Chapter 30- Dethronement of the Illegitimate Queen

"Are you alright?" Reis looked at her in concern as she rushed back to the study room.

"Yes." Iris didn't look at him as she walked. She hadn't forgotten to observe him while everything happened. Similar to Leon, Reis also adopted that strange emptiness when Salina had. His existence, and what it possibly meant for Iris was too complicated for Iris to consider at the moment.

They reached the room and Iris immediately began packing up important documents.

"I'm leaving for a while, about two months. I'll be notifying you of my location periodically so we can exchange mail. I should be able to properly manage the kingdom from afar with your aid." Iris said with no room for opposition.

"What!?" Reis stared at her in resentment.

"Continue planning the ball, it will be held according to plan. No need to pay any mind to the nobles, I'll manage them." Iris told him quickly.

"But Salina, she just-" Reis hadn't even had time to properly understand what just happened.

"It's true." Iris left him with two simple world-changing words before leaving the room in a rush. 

Reis stared at the desk full of paperwork, the paperwork he would have to manage, in shock. Iris wasn't of royal blood. This meant two things, they weren't actually siblings, and he was supposed to be King. The current Queen ascended the throne due to being older than him. And behind her, he was the second in line for the throne. So he should be the monarch.

Reis felt a bitter emotion take over him. This was all he wanted for the longest time. To have his position validated. To know that he should've been King. But he didn't feel any joy. 

What was the point? She was going to die soon. She has about 6 months left. It would have been better if the truth never got out. He could pretend she didn't know he once wished she was dead. He could pretend they would continue to get along at this delicate distance.

But the nobles wouldn't tolerate her anymore once this got out. She would stop being Queen. She would die. 

He half-heartedly picked up a few pieces of paper. He'd be busier in her absence.

-

The news spread fast. It didn't take long for people to scream that the illegitimate Queen didn't deserve the throne. Under the nobles' guidance, the country was united in their hatred for the Queen. The legitimacy of the throne being tied to bloodline is something deeply ingrained in this world. It was used as a setting to propel the plot in the original novel. Such extremity was questioned by Iris, but no one seemed to doubt it in this world.

She arrived at a large building, it looked run down and old from the outside. However, when she opened the door a luxurious, busy, and clean interior was revealed. People of all different ages and genders looked at the door as it opened. The only thing they had in common was the way they addressed Iris with complete respect.

"Your majesty." Their chorus of voices gave Iris satisfaction, she dismissed them with a wave as she headed towards one of the innermost rooms. 

In the most secluded and guarded room was a group of stern-looking people waiting for Iris. This group of people was the crowd Iris saw most of when she was outside the castle. 

After getting some standard greetings out of the way, they all immediately began discussing the most recent events and what their next plans would be. This event was large enough that some people could use it to potentially usurp Iris; it had to be delicately handled. 

As the heated discussion faded a bit, Iris put a small pile of documents on the large table.

"This is what we'll work on next. There may have been a change of plans, but we can still use this." Iris met the respectful gazes around the room. She pointed at the documents with emphasis.

"This has to be done with care. I want each target to be handled in order, and to be dealt with cleanly."

One of the more authoritative people around the table spoke up as she was skimming the documents. 

"Are such specific methods necessary? If you're just looking to gain attention, there are far more high-profile ways." She said with doubt, a few others agreeing. 

"It's necessary. We're not simply gaining attention, we need the public opinion to sway in a certain direction." Iris said succinctly. 

Some other people began asking questions and soon enough their plan was becoming fleshed out.

-

It was late in the night when Iris finished planning with everybody. However, she had much more to do. She would still be managing the castle from afar, even if her workload was lighter because of Reis. She began writing a letter addressed to Reis. She would hold to her promise of keeping in touch with him, even if she felt complicated about him. 

She wrote a simple and short letter to him, discussing only the necessities, before turning her attention elsewhere. One of her people stationed in the castle had sent her a letter with updates from within. Information was tightly controlled in the castle, so Iris had to have her own methods of gathering it. 

The letter detailed some of the nobles' movements, some of Reis's movements, as well as one piece of shocking information.

Salina had died. The poison had finally become too much for her body to handle. 

Iris immediately responded, this had to be handled correctly or it would jeopardize an important part of her plans. She instructed her subordinate to prevent the news from getting out. Thankfully at this point, only a select few servants knew, so the information would be easy to manage. 

Her final letter she wrote was directed towards Cianne. This would be an important juncture in ensuring her loyalty. 

Iris was just about to leave the room with her letters when her body was wracked with uncontrollable, painful coughs. She was doubled over, trying to suppress the noise. But it couldn't be helped, her coughs were wheezing and wet as blood covered the hand over her mouth. 

As her coughs started to lighten up, she sat down on the floor. She held her bloody hand in front of her. The poison was spreading. Aside from the obvious signs, she could feel the pain and weakness spread throughout her limbs, making it difficult to move. 

She had rushed to get this association set up because she knew that soon she wouldn't be able to endure the physical toll it required. Thankfully, most of the physical activities she needed wouldn't have to be done by her directly now. She'd probably be able to last until the ball, but this long period of physical strain with little rest had negatively impacted her body.

Iris picked herself up and slowly, painfully, began straightening herself out. She cleaned herself up and then left the room, as elegant and stalwart as ever.