The reason the queen had allowed this audience was probably because she'd realized that, illegitimate son rumor or not, I was a noble who supported the crown prince. Even after learning the most damaging secrets, I still favored him.
So the queen could rest a little easier.
Her greatest enemy was supporting the crown prince.
The crack about Hilda really had been nothing more than a small, petty barb.
The queen had vaguely framed our relationship as a complicated one.
It was a kind of signal that she was extending her hand.
A temporary one, but it meant she wanted us to join forces and resist Radensdorf.
Whether Radensdorf would actually launch a civil war was still up for debate, but the queen viewed Louis and Radensdorf with extreme caution. The concept of family bound by blood didn't even exist for her. There was only the struggle for power.
