CHAPTER 7. Disagreement

　　“Your Majesty,” Gideon greeted indifferently.

　　“Is it true?” Lady Marie asked.

　　“I beg your pardon?”

　　“Do not play dumb with me, Gideon. Is it true that the late emperor has chosen the next heir in his will?”

　　“What?” I gawked, looking between Lady Marie’s agitated expression and Gideon’s composed one.

　　“Yes. It is true.” He admitted.

　　“That is absurd! Frederick is the oldest son hence making him the next in line for the throne!” she yelled.

　　“Mother!” Frederick called out as he rushed over to where we were standing.

　　“I understand that, Your Majesty but-”

　　Gideon was interrupted when Elina and Lilian joined in the conversation. “Just open it and tell us whose name father has written in his will. It is most likely going to be Frederick anyway.” Lilian confidently announced with a flick of her luscious hazel hair.

　　“That’s true. Everyone is already here after all. Just read it now.” Elina chimed in, crossing her arms over her chest.

　　If Gideon was getting annoyed with how the three ladies were treating him, his face did not show it. He maintained his composure. “I would prefer if we would all gather in the council room at once so I can break the seal and reveal the fate of this country. We shall do this the proper way, Princess Lilian. Princess Elina.” He firmly stated.

　　Lilian huffed as she mimicked her older sister’s action. “Fine.” She huffed. “I still think it is a waste of time since it will clearly be Frederick’s name written but if you want to stick to tradition so much then so be it.” she then stomped away, Elina following her as they made their way to the council room.

　　“A waste of time indeed.” Lady Marie echoed as she and Frederick followed suit.

　　I turned to look at Aiden, who shared the same confused expression as I did. I then turned back to Gideon who was silently watching them walk away.

　　“Gideon, are you alright?” I asked.

　　The royal advisor smiled. “There is no need for you to worry about me, Your Highness.” He bowed. Just then, mother came walking through the door. Aiden went to her side in an instant.

　　*

　　The council room was only filled with all the members of the council, Lady Marie and her children as well as my mother, Aiden and I. We were all seated by the long table as low chattering could be heard. I could feel the occasional glances directed towards me, since my father’s funeral and this meeting was when I officially showed myself to the public eye after the news about me being an omega was announced.

　　The more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I got since I was in a room filled with alphas and betas. I almost let out a sigh of relief when I spotted Gideon walking towards the head of the table, where father would usually sit. Instead of sitting, Gideon stood tall and presented the sealed document to everyone present.

　　“I apologise for this sudden gathering but I called all of you here today for something truly important. I, Gideon Reyes, royal advisor of the throne holds in his hand the final will of the benevolent Emperor Bryon Renaldi who has departed from this world far too soon and it has come to my attention that the next heir to the throne and this beloved kingdom of ours has been personally selected by the emperor himself.”

　　Louder murmurs and chattering could be heard now while I just stared ahead, silently wondering why father would even do this in the first place. Usually, the oldest in the family bloodline would automatically step up to the throne.

　　“Will Prince Fredrick not be the next emperor?” one councilman asked.?

　　“Did the emperor think he was not suited for the position?” someone whispered.

　　“What was the late emperor thinking?” another questioned.?

　　I glanced over to Frederick, face red as he was clearly upset that the people around him were starting to doubt him and his abilities.

　　“Calm yourselves!” Gideon firmly called out, his booming voice was enough to make the room fall into complete silence. He then cleared his throat. “We are in no place to question the late emperor’s choices since it is by tradition that we, his loyal subjects, will do whatever in our power to uphold his final wishes.” Gideon added.

　　“Don’t worry, brother. I’m such Father announced you as his heir and the future emperor. There is no one else more suitable than you, after all.” Lilian said, beaming happily to Fredrick who was by her side.?

　　Frederick’s expression stiffened as he clenched his hands into tight fists on the table. “I sure hope you are right, sister.” he said back.

　　“I shall now break the royal wax seal and read out who the late emperor has deemed worthy to be our next emperor.” Gideon declared. He held the parchment high and opened the seal with ease.?

　　I let out an inward sigh, wanting this to be over and done with so I could return to my room. Whatever the outcome of this was, I knew that it had nothing to do with me. My thoughts started to wander at what my future would look like now that father was gone. The joke that Aiden and I were talking about earlier, about starting a new life in the countryside did sound rather appealing compared to staying in a place where we are hated.

　　The sound of the parchment rolling out caught my attention. I looked up at Gideon as his eyes scanned the words that were written. His face fell, growing incredibly pale while his hands were shaking slightly. There was a prolonged silence until Gideon finally looked up from the parchment and for a split second, we made eye contact.

　　“What does it say?” Frederick asked impatiently, fingers tapping away on the wooden surface of the table.?

　　“Who is the next emperor?” Elina added, not attempting to hide the irritation in her voice.?

　　“According to the late Emperor Byron’s will, the heir who is to be crowned will be…” he paused once more as he made eye contact with me yet again. I frowned at his strange behaviour, never once have I seen Gideon on edge like this.

　　“Gideon. Enough theatrics. Say it already.” Lady Marie snapped.

　　He took in a deep breath and exhaled shakily. “Cordelia Rae Renaldi.” Gideon finally announced and in an instant, everyone present turned their attention to me. All eyes were on me and all I could do was stare at him dumbfoundedly, as though this was just a dream.

　　The long silence was broken when someone suddenly laughed aloud. “Gideon you old fool, this is no time to be joking around. Tell us whose name is truly written in the emperor’s will.” Lady Marie giggled. Some councilmen followed her actions, laughing nervously.

　　“This is no jest, Lady Marie.” Gideon firmly said.

　　There was another silence before a loud screeching sound could be heard. I turned to Lady Marie as she got off from her seat and made her way to Gideon in a hurry. Gideon simply offered her the parchment which was snatched away from his hands by her. Her eyes quickly scanned the writing before she slammed the paper on the table. I watched as she took in deep breaths to compose herself before her fury-ridden eyes met mine.

　　“This is absurd.” She said, staring directly at me and as though those words were a cue for everyone present to protest all at once.

　　I could not hear anything anyone was saying as my mind started to swirl with this sudden information. Why me? I asked myself repeatedly, over and over again.

　　“The emperor must have gone mad!” someone yelled. I flinched from the sheer anger in the voice.

　　“Cordelia cannot be the next ruler of our kingdom!”

　　“An crowned omega? How hilarious.”

　　“Father must have been deranged when he wrote that. We mustn’t listen to his will.”

　　I stood up from my chair suddenly. Causing everyone to turn their attention to me once more. “There’s no need to speak ill of our father.” I snapped, ignoring the unsteadiness of my voice.

　　Lilian made a face. “I’m only speaking the truth. Why would he in his right mind appoint you of all people to be the next heir?” she scoffed.

　　“That’s enough. What Princess Cordelia says is true. We mustn’t speak ill of our late emperor and we must fulfil his final wish…” Gideon stated.

　　“You are mad! She is an omega!” Lady Marie particularly yelled.

　　“Omega or not, it is our duty to-”

　　“Do you even want to take the throne, Cordelia?” Frederick’s voice called out loudly, cutting off Gideon. I turned to look at him. He sat incredibly still on his chair, posture of a proper prince, not a single strand of his dark curls were out of place.?

　　I opened my mouth to answer him but found myself unable to speak as I did not know what to say. The severity of his question was weighing me down and soon I felt myself suffocating on my own anxiety.