25 Allegiance

Oliver looked at Alexander like he had just asked the most absurd question in the Omrys continent, which, in point of fact, he had.

'Become the Duke of the greatest S-rank Empire in the Omrys continent?' If it were so simple for Assyria to become an S-rank empire, there would be thousands of S-rank empires in the continent.

To put Alexander's question in perspective, as large as the Omrys continent was, there were only 10 S-rank empires!

10!

That was a pitifully low number, and yet Alexander mentioned raising the greatest S-rank empire like it was as simple as taking candy from an unsuspecting child.

'The crown prince must have hit his head hard in the defense battle.' Oliver thought pitifully as a wave of sympathy swept his heart.

"Crown Prince Alexander, the Assyria kingdom is in a very dire situation. We managed to fend off the invasion attack due to your timely help and excellent leadership, but that is not nearly enough for us to survive."

"We are not sure of maintaining our rank as an E-ranked kingdom, and might as well fall to an F-rank kingdom in the next years."

"It is a bitter pill to swallow, but the Assyria kingdom currently has no hope of becoming even the least F-rank empire." Oliver answered after a few minutes of silence, carefully observing the crown prince's expression as he spoke.

There was another brief moment of silence as Alexander did not reply immediately. Instead, his azure irises were fixed on the portrait of Duke Oliver's family that was hung on the wall of the meeting room.

"Hmm." Alexander said after a minute had passed. He looked incredibly relaxed, as though Oliver had not recently dodged his question in a roundabout way.

"You see, I did not come here without making extensive research Oliver." Alexander started to say, and traces of the wild insanity from earlier could be heard in his voice.

"Duke Oliver, I am aware that you are currently debating whether or not to betray the Assyrian Kingdom." Alexander suddenly said, and the temperature in the meeting room dropped by several degrees.

A surprised expression flashed across Oliver's face, but it was so quick that he was confident Alexander did not catch it.

"What do you mean, Your Royal Highness?" Oliver asked, an amicable expression on his face.

"Don't play dumb with me Oliver." Alexander replied, his voice even more amicable than Oliver's.

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about Your Royal Highness." Oliver denied in a wronged tone, but his heart was beating extremely rapidly at the moment.

"Norin." Alexander said calmly, but his statement signalled a turning point in the conversation between them.

"How do you know that?" Oliver asked, his voice suddenly incredibly cold. There was no longer any pretense of denial as he glared at the crown prince seated right across him.

"Don't get so worked up." Alexander said, seemingly unfazed by Oliver's Oliver's icy demeanor.

"If I were in your position, I would want to leave this miserable kingdom too. After all, who would want to be the duke of a duchy as small as this?"

"Isn't that right, Duke Oliver?" Alexander said, and his voice suddenly became frigid.

"Your Roy- " Oliver started to say, but Alexander cut him off immediately.

"I could have you hanged for treason." Alexander said frigidly, his eyes completely devoid of any emotion.

"Every member of your Helios family will be hanged, your two children beheaded, your wife ripped apart by wild beasts." Alexander continued to say, his emotionless azure irises striking palpable fear into Oliver's heart.

For the first time since Alexander appeared in his manor, Oliver felt true fear. Looking at Alexander's emotionless eyes, Oliver knew that he would most definitely go through with his threats.

Completely defeated and left with no choice, Oliver got on his knees and begged in a sincere voice.

"Please spare my family. I was in the wrong. This has nothing to do with my family." Oliver begged, completely shedding his dignity as the duke of Assyria kingdom and pleading for leniency.

Alexander maintained his emotionless stare, but a tinge of sympathy tugged at his heart.

Norin was an infamous traveling merchant group in the southern region of the Omrys continent, which was where Assyria was located. However, while they were mainly known as a merchant group, they had another job that was hidden from the public.

They were also a transport caravan.

Oliver was already fed up with the decline Assyria was facing, so he secretly arranged to leave the Assyria kingdom with his family and paid Norin to transport them safely.

In a way it was the former Alexander's fault, and coupled with the tragic history of the Helios family, it was no wonder that Oliver wanted to leave the Assyria kingdom.

What good was it to be the Duke of a kingdom that was on the verge of collapse?

Soon enough, Assyria would be forced to fight an endless number of battles, and the conflict against the invaders was just one of them. The moment they suffered a defeat, their fates would no longer be in their hands. Instead, they would be at the mercy of the victors.

Unfortunately, according to the military law in the Assyria Kingdom, Oliver's act was equivalent to treason.

A Duke could not abandon his kingdom; no matter what the circumstances may be.

As for how Alexander knew that Oliver was planning to leave Assyria, he already mentioned it earlier. He had thoroughly done his research. This included every single prominent citizen of the Assyria kingdom.

"Get up." Alexander said emotionlessly.

Oliver was hesitant to obey, but after considering the fact that it was an order from the future King of Assyria, he stood up from his kneeling position.

"I am not going to hold you and your Helios family accountable for your transgression." Alexander said in a cold yet indifferent tone.

"Thank you very much for your graciousness, Your Royal Highness!" Oliver said sincerely, his voice nearly cracking from gratitude. He thought that he was going to die the moment his covert deeds were exposed by Alexander. While he was not afraid of death, he did not want anything to happen to his family.

"However, for me to write off your crime, you have to swear allegiance to me." Alexander stated solemnly, his azure irises staring right at Oliver scarlet ones as he slid a very exquisite dagger across the round table to where Oliver stood.

Oliver's handsome face became incredibly solemn too, and the atmosphere in the room became tense once more as Oliver weighed the options available to him at the moment.

Alexander did not utter a single word; opting to lean back and observe Oliver's reaction after presenting his offer.

He half expected Oliver to refuse his option, but his next actions surprised him greatly.

Oliver took the exquisite dagger and unsheathed it in a trained move before running his finger across the sharp dagger blade.

Drops of fresh crimson blood fell on the table as Oliver expertly drew a strange magic circle with his blood. The moment he was done, he spoke in a very solemn voice.

"I, Oliver Helios, pledge allegiance to Alexander Quinn, the crown prince of the Kingdom of Assyria!"

The moment he finished his allegiance pledge, the magic circle he painted with his blood flashed brightly. Oliver immediately felt a searing pain on his chest, after which a blood-red tattoo of the magic circle appeared on his chest, precisely where his heart was positioned.

The instant Oliver had any minute thought of betraying Alexander, he would be faced with unbearable pain that assualted his soul, burning it until he perished.

It was a brutal condition for anyone to agree to, which was why Alexander was sure that Oliver would reject his offer.

Alexander looked at Oliver's scarlet irises which bore unwavering determination in them and smiled triumphantly.

He instantly willed some large bags filled to the brim with gold coins, some armors and some weapons to appear out of his black spatial ring before turning to stare at Oliver whose jaws were wide open, his eyes almost popping out of his sockets.

"I will ask again." Alexander spoke in a voice that was laced with utter confidence and conviction.

"Duke Oliver, are you willing to become the Duke of the greatest S-rank Empire in the history of Omrys continent?"