Chapter 44 This Is Probably a Bad Idea （Let’s Do It Anyway）
This Is Probably a Bad Idea (Let’s Do It Anyway)
Sebastian had insisted on calling it a war council, which Harper found both ridiculous and deeply appropriate.
The three of them sat in Alexander’s private study, an old-world sort of room with towering bookshelves, a fireplace that had long since burned out, and an air of history that clashed spectacularly with the absolute disaster they were about to discuss.
Harper, legs crossed, arms folded, listened as they laid out everything.
The payments. The letters. The affair. The fact that Sebastian—Lord Sebastian Hawthorne, Viscount of Edgecliffe, heir to one of the most powerful noble houses in the country—was actually the illegitimate son of the late King James Philip.
She didn’t speak for a long time, which, for Harper, was a big deal. Finally, she leaned back, slowly exhaling. “Well. Holy shit.”
Sebastian lifted his glass. “Cheers.”
“Of course a scandal is Sebastian’s origin story,” Harper said, shaking her head with a mix of disbelief and amusement.
Sebastian gave her a look, his expression somewhere between wounded and wry. “Too soon.”
Harper’s face softened slightly, catching herself. “Sorry,” she muttered, actually meaning it.
Harper then turned to Alexander. “You knew about this?”
“Not until a few nights ago,” Alexander said, his voice steady but edged with something unreadable.
Harper drummed her fingers against the arm of her chair, processing.
“Alright. Let’s break this down. If this comes out—if the public finds out the late King had an illegitimate son—there are only two possible narratives.
Either this gets framed as some heartbreaking, decades-long secret…
” she gestured vaguely, “‘The Hidden Prince of Caledonia’—some kind of romantic tragedy—or it gets weaponized.” She looked at Alexander.
“And I don’t need to tell you which option your mother will go with. ”
Alexander nodded grimly. “She won’t hesitate to bury it. Or bury us in the process.”
“Cool, cool, love that for me,” Sebastian deadpanned.
Harper straightened, all business now. “Alright, here’s how we play this.
First, we need to reframe Alexander’s public image.
Less ‘dutiful prince,’ more ‘thoughtful future king with his own vision.’ I’ll leak stories that show you as independent but trapped—it’ll shift blame to the institution, not you. ”
She tapped her phone screen. “Then we get social media involved, we’ll make your right to personal choice a national conversation. Once the public is invested, Parliament will have to respond.”
Sebastian leaned forward. “Meanwhile, I’ll work my connections in the government. Half of them only back your mother because it’s convenient. I’ll remind them that betting against the future king is bad long-term strategy.”
“And what about… you know?” Alexander gestured toward Sebastian, his expression guarded.
“We keep the royal paternity card close for now,” Harper said. “But we drop hints about secret payments and cover-ups—just enough to keep the palace off-balance while we build support.”
Alexander listened, his expression thoughtful. When they finished, Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “So, are we ready?”
For a moment, Alexander hesitated. Then, with newfound resolve, he nodded. “Yes.”
Sebastian’s smile widened. “Finally. Let’s cause some royal chaos.”
Harper raised her water glass. “To either making history or spectacular failure.”
Alexander clinked his glass against theirs. “To freedom.”