[h1][center][color=gold]Regent King Adrian de Hiertania[/color][/center][/h1]

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Even from the doorway, Adrian could clearly see the unbridled fury his brother was quite literally shaking with. Nobody else in the castle dared to aggravate the king, as his temper had only gotten worse as his sickness did, but Adrian refused to let Adhemar’s childish tantrums continue without reproach. So with his usual swagger, he approached the foot of his brother’s bed. The room was dimly lit, as if to try and hide the king’s declining health from onlookers. Not that it helped much, as there was no concealing the unnatural pallor his skin had taken on or the weariness that clung ever so tightly to his eyes. Truly, the man before him was a sad, empty shell of the brother that Adrian loved and respected, but still, in his own way, Adrian refused to give up on him.

An eyebrow was raised at the king’s declaration of Adrian’s discipline, a silent challenge that went unnoticed as Adhemar descended into one of his awful coughing fits, but the regent said nothing about the matter. Galeran would no doubt be overjoyed to have royal permission to get Adrian fitted for a tighter leash, but his ability to enforce such a thing would be quite amusing to see. All of the poor servant’s previous attempts had been so far thwarted, as Adrian had gotten quite good at derailing him with long, pointless tasks. But still, this time Galeran just might have enough support to actually pose a challenge. And Adrian enjoyed challenges.

A look of genuine surprise colored the regent's face when his brother continued speaking though. It was obvious that the king was not going to lose any sleep over the loss of Lutairi life, in fact Adrian suspected that he actually enjoyed the thought in some sick way, but it was somewhat odd for Adhemar to ask him for his thoughts on the matter. For a long time now, Adrian had been under the impression that his dear brother equated his insights to that of a mule’s, so for him to be seeking his input now… ‘[i][color=gold]What is he playing at?[/color][/i]’ he quietly wondered to himself.

“[color=gold]Truth be told, I find it quite perplexing,[/color]” he began, scratching the back of his head in feigned bewilderment. “[color=gold]Time and again I have tried to rid us of these disgraceful bandits, in keeping to my promise to you for a ‘quiet and peaceful kingdom for Luthier to inherit,’ yet time and again my men keeping returning to me empty handed,[/color]” he said, his tone becoming rather pointed. “[color=gold]And now it seems that you are even better informed than me, the acting regent, on the various identities of these walking disgraces that seek to shame us.[/color]” Adrian allowed whatever implications could be derived from his conjecture hang in the air for a precarious few seconds before continuing, making sure to cut off whatever interjection his brother might think to spout. “[color=gold]Some individuals might even come to the conclusion that you are purposefully letting these men make a mockery of our kingdom by letting them run out of your control,[/color]”  he said, his voice dropping quite low but with the steel of a man that had commanded authority for decades. As he spoke, Adrian had circled around the bed to stand next to his brother, all but towering over the sickly man. 

His face took on a seriousness that was normally reserved for the battlefield and his eyes pierced straight into his brother’s weary ones, looking for any hint of guilt in him. Adrian was well aware that he was playing with fire here, but he knew that all the evidence he would need would be found in his brother’s expression should his suspicions be true. It was simply unnatural for the various groups of bandits to have eluded his men for as long as they have without outside interference, but none of the other suspects aside from Adhemar made sense to the regent. And if there was any way to infuriate the king into a confession, it was to insinuate that he was disgracing his kingdom. Of course, if taken even a step too far, Adrian ran a very real risk of recieving a rather intimate introduction to the headsman’s block, but he couldn’t think of any other ways to know for sure if his brother was indeed responsible.

“[color=gold]But of course, I am no such man,[/color]” Adrian sighed nonchalantly, all of the challenge in his voice and expression instantly replaced with his normal carefree self. “[color=gold]I am merely a second rate regent doing his best to fill in his dear brother’s rather large shoes.[/color]” With that, his trap was set. Now all he could do was watch if Adhemar would take the bait. 

Well, that and pray to anybody listening that his neck wouldn’t have to give his head a teary goodbye later in the evening.

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[@AimeChambers]