

"No, Beth," the d.u.c.h.ess says. "This is the acc.u.mulation of plans his majesty had been thinking about for the past years, correct?"

"Yes, d.u.c.h.ess."

"Are we originally a part of the plan, or..."

"From the moment the king lost his parents," Sheila says. "He already considered you his only family. He deviced this plan because he trusts you, the Feuerlon dukedom. This is why this must be carried out by your family... and your family alone."