Author"s Note: Last chapter I had an error in the t.i.tle. It should be "Maternal Family", so sorry about that. And I would like to point a change, general McGregor will now be the queen"s "Maternal Uncle" instead of grandfather.
***
(3rd Person POV)
At general McGregor"s estate before day break, everyone was in disarray. It was still dawn and the sky was still dark. The staff and maids of the estate were busy moving things inside the carraiges.
"Come on, pick up the pace you d.a.m.n seevants!" General McGregor scolded.
Two of the male servants are seen carrying a heavy chest.
"Be careful with that. The contents of that chest are precious. Not even your lives can pay for it if you damage them." The general glared at the two servants.
"Dear, what is happening." The wife of the general asked. "Why are we leaving the capital in a hurry?"
"What I am doing now is to save our lives." General McGregor replied. He was wearing a bitter face.
"Did something happened to our business?" The wife asked. "Did the king caught wind of our illegal business?"
"It"s because of that brat crown prince of Grandcrest, Regaleon. He knew that I was the one that ordered the a.s.sasination towards his fiancee, princess Alicia." General McGregor said. "His information network is really something. To think that he knew right away that I was behind all of this. And it was because of my stupid niece, Erica!"
General McGregor punched the wooden table by his side. The table broke into pieces. All of the staff that were busy stopped in their tracks in fear.
"What the h.e.l.l are you all staring at?!" General McGregor roared. "Finish loading all the things here. We need to get out of the capital before sun rise!"
The staffs snapped back and continued their work.
"Don"t talk bad about your niece. She is still the queen." The wife scolded.
"Hmph. Have you not heard of what happened inside the palace?" The general asked.
The wife just looked at him confused. It is because the news regarding the queen"s house arrest was not spread to the public. Erica was still legally the queen in name by marriage, and just by knowing that the queen is being detained under suspicion can turn the country into chaos. It was better to put the news out in the open after the investigation is done and the queen is proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
"The queen has lost favor from the king. She is now on house arrest because of the crimes of killing the king"s concubine and harming the third princess." The general said with gritted teeth.
"What?!" The wife yelled in surprise. "But those things, you helped the queen in doing those crimes."
The general nodded. He was lucky that the left minister Stanley caught news of this and told him right away. That is why he was now departing the capital, to escape persecution.
"Then we must make haste." The wife said. "Have you informed our son? Fortunately, he is out of the country. We need to tell him not to come back because of this incident."
"I have already sent someone to inform our son of the situation." General McGregor said.
"What is your plan in our escape?" The wife asked. She was now grasping the gravity of the situation they are in right now.
"We will take the south gate to exit the capital. That parts of the capital are the slums, the won"t expect us to use that road out of the capital." The general explained. "Also, my soldiers will be escorting us all the way. They are my men loyal only to me. They are best of the best in combat and warfare. They can be on equal footing with the royal knights, maybe even better."
The wife sighed in relief. She knows that her husband is capable in this particular area of expertise. He was also a war veteran in the last war and his men were beyond capable in fighting.
"Prepare anything what you only need. We should travel light as much as possible. Our treasures will be travled on a different route. Our son would be the one to get them at the planned location." The general said.
His wife nodded in agreement and quickly walked away to prepare.
"If you just listened to us Robert, then our family should have been the one sitting on the throne today." General McGregor clenched his fist hard.
***
At the palace, the first and second platoon of the ropyal knights are a.s.sembling by the king"s order. General Robert was briefed with the situation at hand.
"We are here to take your orders, general Robert sir!" The first and second platoon"s captains gave a salute in front of general Robert.
General Robert nodded his head. "At ease." He looked at the knights in front of him. "We are ordered to arrest general McGregor with the crime of treason and murder. As you know, he handles the west army of our country. The men under him are one of the best."
"General Robert sir. Will we be engaging into battle against the west army"s men?" The first platoon"s captain asked.
"I am saddened to just think that we may be engaging in battle with our own country men. But with general McGregor"s crimes, it is our job to arrest and detain him." General Robert had a sad expression on his face. "But we need to be ready if they attack us. Never let your guard down at any cost. Understood?!" He yelled.
"Sir, yes sir!" The knights replied in unison.
"We will be departing in ten minutes. Gather at the palace"s gate by then. Dismissed." General Robert ordered.
The knights then dispersed. General Robert heaved a deep sigh.
General McGregor was his brother in law and friends in arms in the last war. He never imagined that he would be the one to arrest him in the end.
"General Robert." A male"s voice called out. The general turned around to see prince Regaleon walking towards him, with his personal aide Dimitri by his side.
"Greetings, your highness." General Robert greeted.
"No need to be formal." Regaleon waved his hand. "You are the one tasked to arrest your brother in law?" He asked.
"Yes." Robert nodded.
"Such irony." Regaleon smirked. "Your wife"s family is very ambitious. If you have just played the part they wanted, you should have been king, ruling Alvannia today." Regaleon said with such arrogance.
General Robert smiled awkwardly. "How did this brat know such information?" He thought. But he remembered that this prince"s information network gathers information pretty well. If he wants to know something, then even the deepest darkest secrets might be exposed.
"I have never even once thought of taking the throne. That is why I have turned down my in laws" plans after the war." General Robert said with sincerity.
General Robert didn"t know that his brother in law was still seeking more power and tried to covet the throne of Alvannia to this day.
Regaleon gauged general Robert thru his words and then smiled.
"That"s a pity." Regaleon exclaimed. "I am sure you would have been a better king if you have taken the throne that time. Pity that you have such loyalty to the royal family of Alvannia."
"My loyalty is not with the royal family of Alvannia but to it"s people." General Robert said. "At that time, the war just ended. And if my in laws pushed thru their plans of a coup de ta, then our country would have been devastated. We could not have gotten the country back up to it"s current glory today."
Regaleon sighed. "That is why I said it was such a pity. But I belive your successor will make use of your ideology as well. I am looking forward to the future of Alvannia."
General Robert was taken aback. Yes, his successor that he has groomed since childhood, the crown prince of Alvannia prince Richard. He was sure that his grandson would be a fine young king in the future.
"By the way, my black dargon army"s first platoon would lend a hand. You might need it." Regaleon smirked. "Dimitri, you know what to do. I would be in my fiancee"s courtyard, if you need anything."
After that, Regaleon walked away leaving Dimitri behind.
"General, I would be coming with you as prince Regaleon had ordered." Dimitri bowed his head and general Robert nodded.
"Having the prince"s personally trained army would be a huge help. My eastern army is in the outskirts as of now and cannot come on time to help me." General Rober thought.