The Royal Revenge
Chapter 124: Playing Chess

Chapter 124: Playing Chess

"Henry, please pass these gentlemen and ladies within the room a copy of what I wrote last night," the young vampire king instructed, a cunning look sparkling in his eyes.

His attendant handed over scrolls after scrolls of a copy of the list of new officials within the palace.

Archduke Keane took the piece of paper in his hands reluctantly. He wasn’t particularly surprised with Aleksander’s move. But if he was to be honest, the Archduke did worry if he would still have the same powers he had once with the changes the young king did.

"Let me just mention a few of those my wife and I personally picked," Aleksander said as he perused his original copy, "Archduke Keane, you will keep your place as Minister of Trade, with the addition of Marquis Lanz working under you."

The Archduke heaved a sigh of relief. He wasn’t even able to read all of the scribbles on his copy. After hearing good news from the young king, the Archduke adjusted his monocles and began reading for himself.

Marquis Lanz on the other hand bowed down.

He used to work with a lesser office, but somehow, King Aleksander raised him with Trades. The vampire smirked – it seemed like the choice to side with the bastard prince turned out to be beneficial to his status.

Working with the Archduke will surely keep him in touch with everything happening with the whole kingdom’s wealth.

"Ah, yes, Marquis Lanz, actually I changed my mind. You won’t be working with the Trades Division," the young king said, his tone almost meant as a joke.

The Marquis’ eyes widened with sudden apprehension, "Your majesty?"

Aleksander’s eyes smiled at the vampire, amused that the young man was on his tiptoes with uneasiness. He was right to think playing mind games with the most inexperienced High Court official was going to be advantageous – if not fun at all.

"I appoint you as High Secretary, Marquis Lanz, you will work under me from now on regarding official documents," Aleksander said, intertwining his fingers together as he leaned back on his chair.

Marquis Lanz’s jaw dropped.

He couldn’t believe that he was being raised to such an important rank. Compared to the other palace officials, he was perhaps the most inexperienced.

"I will not bring shame on your name, King Aleksander," the vampire bowed down, "you can count on me!"

Elys turned to her husband. His expression was like that of a boy relishing at the toy soldiers he laid out in front of him, arranging them accordingly to his preferred battle plan.

"You look like a little kid with a sugar rush, my king," Elys whispered in his ears, "Is this what you meant last night?"

Her husband reached for her hand without even looking at her. He squeezed her hand gently as if he wanted to convey something to her but was too busy to lean over and whisper it himself.

Elys noted he was getting bolder with showing her affection she already told him off about. But for the sake of appearances, she decided to just let him do as he pleased in front of the other vampires.

Aleksander glanced through the corners of his silver eyes, and then slowly winked at his queen. Elys’ question wasn’t answered, but somehow, she found it amusing that Aleksander was slowly showcasing what he was capable of.

"Go on, husband," Elys whispered in response, "I will talk to you later, in private."

Aleksander chuckled as he noticed his wife’s tone. She really didn’t like being kept in the dark about his ’plan’. The young vampire wasn’t even halfway through with it yet.

He was just beginning to lay down some things and putting the right people in their places before he took the next and more vital step - like playing a game of chess.

The murmurs of the palace officials were becoming animated, rowdy even, to the point the young king was starting to get irritated. He calmed himself down, making sure he wasn’t going to sabotage his image to those he wanted on his side.

The young king clinked his empty goblet, trying to get the attention of the High Vampire Court. After several seconds of continuous clinking, the voices died down to a bearable volume and Aleksander immediately took his chance to continue.

"We all know that my father’s way of ruling had been quite erratic and, should I dare say, crazy," he started, "This new system I present to you all tonight was devised after deciding who was more fit for the job and not with just random shitty decisions."

"Is he joking?" someone whispered.

"I hope not," another replied.

"Your majesty, the ladies in waiting you chose for the Queen..." a lady questioned, "Weren’t these the same ladies you dismissed?"

Elys took this question as her time to speak up, "We decided to give the ladies a chance. It was not their fault that the Lady Catalina had tried to kill his majesty and I."

The woman bit her lips and just nodded. In fact, her sister was actually one of the ladies that were chosen as the queen’s ladies in waiting. She was a bit concerned, but at the same time light-headed and confused with her mixed emotions.

’Azalea will be just as shocked with this news,’ she thought. ’I wonder if this declaration is already disseminated to the whole kingdom?’

The paper crumpled in her hands and the woman slowly inched towards the exit to excuse herself. She already read all the names that have been written. A lot of them were new while a handful of the officials were those that had been known to oppose the previous monarch.

’King Aleksander seems to know what he is doing despite his lack of political participation,’ the woman thought as she hurried out of the palace.

"Lady Gizem," someone called her.

The vampire turned around and saw a familiar face. She tucked the paper behind her and greeted the man, "Sir Wiriam..."