But he was the king, and he could not leave. Master and prisoner of his own title and power.
He could have abdicated in favor of the legitimate heir; he had thought about this in all truth, but he had rejected the idea as impracticable, at least for the moment. The prince was still a minor, delicate and inexperienced, barely out of a serious nervous illness: he would have had no followers who believed in him, he would have been a puppet in the astute hands of his enemies, who would have forced him to do what they wanted. Perhaps they would even have forced a decree condemning him and Alfredo to death as traitors. And then the world would not have been large enough to escape their persecutors.
No way.
He had to stay.
To fight and not give up.
If he won, no one would dare to question hi
