Child of Destiny

……

The whole conference room suddenly turned quiet when everyone heard what the king hand said. Even though they all have an idea who he was talking about, they still waited for the king to continue for conformation.

The king closed his eyes from a moment before completing his words. “I am going to ask some help from Evangeline Rose.”

Finally hearing that, everyone inside the room suddenly turned even more quiet. Some of them even took a deep breath while closing their eyes. They were contemplating internally, whether they were going to agree with their king or not.

After a few more moments of silence, one of the noble executives finally said something. “I think it is fine. Isn’t it better than asking some help from a complete outsider?”

The others were still silent and didn’t reply immediately. It was until another noble finally voiced out everyone’s thoughts. “It is not the issue. Our problem here is her being a ‘complete outsider’ now.” 𝒃𝙚𝒅𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒆𝒍．𝙘𝒐𝙢

“Don’t tell me, we are just going to forget what she did to us? She chooses to strip her status and leave with that man instead of accepting the role of the next Spiritual Master!” he added after a slight pause.

The other nobles slightly nodded their heads, agreeing. And after another moment of silence, the same guy added more. “That alone is a crime that can’t be forgiven based on our culture. But we all overlooked that to give some face to her late mother and for the fact that she was previously a princess! And in exchange for that, she can no longer step foot on our land anymore.”

“But this is not the time to think about those pride and beliefs! If we don’t do anything now, the prince is going to die!” said Steve while holding back his anger. ‘And who do you think is at fault during that time? It was all of you who forced her to step down from her position by pressuring her!’

On the other hand, another noble refuted. “That is not the only issue here.”

Hearing him, the others suddenly turned their heads at him and waited for him to continue. “Don’t tell me you already forgot about the crime that her so-called husband committed?”

It was not that they already forgot about it, but they were actually avoiding the issue purposely. With that, they chose to stay silent and refused to give their comments.

Meanwhile, the noble who raised the issue continued. “He killed a prince before and Evangeline chose to shield him from that crime.”

At this point, Steve couldn’t hold back his anger any longer and refuted. “Prince Charles was not killed for no reason! He was killed because he tried to force himself to Evangeline!”

Hearing him, the noble suddenly smirked and replied. “Come on~! For all we know, that might be just a conspiracy set up by those two to get away from that crime. What’s more, Evangeline and Prince Charles are originally engaged – how can you say that he really tried to force himself to Evangeline?”

He paused for a moment before continuing with a cold tone. “Moreover, it is our job to investigate what has happened during that time. And if what she claimed is true then we can just punish the late prince accordingly.”

“But that didn’t happen. Those two went straight at killing the previous prince and not giving us any opportunity to investigate what really happened!”

This Steve finally exploded. “What are you talking about that we didn’t have the chance to investigate!? We can just ask the Spiritual Master to see what happened with his ‘Omniscient Eyes’. But all of you went against it, saying that it is unnecessary!”

He wanted to continue but he immediately forced himself to stop when he saw the king raised his hand. And when he stopped talking, it was the king’s turn to say something. “That was enough. I didn’t summon all of you to talk about the past that couldn’t be undone. I called all of you to discuss the matter about saving my son.”

Then he crossed his arms in front of his chest while continuing. “For all you know, I can just abuse my powers and bypass every process to save my son.”

“I can just leave our country and go straight to those two, fetching them. But I don’t do it because I am respecting our culture and rules, as well as your opinions. So, how about you guys forget about the past grudges first and think rationally this time?”

Hearing those words, everyone inside the room suddenly turned silent and lowered their heads, feeling ashamed.

Seeing that, the king slightly lowered his head before tapping a finger on the table while saying. “Our main issue right now is whether to curry some favor from the World Government or ask some help from Evangeline Rose.”

Then he swept his gaze at everyone before putting his hands together while adding. “So, it is your choice which of them are we going to choose – those greedy outsiders from the Government or a person who is originally one with us?”

……

Few moments after the meeting, the king was currently getting ready to leave the Solomon Kingdom to personally bring Evangeline back to the county.

Behind him, Steve watched his king silently but having an internal struggle in his heart.

But the king would naturally be able to sense his mood. So, when he was done packing the necessary things that he needed, he turned around and looked at his trusted aide. “What’s with that look, Steve? It is not like I am going away for no reason? I am going because I need to save my son.”

Hearing him, Steve suddenly lowered his head while saying. “But my king, is it really necessary for you to go there personally? I can just go there instead. I know that Princess Evangeline would understand.”

The king shook his head a little when he heard that. Then patted Steve’s shoulders while saying. “Do you think I am going there as the king of this country? No, it is not.”

“I will meet her as ‘Jesse Seigeheart’ – her cousin and a brother. I am going to ask her a favor of saving her nephew and not the price of our country. So, I am going there personally. And if I send you there, the meaning is going to be the other way around.”

“You know her temper very well, as well as her stubbornness. So, it is me who needs to be in there,” he added while turning around to pick up his luggage. “I only asked for the council’s decision for formality sake-… so that they will not be able to say anything when she arrives.”

Steve lowered his head a little after hearing that. But he still tried to persuade his king. “But what about the prophecy? A calamity will befall on the country if its guardian leaves its side.”

The king shook his head a little and smiled bitterly when he heard that. Then he tapped Steve’s shoulder for another time while saying. “I already told you before; I am not the guardian of this country.”

“No-… the kings are not the guardians of this county – it is its people. As long as its citizens didn’t betray their beliefs, the Solomon Kingdom will continue to exist. Remember that well.”

Steve hesitated for a moment before saying. “But what if those guys eyeing us discovered about your absence? I am sure that they are going to use this opportunity to strike.”

“That is why no one is going to know about it, aside from you, the Spiritual Master and my wife,” replied the king.

“But hiding it to everyone in the Noble Council is impossible. Sooner or later, they will notice it and will throw a fuss about it,” said Steve almost instantly.

Hearing that, the king took a deep breath before replying. “That is why I am going to come back as soon as possible. On the other hand, you are going to do everything you can to delay them from learning about my absence.”

“Tell them that I went to a seclusion for a minor breakthrough. They still don’t know about my recent breakthrough at the peak of Venerable Realm – we can just reveal it to them when I get back.”

Steve was still not convinced but he knew that he couldn’t do anything to change the king’s decision now since he already made up his mind. All he could do was to nod his head and follow the order that was given to him.

Later that night, King Jesse left the Solomon Kingdom secretly to look for Evangeline Rose. Fortunately, he knew where his cousin was currently staying since she sent him a secret letter before.

But at the same night, King Jesse was unaware that the guardians of the Solomon Kingdom were already having doubts about their beliefs and were having some thought of betraying it.

……