When I woke up, I could finally see the sun showing through the curtains. I’d never been a fan of the dark, and my stressful situation didn’t help to calm down my old fears.

I immediately noticed the woman by my side, and felt my heart missing a beat.

- « Seti ? »

It looked like he had simply made his hair into a bun and put some dress on before coming to wake me up.

- « Almost, your highness. I am Satya, the headmaid. I should have expected you would confuse me with my twin brother. But I had no choice, as only I of all the maids know about your condition. I hope you won’t hold it against my brother for telling me. » She explained, bowing before me.

Another one who loved to say simple things in a roundabout way. Always a pleasure.

I did my best to respond in the same pompous way.

- « Do not worry, Satya. I perfectly understand why he had to tell you. Besides your family bond, having the head maid on our side will make it far easier to manage the domestic affairs of the palace. »

She politely nodded, a pleased smile on her lips.

- « Sadly, I still don’t have the slightest idea of how I used to spend my days, or anything else, actually". I decided to precise in case they hoped I’d regain my memory overnight.

Well, there was no memory in the first place, anyway. But since I had no idea of what I could and not do in this world, I had decided to trust Seti to lead me for the time being. After all, he clearly had plenty of great occasions to betray me easily ever since I told him and have me dismissed as some useless and crazy king, but he didn’t.

- «Sadly indeed, sir. For now, I will help you get dressed. Afterward, we will meet your allies in the secret study, where a reunion will be held so we can proceed further. » She explained in a brief and precise manner I liked way more than their usual stuffy speeches.

After dressing me in a red and gray suit that probably cost more than my house, or maybe ex house would be more accurate by now ? She lead me toward a wing of the palace that wasn’t as inhabited as the others.

I wondered how big exactly was this place. Immediately, I thought about the time I went to Paris in my last year of high school. We went to visit the château de Versailles and I remember being flabbergasted by the huge palace and it’s gardens. I felt a pinch in my gut realizing I would probably never get to see them again. Neither Versailles nor my own house.

I then noticed Satya was touching random parts of a column. Before I could question her behavior, a passageway opened up in the wall next to it.

- « I have to ask you to hurry, sir, before we’re seen. »

- « Of course. »We promptly entered the secret entry, and she closed it as swiftly as she opened it, and we started going down the mysterious stairs before us. While we were walking, I noticed the path was illuminated by strange lights that weren’t lighted with fire. They didn’t seem to be connected to any system either and looked almost ethereal. I wondered if those were lit up with magic.

When we reached the door that probably lead to the study, I started hearing voices softly arguing behind the walls. My « allies » I supposed, weren’t necessarily the best of friends. Satya quietly cleared her throat before announcing with a stern voice :

- « His Highness Noatùn is about to enter the room. »

The noise died down almost immediately. The maid grabbed the handle and opened the door.

The room had more space than the size of the hallway led to believe. It must have been a place of predilection for the schemers that were born in this family. Without a doubt, this body was one of them, since I could feel in my guts the familiarity of the place I was in.

When they saw me enter, all my guests got up and bowed before, except for a young woman who simply give me a polite salute. She looked like a priestess of some sort. Religion probably had a great amount of power and influence in this empire.

I immediately recognized Seti, who was standing straight, arms crossed behind his back. He seemed to be accompanying the gentleman seated next to him. On the other side of the room was doctor Goldstein, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief that looked quite expensive. To be fair, every single thing in this castle so far looked pricey as hell.

There were 3 other people with them.

The man Seti was standing right next to looked like, for a lack of better word, like a mobster. He wore approximately 5 or 6 golden rings on his fingers, flashy clothes and a huge, obviously fake grin on his face. Surely, this one was in for power and money. Well, as long as he proved himself to be useful, I didn’t care all that much.

The woman who didn’t leave her seat when I arrived was calmly looking around the room. I thought before that she looked like a priestess, but then I noticed that she was wearing some kind of Pope headset. I was pretty sure I already saw this kind of hat before on TV when they talked about the Vatican. Of course, the embroidery and design were different, but the shape looked way too similar for it to just be a fluke.

And, last but not least, the man kneeling right before me. That one was a knight, for sure. His silver and gold armor wouldn’t tell me otherwise. But more so than his imposing stature, his face perturbated me. He looked so damn sad.

Was it because he was worried about me ? Or maybe himself ?

Ever since I entered, no one had dared to spark a conversation. Anxiety was starting to rise within me. I wasn’t sure whether they were waiting for me to talk. Well, probably, but I had no idea what to say anyway.

- « ‘The heck am I getting myself into... »

Thankfully, Seti, loyal Seti was here. He left Al Capone’s side to place himself behind me. He then spoke in my name.

- « As you all have been made aware of, His Highness Nóatún awoke last night with amnesia. Sir Goldstein ? »

He immediately rose from his chair. He then spoke out nervously :

- « Yes, yes indeed. Every single doctor and alchemist of the imperial palace has been reunited to find a cause for his amnesia. But not a single illness has been found within the emperor. Weirder even, his lungs seem to have gotten stronger all of the sudden... »

His last comment struck me as very important.

« His lungs...Got better ? So my soul entered this body, and it got fixed ? I mean, I was a pretty healthy dude back there, But if I understood correctly, body and soul are like two separate entities or something…I don’t get it. Shit’s getting weirder by the minute. »

When I focused back on the conversation, I heard the knight’s rough voice. He had gotten up and was facing the rest of the group.

- « Due to all those elements, we now think the Emperor was cursed by a warlock sent by the enemy. The secret forces have already been deployed to investigate thoroughly the county. We will find the culprit at all costs, and send his and his coven’s heads to the kingdom. We can not afford to let them think we have been weakened ! »

The harshness of his word contrasted so much with the sadness I saw on his face just moments ago... To my surprise, everyone in the room nodded passionately. Pope and kind doctor included.

« Not a soft bunch, huh ? » I tried to joke to myself. Of course, I couldn’t bring myself to actually smile. It would’ve been awkward, in any case.

The young woman in white spoke for the first time with a clear and stern voice.

- «Albeit I have to agree with the punishment you have decided, I cannot help but think we should keep things low for now. If the kingdom’s inhabitants spread the story to the empire’s it might cause useless ruckus within the country... »

The rich-looking guy intervened right after.

- « Miss Gerda, I understand why it could be a problem to have plebeians panicking, But we can’t keep low with this enemy ! We have to show them have much they should fear us ! I know the church isn’t the fondest of violence, but you’ve accepted to join the emperor’s crusade toward glory. Our Emperor himself said many times we shouldn’t let popular movements impact our decisions too much. »

- « If the « plebeians » hear of this, so will the nobles, Sir Bolthorn. That is where lies the problem. And although our church does not encourage violence, we know that sometimes, fire will be brought down by a greater blaze. » She responded seemingly without a hint of irritation. But deep down, I felt those two weren’t on the best terms.

Seti spoke out before things could get any worse.

- « Lady Gerda, Lord Bolthorn, Sir Tyr. With all due respect, the reason why I brought all of you here was not for you to elaborate on a strategy in front of the emperor. He turned toward me. « Your highness, things may seem slightly long for you right now, please excuse us for all of this. »

I thought for a second about my phrasing before responding.

- « Do not worry. If I understood correctly, the people in this room kno-...Are to be aware...In case the emperor loses his memory ? »

- « Indeed, my Lord. The exact reason why these were brought before you is to swear allegiance once again. It is how the protocol was made. »

I looked at them once more. The guy with a big mouth was a noble, for sure. Probably an important one. The woman was obviously a Pope, from their conversation. And the knight was the one leading the imperial army….My army. Nobility, clergy, and the army. No commoners, of course. From what I could understand, neither Friedrick nor the Bolthorn guy were fond of these. 

I realized I was just standing there watching them. I decided to ask any question, even a stupid one, to break the silence. 

«They wouldn’t dare mock me, anyway. »

- « Is there a reason why you of all people are allowed to know about such a personal problem of mine ?

I was expecting them to explain to me that it’s some kind of rule in this country or something, but to my surprise, it provoked some kind of reaction within the group. Some of them seemed agitated. I saw the knight’s face darken. Soon, he had the same depressed expression he had back when I arrived.

As usual, Seti spoke for the group.

- « Well, your highness, we do not wish to overwhelm you with too many pieces of information…. »

- « Then put it simply, Seti. » I wanted to know more.

My butler took a big inspiration before starting his sentence. Everybody in the room was staring right at us, a grave look on their faces.

- « Very well. » He closed his eyes. « My Lord, these are the people who helped you overthrow your father. »