The silence lasted for a few minutes. It was not that most of the lord seated did not know what to say but they chose to remain quiet. King George had just one son and if he was not capable of seating on the throne then there was going to be an internal war among the noble families soon.


    Someone like Lord Baratheon would have a strong footing since his son was engaged to be married to princess Ema. Princess Ellen''s husband was out of it since he was not from Bozoa. So one needed to speak wisely and not offend the king.


    "Shall we cancel the ritual," king George broke the silence. He knew these men were only pretending to be in deep thought. Seeing that the king was calm about the situation, the Lords felt more relaxed to speak.


    "I think it is not necessary to cancel, prince William might not have picked up early but he is catching up fine. Moreover, our king is still so healthy. I am sure the prince will improve with time," lord Baratheon was the first to speak. Although if the ritual is canceled it might benefit his family he still could not open his mouth to say something like that.


    If he did, it would make him seem as though he did not wish well for the royal family. Moreover, whatever decision was made today would benefit him.


    "Are you saying that because you are soon to become in law with the prince?" A lord still found a way to make things difficult for him.


    "What are you saying, Prince William, is still young and can learn. I am just stating facts," lord Baratheon defended his words.


    "young, some princes were younger than him when they performed the ritual. I think the absence of competition had made him relaxed and weak," another lord spoke his mind.


    His words made the hall fall into another silence. It was a known fact that Prince William is weak.


    " This is not the time to discuss problems, we need a solution. Not to forget, the time that we are in. We can not afford a weak king," Grandmaster Grenn said. They all nodded their head.


    "What should we do? The king has only one son and this is not the time to have an internal war among ourselves," lord Pacelle spoke for the first time.


    "Is there much we can do? Prince William is no longer a totally weakling. He has improved over time and we can only hope he improves more in the feature,"  lord Yancey also joined the conversation. He was not aware of the king and lord Zorander plans. Even if he did he will still say the same things


    His statement immediately divided the lords into two groups. Some agreed to go on with the ritual, while others felt that it should be pushed forward. The prince should be given another year to prove his abilities.


    "Why wait? It''s not like he has a brother to contend the throne with him," lord Tyler said.


    "of course you will say that, after all, Prince William is your nephew," lord Pecelle argued.


    "What does this have to do with the fact that he is my nephew. I have only spoken the obvious," lord Tyler said. He could not let them move the ritual forward. After all his sister lady Regina already told him about the king having another son. Fortunately, he is yet to be found, so he was determined to give the power of the crown prince to his Nephew. If he is found in the future they could deal with him easily.


    "I agree with lord Tyler, this has nothing to do with the fact that the prince is related to him. It remains a fact that Prince William is the only son of the king, so there is no point waiting," One lord immediately supported.


    "This is true, even if the king birth another son today, he can not fight for the throne with William," Grandmaster Grenn had a bitter smile on his spoke.


    A few of the lords did not agree with this but they did not have words to refute so they could only shut their mouths. Just when everybody thought it was over, Lord Zorander opened his mouth to speak.


    " The king has another Son," he said in his usual calm voice. Apart from the king, lord Yancey and lord Tyler the other people in the hall were shocked. Lord Tyler cursed lord Zorander in his heart. Lady Regina already told him that she found out about the king''s son from lord Zorander''s granddaughter. Previously he thought that lord Zorander was quiet because he was protecting the interest of his granddaughter, who knew he will speak up at the last minute.


    "What do you mean," Grandmaster Grenn was the first person to find his voice to speak. If Grandmaster Grenn was not an honest man lord Zorander would have ignored his question.


    "It means that the king has a son who is older than Prince William," lord Zorander said. The hall fell into silence.


    Lord Zorander is not the type to spread false rumors, if he said it then it was most likely true. The lord looked at the king and seeing no relation from him, confirmed that he knew about the said son.


    "where is this Son?" lord Pacelle asked.


    "yes, why is his existence kept a secret. Could it be that...," lord Baratheon did not dare finish his statement.


    He could not afford to say the wrong things and offend the king and lord Zorander. "it does not matter why his existence is kept hidden, we first need to find him first before anything else," lord Tyler said. He was hoping on using the fact that the first son of the king was still missing to favor his Nephew.


    "Who said he was missing?" lord Zorander raised his brows and looked at lord Tyler calmly. Lord Tyler swallowed whatever he was about to say. He was afraid that he would say something that will lead everyone to find out that he already knew that the king has another son, which is why he is pushing for the ritual to hold the next day.


    "If  he is not missing then where is he?" Grandmaster Grenn asked the question in everybody''s mind.


    "Someone is after his life and he will only make public appearances tomorrow morning for the ritual," Lord Zorander said. Even if prince William has passed the test perfectly Richard would have shown up tomorrow to claim his rights.


    "How is that possible, can anybody just show up as the king''s son and Claim the throne," Lord Tyler asked. He hoped his words will pressure lord Zorander to reveal the person''s whereabouts.


    "What anybody, he is the king''s first son. It is his birthright,"  lord Zorander said. He did not seem angry. His words were not something that anyone could argue. The king was seated and it was clear that he was aware of the existence of this his son.


    Otherwise, he should have said something