29
[How can you trust me? What if I screw up?]
-Hey, what you’re talking about? How are you going to mess it up? You have more grit than me. You will know once you get there.
He was blaming his short life for why he couldn’t finish them. When I go back now, what should I do? I didn’t have to worry for long.
‘I need to get rid of something.’
-Getting rid of something. It sounds like you hold resentment against someone.
‘Don’t you already know that?’
-You’re right. I don’t always know everything, though. There are some parts inside your mind that I don’t even have access to.
There was something that even the Demon King of the Abyss couldn’t see. It seemed that she was aware that I wasn’t feeling well in the first place.
-By the way, how are you going to manage it? You might not want to just take the upfront approach.
‘Yes, I can’t just act before the preparations are done. I can probably handle Queen Liness without too much trouble. However, it will cause many problems that would put the entire Al Rown Kingdom in danger if I remove the nobles led by Duke Barrieta too quickly. Even if we start purging right away, we can’t stop the Al Rown Kingdom from staggering.’
It would take too much time to remove one by one. Queen Liness would maintain such an arrogant attitude, and the royal family couldn’t even punish the nobles.
‘I have an idea.’
-Can I ask you one thing?
‘What is it?’
-What do you want?
The voice was sweet, like a demon seducing someone. But she was fair; I knew she wasn’t going to do everything that I asked for. When she asked the question, she probably already knew the answer in the first place.
‘I want to make a family, eat well in a warm house, and live a long, long life without too much stress.’
She burst into laughter.
-It sounds far from the life of the royal family. Though, aren’t you already living like that?
‘Do you think I do?’
-Not at all.
‘Then all right, I’m going to leave the palace. Fortunately, the royal family members own land on a small scale, as I do, although it is barren.’
I said calmly with a smile.
-You…
‘It should have character if possible. How about the only high-tech city on the continent?’
-It is a huge dream. It would be faster to become the king of Al Rown Kingdom and change the country.
‘Once you become king, you can’t have a comfortable life.’
-Did you think it would be different if you become a landowner?
‘It is possible as a landowner. I’m going to make lots of money, retire, and enjoy my hobby.’
I will try my best if it’s possible. If there were a technical issue, I would replace it with something else. The advancement was a bit slow in science globally, but it was pretty good in other areas. Maybe it would be safer and better in the future.
‘I will make my city when I return.’
* * *
There were no more attacks on the way back to the Al Rown Kingdom; perhaps they had no more energy left to attack me anymore. Sharis, who seemed to be a close maid to Queen Liness, even failed, then who would dare to try another raid? I don’t know if she knew the truth, but at least she would have noticed that she wasn’t in a situation where she could tamper with me.
“You did a great job.”
It was a small encouragement.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s just a problem of the Voltiz Kingdom, having done such a shameless thing against the Confederation of Nations.”
Barris, bowing his head down on one knee, was silent. Because Baltian turned into a monster, public opinion on the continent was overwhelmingly unfavorable to the Voltiz Kingdom. If the Voltiz Kingdom was an Al Rown Kingdom’s ally, we might find a way to help them, but unfortunately, Voltiz and Al Rown were locked in a cold war.
“I am glad that you came back safe despite such trouble.”
King Crianes spoke calmly with a weary face.
“And…”
He looks at me at the end of the faint words. I said nothing to that strangely mixed expression.
“I heard about your Stigmata.”
“I received too much blessing from God.”
“We should celebrate that blessing.”
He muttered and turned his head.
“Don’t you think so, Queen Liness?”
“Yes…we should celebrate.”
She had a worried look on her face, full of confusion and complexity. She probably expected that I would have been dead, yet I came back with the Stigmata. Whoever they were, the ones with the Stigmata became the center of attention. If she were caught attacking me, it was likely that the Mainland would intervene. I wasn’t trying to get support from the Mainland, but it seems like I did anyway. Of course, I had no intention of accepting any help.
“Queen Majesty doesn’t seem to be excited that I have the Stigmata.”
As I responded with a smile, she opened her fan to cover her mouth. Then she curled her eyes and smiled. My eyes trembled; this woman was something else.
“What are you talking about? The child’s happiness is the mother’s happiness.”
“If so, I am glad.”
I saw her clenching her teeth. Even though she covered her mouth with a fan, it wasn’t hard to notice her discomfort.
“How is your body? Did you get hurt anywhere?”
“Fine, I came back without any scars, perhaps because I was blessed.”
When he answered calmly, he turned his head as if it were satisfactory.
“Duke Barrieta.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“We cannot pass this matter without any action, and we will have to file a petition to the Confederation of Nations and strongly complain against the Voltiz State.”
“Yes, sir.”
Even though it wasn’t as obvious as Queen Liness, King Crianes had a strangely grumpy look. His unfavorable child came back with the Stigmata, so it caused him a headache.
“You must be tired from the long trip, so go back to your room and relax.”
“Yes, sir.”
As I stood up, bowing my head calmly, Barris and Whitney turned around after me.
“Davey.”
It was then. Crianes, after a moment of silence, quietly called my name.
‘It’s been freaking long that you called my name.’
My voice clung to my throat, but I didn’t say anything.
“Will you stay for a minute?”
Understanding what he meant, I quietly bowed my head; everyone else got up and slowly left. Queen Liness was looking at King Crianes and me but soon bowed her head silently under the gaze of Crianes and left the office.
It was quiet. It was the first meeting alone with him, who had ignored my request to visit since I recovered from the coma.
“Davey.”
“It’s been almost half a year.”
“…”
“Your Majesty hasn’t talked to me alone since I recovered from the coma.”
He didn’t say anything at my words. He looked like a lost, powerless lion without any ambition.
“Are you blaming me?”
“There is no reason to lie. Yes, I am. You don’t have to say when it started.”
He sighed bitterly at the thorns in my words. Do you think I came back for a short-term issue?
“I’m glad you look healthy.”
“It’s because you’ve been paying some attention to me.”
“Did you know?”
“I feel good.”
At my words, he smiled bitterly.
“Of course, my prediction was right.”
“Can I ask what you mean?”
“No parents are stupid enough to not notice their son’s change. When you woke up from a coma, you were a little different.”
Talking calmly, he stood up slowly. Then he sat down by the table that chamberlain set up and quietly offered me tea.
“Why don’t you have some?”
“I’m fine.”
“…”
He smiled bitterly once again at the short answer.
“Are you not going to call me father?”
“Your Majesty.”
He was silent at my words.
“The word father is a word for your parent.”
He just kept smiling bitterly and didn’t say anything at my rude answer.
“Should I call you father?”
“You don’t have to. I don’t deserve to be your father as one who left you alone in those difficult times.”
I didn’t say anything after him; I guess he already knew.
“You wanted to meet me.”
“I’ve been thinking about it for a little while. And I just wanted to ask you one question.”
It was a different question this time. It was just a moment, but it reminded me of a memory.
[Father! Please save my mother!]
[Aren’t you already aware of her health condition?]
[It’s not a disease! It is poison!]
[Stop that nonsense!]
He was so cold that he forced me to stop talking about my mother. Four years later, at the age of nine, I asked him again when I found out that Queen Liness was behind my mother’s death, and he said.
[The former queen, Lenny Alisha, had a chronic illness. No one was able to cure her disease, even the exceptional doctors and powerful priests!]
[Do you still believe it? The timing doesn’t make sense! Do you think that makes sense?!]
[Davey! I won’t tolerate it if you talk about it once more! Go back!]
“How did you feel when you abandoned my mother, whom you once loved so much?”
His face turned bitter at my words.
“Davey.”
“The King Majesty chose the country over my mother. For the sake of the nation’s security, you let go of my poisoned mother’s hand, and for the sake of the nation, you remarried with the enemy.”
“Do not blame her too much. It was my fault, my karma.”
“Your Majesty, I have no interest in your romantic history. It doesn’t matter whether Queen Liness and mother were friends a long time ago, or her jealousy had caused the catastrophe.”
“Davey.”
“I wanted to ask you, were you really fine? My mother said she wanted to see King Majesty before she died. Even though she was throwing up blood, she was only looking for you, Majesty.”
“…”
He didn’t say anything while I continued.
“You did that. Mother shed tears in front of me and said that she was sorry and left-“
“Be the king.”
He continued his speech before I answered.
“I was not an excellent king nor a caring father. I had a lack of knowledge and strength.”
“…”
“But you will be different. You may be able to fix everything. However, you are not ready yet. The world is not as green as you might think. Dangers are lurking everywhere, and some people are dangerously smart enough to manipulate you as easily as they bake and boil food.”
“Is that so?”
“A king isn’t in a place where you can do everything as you think, but rather, a king has to make decisions that may look incomprehensible to others. So hold your breath and build your strength so that no one can stop what you want to do.”
I laughed at his words.
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