Chapter 40: The King’s Grey Hair

King Aled had a headache. That was nothing new when he was at court, the nobles loved doing that. It had become an unofficial sport to cause the king stress at court, one that the dukes loved to partake in. The difference was that this headache was caused by a noble who was not even there. Nor were they a duke or even an earl. It was his newest ally who had started a storm at court, whilst being blissfully unaware back in his land. Or what he claimed to be his land, that was the source of the controversy.

By now it was well known among the nobility that Braydon had taken it upon himself to occupy the entire old viscounty of Kirton. All that was missing now was a letter requesting that the three baronies once again be a unified viscounty under his name. And given how bold this new viscount had been, he did not expect it to take long. He was not sure if Braydon had been trying but he had definitely succeeded in causing Aled to gain more grey hair. Although he was only in his early thirties, the nobility had already given him grey temples. It was just that it was usually his enemies and not his rivals that were the cause of this.

'That man better have a damn good excuse for this.' Aled thought to himself, though he knew it was only empty bluster. He could not afford to throw away such a powerful ally. Not now that he had a large iron mine and the territory equivalent to a small earldom. Especially not after all the money he had thrown at him.

"My king, we should be denouncing this act of wanton violence at once. How can anyone stand for this act of unprovoked aggression? Why are we even here to discuss this?" Earl Blake had come to Boshil specifically for this issue. But the king was not going to bring up the apparent hypocrisy of this, it would be wasting his time. Not to mention Duke Oakley would be remiss if he did not take a jab at his rival, Aled would be more than willing to let him do it.

"If you care so little for such a thing, why are you even here? It is not like there are many other matters to deal with today." Instead of Duke Oakley himself saying it, it was one of his allies, Earl Fiton. He had come to court today to see how his brother would be dealt with. He knew that Braydon was rash on the battlefield but it was news to him that he would be this rash concerning other matters too. 'Just what are you up to Braydon?' He did not believe that his brother was that stupid, and had warned Duke Oakley as much. There was no reason to take a stance quite yet, lest they get humiliated later.

"You would say that, Earl Fiton. It's not like you do not have a dog in this fight, he is your brother after all. You would defend him."

"That is quite enough, Earl Blake. You should not impune the motives of others so easily." Aled decided to get a hit in on Earl Blake as well. The Earl had been trying to annoy both his own and Duke Oakley's factions as of late. He should have expected them to gang up on him, and if he didn't then it was his own misjudgement. Earl Blake had a rather annoyed look on his face, something Aled took great pleasure in. It was not often that he got to be on the winning end of a discussion with the head of another faction. Though, he also did find amusement in a short and fat middle aged man holding the expression of a wronged child.

It was at this moment that a servant came up to the king and whispered in his ear. It was news that made his expression light up. And this did not go unnoticed by the nobles at court, Duke Burn being the first to ask about it. He had also come specifically for the current commotion caused by Viscount Fiton, Aled knew it. The man did not often fight other factions directly but was more than happy to watch them fight each other, even to the extent of inciting them to do so.

"What great tidings have been received, your majesty? Surely you would love to share it with the rest of us." The Duke had hoped that it was something that the king wanted to keep a secret from the rest of the nobility, but the result he got was enough for him too.

"Indeed, I shall. It is pertinent to the topic at hand anyway. I have received word from Viscount Fiton and Baron Abel." What he did not tell them was that these letters were brought by the same messenger. The less they knew the better, especially when it came to his allies.

This got the attention of everyone, it would be a great test of skill for the new noble. He had not appeared much in noble circles, that spot being taken by his older brother. After all, Earl Fiton was the main successor of their father, it would not do for the younger brothers to outshine the designated heir. In this case, it meant that they only knew of him what they had seen in recent months. And what they had seen was that he was a man unafraid of taking risks or provoking others. First, in taking in Marquess Burgess's daughter, second in taking over all three of his neighbours' land. Now they would see how capable he was at backing up his actions.

After King Aled had read both letters, he decided to mention the contents of Baron Abel's letter first. He had spent a great while reading it, so those present thought it had been the more important letter. Whilst, technically it was, the great amount of time he spent reading was because of how hard it was to read the writing. Not that that would be told to everyone else.

"First, I will mention the contents of Baron Abel's letter. It is the most relevant to our earlier conversation. He spoke of the pact that he and Viscount Fiton had made to unify the three baronies under his title, Kirton, to once again form a viscounty. As you may know, this was done militarily." It was here that Aled paused for breath. Not a moment sooner, Duke Burn jumped in with a question.

"Why, then, is it Viscount Fiton whom occupies these lands and not Baron Abel?" He did not really have a particular interest in the matter. He just loved asking the questions that would provoke the most turmoil, so long as it was not him that would be affected.

"That would be the next part of what is written here. Baron Abel has announced that Viscount Fiton is to be his successor in the event that he does not have any offspring of his own. As you may know, Baron Abel never married and as such he was the first and last of his line." This brought knowing smiles to some, especially the Dukes and the more perceptive among the nobility. They had seen what Viscount Fiton had done, forcing Baron Abel to announce him as his heir. But it was Earl Blake who noticed something else.

"You say 'was' the first and last of his line. That can only mean one of two things." When it was said all eyes returned to King Aled. As he had just said, the man never married so where would he get any progeny?

"That is where we turn to Viscount Fiton's letter. He sends his regards and tells of Baron Abel's travel westwards. Though he also notes that after not receiving word from Baron Abel, as his heir, he was concerned and sent men to investigate. There was no record of his carriage entering Wathamalin. His men also found a burnt out carriage on the road to Wathamalin, they presume it to be Baron Abel's, unless the man himself turns up somewhere." There was silence at court. This had been a very daring move.

They had no way to prove it but everyone knew what Viscount Fiton had done. Now they knew, not only was the man not shy, he was daring. The letter pronouncing him Baron Abel's heir was still hot off the press, and he had gone and offed the man. They had expected him to put Baron Abel under permanent house arrest, the land would be his anyway. But it appeared that this Viscount did not take risks, he would rather hold the land directly. Duke Oakley gave Earl Fiton a glance, they both knew what he wanted. While they could not attack his brother, they could use his deeds to attack Earl Blake.

"Are you still sure you want to stain your reputation by calling for the censure of the legitimate heir of the land for taking up his position, Earl Blake?" Duke Oakley's words made Earl Blake pale. He knew that the King and the Duke were going to be extracting concessions from him for his misdemeanour.