also like. i can imagine lucian immediately turning on lileas and promising loyalty to iosef as soon as the takeover happens. he’s an opportunist, he looks out for no 1, it’s the way it’s always been. and he’s originally at the top of iosef’s Arrest List because of all the work he did helping rayne, but of course lucian manages to convince him to spare him. guns and force alone won’t keep the country from rebelling. iosef needs a strategist. he needs him. and so lucian galade comes out unscathed, and most importantly safe, as he always seems to do.
also it would be fun if lucian turned up during anton’s coup trial like he does for the impeachment trial, after being accepted into iosef’s new order. just for fun. just for the Drama of it all. maybe anton, having not seen lucian since he stabbed him in the back, sees him and thinks for a moment that he’s going to stand up for him. because he can’t possibly concede to iosef. he has to be smarter than that.
but then lucian stands up, doesn’t look anton in the eye, and through his next words brands him a traitor to the state. just like the rest of them. and as he’s dragged away, anton rayne realises that for the first time in his life, he is completely and utterly alone.