Ill Intentions!

"Commoner's court? But wouldn't going there representing my father will confuse the commoners? It may create a misunderstanding?" he frowned at once and shook his head.

His father had already blamed him for his ill intentions. If he would go representing him, he would be accused later.

Leonora knew what he was afraid of. But she only smiled slyly.

"You are being too narrow minded, your highness. I am sure there are many who need your help. You can not let all of them down because of your fears!" she pressed, looking hurt. 

Thalric shifted, looking uneasy as if he could already imagine his pleas. Leonora hid a smirk. It was so easy to manipulate this young boy but this was the only reason she did not want to take this job. She did not want to manipulate him.

"How about we inform them that it is postponed then?" His voice held a hint of uncertainty and Nora knew she could not force much. So she grabbed what was offered to her.

"Alright, then we should hurry. If there is an emergency, I will convey the message to his majesty personally." Once assured, Thalric felt much better. Though his eyes were still gloomy as he walked to the commoner court, he had a reason.

He was only informing the waiting petitioners to return so that they did not waste their time. That was it!

But once he reached the stage, he was overwhelmed by looking at the waiting subjects. There were hundreds of them. He had been here in the past, but he had never seen such a large crowd. As if the whole village had swarmed here. The two lower noblemen from the justice department were having a hard time handling the crowd.

When they looked at Thalric, their eyes filled with relief as if they had found their messiah. They ran to him But suddenly, they paused. As if the events of last night filled their minds. They did not know if they should approach him or not.

Thalric felt their uneasiness. His hands slightly tremble. But he was not to show weakness. 

"Your highness" they bowed uneasily. He looked behind them as the crowd started looking at him stunned for a second. But then they all started shouting at once. 

"Your majesty! Your majesty! Cheer to the new emperor!"

"We greet the seventy fifth emperor of the empire." no one knew who started it. But the cheers filled the whole hall leaving the two noblemen stunned.

Their eyes widened with shock and their faces turned ashen. If his majesty were to hear of this, would he let it go?

They glared at Thalric as if it was his mistake! Why did he have to come here?

But they ran to handle the situation first. But their voices were drowned out by the large cheers from the crowd. No matter how much they shouted and scolded the crowd, no one listened to them. They all looked at Thalric with tears in their eyes.

"Your majesty!" 

"Your majesty." The voices made Thalric uncomfortable. He stood rooted at his position. That position, that title, that greetings should have belonged to him. But it was stripped away because of Ethan. Still he did not blame him. Ethan had suffered more. It was only natural that his father leaned toward him. He told himself and pushed those thoughts away.

"I have told you we should not have come here." His voice was full of resentment. It was so low that it drowned in their cheers immediately but Nora heard it clearly.

She lowered her head. Not out of embarrassment but to hide her guilt. And behind that guilt was a sly smirk.

"How could I know that they have misunderstood? Last night, the ceremony was not completed so the commoners were not informed. I do not know who spread the rumor." Thalric's hands clenched into a fist. His face was so dark and gloomy that the whole atmosphere thickened.

"I will handle it." She spoke abruptly and went to address the crowd. "Please raise your hand and silence them so that i can explain it to them." but… wouldn't raising hand meant that he had accepted those greetings?

He was stunned for a moment. What did Leonora want? But looking at her struggling in the crowd, he shook his head. It must be, she wanted to explain them but even she could not handle an agitated crowd alone.

But Thalric felt conflicted. If he raised his hand now… looking at Nora struggling to silent them made him further agitated. 

In the end, he raised his hand and signaled the crowd to be silent. Everyone smiled and bowed their heads. Silence filled the room.

Nora looked at him gratefully. And then turned to handle the crowd.

"We are overwhelmed by your greetings. But they came early. His majesty had still not passed his crown to the first prince. Until the ceremony is completed, your words could be misunderstood. So please refrain from using it. We are here to help you with your ailments and listen to your petitions. We hope you understand our situation and.." 

"Clap! Clap! Clap!" The loud clapping stunned everyone. Even the two noblemen looked confused when she saw a young man entering the room with a scornful look on his face.

It took them a second to recognize who he was! And it made them even more stunned. 

What was Prince Ethan doing here? Was he not kept in the central palace for investigation? Did he even have the right to come here? But this was messy! Now they did not know how to handle the situation anymore. They looked at each other uneasily.

But Ethan did not pay any attention to them from the start to the end as if they did not exist.

"What an act, I am moved, Thalric." The voice was full of hostility. It stunned the crowd. They had never believed that one could insult the only prince in the empire. They all watched Ethan with hatred.