The first weeks after the king’s restoration were probably the most hectic of Hyora’s life. There were many things to reorganize and issues to address and wrongs to redress. Among these were the trials for the council coalition.

Hyora herself had collected information that served as evidence to convict them, but she would not be speaking before the High Judge because she wasn’t a direct witness to their wrongdoing. She would attend but remain a part of the audience.

The hall that housed the proceedings was quite crowded, filled with a large chunk of the king’s court. Many of them had hurried to the capital from their lands several days away. It was best to be present at this occasion and pay their respects to the king. Nobody wanted to be suspected of disloyalty, not when executions were sure to be meted out.

Hyora, her brother, and her father sat toward the middle of the crowd. There wasn’t too much formal organization to the seating, but those who had more at risk and less secure relations with the king had made sure to place themselves close to the front, where the king would see and acknowledge them. The commoners who were involved were mostly standing in the back of the room, most likely unnerved or displeased by the presence of so many nobles, who in their eyes were more or less oppressors.

The trial dragged on for what felt like eons. Hyora was definitely glad to see these people get their due, but at the same time, she had no vested personal interest in their deaths. The point of her and the nobles’ presence was not at all lost on her, and she hadn’t needed the message in the first place.

She did, however, make note of both Jaesun and Seulhee’s testimonies. Hoya tensed up beside her when his lover made her way to the front, and she squeezed his hand comfortingly, reassuring him that everything would go smoothly. To an extent, she was glad they were out of Jaesun’s sight.

Eventually, all of the verdicts were handed down, and everyone was free to go. Hyora knew that some of her family’s friends and acquaintances would be paying out of their pockets for a while to keep the king off their backs.

Most likely he’d raise their taxes. It might have seemed unfair that the money would go the common people, but she believed that it was just. During the period of the council’s dominance, the common people had suffered the most financially speaking, so it was only fair that they would receive some sort of recompense. Moreover, the king had lost favor through his perceived approval of or inability to control the council’s actions, so he needed to do whatever he could to earn back the people’s trust.

***

The traitorous coalition had comprised nearly a third of the council, and they needed to be replaced now. The king surprised many by deciding to reselect the entire council. At first, outraged protests broke out among the nobles on the council, but eventually Hyora’s father convinced them that it was necessary. Those who hadn’t aided the turncoats had still been either blind or passive to their actions, and that posed a problem. Thus, the king would bring in new people and alter the power structure of the council itself.

A bigger surprise came in the form of an invitation for Hyora to participate in selecting the new council. Her father was an obvious choice of advisor, and Hoya had his status as the current heir, but never had she considered that she would be asked along.

The king’s answer to her question was, “According to your father, you know the ins and outs of the court pretty well, so I think your opinion will be valuable.”

He questioned her about a lot of the younger nobles, who were older than her but still loosely a part of her generation. She answered the best she could. Although she tried to keep things factual and unbiased, the king probed her for her personal evaluation of their character.

He announced his decisions the next day and once again raised a bit of an uproar. A few of the old council members had reclaimed their positions, but by-and-large, the new council consisted of nobles who were not over forty. In addition, the king had added women, which was completely unheard of up until the present. They constituted nearly a quarter of the members, which, in Hyora’s opinion, was too few. Perhaps the most stunning appointment was Hyora’s own name.

The king had talked to her in private after the initial discussions the previous day, asking her about the female nobles she knew. She figured he didn’t want to aggravate the annoyance a number of his advisors had felt at Hyora’s presence. However, he had never hinted that she herself would make it onto the new council.

After the king put everyone in their places and the fuss died down, he ordered everyone but Hyora out of the meeting room.

“Your Majesty—” she began, rising out of her seat, but he cut her off.

“Let me explain,” he said. Indicating the chair to his right, he beckoned her over. For the duration of meeting she had been sitting closer to the far end of the table.

She obeyed the request and settled herself down beside him.

“I suppose you’re just as surprised as, if not more so than, anyone else. It’s going to cause quite a stir, of course. A girl of twenty as the advisor to the king. Madness, isn’t it?” He allowed himself a small, wry smile, and continued, “I think you will be an asset to me and to the kingdom. Your father has told me a lot about you. He’s biased, of course, but I trust his judgment because he doesn’t let emotions cloud it. Also, your work in this whole restoration movement…” She noted that he didn’t use the word “conspiracy.” “…speaks for itself. That’s why I picked you.”

“Hoya was a part of it, too,” she pointed out. “Why not him?”

“He’s not you. He has his strengths, but they are not the same as yours. Unlike you, he’s a leader, and he will be in the spotlight. In fact, I’m going to start training him to take my place, just in case something happens. Honestly, he probably should have been brought up for it since he’s always been close to the throne, but your parents didn’t want that for him.

“However, now it’s time to be practical. If I had died, he would’ve taken the reins. I’m sure he would have done a fine job, but he could’ve been better prepared. And in any case, the heir should be kept off the council, just in case he wants to manipulate it for his own purposes. I trust Hoya, but it’s a matter of protocol.”

She understood his reasoning, but he wasn’t finished. “The other thing, though I will never tell anyone else, is that I need a friend. I’ve been king, and I performed reasonably well until I was basically shut down, but even then I was still treated more like a child than anything else. Many deferred to me because of my power, and some actually respected me, but they felt no need to approach me and converse with me. You can be that person who I can talk to.”

Hyora had all but forgotten that the king was her age. His experiences and his attitude made him seem much older than his twenty or so years.

She thought back to the last time she had really interacted with him, long ago. They’d been fourteen, and at the time, he had been a cheery boy who had begun to develop a mildly flirtatious side. His current solemnity and almost resigned disposition was a drastic change from the Prince Woohyun she had once known. He was now King Woohyun the Wise, responsible for an entire kingdom.

At the same time, Hyora relationship to him had also altered greatly. First she had been his cousin and forced playmate, and now she would be his ally and confidante.