Only God
Chapter 269 - 231: The Death of the King

Chapter 269: Chapter 231: The Death of the King

His Majesty the King is dead.

The event occurred suddenly; many people do not know exactly when or how His Majesty died—whether it was from sickness or murder. But he is indeed dead.

The King’s death, in and of itself, is not such an event of great concern in the Kingdom.

This is because the real power in the Kingdom is not held by the King, but by his mother, Queen Isis.

Thus, few cared about the King’s death; their concern was only the disruption his death brought to the Kingdom, which caused panic.

In the palace filled with burning spices, murals, and columns carved with intricate patterns, the nobles and ministers stood before the throne, looking up at the woman standing beside the throne.

"The King has passed away."

Beneath the glow of the lamps, Queen Isis’s face was pale,

"My only son is dead. He did not even leave a son before he died."

Queen Isis murmured distantly.

The ministers standing closer to the Queen, hearing such words, already anticipated this, but they could not help showing a look of astonishment and their hands trembled.

What does the King having no son imply?

It implies that the throne will be left vacant.

Decades ago, when the previous king passed away, Queen Isis seized great power. When His Majesty took the throne, she acted swiftly to eliminate threats to her rule.

This included not only ministers favored by the previous king but also those royals related directly or indirectly to him.

For the former, Queen Isis maintained a hint of mercy, such as reusing ministers including Ibia after she completely secured control over the Kingdom.

For the latter, those who could directly threaten the throne, Queen Isis often acted ruthlessly, even to the extent of tearing apart the dignity of the Royal Family.

House arrest, arrests, public trials, public executions... and countless secretive, disgraceful murders, frame-ups, poisonings.

It can be said that at that time, to solidify her son’s and her own regency, Queen Isis utilized all her cunning.

But now, the consequences have come.

Throughout the Royal City, Queen Isis could not find any Royal Family member she could directly control.

A gloomy atmosphere permeated the Palace.

The noble ministers kept their mouths tightly shut, not daring to speak, waiting for the Queen to give further instructions.

...

Ultimately, even as the ministers dispersed from the palace, Queen Isis had given no instructions regarding the Kingdom’s throne.

She had only instructed the ministers to discuss the King’s funeral and other matters besides the throne following his death.

Did ministers like Ibia sense something?

Could it be Queen Isis...?

A chilling speculation gradually emerged in their minds.

They could not imagine a woman being crowned in the long carpet, holding the Kingdom’s scepter, receiving Kagawus’s blessings.

Such a thing had never happened in the history of Ajia Kingdom.

Thus, initially, the ministers considered this speculation just a bizarre and terrifying thought.

However, as the dead King was buried in the Brass Tomb, and after sixty days of mourning for the Kingdom passed, Queen Isis gradually began to take over ceremonial duties.

Previously, these ceremonial duties were generally handled by His Majesty himself, one of the few occasions when people recognized him as their King.

But that had changed now, Queen Isis began to replace the King in offering sacrifices to Kagawus, offering tributes belonging to the entire Royal Family.

And after the King’s funeral and mourning period, Queen Isis did not hasten to allow the ministers to discuss the next King’s candidacy.

It is not unusual for there to be no suitable Royal Family member for the throne in the history of Ajia Kingdom, but to not discuss a new King’s success has almost never happened.

As the throne remained vacant, a sense of panic spread throughout the entire Kingdom of Ajia.

The city-states outside the Royal City of Ajia began to stir.

In this era, even the highly advanced Kingdom of Ajia had very limited control over the major city-states.

City-states had their own garrisons and some degree of autonomy, maintaining only a thin connection with the Royal City beyond taxes and sacrificial matters.

As a long-serving Prime Minister, Ibia realized that if a woman ascends the throne uncontrolled, the major city-states would no longer submit to the Royal City’s control, stop paying taxes, and no longer obey the Palace, possibly even establishing their own separate kingdoms.

By then, the entire dynasty would collapse.

Besides Ibia, other ministers and nobles also realized this.

Thus, they collectively sought an audience with Queen Isis, requesting that she discusses with them a new successor to the throne.

Below the steps of the throne, Minister Ibia raised his face and saw Queen Isis’s slightly pale face.

He was shocked to find that Queen Isis, once so glorious, had now grown old.

And she looked, despite being older than him, even more fragile.

"Are you choosing a new king?"

"My son has been dead for less than a year, and you want to surrender his throne already?"

Queen Isis asked in a deep voice, her tone tinged with anger.

Minister Ibia suppressed his fear and looked directly at the queen.

"The land of Ajia cannot be without a king, Your Highness, and the one on the throne must be a member of the royal family."

In the past, he would not have dared to do or say such things.

But now was different.

The king had died, and even the once stable rule of Queen Isis had begun to falter.

Queen Isis paused, a cold sneer escaping her lips.

As she opened her mouth to speak, she was seized by a fit of coughing.

Suddenly, the ministers fell silent, and only the coughing of Queen Isis echoed throughout the palace.

Minister Ibia looked at the queen’s aged face, hearing the almost lung-expelling sounds, and asked in astonishment,

"Your Highness... are you ill?"

That question, like a stone breaking the calm of water, instantly stirred up countless ripples.

The ministers all looked up, their expressions a mix of panic and disbelief as they gazed at Queen Isis.

"Yes..."

Queen Isis said with a hoarse voice,

"Do you think I am unaware of what you are thinking? You are thinking that a woman is seizing the throne from her deceased son."

Before her words had even finished, a mocking cold laugh emitted from beside the throne.

The ministers’ faces quickly drained of color, and they all bowed their heads, not daring to meet the queen’s eyes.

After a long while,

"Discuss, decide. You find me the next king, I will acknowledge him, and let him sit in this place."

Having said this, Queen Isis raised her hand and two maids approached from a distance, supporting the shoulders of the queen and leading the ruler of the kingdom back into the shadowy confines of her chambers.

Above the palace, after an awkward exchange of looks, the ministers gathered together, centering around their respective leaders, to discuss the candidate for the next king.

Although Queen Isis had persecuted countless royal family members to death, some still lingered, barely surviving in other city-states.

Instead of waiting for those city-states to voluntarily offer up a royal member, it was better for the ministers to opportunistically discuss a king who would be easy to control and meet all parties’ interests.

Apart from Queen Isis, no one truly cared about the death of the king.

... ... ... ...

The administrative achievements of Queen Isis over the entire kingdom were clearly evident.

Her son, the deceased king, had no interest in ruling; he was instead engrossed in poetry, concubines, theater, murals, and other matters unrelated to his royal duties.

It had always been Queen Isis who managed the kingdom’s affairs.

She had been involved in the struggle for gemstones, had faced invasions by King Chenfeng and the "tyrant," summoning all the heroes of Ajia Land; besides these, Queen Isis had also issued new codes, established a series of laws binding nobles and slaves alike, and recognized the private property of slaves, granting them certain freedoms.

Even if all this was to secure her own rule, there was no doubt that her many accomplishments had benefited the entire kingdom greatly.

If one were to say she were a man, a man who could sit on the throne and wear the crown,

Then she would be remembered in history books as one of the wise monarchs.

Unfortunately, for such a queen, history would more likely record her venomous heart, her ruthless methods, and her brutal rule during the early years.

After the death of her only son, the king, Queen Isis became exhausted, her body weakening day by day, often lying on her bed for long hours or standing in front of murals, lost in thought.

She had thought about sitting on the throne, wearing the crown of this kingdom.

But... as a mother’s pity for her son forbade her from seizing her son’s rightful throne.

Back in her chamber, Queen Isis looked at the statue of Kagawus in the garden, pushed away the two maids, and knelt before the statue of the creator of the Three-eyed Ape People, pleading for a last mercy.

"Kagawus, the mysterious Prophecy, in the Netherworld... what is waiting for me exactly?"

Facing the statue of Kagawus, Queen Isis asked with an inquiring tone.

As the son of Prophecy, Antion had brought Divine Revelation from the Netherworld to the priests of Ajia Land years ago.

And the existence of the Netherworld had spread across the known world in just a few years.

In front of Queen Isis,

The statue of Kagawus stood quietly, immobile.

This cold stone sculpture seemed to represent the Gods, scrutinizing the soul that was soon to face death.