6 VOLUME 12: CHAPTER 10

[United Grakas Alliance]

It had been more than a week since Lark left the United Grakas Alliance. Still, the battle with the demons remained vivid in everyone's mind.

Those located north of the nation didn't experience the terror the demon army could bring, but those stationed in the Talverton Stronghold witnessed everything.

They could still remember how a single human tilted the tide of the battle, and how his small group of elites massacred the demons and protected the stronghold.

Even from afar, they saw how meteors rained down the sky and leveled a large portion of the mountain range to the ground. The rumbling and impact were felt all the way to the Talverton Stronghold. It felt surreal even now that a single human was capable of such large-scale destruction.

"You've been staring at the buckler frequently these days, Your Majesty," said Vaungur.

The Beast King had just returned to his room in the stronghold after a long day of work.

After Lark left, the Beast King personally led his people to restore the stronghold to its original state. He also led patrol units, scouting the outskirts of the Iron Mountains for demon remnants.

Although the majority of the demons had been killed by the spell Lark had cast, hundreds, if not a few thousands, of them still remained.

It was a small number compared to before, but just to be safe, the Beast King ordered his men to scout the surrounding regions for any signs of impending attacks.

"Is that so?" said the Beast King.

The Beast King seemed happy as he said those words.

The iron buckler the Beast King was staring at was cheap, but the item held great significance. On the surface of the buckler were two handprints – one was from Lark and the other from the Beast King.

This buckler was the only thing Lark left behind before he immediately departed for the Kingdom of Lukas. The two handprints symbolized the start of the friendship between the United Grakas Alliance and the Kingdom of Lukas.

The Beast King and the warriors of Talverton Stronghold insisted that they hold a victory celebration, but Lark adamantly refused, saying that it would do them better to use the resources instead to feed the people.

The beastmen wanted to at least thank Lark for saving them, and it was disappointing that the young king left immediately the next day.

He was like a sandstorm that came and went.

"Vaungur, what do you think?" said the Beast King.

The question of the Beast King was vague, but as someone who'd been with the White Lion for decades, Vaungur understood it.

"I believe it'll work out, Your Majesty."

Before leaving, Lark spoke with the Beast King and several high-ranking officials of United Grakas Alliance.

Lark readily admitted the Tyrant King's mistake of taking the Aden Region from the beastmen, causing a spiral of hunger, slavery, and death in the United Grakas Alliance. He did not run away from the topic and proposed a solution instead.

To make up for the Kingdom of Lukas' mistake, King Lark proposed to open a trading route between the two nations.

The lukasians would open up the Valley of Witches to the beastmen, and all trade between the two countries would be conducted there.

The Lukasians would provide the beastmen with grains at the cheapest price possible in exchange for precious metals. The amount of grains King Lark promised was large enough to feed two major cities in the United Grakas Alliance, and hopefully it would be enough to alleviate the hunger in the nation.

It was an advantageous offer to the beastmen, as their lands weren't as fertile as the lukasians. Although the Iron Mountains had been nearly destroyed, there were still several mineable metal deposits in the other parts of the nation.

As a regent, King Lark couldn't give back the Aden Region to the beastmen, but he could do at least this much as recompense.

"How unpredictable. Life really is full of twists and turns," said the Beast King. He stared at the iron buckler, which signified the friendship between the two countries, fondly. "Who would have known that such a time would come? Friendship without deceit between the beastmen and the lukasians? Hahaha!"

Had another lukasian king proposed the trade, the Beast King would have outright refused it. The Beast King did not trust those scheming humans, but strangely, he trusted the words of King Lark.

Even the other high-ranking officials felt the same, as none of them rejected King Lark's offer.

"Vaungur."

"Your Majesty."

"I regret it."

"Pardon?" said Vaungur quizzically.

The Beast King sighed, "I regret not having children now."

Vaungur, unable to understand what the Beast King was trying to say, continued to simply stare at the White Lion.

"If I have a daughter…"

Vaungur's eyes widened after finally realizing where the conversation was going. Even for him, this was his first time seeing this side of the Beast King.

"…I could have married her off to King Lark. It'll be great to have that man as my son-in-law, don't you agree, Vaungur?"

The Beast King boisterously laughed.

Vaungur palmed his face and sighed.

He realized the Beast King had become infatuated with King Lark.

***

[Kingdom of Lukas]

"How did it go, partner?" said Big Mona.

There were two other people aside from Lark inside the office when Reginald contacted him. First was Big Mona, and the second was Secretary Irene.

Despite these two managing the Kingdom together with the former King Alvis while Lark was gone, Lark still found himself swamped with work the moment he returned to the Kingdom of Lukas.

Even now, the mountain of documents on his table hadn't decreased. And he even noticed that it was starting to pile up even more as reports from various officials kept coming in.

The majority of these documents had already been filtered out, meaning only those of great importance would reach King Lark.

There were so many issues to address and things to do that Lark hardly slept the past several days. As expected, it wasn't easy managing a country, especially in such turbulent times.

"Reginald successfully gained the Emperor's approval," said Lark. "The Blackstone Knights we've sent can officially join the imperial army."

Lark proceeded to tell Big Mona and Secretary Irene everything Reginald had told him. How the Empire treated them, the bet with the Emperor, the duel with the Sword Saint, and the quandary of choosing which prince to serve under.

After Lark was done speaking, Big Mona scoffed, "What a useless fool! What's use is being a representative if he is going to ask Your Majesty for each and every decision?"

Big Mona didn't bother to hide the contempt in his voice. His desire for revenge against the Vont Family was already known by many at this point.

Big Mona would have been more ruthless with the Vont Family had it not been for the fact that Chryselle was King Lark's disciple.

"He should have just handed the role to someone else!"

One of the buttons of Big Mona's garb nearly flew out as he spoke. Lark didn't want to comment on it, but Big Mona seemed to have gained even more weight.

"This is why I'm against this! That fox as our kingdom's representative? Hah! Not only did he collude with that damn Duke Kelvin, he also tried to trick His Majesty with the mana stone mine!"

The last part of that statement wasn't true, and everyone in the room knew it, but Big Mona decided to say them regardless. He felt exhilarated whenever he cussed Reginald Vont like this.

"And now, he can't even handle the damn job given to him by His Majesty! That damn useless toad!"

Unable to take in the sight any longer, Secretary Irene said, "Sir… your spit is flying out."

Embarrassed, Big Mona shut his mouth.

Big Mona placed a fist on his mouth and coughed. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the saliva that had dripped out.

"Ehem… kuk… kuk…" said Big Mona. "So, what do you plan to do next, partner?"

Knowing Lark's personality, Big Mona believed that the young king wouldn't stay idle like this. The matters concerning the kingdom were important, but Big Mona shared the same vision as King Lark. The fat merchant also believed that they should prevent the Empire from falling for them to have higher chances of winning the war with the demons.

"I'll be going to the Empire, of course."

Big Mona already expected this. "Does that old fool know?"

"I didn't tell him, Mona," said Lark. "The portal in the United Grakas Alliance has been closed, and I can now focus on the one located in the Empire. Thankfully, the demons stopped their advance after capturing Volkheim City, that's why I could stay here in the kingdom like this."

Lark surmised that the reason why the demons suddenly stopped advancing in the Empire was related to the closing of the portal located in the United Grakas Alliance.

The demons had become wary, and Lark planned on utilizing this to his advantage. They must have been wondering how mere insects managed to close the portal on their own and repel the demon army numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

The imperial army was powerful and organized.

Unlike the United Grakas Alliance, the Empire wouldn't fall easily.

Still, just to be on the safe side, Lark decided to visit the Empire personally once he was done with all the pressing matters in the Kingdom.

He also needed to make sure the trade route between the Kingdom of Lukas and the United Grakas Alliance were established before he left, as a significant number of beastmen were dying of hunger.

As for the matters which did not need his immediate approval, he planned on delegating them to Secretary Irene and the former King Alvis.

The number of things he needed to do was never-ending, and Lark was glad that he was merely a stand-in.

One last time, Big Mona cursed at Reginald again, "Hah! That damn Reginald is so incompetent that Your Majesty ends up going to the Empire in the end!"

Big Mona said to Lark, "So, when are you leaving, partner?"

"Considering all preparations needed," said Lark, "I'll depart for the Empire in two days."

***

[The Great Empire]

When Princess Kiera learned of the result of the duel, she stormed the imperial palace in anger.

"Chief Royal Advisor!"

Unannounced, Princess Kiera barged inside the office of the Chief Royal Advisor. She did not have the guts to complain to her father, the Emperor, directly, but it was an entirely different matter when it came to the Chief Royal Advisor.

Although she couldn't outright reprimand him as Gaillart had higher authority than her, she could at least voice out her complaints to him.

"Princess."

The Chief Royal Advisor remained sitting at his desk, not bothering to look at the Princess as she entered the room. He did not remove his gaze from the document he was holding, and this infuriated Princess Kiera even further.

The Chief Royal Advisor's voice remained calm, despite the unannounced visit of the Princess.

"What brought Your Highness to my office at this hour of the day?"

Princess Kiera bit her lips, frowning.

"I heard everything, Sir Gaillart."

Princess Kiera clenched her fists. Her body quivered. Even now, she couldn't calm the boiling rage in her body. Just the mere thought that the man brought by that damn Princess Luna won the bet made her tremble in utter anger.

"The Sword Saint was winning! But you! You unnecessarily intervened and let the damn Lukasians win!"

The voice of the Princess echoed inside the room.

The Chief Royal Advisor finally looked at Princess Kiera. He put the document down and said to his assistants. "The three of you, leave us."

The assistants bowed their heads and immediately went outside.

After the door was shut, the Chief Royal Advisor said, "You should be glad there's a downpour, Princess."

Princess Kiera raised her brows. "It's raining outside. So what?"

"The thunder drowned out your shouts. Such a… fortunate thing," said the Chief Royal Advisor. "It wouldn't do us good had other people heard those words, Princess."

The gaze of the Chief Royal Advisor felt condescending. Princess Kiera didn't like it.

"Sir Gaillart, I need an explanation," demanded Princess Kiera. "Why did you let those damn lukasians win? You know it, don't you? We don't need their help! Reinforcements? What could half a thousand knights even do in battle!"

The Chief Royal Advisor sighed. "I've already spoken with His Majesty regarding this matter. After explaining it to him, even Emperor Sylvius agreed that my decision to stop that duel was correct."

Despite hearing this, Princess Luna still couldn't accept everything. "That decision was correct? Oh, for heaven's sake, Sir Gaillart! It's the Sword Saint we're talking about here! Had you let the fight continue, we would have won that duel!"

"Princess, before coming here, did you talk with Sword Saint Isaac Segarus?"

"Talk—"

"—Of course you didn't, Princess," said the Chief Royal Advisor. "You wouldn't have come here had you spoken with him in the first place."

The voice of the Chief Royal Advisor turned cold. "Princess, had I not stopped that duel, the Sword Saint could have died in that battle."

Hearing those words, Princess Kiera froze. She shuddered, as she understood from the tone of the Chief Royal Advisor that he meant those words.

Now that she'd thought of it, even the Sword Saint didn't protest the outcome of the duel. Isaac Segarus remained silent, as though he didn't want to bring up the matter anymore.

Was the Lord Knight really that dangerous?

Even now, Princess Kiera couldn't believe that Princess Luna managed to bring reinforcements that powerful.

No, she couldn't accept it.

How could that woman achieve something she couldn't?

"Of course, it could have been the other way around," said the Chief Royal Advisor. "We never know… Sword Saint Isaac could have also won that fight. He's one of our most powerful men, after all. But at what cost? That fight could have gone terribly wrong had it been allowed to continue."

The Chief Royal Advisor looked outside. Raindrops trickled down the window.

"Please stop poking your nose into this, Your Highness," said the Chief Royal Advisor. "Please stick to hosting your tea parties. It wouldn't do us good if you keep barging into my office like this whenever an issue arises."

"Y-You!"

"Please go back, Princess."

Unable to endure the humiliation any further, Princess Kiera turned around and left the Chief Royal Advisor's office. Along the way, she passed by the assistants who'd been waiting outside.

"Out of the way!"

Unable to outright curse the Chief Royal Advisor, she vented her anger on his assistants instead.

"Move! Move!"

Huffing, she strode through the palace hallway. She was on her way to the left wing, where her residence was located, when she bumped into a familiar face.

It was the ambassador from the Kingdom of Lukas.

Quickly, Princess Kiera calmed her anger. She controlled her facial expression and smiled at the ambassador.

"We meet again, Sir Ambassador."

"Ah, Princess Kiera. It's an honor to meet you again, Your Highness."

Princess Kiera noticed the subtle hint of uneasiness in Reginald's face. She did not miss the chance to ask him this question, "What brought you here to this place, ambassador?"

Princess Kiera already had an idea why the ambassador was here. This place was near the residence of the First Prince.

"I came here to meet with His Highness, the First Prince… but…"

"I see. My eldest brother's probation has just ended. Did the guards forbid you from meeting him?"

Reginald nodded his head. "It's as you say, Princess."

As though everything was a lie, the anger within Princess Kiera dissipated the moment she heard that. Those words were mellifluous, music to her ears. She felt joy knowing that the ambassador couldn't meet the First Prince.

She nearly laughed upon knowing that the damn lukasian couldn't even meet that trash prince.

Princess Kiera took out a fan, unfolded it, and covered her mouth. She needed to do this, as she couldn't stop her lips from smiling.

"How unfortunate, ambassador."

"Indeed, Your Highness. I wanted to talk to him at least, as the deadline set by the Emperor is near."

Princess Kiera's eyes turned into crescents. She was really glad to have met the ambassador like this. Now, she could sleep peacefully.

"I've heard of the bet you had with my father, ambassador. It's raining heavily outside," said Princess Kiera. "But since you failed to meet the First Prince, how about meeting with the Fifth Prince instead?"

"That's what I plan to do, Your Highness."

Princess Kiera nearly chuckled.

The Fifth Prince was the worse choice between the two princes. She'd met the Fifth Prince before, and he was a miserable loser who knew nothing but gambling and alcohol.

"You'll meet him at the Red Lights District at this time of the night," said Princess Kiera. "I hope you meet the Fifth Prince, ambassador. And I hope that everything works out."

"I hope so, too, Your Highness." Reginald politely bowed his head. "Then, I'll be on my way."

After Reginald left, Princess Kiera laughed. "What a moron. Even if your army is somewhat strong, you'll never achieve anything under the Fifth Prince, ambassador."