Regicide, Part 3
Rebecca walked up to the King, and sneered at him. The old man looked as if a stiff breeze would do him in, but the fact he said he'd been waiting eighty years for this made her talkative.
"What do you mean by that?" Rebecca asked, motioning for Kate to keep watch while she questioned him.
"I failed. We failed." The King said, his face sad as he looked at Rebecca. "I never realized how many enemies Reggie had. I should have been more careful."
"You will refer him as Duke Reginald, old man!" Rebecca shouted, snapping her fingers. Vines burst from the floor and restrained the King in his chair. "Now, continue."
"Nothing else to say. I failed. Go on, then." The King said. "I bet you have a grand vision on how you'll do things differently as the Queen of Whitemire."
"Nonsense. Whitemire will end with you. When I pick up the pieces of what remains in a few months, it'll be an Empire, risen from the cold ashes of the Rozen Republica." Rebecca answered, dusting her hands.
"Hmph. Wish I could be there to see it." The King said with a smirk.
"Fret not, your death will usher in an era of untold peace in Southern Karand. Now die." Rebecca said.
The vines squeezed him tightly, the pressure growing until he simply burst under the pressure, spraying the area with blood. Rebecca huffed, and turned to face Kate.
"You're probably wondering why I made sure Victoria wasn't present."
"I was, yeah. Why's that?" Kate asked.
"Because they might have recognized each other. There was a chance Victoria might have found for a brief moment her honour and prevented me from killing him."
"She knew him?" Kate asked.
"You forget who she is, because of her mental state. She's still a Valorian, once the most powerful crime family in Southern Karand until we put them all to the sword." Rebecca said, as she perused the King's writing desk. "She's the insane daughter, the one they tried to lock away. She even told me as such."
"What of it?" Kate asked, looking around the room herself.
"What if she realized this worthless sack of meat I just executed was her actual father?" Rebecca asked, as she found a letter. "Oh, this one is addressed to me, well that's interesting."
"Fuck off, really?" Kate asked, incredulous.
"They were planning something genius that I'm going to simply make illegal in the Empire." Rebecca said, beginning to read the letter. "They were going to install Victoria as a puppet ruler once the King died, saying she was kept hidden for her protection. The things we discovered in the Valorian family archives surprised even Victoria, I'll admit."
"So what's in that letter?" Kate asked, pocketing some of the jewellery scattered around the room.
"It's twofold. A last will and testament, as well as a personal apology to the Ashe family." Rebecca said, continuing to read. "A pointless sentiment as I'm the last living member, but at least he admits his failures, something I appreciate."