Mercy

Meanwhile in a far off island located closer to the Red Line, there existed the Mercy Kingdom.

In a finely decorated castle was a weary looking man who sat on the throne adorned in luxurious clothes and jewellery including a crown on his head.

A large goblet of red wine was held in his hand and there was a young lady standing next to him.

They both had similar features which showed their familial relationship and among them the most noticeable was their golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

The young lady was a little shorter in size but looked much more imposing than the man sitting on the throne who was taller than her.

King Frederic Mercy VII was someone who gained the throne through betrayal and murder of his competent brother.

His brother who was the previous king shown mercy on his own bloodline who was weaker in both body and spirit despite their being a risk in doing so.

In accordance with most royal bloodlines succession rights and procedures, it was a normal case for other royal bloodlines to be removed before or after taking the throne since it prevented any chances of others trying to push them to the throne.

Even if a royal bloodline possessor did not agree to take the throne for themselves, so many others would still invest in them in the hopes of pushing them to the throne helping them to gain a puppet king or a king who would remember their great contribution.

In other times there were cases where the wrong king inherited the throne and became a tyrant so everyone in the kingdom would push for another valid person to dethrone them and take over.

The king ignored such normal procedures since he cared for his brother and he believed that his brother was most unsuitable to be in a place of power.

He would have been happy if his brother could find his own path in life.

He would have never expected that his brother had an inferiority complex and was deeply jealous of him to the point that he could be manipulated into killing him.

He never thought his weak minded and weak bodied brother was capable of such a feat yet it was too late when he was stabbed in the back.

His own queen was stolen along with the throne by his brother and a child was born from the current king and the queen.

The queen passed away during childbirth producing the sole heir to the Mercy Kingdom.

The main issue started to come up later once the king started further neglecting his responsibilities and pushed matters onto others.

The times when he did have a voice over matters was when he made unreasonable demands like a tyrant.

As the sole heir was growing up, his relationship with his child became increasingly complicated.

His daughter was born more than a year after the death of his brother so there was no doubt that she was of his own blood but there was one major factor that made him distance himself from her.

HIs daughter possessed many qualities similar to the brother he killed to the point that he saw his brother in her.

Even at a young age she had already shown excellent qualities of a ruler similar to how his brother was during his youth.

His inferiority complex remained even after his brother was killed at his hands but it was passed on to his own daughter.

He constantly put off the succession to the throne and naming a crown princess for that reason but another reason remained hidden.

Those that had supported him in the shadows had already helped him enough to secure the throne and take control over the Mercy Kingdom allowing them to use it how they saw fit.

They were not ordinary people who could be messed with even for a king like him especially since he had already joined hands with them.

It had already been agreed upon that he would produce a child with a woman of their choosing and that child would become the next heir.

They would hold onto and hide the child until the most opportune time for them to be revealed to be pushed onto the throne.

Holding the child would allow them to mould them into whatever they wanted which would allow for their forces to keep control over the Mercy Kingdom.

It had been a couple of years since his child returned to him and his other daughter had been believed to be dead so it was almost time for him to hand over the throne.

Whatever improvements had been made to the Mercy Kingdom had fallen apart once more.

Without anyone wise and with a strong hand to govern over the kingdom, it started to deteriorate piece by piece.

Below the throne was a cleanly dressed man with several battle scars on his body who was kneeling down. "Your majesty. Please give the order! We must take action! If we do nothing then there will be nothing left!"

The king looked down coldly as he listened to the input from his daughter who told him a couple of things. 'Oh.. another one of those fools who do not know who is their king. Will the ghosts of the past ever lose their grip over the living?'

A cynical smile appeared on his face and he waved his hand. "This is not the first time you have come making such a request Duke Spot. It seems that you doubt this king's wisdom?"

Duke Spot grit his teeth and bowed his head lower. 'This idiot.. no maybe I am the idiot for trying to talk reason from him.'

He spoke again. "Your majesty. Mercy Kingdom is bleeding out. If nothing is done then.."

King Mercy looked down coldly before raising his hand. "The Dukes family has served the royal family for generations remaining loyal so I have overlooked your past transgressions but no longer. Guards! Send him to the dungeon!"

As the Duke was being dragged away kicking and screaming, King Frederic Mercy turned to his daughter with a doting smile. "Now we no longer need to listen to those fools who follow around your sister's ghost."

The daughter stood elegantly listening to her father doting upon her as she thought to herself. 'Just as planned. The biggest obstacle can now be destroyed. There should be nobody left after they are all purged that will ever remember her.'