Chapter 102 - Now What? (2/2)

”You did very well, Your Highness. It is a healthy young prince.”

Mariela burst into tears. She had known all along that giving birth to a son would put her child's life in danger as long as Sigmund was around. Having her worst fear confirmed while simultaneously being happy about her first child had overwhelmed her.

I sat down on the side of the bed and wrapped my arms around her, trying to offer comfort as best I could. Once the baby was clean and snugly swaddled, he was handed to his mother for the first time.

She held him close and kissed the tiny tuft of silver hair on the top of his head. ”Could someone please send for my husband? He needs to meet his son.”

The physicians' assistants began cleaning up the mess on the bed as best they could without disturbing mother and son so I volunteered to go. I bumped into him pacing up and down the hall in front of their chambers.

The worry on his face was undisguised and he gripped my hands. ”Is she…?”

”Mariela is fine and so is your son. Go see them,” I encouraged gently.

Franz nearly wilted with relief hearing they were alright and barely even seemed to register that I had said he had an heir. That made him rise in my estimation; when it came down to it, he was more concerned about his family than the fact that there was a good chance he would become king now.

I gave them privacy and walked back to my quarters in a daze. Al was there waiting for me, having returned after I abandoned him mid-game.

”Well?” he demanded.

”It's a boy,” I said faintly. ”We're screwed.”

It had already basically been decided that if the royal baby was a boy that Franz would become king because of his ability to carry on the bloodline but it still needed to be put to a vote. This time all of the princes were prohibited from voting and it was solely up to the court.

I was positive Franz would win now that the commoner representatives had arrived from the countryside. They all knew he was the reason they were even allowed to be a part of the court.

There were still plenty of nobles in Sigmund's faction but even some of them had wavered because of his lack of progeny. So what did this mean for the story?

Franz couldn't exactly kick Sigmund out of the palace because royals always let their families continue to lie here. It was tradition. Which would give the man plenty of time to try and plot something terrible, I was sure.

Al already knew where I stood on the matter. He had wanted to get to the mountains as soon as possible but couldn't deny that Sigmund could be a big problem for us so he reluctantly agreed that we should stay here until it was settled if Mariela gave birth to a boy.

He opened his arms with a worried sigh and I crumbled into them. From here on out we were operating in foreign territory. The plot had been completely ruined aside from the commoners getting their representation.

Now what?