"We've surrounded the palace—both inside and out. There's only one negotiation we want: to appoint King Finn as the next Emperor after Emperor Alric's death," said a middle-aged man who entered the palace behind the threatened family members. He stood in the center, as if demanding the attention of everyone in the room.
Richard knew the man speaking loudly among them was the highest-ranking officer in the imperial military. General Nate is the most influential person and is trusted by the Emperor. Unfortunately, that man had betrayed him, causing the entire military force of every position to follow his choice.
The palace guards and the military forces were two different groups. Both were under the Empire. However, the palace guards took care of the Emperor and his family inside the palace, while the military guarded the island, both on land and sea.
Seeing General Nate siding with Finn made Richard wonder what exactly the man had been offered to make Nate, Emperor Alric's closest man, betray like this.
"What a delightful drama to watch—go tell that to Finn," Darren said, clapping his hands before a sword touched his neck, threatening the young man.
Richard admitted, Darren was good at heating the situation in the room. Richard observed the faces of all leaders, from small kingdoms to large ones. Some panicked, seeing their family members threatened like this. Others, Richard knew, sided with Finn.
"Why didn't Finn come himself, even though he is leading this rebellion?" Richard asked in front of them all.
Darren smiled where he stood; he knew it was now Richard's time to handle everything as the eldest brother. This was a fun team effort. Richard knew and would always be sure that Darren would be a solid teammate.
"We and the entire military forces outside the palace are representatives of King Finn. Why should the heir himself take over the throne he is supposed to get?" General Nate asked, confident that what he was doing was right.
It was only the fifth day that Richard returned to the palace after staying at Darren's camp. Yet, he was already presented with a dramatic scene by this game developer. A team consisting of Darren and himself would easily win this game if their father remained the Emperor.
What if the Emperor changed to Finn? It would certainly be harder than what he and Darren thought. Maybe three to five times harder than now. And surely, by any means, Darren would not easily win this game.
Richard turned to look at how many military forces surrounded the imperial palace through the window behind him. The window directly connected to the palace front; he could see the magnitude of the threat before him.
A smile appeared on Richard's face. Perhaps there were three thousand soldiers ready to kill him with bows and arrows in their hands. With that many troops, he was sure everyone in this room would die if they all entered. The palace guards were not as many as these troops.
He didn't know when the idea of rebellion was echoed. Even though this was just a game world, it became so thrilling that Richard could no longer regard everyone here as mere game characters.
"I'm a bit curious, how long have you prepared all this, General Nate? Everything looks so precisely in line with Finn's wishes down to the smallest detail," Richard taunted, now facing a sword threat from General Nate, just like Darren, who chose to stay silent but smirked at him several times.
"Put that sword down now, Nate!" ordered King Benedict, King of Clenta in western Georgia Island. "You show disrespect by threatening Prince Harry!"
"AAA!" screamed a woman standing in front of King Ben. Her neck was lightly slashed as a threat so King Ben wouldn't interfere too much with their affairs.
"Enough!" King Ben shouted, trying to stop a man from the military. He didn't want his wife to be hurt, especially if they dared to kill her.
"Everyone here could die if you resist. All of you, including this man," General Nate spoke again, now directing at Richard, who stood fearless. "Besides, what is there to defend from two amnesiac men like the two sons of Emperor Alric? They don't even remember who they are."
The situation in the room became more complicated; both Darren and Richard were stunned to hear that General Nate knew their secret. Richard observed everyone present. They were all equally surprised that Darren and Harry, whom they knew, had amnesia.
"Will you defend this empire in the hands of two amnesiacs? They are cursed! All cursed after Emperor Alric took the empire from Mierre-Park!" The accusation was thrown by General Nate, humiliating the two men.
Amnesia as a prince was a weakness. And after everyone knew about it, neither Darren nor Richard could defend themselves. Richard lowered his head deeply, unsure if anyone here would help Darren and him after knowing their condition.
This game developer truly put him in a difficult situation. Richard had no choice left. The only way was to admit what General Nate said without mentioning they were from the real world.
"What do you want?" Richard asked softly before daring to look at General Nate again.
"Is what they say true, Prince Harry?" asked Felix, from the Kingdom of Birru.
"Do I sound like a liar, King Felix? I never lie, and I know who is most deserving to be Emperor." Nate lowered his sword, then turned, speaking to Felix, who sat somewhat far behind, near the door. "The first condition: we all want both of you, Prince Harry and Prince Darren, to step down from the Brisstol Empire. Second, we want you to leave the palace. It doesn't matter where you live, even if you want to move to Kleinn or Ellery, that's fine. Third, Mierre-Park will become the trade center of the Brisstol Empire, no longer Narima Beach. All ports in this city will be closed."
"I do not agree with all you say! Closing all the ports in Narima is like crippling the economy of an entire island!" protested Queen Rosalind of Netherwyn, disagreeing with Nate's demands.
"Economics is a matter for the new Emperor, not for you," Nate retorted, ignoring the difference in position with Queen Rosalind. "So, Prince Harry? Are you ready to step down?"
Richard did not immediately reply. He glanced at Darren, who still stood steadfast in his place, a bit far so they couldn't discuss with each other. But Darren's slight nod gave him the confidence to make a decision.
There were three thousand people who would cause trouble, and Richard was sure none of them wanted matters to escalate. There would be bloodshed, and chaos would grow in the future.
"I, Harry Richard Vadenburg, along with my brother Darren Alaric Vadenburg, hereby renounce my title as heir to the Brisstol Empire and cede the throne to King Finn of the Kingdom of Mierre-Park!"
Richard would never forget how they smiled proudly at the fall of Richard and Darren. Especially Finn and Nate, who would take full responsibility for all this chaos.
"Long live the King!" Nate shouted in the room.
"Long live!" everyone there replied, except the kings and queens who felt disadvantaged.
"Long live the King!" the voice rang out again.
"Long live!"
****
"I know there's a traitor among the people staying with you. We'd better say everything right here, Darren. In front of Max and Evan." Richard spoke to Darren in the meeting room that had already been abandoned by everyone else. Now, the room was empty, and only Richard, Max, and Evan remained. "Could it be him?"
In front of Darren, Richard accused Evan, who didn't understand what they were all talking about. All Evan heard were the loud voices of many people without understanding the content of their conversation.
"I always go everywhere with Evan." Darren rejected the idea that Evan was the one who leaked the information about Darren's amnesia. "What about you? How could they all know that you lost your memory?"
"They know. Even the bandits in the forest know." Richard said as he too searched for who might be the spy among them. "Could it be that woman?"
"You mean ... Luna?" Darren asked back. "I doubt she's the spy. Maybe more precisely, she's Finn's traitor. Luna is probably our ally."
Darren always remembered that if they wanted to win, they had to work together with the enemy of their enemy. Finn wanted to kill Luna multiple times, first when Darren found them in the middle of the forest. Second, when Rhea was kidnapped. Luna must be a threat to Finn, enough that the woman had to die.
"Could it be..." Evan paused his words, hesitating to continue until Darren urged him to speak. "...one of our friends? I did suspect that you had amnesia, Sir, but one of them must also know. There could be a hidden spy among them all."
"Could that be true?" Darren doubted Evan's words. He trusted his friends, but how this news got out made him unsure. He also wondered how one of them could have reported it. "If either of you were the spy, how would you report everything that's happened?"
"The easiest way would be sneaking out at night, or most easily, by talking to the bandits," Max answered the question. "I heard those bandits often pass by the camp at night. Maybe because your buildings are a bit far from the road, it makes it easy for them to stroll by."
"We have to find out who it is," Richard said with curiosity. Sooner or later, that person would cause an even bigger disaster.