In the kingdom of omnipotent King Despot, the citizenry was happy and so were the nobles. King Despot was aware of his powers and was determined to take his dominion to the highest level of the kingdom ship. His associates were happy with his etiquette as he always keep them motivated and involve them in the forethought and the execution of the plans. He was strict and always go by rules framed by himself. Despot was once a noble himself and he knows how it was to be a noble. In his ideal time, he thought about his past when he was under the kingship of an eccentric autocratic ruler. The people and the court’s men were sick of his weird practices. But now Despot himself was a king and he owned a kingdom where he has the ambition to keep everyone prosperous. King Despot learned from his experience that the first responsibility of any dynast must be to provide benefits to its citizens. And to keep this going, the nobles must be at par. If the nobles of any country are proficient, there will be prosperity all around.

Being a sprog, he doesn’t believe anyone readily. Also, some of the old courtiers were not gleeful by his ways. The old courtiers had worked under so many rulers, with each king has their way of doing things. Hence, they were always busy doing nothing else than rationalizing the facts. King Despot was aware of those mitigations. But he overlooked the follies. Sometimes, he faced opposition in commanding the ministry. Some of the young blood also joined the resistance group, because they feel that those grey-haired courtiers would remain there forever to defend them from the king.

But, there comes the time when the grey-haired courtiers became decamped. In succession, they left the court due to their old age. Those, who were still there in the court were vulnerable. Now the armatures came to know that they have lost the reliance, but it was too late. King Despot framed few new rules which hampered the entitlements of the nobles. King was rigid on his decisions and seldom change them afterward. Even the resistance failed to persuade the king to restore the privileges they were getting. Ronin was a young noble. He was very ambitious, yet annoyed by nature. Some old monks put bugs in his ears as they knew his temperament. Under the influence of some cunning nobles, Ronin raised the voice against the tyranny of the King. But the King suppressed the uprising delicately. The displeasure among the nobles was surging day by day. A negative narrative was being prepared obscurely under the aegis of Ronin.

The closest noble of King Despot was Subrange. He was a true diplomat. He had worked under so many sovereigns and thus had a lot of experience in handling the court. He kept on giving valuable advice to Despot. After the decamping of grey-haired courtiers, he planned to choose the new head nobles. He was aware of the conspiracy hatched by Ronin and his associates. Concluding upon the situation, he suggested to King Despot, a semi-democratic alliance system in the court. Subrange laid down the ordinance and the guidelines of the semi-democratic alliance system. King Despot agreed to the proposal of Subrange, as he believed in him the most and seldom refused his recommendations. The referendum was scheduled on an auspicious day.

Richard was a renowned noble of virtues and was a prominent figure in the court. He usually control the day-to-day work of the court. He was a bit careless and ignorant, yet he worked with integrity and followed all work ethics. He was not at all interested in any state politics. Hence he remained far-flung from the resistance group. Although he was a part of the nobility, still he kept an unapproachable strategy to refrain from immorality. Richard was the son of an old noble. He learned from his father, the allegiance and dedication. Whenever there was any snag in the functioning of the state, he took advice from his father. His life was simple and joyful until that day of the referendum, where his life was going to take a new turn.

Just before the show of hands, King Despot and Subrange called for him. After the general conversation, Subrange asked him about his opinion about the semi-democratic system. As the plan seemed alluring, Richard apprised the notion of being enchanting and appealing to the nobility and citizens. Subrange winked at King Despot and proceeded to ask further about his opinion being the head noble. He added that King Despot too agreed upon the option and they both would help him in the polling. Richard was stunned at his words. For the past few days, the only name everyone was pronouncing for the head noble was that of Ronin. Where his name did come from suddenly? He regained consciousness and looked towards the King. Subrange and King were waiting for his answer and he was confused with the bewilderment that has just been bestowed upon him. He thought for some instant and said, “I am happy in my ways, sorry for the non-acceptance, but I am not made for being a politician.”

In the court, there was a huge crowd against other usual days. King Despot came to the court along with Subrange and everyone rose in respect. The procedure for the Head Noble started. Few courtiers put forward the name of Ronin. There was no one to oppose the recommendation. King Despot and Subrange gazed towards Richard and announced the name of the newly elected and abide Ronin. Everyone applauded in praise and Ronin stood to address the court. He bowed to King Despot, the old Subrange, and other elder courtiers and then greeted everybody for getting him to that place. After pontification of his pseudo-glorious aspirations about taking the kingdom over the new high, he proposed the idea of constituting a cabinet for the smooth functioning of a semi-democratic system. He suggested for few new departments which would work under certain nobles and those nobles would work together for the benefit of the whole. King Despot agreed upon the proposal. Ronin announced the names of the nobles and the departments. The law and order department is to be headed by Anakin. The education and training department is to be headed by Sombre. Women empowerment department to be headed by Ajigarta. The finance department is to be headed by Richard.

What? Richard? King Despot and Subrange looked towards Richard who was into the bargain with his heart and mind. He was so confused that his brain stopped working. As all the heads were invited by the kings in the front, Richard’s feet froze to the floor. He was not ready for such surprises back to back on a single day. With a hard-headedness, he got up and went with the others. The oath ceremony materialized and a new chapter was started.

Everyone was happy and cheerful. The celebration was going on for the pseudo-success of democracy. But no one knew that this festivity was short-lived. Someone was not happy with the verdict of the voters. Now, it was the turn of higher authority to hatch a conspiracy for bringing down the growing popularity of the cabinet.

to be continued………

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