Chapter 194 - Becoming the Prince Regent

'Uh-oh!'

'Don't try to pass out and push responsibility to another as you did when you found Nerissa's body. Don't even think about it!' Alexander's voice sounded almost as if he spoke between his teeth. Alexa realized that he was just as tense

as she was.

'This is crazy! What he is doing?!'

'Tell him to reconsider, it's polite to do. He will not listen to you, if he has already written his will,' he replied.

'Oh my God! Isn't that too much for both of us?'

'What can he do now? Magnus is not here, and I am the second child. Either he appoints one of his sons the Regent now, or there may be controversies later ... if the worst happens. Nothing worse is going to happen, though. He'll be fine. This will only be temporary, rest assured.'

It wasn't as if Alexa used to doubt Alexander, but she had already gotten used to expecting the worst. After all, how could opening a simple window in an idyllic country house on a moonlit night mean inviting death to enter?

"Dad… This is not necessary. It will only be a few days of rest and medical care ..."

"I'm being cautious. The people will be calmer."

Gutard responded so assertively it left no room for argument, as Alexander had predicted.

The Prince knelt beside the bed,

"Thank you for saving my life, and putting your own life at risk."

"You would do the same."

The Duke watched in silence, but interrupted,

"Alexander has shown that he is never intimidated, and is quite intelligent. He'll have the help of his spiritual advisor and my help in the practical aspects. Just worry about recovering and resting, Your Majesty."

"Besides of course, all the support from the ministers and the Army. With this, the next few days will be smooth. The prince will have the support of many loyal citizens while the Sovereign Prince recovers," Agnello recalled that Alexander would not only need their support, but should get the trust of ministers, army, and the court.

The Prince asked Ceridom to detail his father's condition, and the doctor reported that the Sovereign Prince's legs and feet suffered more damage than the rest of the body, but that all possible precautions were being taken.

"Your Majesty is quite a vigorous man, and he's more than likely to resist the worst part of the recovery."

But even Ceridom could not hide his concern. Everyone feared the execrable gangrene, which could only be remedied with amputation. And even that wasn't really a guarantee of survival. Many times the blood became contaminated, and the person died of rotting blood.

Lex tried to push those thoughts away, and looked at Gutard,

"Hold on," repeating the Prince's own words to her.

"I know I carried that weight, ... and now you will carry mine."

Lex nodded.

"Get him filled in on all the matters." Gutard ordered, and then touched Alexander's hand in a brief display of trust and support. His hands and arms were bandaged.

Gutard seemed exhausted of just talking a little.

"We will do this immediately, brother. Just rest. I will keep you informed of everything, so you can pull your youngest child's ear when you are on your feet again." The Duke motioned for everyone to leave, leaving the doctors to look after the Sovereign Prince.

Outside the alcove of the Sovereign Prince, the most important figures of the kingdom at that moment looked at each other expectantly.

"Prepare everything for the Prince Regent to make an announcement in the early evening," Duke Kurt turned to the chamberlain, but the Prince quickly corrected, with a breath held,

"Oops, no. I will make an announcement in the early afternoon."

His uncle didn't yet know the details about Alexander's peculiar condition, and Kurt looked at him in surprise. But Father Agnelo saved him,

"This is good, as it will not let people create crazy theories about what is going on."

"Will Princess Cordelia be present in the speech?" asked General Egon, clearly intrigued by not having seen the princess at least involved in the care of her husband.

"I think it would be my brother's wish. So that after the recent events, we don't leave the equivocate impression that we have any hostility towards our neighbors, the Flemishs," said Kurt.

Alexa had to force her mind a little to recap the latest events and understand what Duke Kurt was talking about. Yes, the Flemish entourage around Cordelia was held hostage because of their possible links to witchcraft. And Cordelia's father, an important world merchant leader and one of the wealthiest men in northern Europe, was a prisoner in Holstein's dungeons. It was a potential risk for Holstein, politically.

Soon after, the Prince met with the ministers in a large and impressive hall.

Alexa didn't want to be there!

She had woken up and been dragged to Holstein's throne before breakfast!

'Stay calm, Alexa! This is important! If the court is nervous, or the people are apprehensive, during a plague, witches, and political disputes, everything will become worse. Please help me here! '

'How could I? I understand very little, and besides, we should be trying to figure out how to restore Sigrid's spell! Our body is healing fast and…'

'Our body?'

'Sorry, but it reminds me that if I turn into food for the living dead, I won't even have a place to go back!'

'Ohh! If that happens, Alexa, I will willingly give my body to you! But it won't happen! Calm down, please! I know I must sound like a selfish bastard right now, but it's just because I have seen you go through incredible situations… And you have always overcome them. You will do it again. It's no use suffering in anticipation, for things that you cannot solve now. Please… Focus on what you can do.'

'I don't want your body! I want my body! Your body is great, but I feel better in my body! BWAH!' she was sure he could know what that lump in his throat was. Alexander's words had some wisdom, but that wisdom was not getting into her mind!

'Stop Alexa, you're crying!' Alexander sounded shocked, and Lex felt a tear run down the second Prince's face.

Everyone was looking at Alexander, puzzled ... Some gaping and apparently paralyzed.

The Prince raised his hand to dry his eye, and quickly, the ministers and the military lowered their heads to pretend they were not seeing.

'This is going to be a fiasco! I don't know how to act like a boy anymore. I don't know how to act like you,' she justified herself while accepting the handkerchief that Blue Eyes offered him discreetly.

'They don't know what to expect from me. Most of them never talked to me as an a.d.u.l.t.'

"You better not seduce everyone with your fragile appearance, Your Highness," Father Agnello leaned over to speak to Lex in his ear. The priest thought he was talking to Alexa, of course, and he was.

Lex nodded, and took a deep breath.

She hadn't paid attention to half of what the ministers said, she just knew that they were bringing up the issues they considered most urgent to surface.

Then she paid attention, and with the help of Duke Kurt and the questions Alexander asked her, she began to get an overview of Holstein's problems.

Nothing would be resolved now, as they knew the new regent would need a little time.

When the meeting was over, Prince Alexander returned to his quarters to prepare for his announcement. At the door to his room, the Duke said goodbye.

"We will talk about the events in Ashgraufelsen later," said Alexander's uncle, making it clear that it would be a private conversation, and quite important.

"I will help the Prince write a speech that will calm both the court and the people," Father Agnello announced. Lex was grateful to have someone who could do this. The father continued, "We all have a lot to talk about with Prince Alexander, but there are even rumors among the people that father and son died in the collapse. Just as many are confused about Duke Kurt's return ..."

The subtle intonation made Alexa think Agnello didn't have much sympathy for Alexander's uncle.

Well, considering what she now knew about Agnello being Letitia's firstborn, perhaps he knew about the past affair and suspected the Duke's motivations. But it was too much to think about now.

He found a big bustle in his chambers, with servants and nurses, and even the royal dressmaker and his assistants.

Alexander suggested,

"Ask everyone to leave the Prince for a moment."

Alexa did this, even under the puzzled look of Balbo and Padre Agnello, who withdrew without questioning the Prince, like everyone else.

She imagined that Alexander wanted time really alone so they could talk without fearing the stares of others. The princess always had the impression that her face revealed she was having an interesting internal conversation with herself, which could be scary, and put the new Prince Regent's sanity in check.

The closed doors and isolation, however, were a welcome relief in the current situation.

The Second Prince threw himself on the bed, with a sigh.

"The silence ... I longed for it."

'I'm sorry, Alexa.'

'You sorry? Why?' she knew he was not to blame for what was going on there, so at that moment her mind didn't understand what he meant by that.

Only when the hair on the Prince's body stood on end and she felt the temperature in the room suddenly drop, did the Prince sit on the bed.

'Alexander? What is happening?! Alexander?!'