To depose… or dispose?

Lady Lyvia put the document down with a sigh and stared out the window into the mists.

Well… ultimately it just confirmed what her own research had found, and yet seeing it laid out with the official seal of the Steel Ministry made it somehow more real… more final…

Eighth! Eighth in line to inherit control of House Donnelle after Tanniker. When by rights she should already be in control! Together! They were supposed to be partners, how was he so blind to what she was capable of? Why was he so stubborn? So stupid?! How could she have misjudged him so badly…

Lyvia closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. It was important to stay calm. It was no good falling into the trap of dwelling on what could have been or wallowing in regret. She had raged at Tanniker's infidelity, and second guessed every decision that led to them being together. But falling back into that mental cycle of the same angry thoughts wasn't going to help anything. The past couldn't be changed and the situation was what it was. Better to focus on the future.

One thing she had decided the future was not going to hold was her continuing to live in Tanniker's shadow while he slowly squandered the house fortune through his ineptitude. She was still considering how he was to be disposed of. Deposed of, she supposed. Part of her itched to just murder him in his sleep, but as satisfying as that may be, it would be needlessly direct. Besides, there might yet be uses for him still alive, so long as he were properly neutralized.

That was what the Steel Ministry documentation was for. One never made a move without knowing what effect it would have on the game. The Donnelle genealogy and line of succession mapped out the official rules for who was the heir to the house title and in what order. It would be easy to think of it as the board on which the game of power and inheritance would play out.

Easy but wrong. There was so much else that could come into play, so many other paths to victory than the demise of the seven heirs that stood ahead of her.

Lyvia leaned back over the pages, covered in her own neatly handwritten notes, the more potentially damning or incriminating thoughts carefully encoded. Even her handwriting wasn't her normal style. In the event the document was discovered, and there really was no reason it should, it would be all but impossible to prove a connection back to her.

The document contained little new information, especially about those members of the extended family who were still living. On one hand, this was good news; no hitherto unknown scions or branches of the tree to stand as extra steps along the path. On the other hand, neither has it revealed any new opportunities or avenues of attack at the problem.

Lyvia shook her head. She was keenly motivated and exceedingly capable, and even she was balking at the idea of somehow disposing of seven people ahead of her. Anyone further down the line of succession would have to be crazy or stupid to have aim on House Donnelle. Still, it's not like stupidity or insanity was in short supply.

There was an obvious path for someone with few enough scruples to pursue it. Murder, assassination, carefully arranged accidents… The more obvious the foul play, the more the finger of evidence would point at her. Even if fall guys and patsies could be found to take the blame, even if deaths were made to look like accidents, the sheer number needed would itself be suspicious.

What then were the alternatives? Faking deaths was a more merciful option than actual death, but would not help with public perception of the matter. Exile was little better, but muddied the waters regarding inheritance if there was a possibility they might return.

There were other disqualifying factors that could prevent someone from inheriting the House Title. Imprisonment, if for a suitably serious charge, would make one ineligible to hold noble title. Though it may be a narrow path to thread. It would need to be a serious enough crime without being so egregious as to warrant execution instead. Everyone involved was a Noble, which would grant them some leniency. (The legal system would never take the trouble of life imprisonment for a Skaa when execution was so much simpler.)

Insanity had, in the past, exempted nobles from being trusted with the power of their House. So long as it was sufficiently pronounced. There was no formal process, it was just quietly understood by everyone that for the benefit of the House, the next in line would take control. That did make this a political move as well… If too many prominent house members objected, it wouldn't happen. Lyvia pondered for a moment if it would be easier to fake a case of insanity in someone well enough to pull off such a thing, or to actually drive someone crazy. Neither sounded particularly neat, but sometimes a messy plan was acceptable so long as it was successful.

Lyvia closed her eyes again and pinched the bridge of her nose. It was so easy to get wrapped up in finding solutions to problems that one could forget that these weren't just obstacles or targets, these were people. People who, for the most part, had done her no wrong, and almost certainly didn't deserve to be killed, imprisoned or exiled. Was she really considering leaving someone alive but driving them insane a "merciful" option? Did even Tanniker deserve that fate?

She'd rather just kill him. But best not be too hasty.