Chapter 113
Vorbuk followed the prince around the banquet as they socialized. It was not possible for the prince, Leo, to avoid socializing since he was of royalty. The nobles were people that he could not avoid. Unlike Daryl and the others who weren't required to have such connections.
"His majesty, King Micah, has arrived!" someone's voice called out causing heads to turn in the direction of the king as he entered the room.
The king of Cista was casting his gaze around the room as he greeted one noble after another as he made his way towards prince Leo. He was not one to neglect guests. There was also the lingering thoughts over why the group were in his kingdom to begin with.
"I hope you are enjoying yourselves well." King Micah kindly stated as he glanced over at Vorbuk standing beside the prince. The wolf was staring back up at him as if it was listening to his every word.
"Your majesty, its a pleasure to be invited." Prince Leo gave a bow slightly out of respect.
Vorbuk did not want to interrupt so he kept his silence as he listened to them both converse. He was not interested in revealing his ability in front of so many nobles. It was not the right time for so many people to find out he could use an ability to blend in with them. Though rumors may have already began to spread it wasn't something anyone could verify by guessing. Very few people were even aware of what he looked like if he changed but he did not want to give himself away completely until the time was right. It would also waste his mana needlessly to use the ability in such a situation.
"You will be leaving Cista tomorrow?" The king asked in a casual manner. It was obvious to Vorbuk that the king was probably wondering when he would be rid of them from his kingdom after everything that had happened.
"Yes, we will heading out tomorrow morning, your majesty." Leo replied in a calm demeanor. A flicker of something in his eyes showing that he wanted to say something more.
"I am not an ungrateful king. I will have them prepare a carriage for your group to use. You all lost your means of transportation before if I recall correctly." King Micah knew he could not be completely ungrateful. Although a lot of damage had been done. If it was not for their group helping it would have become a lot worse.
"Thank you, your majesty, but that is not needed.. However," Prince Leo knew it was rude to reject kindness from the king but something like a carriage or a cart was something they did not need when moving forward to Theapan. They would be going through a lot of rough terrain in the future that carts would not be able to handle. It was not a matter of mountains but simply that the eastern part of the continent was known for its own dangers. Especially for travelers from kingdoms the eastern kingdoms were not friendly with. "if it is alright we would be fine with just some horses. We will be heading east from here on out."
"... I understand. I will ask to have them prepared for you." King Micah did not question why the prince was so determined to push forward with such ideas. It was not his place to question the prince from another kingdom when it had nothing to do with him.
"Your majesty, I'd like to ask you once more before we go." Prince Leo lowered his voice as he stared deep into King Micah's eyes with determination.
"I told you already-!" King Micah could feel his annoyance raising.
"I understand you don't want to affect the kingdom in a dangerous war, but you must understand that you can't hide from the god's plans to put the whole continent in a state of chaos. It will fall back on Cista eventually!" Prince Leo took a step towards the king as he pushed forward with his words. Regardless of how furious the king felt with him the prince was determined to make himself more useful.
He was a fool in many ways; Leo truly felt that way about himself. It was not that he did not understand his own weakness. The prince knew going forward he would need to push through and make himself heard. Over the years his character was already a joke to people because of his love of travel and experiencing new things. It was not a character people would take seriously without effort on his own part to make himself noticed.
"Your highness.." King Micah placed his palm against his head as he tried to think of a response for the prince's words carefully.
"Theapan. We are going after Theapan. Do you really think nothing can change if you help? No.. Wouldn't nothing change because you chose to sit back and do nothing to begin with?" Prince Leo stared intently at the king as he saw the man pondering the words carefully.
"I will consider it carefully for some time, but I am not getting involved right now. Your highness, I must greet other guests." King Micah did not honestly mean his words when he spoke them. However since he'd said he would consider it carefully was enough for Prince Leo.
After speaking to prince Leo the king found his moment to walk away. He was starting to feel his own mood become disgruntled at the thought of prince Leo asking him to aid in the war again.
"Even if he wants to avoid the war.. He will get pulled in eventually. At least at this rate he will consider aiding us before he steps blindly into the war. We have a decent chance that his attention will be on helping us rather then.." Vorbuk said to the prince as his ears flicked slightly while lost in thought over the matter.
"Indeed. King Micah cares about those who he feels are close to him and his kingdom. The fact that we were able to help him means he may help in the future because he wont be able to ignore the fact that he owes us a favor.. even if he dislikes us he wont needlessly start a fight without reason." Prince Leo knew enough about the king of Cista to know that he did not put his dislike of someone above respecting them.
No matter how much King Micah hated someone he would always hold himself back as long as they mutually respected him and who was important to him. That was why the prince knew as long as he treated the king with the proper respect he would not need to worry about a fight between the two of them. If the king disliked a topic, he knew to avoid it. It was the same with his kingdom. If someone treated his people with respect, he would respect their kingdom as well.
Anyone who knew Micah well enough knew of his belief in mutual respect. Very few people knew of what the king was like when his temper truly crossed the bottom line with someone. Many wondered what it was like to see the king angry but before he ever reached the state of losing his temper it was rare for someone to not take the chance to retreat when his temper started to boil. The gaze in his eyes when he got agitated was enough to send shivers down his servant's backs.