The Royal Contract

"Your Highness, Prince Edward has already arrived. Will you like to see him now?" One of the royal guards informed their King upon learning of the arrival of the Prince in the palace.

"Yes, send him in my here right away." The King instructed, barely able to control his anger. 

When the King heard what happened during the fundraising event, he immediately requested his son back home. He could not risk for his son to make a further mess with his situation.

The Council was clear of the condition that they set during their last meeting. After the incident, the Council already expressed their concern about the blatant disrespect of the Prince to their stipulation.

As their King, he agreed with what the Council members thought of his son's actions. But as a father, he would like to understand his son and help salvage his son's reputation.

"Father." Edward walked into the King's private study with a proud smirk on his face, oblivious of his father's ire. "Why did you send for me? Anyway, I wish to discuss with you the recent dealings I..."

But he was not able to finish his statement when he noticed his father's expression. It was clear that he was not pleased with his presence and with his news.

He came home with high hopes that his father would be satisfied with his accomplishment while he was away. He was not expecting the cold welcome and the anger that was evident in his eyes.

"I told you to follow what the Council had instructed. Why did you have to disregard their wishes and go against Alex?" King Edward shouted, unable to contain his frustration.

As King, he had to be able to control his emotion at all times. Uncontrolled anger could result in irrational decisions that might only cause more trouble than resolve a situation.

However, his son's recent activity had only brought embarrassment to the crown. It might also have caused him the chance to sit on the throne.

"But don't you see that Alex was only setting me up to fail in front of the Council. He had all this planned out." The young Edward stated in a higher tone, not usually used to a king.

But as the son of the King, he did get away with it. His father could not use his power against him, his only heir. His father could threaten to disown him, but he had yet to act on it.

"He already declined the throne several times, giving way for you to take my place. All you had to do was prove to the Council that you are ready." King Edward explained once again his situation.

He already saw that Alex was not a threat when his brother, Fred, assured him that Alex had no desire to be King. He was puzzled why his son still insisted otherwise.

"But that was not what I discovered when I was working under him. He did not only want money and power, and not only this empire. He wanted all." Edward asserted to his father.

He started pulling out some documents from his bag and handed them to his father, showing that Alex had some internal motives to ruin the kingdom once he took over.

He showed that Alex was only using his charm to fool the Council and even the King, to make them believe he had the best intention for the kingdom. 

"Where did you get all this information?" King Edward skimmed through the file. It was not conclusive, but if it was true, then it had some merits that required some investigation.

Although he would not consider them as the truth until thoroughly checked. He wanted very much to believe his son and the evidence he was presenting. He wished to give him the benefit of the doubt.

But experience had made him wary of putting too much faith in him. As a father, he would give his eternal love and support to his son. But as the King of the entire kingdom, he was still bound by right and wrong.

"I stumbled on them while he had me working on some of his businesses." He explained to his father how he acquired the information.

Although most of them were fabricated papers and stories produced by him with the help of Nick, he knew that with proper acting and the backup of the King, he could make it work.

Some of the facts were true but were taken out of context to make it appear like he wanted to sabotage the Empire and him as their new King.

"I still need to have this investigated. But you should have consulted first with me before you decide to make a business merger with another company." The King still reprimanded the Prince since he had put the Empire in a tight position.

Although he had authorized his son to handle some of the transactions for their business, he did not expect his son would sign a contract of this magnitude.

He could not simply pull out of the agreement because that would put his son in another more disgrace, but he also feared what he might have put them through.

"All I ask is that you check it out. Because the last thing I want is to put our people in the hands of someone who did not give a damn." Edward placed his right hand to his heart, showing his father his concern.

From the expression of his father, he knew that he had him convinced of his plans. The only left now was to work on the Council. He had to find a way to make them believe in him. He would never trust Alex to do that, not now and ever.

On the other side of the kingdom, the Council also had their private meeting without informing the King. The Council of Elders, headed by the Duke, felt the need to discuss their disappointment again with the Prince.

"What do you suggest with do with Prince Edward's current action?" Count Wellington voiced out his concern with the new situation they were facing.

He had enough of Edward's stupid stunts. He could not continue to put their faith in his hands, not after putting the royal family back in shame.

"I think we should launch a full investigation of the situation. We also need to take Prince Edward's opinion on the matter. Get his reason for doing what he did." The duke informed everyone present in the meeting.

He knew that there was a very likelihood that Edward would only be feeding them with more lies, but it was their obligation to hear everyone's side before making any decision.

But they could not blindly follow the King's wishes to put his son as the next heir if he did not truly deserve the position. But from the way things were going, he could not see any other choice but to pick Alex.

"Of course, we have to follow the protocol. In my opinion, though, I believe that we will only come up with the same conclusion." One of the Lords agreed with Duke Fred, but he also had the same questions running in his mind, just like the count.

"However, one of my concerns was the new responsibility that Prince Alexander also took as the head of the Hamilton Multibillion Corporation." Count Edinburgh reminded everyone.

He could see by handling such an enormous company in another country. Prince Alexander would not have their empire as his priority. After all, he had always been adamant about declining the throne.

"I'm sure if the throne finally calls for his time to serve the crown, Prince Alexander would have no choice but to heed the call." Another count stated with confidence while looking at the duke for confirmation.

While the duke remained in his silence, knowing the bind that his son was about to face. He wished there was something more he could do to help him. As of now, he had to figure out first how to deal with Edward.

Edward involving the finances of the Empire with the likes of Nick was not such a good prospect. After learning from Alex what Nick had done with Dani and her family. He knew that the name alone was never good news.

Now, put Edward together with Nick, and they had a problem on their hands. Maybe this time, they could expect the downfall of their kingdom if they could not do something to stop it.

"Let us first of all deal with Edward's situation and continue our discussion after we had enough evidence on our hands." Duke Frederick reminded his colleagues that they could not judge the Prince without due process.

They still have to consider that he was still the son of their King. At least, he deserved their respect and loyalty. He was still his nephew, his blood. He could not just turn his back on him.

He felt he needed more of his guidance since he was on the wrong path. Alex also felt the same way, one of the reasons he had agreed to help.

"We will let you lead this investigation. We trust that you will know what to do with this case. But if you will need any help, inform us, and we will help in any way we can." The other members all agreed to the setup.

The Council of Elders always had loyalty to the Duke as their leader since he took over the Council's head. He had proven time and time again that his integrity was unparallel.

Duke Frederick always had the making of a true king.. The Council Members also believed that his son, Prince Alexander, also had identical great traits as his father.