# Chapter 33
Spring brought a difficult political reckoning the family could no longer postpone.
With both the King's health and Marcus's condition steadily declining, Parliament's leadership requested, with careful formality, a clear statement on succession — an uncomfortable conversation made only slightly easier by months of preparation.
"Marcus remains Crown Prince," the King said, during a tense council session Angelo attended at Elena's insistence. "That has not changed, and will not change, regardless of his health."
"With respect, Your Majesty," one minister said carefully, "if the Crown Prince is unable to fulfill his duties—"
"Then his sister will act as Regent, until such time as circumstances require otherwise," the King said, his voice carrying an authority that silenced further debate. "Princess Elena has proven herself, repeatedly, capable of leadership this crown will need. I trust her completely, and I expect this council to extend her the same trust."
Angelo watched Elena during the exchange — the careful composure she'd learned to wear in rooms like this one, and beneath it, the quiet grief of a woman being asked to plan for the loss of both her father and her brother in the same conversation.
Afterward, alone in their rooms, the composure finally broke.
"I'm not ready for this," she admitted, her voice raw. "Any of it. I don't want to be Regent. I don't want to be Queen. I want my brother healthy and my father strong, the way they've always been."
Angelo held her, offering the only honesty he had.
"I know," he said. "But you'll be ready, when the time comes. Not because you want it. Because you've never once failed the people who needed you, and you won't start now."
Elena wept, finally, fully, and Angelo simply held her, understanding that some griefs couldn't be fixed, only carried, together, until they became slightly easier to bear.