NOVEL NEXT 76 – The General Confronts the King
Chapter 76 - The General Confronts the King
Phill:
I was standing in my position as a royal guard for the king. Organizing this event and inviting all these nobles was pure madness. To ensure nothing went wrong, we had to station an entire army on the property and bring in a bunch of domesticated saber-toothed tigers. Anyone looking out the window would see those powerful beasts patrolling the grounds. The royal family wanted to remind everyone just who they were dealing with.
Our army rested in the gardens, while the tigers stood watch. Those tigers were rivals to the Moon Panthers—not as stealthy or deadly, but walking killing machines nonetheless. No one outside the royal family had ever managed to domesticate those tigers, showcasing the power of the kingdom's most formidable family.
I had been close to the king and his entourage all day, and it had been a busy one.
“He must just be shy, right, young man?” the king said.
This boy is really ignoring the king? Ignoring the man with the highest authority in the kingdom?
"Yes, sir. I’m just a bit overwhelmed by your presence…” the child finally replied.
Makes sense, he’s probably scared out of his wits.
The king let out a loud laugh, and the rest of us relaxed.
“Just a foolish boy…” one of the soldiers murmured to me.
“Foolish and stupid…” I murmured back.
This kid is a high-ranking noble on top of everything, the bastard has everything handed to him on a silver platter.
“I told you, he’s just nervous. It’s alright, isn’t it, my friend?” the king said, and we smiled back in agreement.
“Yes, my lord…”
“It’s normal for them to react this way around us” the prince added.
The prince is only 12 years old and already a mage with three elemental affinities. He’s undoubtedly the true treasure of this family. The prince inherited the perfect genes in his generation.
“You must be the family’s servant,” he said, greeting the demi-human girl.
They managed to get such a young demi-human slave, lucky bastards.
“There’s one more person,” the king said as he approached someone, and we followed a few steps behind.
“My goodness! What a beautiful woman” the king remarked.
Beautiful? Beautiful doesn’t even begin to describe her! This woman is an absolute knockout.
“Thank you,” the woman replied.
The king stepped closer to her.
“Are you, by any chance, the daughter of a great noble family You’re very beautiful,” he complimented her.
She must be the daughter of some important noble.
“I’m of common birth” she replied.
A commoner? With such beauty?
“So, you’re a personal servant to this family as well? We could always use more help at the palace,” the king continued.
“She’s the mother of my nephew,” the Duchess interjected.
This woman is a mother? How? I thought she was in her twenties at most.
The king’s eyes widened in surprise.
“A mother? She has a child? She looks so young…” one of the guards commented.
The king smiled.
“Lady, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble... there's a table reserved for some of the royal family’s closer guests. I’ll be dining there after I spend some time at the main table,” the king suggested.
“I’m with my family, and I’ll be staying with them,” she replied.
She turned down an invitation to dine with the king, right to his face? In front of his entire entourage? No wonder the boy’s a fool.
"This is an invitation from the king to dine at his table. It’s not something just anyone gets," I said.
"It's all right, Phill," the king said, laughing.
"But, sir, she..." The king made a gesture for me to be silent.
"The lovely lady is just shy and has the right to decline."
"Don't you dare speak to my mother again," the boy said.
Did he just give an order to the king?
Even the guards couldn’t believe what came out of that boy's mouth.
"Apologize to the king!" one of the guards shouted, drawing his sword.
"Silence!" the boy snapped back.
"My son is just nervous," the plebeian woman said, moving closer to the boy.
"Drawing a sword on a noble superior is a serious crime," the duchess stated.
I looked at the guard, and he was frozen in place, his sword still in hand.
"It's all right! I hope our guests aren't being mistreated," the queen said. "Who wouldn't be upset if someone tried to court their mother?"
She moved closer to the king.
"You're drinking too much and saying foolish things. We'd better wrap this up before I and the other queens have to argue with you," she said.
"I think you're right..." the king replied, looking a bit fearful.
The queen managed to get everyone back in line, and the entourage continued in silence.
Only that woman could keep things under control, no one dared disagree with her.
For some reason, the duchess concealed the boy, and they headed to a corner.
I glanced to the side and saw the guard still frozen, his sword in hand.
"What’s wrong with you?" I asked him.
I moved closer and saw that he was sweating and his eyes were watering.
"Are you crying?"
"FEAR! I'M SCARED!" he said.
"Scared of what?"
"I don't know," he replied, trembling but still clutching his sword.
"Come on, stop fooling around. I need your help."
"I can't!" he said. "I'm paralyzed with fear. My instincts are telling me to run far away from here, but my body is frozen."
I let out a laugh.
"I knew I shouldn’t have let you guys drink," I said, moving his hand down as some people were starting to notice.
"Sir, I'm scared," he repeated, trembling as he sheathed his sword.
"Scared of what? You're a damn royal guard! You just drank too much."
"I think it's fear of the boy. Every fiber of my being is telling me to kneel and beg him for mercy."
"Hahaha," I laughed out loud.
The guard started to walk away with difficulty, still trembling.
"Where do you think you're going? You need to stay with the king."
"I'm leaving. I'm going to ask someone from the reserve team to replace me. I... I... I don't want to die. My body is moving on its own."
"Great... Since the drink messed you up, order them to send someone else to replace me."
"Are you leaving too, sir?"
I couldn’t believe he asked me that.
"Me, leave? Are you crazy? I'm going to teach that boy a lesson; he's headed outside."
The man turned pale.
"Sir, don’t do that!" he pleaded.
"Hahaha, you're banned from drinking at big events from now on."
The man wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Sir! Don’t provoke that boy. My whole body is paralyzed just thinking about him."
"Just go back to the base and call in the substitutes. I’m going to make that kid apologize and regret what he did."
Queen Agnes:
"Look at the embarrassment you caused me, Charles!" I scolded, giving my husband a light smack on the shoulder.
He looked confused, his hand trembling slightly.
"I can smell the alcohol just standing next to you!" I said, and he wiped the sweat from his brow.
"I really need to stop drinking..." he muttered.
We continued walking to keep up with the event's schedule, and when I get this angry, the entourage surrounds us to prevent people from seeing us in this state.
"I suddenly felt scared... I really need to stop drinking," he repeated.
I let out a genuine laugh.
"You always overdo it when you gather with these nobles. This is when you should be the most cautious," I said.
He looked at me.
"I was just happy to finally talk about our son's talent..."
"Alright... you're forgiven this time."
We’ll talk at home about you flirting with another woman again.
"Don't worry, my dear. Only we saw that," I said, glancing at Duncan, who was pale.
"What’s wrong? Are you okay?" I asked, kneeling down to look at him closely.
He shook his head, still pale.
"What happened?" I asked, concerned.
"I don’t know, Mother... I just felt really scared."
Scared?
I looked at the members of the entourage, and they all had strange expressions.
"What’s wrong with you all? You look terrible."
They just smiled, even though they looked like they were dying inside. Their job was to keep up appearances while accompanying the king.
A woman serving at the table passed by the entourage and approached me.
"Joana? Is something wrong?" I asked Night Killer, who was disguised as a servant.
"I’m not sure... I just felt something strange and came to check on you all," she replied.