"Men of Bharbazonia," said the General, "the King is dead."
He removed his helmet in honour of the dead and every man stood at attention with bared head.
"Under the unusual stress of excitement, he was stricken with apoplexy in the Cathedral. The Kingdom of Bharbazonia was without a ruler. At that moment the nobles and Grand Dukes assembled proclaimed another king in Gregory’s stead. That other is Grand Duke Novgorod, the only living descendant of the ancient royal house which was banished by the Turks. I, representing the army, have taken the oath of allegiance to the new King. And I urge you to accept him."
"Long live the new King," shouted the men in a deep chorus.
"Long live King Novgorod," shouted Marbosa and the nobles.
Both the General and Marbosa dismounted from their horses and advanced toward the stairs where Nicholas stood watching the scene with interest. They knelt upon the floor and presented the hilts of their swords to him, in token of fealty.
"Sire," said Marbosa, humbly, "herewith I pledge to you my loyalty and that of all the nobles of Bharbazonia."
"Nicholas Fremsted, Grand Duke of Framkor, Novgorod the Tenth, I pledge to you the loyalty of the army of Bharbazonia."
Nick clutched the railing in front of him and straightened up in amazement. Following their two leaders, every man present dropped to his knees in the presence of his King. Nick, Solonika and I alone were left standing, except for the Patriarch and his priests.
"No! no!" shouted Nick in English. "My God, General, there is some mistake here!"
The effect upon me was equally great. Could this be possible? I ran over in my mind the story which Palmora had told of the king who had relinquished his throne for the sake of his country’s peace, who had kept the secret of his kingship from his only son. Solonika put her hand in mine.
"It is so," she whispered. "I have always felt it."
"No, Sire,"—the General was speaking—"there is no mistake. Thou art thy father’s son. I have this day kept my oath to him and given you your own without bloodshed."
"There is no mistake, Sire," said Marbosa. "We have seen the proofs in the Cathedral and we _know_."
"We _know_," said the Grand Dukes and the nobles.
I was overjoyed. If this were true, and there seemed no doubt of it, the future loomed bright for me. With Nicholas King in Bharbazonia, what had I to fear? To think that I had lived all these years with him without knowing. But how could I know when the General had kept the secret even from Nick? His father’s plan in sending him to various countries to educate him had been to prepare him for this very day.
