Chapter 11: Meeting The Family

Chapter 11: Meeting The Family

The next day had arrived, and the castle was abuzz with activity. The King had ordered the knight's training ground courtyard to be cleared and the royal guard to arrive there at 10:30 in the morning. The reason for this was that apparently, a guest and ally of the Kingdom would be arriving today.

The entire Royal Family would be there to greet the guests within the courtyard, which confused the people of the castle as the courtyard was located at the rear of the castle, and guests would usually need to arrive through the front entrance.

Not to mention that having the King himself greet the guests, instead of having the guests greet him within the throne room, as royal etiquette required, put the castle staff further on edge.

However, they followed the King's orders to the letter and prepared to receive the expected guests.

The first of the Royal Family to arrive in the courtyard once everything was set up were the Princes and Princesses. They had been informed about this rather sudden event first thing this morning; thus, while the majority were simply confused, one little Princess was fidgeting in anticipation, while another person was visibly annoyed and wasn't afraid of showing it.

"Who do these supposed 'guests' think they are? Father's birthday was yesterday. As I've heard, if they are our allies, why were they not present at the Banquet? In fact, what are Mother and Father even thinking? Showing up the day after is the height of arrogance and a slap in the face of the Royal Family's prestige!" Adrian grumbled, speaking in a voice loud enough that those in his surroundings could hear him clearly.

While Adrian wasn't the most liked member of the Royal Family, the servants around couldn't help but silently agree with some of what he'd said.

Ariana, who was standing beside her elder sister with Shirogane on her shoulder, frowned at her eldest Brother's words. She was going to reply but felt a firm but gentle hand land on her shoulder. Ariana's eyes met Adriana's as she simply smiled and shook her head. Understanding her sibling's silent message, Ariana pouted but chose to keep quiet. Adriana then decided to speak up herself.

"That's enough, Brother. Father has given his orders. While you may be the Crown Prince, that still does not give you the right to question our Father, The King. Father never does anything without purpose. If he's asked us to gather here for these guests, then that is what we shall do." Adriana said in a harsh tone.

Hearing the Princess's words, the staff who had inwardly agreed with Adrian cursed at themselves for their folly and increased their efforts. Meanwhile, Adrian scoffed and glared at Adriana. He was going to throw her words back at her saying, 'He was the Crown Prince; thus she had no right to speak to him in such a manner', but before he could, the doors to the castle opened, heralding the arrival of the King and Queen.

"Good, you're all here. Our guests should be arriving soon." Amarant said in an authoritative tone.

The servants and royal guard spontaneously dropped to their knees as a sign of respect for their Monarchs, while the Royal Children bowed their heads in their direction, though one with slightly less depth than the others.

Adrian decided at that moment to take a step forward and voice his thoughts, saying,

"Father, Mother, I am happy to see you this morning. However, while I don't mean to question your actions, may we at least know the reason for all of us to gather here?"

Hearing his son's words, Amarant raised an eyebrow and stared directly into his eyes, saying,

"Oh? And here I thought all of you were informed that special guests were arriving today."

"Apologies, Father. I seem to have been unclear. While I understand that there are guests arriving, I fail to see why we would go to such lengths to greet them. Isn't greeting them in such a manner, even if they are allies, an affront to the Royal Family? Especially after they failed to arrive for the Banquet last night. Why must we greet them here instead of having them greet us within the Throne Room?"

"Sigh… These are special circumstances. The guests we are greeting are unlike the others we've had in the past. Their situation is abnormal; thus, we have prepared to greet them without following proper protocol."

"But-"

"That's enough, Adrian. Just follow my orders. You'll see for yourself soon enough."

"Yes, Father…" Adrian said while subtly gritting his teeth at being cut off. He returned to his siblings and waited alongside them while Amarant and Eleanora stood at the front of the group.

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Five minutes passed, and Adrian continued to become more and more restless. He was about to speak up about being made to wait; however, a certain hum that was gradually growing louder sounded through the air.

The staff and the Royal Guard began looking around in confusion while the Princes and Eldest Princess did the same. Ariana, however, looked up into the sky with excitement shining in her eyes.

Soon the sound reached an all-time high, putting the Royal Guard further on edge; however, before they could move to surround the Royal Family, something zoomed through the air above the castle at surprising speed before slowing down and hovering above the courtyard.

The Royal Guard immediately tried to spring into action to defend the Royal Family, but a single gesture from the King put a stop to them. Seeing Amarant raise his hand, the guards halted their movements and returned to their positions.

The Royal Children were staring up at the object in shock and awe, while Ariana was beaming a significant smile. The Monarchs stared at the object with an air of solemnity. Still, inwardly they were just as amazed at the contraption that allowed for flight without the use of Magic, despite having personally experienced it themselves.

Soon the object descended into the courtyard, landing softly in front of the gathered people, before the everpresent high pitched hum slowly descended in pitch, signifying the engines cycling down.

With the rear of the Albatross facing the group, the entrance soon opened with a hiss before gradually lowering like a drawbridge, creating a clanging sound as soon as it touched the ground.

Sam was the first to step out of the Albatross, each of his steps creating a heavy thud that echoed through the surrounding courtyard. His intimidating visage caused the majority of the onlooking servants to tremble slightly with his every step. At the same time, the Royal Guard tensed at the supposed Dwarven Automaton entering the castle grounds.

Each of the guards had gone through training which included learning how to subjugate these automatons. Thus, each and every one of them knew how difficult of an opponent they were. If it were to attack, they would manage to defeat it with their numbers; however, there would be a lot of casualties in the process.

Little did they know that this so-called 'automaton' before them would prove to be an even more deadly opponent should they prove hostile.

After scanning the surroundings, Sam stepped to the side, turned parallel to the Albatross, and performed a military salute as Dr. Halloway stepped down from the interior and looked at the surroundings.

Seeing the familiar faces of the Royal Family, Dr. Halloway stepped forward and walked in their direction. As she passed Sam, he finished his salute, falling in step just behind her and to her right.

When they were about 5 metres away from the Monarchs, Dr. Halloway stopped, placed her right hand to the left side of her chest and bowed at the waist at a 45-degree angle before starting.

"Your Majesties, it is a pleasure to see you again. We did not expect such a large gathering; however, it is greatly appreciated and very welcoming."

"The pleasure is ours, Dr. Halloway. I take it the trip here wasn't too treacherous?" Amarant replied, going through the motions and necessary greetings.

"Not at all, Your Majesty. Sam here is an excellent pilot, and the view of your Kingdom from the sky was a pleasant sight to see."

"Very good. Come, allow me to welcome you into my home. Our chefs have prepared a meal ready for us to dine while we discuss your stay here."

"Understood, Your Majesty. Please lead the way." Regina smiled, inwardly glad to both have this tiresome facade over with and to have a meal of something other than the MRE packs found on the Albatross.

The Monarchs nodded before turning around to walk in the castle's direction. The Royal Guards in the surroundings performed a simultaneous salute by slamming their right fists into their chest plates, with the Captain and Vice-Captain escorting the Monarchs, while Dr. Halloway and Sam followed after them.

The Royal Children followed behind Dr. Halloway and Sam; however, after entering the castle, Ariana squeezed past her siblings and ran up to Sam. Adrian was about to scold her, but his words got caught in his throat at the sight before him.

"Hi, Sam! Guess what! I'm super excited!"

Hearing his mortal enemy address the 'special guest's' automaton in such a manner, Adrian was stunned silly. Again he was going to call out to his idiotic sibling but was interrupted once again, this time by Sam's words.

Sam turned his head and looked down at the little Princess trotting to keep up with the pace the group was walking at.

"What for?"

"Father told me you'll be staying in the castle alongside Ms. Regina and that you'll be learning Magic!

"Mhm… And you're excited because?"

"Because I'll be going to Magic classes with you!"

Hearing the Princess's words, Sam's steps nearly faltered. However, he managed to keep his pace and reply,

"Is that right…"

"Mhm! Although, for the most part, it'll just be a revision for me. I've already Mastered most of the Basic Tier spells. So while you learn the basics, I'll be practising the Intermediate Tier spells I already know. But once you get to Intermediate level, we'd start learning new things together!"

"I… I see."

Sam was a bit confused. From what he'd imagined, the Magic' training' he would receive would be similar to a live-fire testing ground or something similar. However, now that he knew Ariana was joining him, he realised he was probably going to experience a classroom-like setting, something he hadn't participated in since the first couple of years in his upbringing during the Einherjar Project.

Watching the entire exchange, the rest of the Royal Children were shocked. At first, they assumed that Sam was a Dwarven Automaton; however, the following conversation between him and their baby sister proved otherwise. They were also all wondering how the two knew each other as none of the siblings had ever met either of the two guests…

Soon enough, the entire procession arrived at a pair of large white wooden doors, which were then opened by a pair of servants, leading into a massive dining hall.

The group took their seats, with Amarant at the head of the table, followed by Eleanora to his right, and the rest of the Royal Family sitting on the right side of the table, in order of age. The Captain and Vice-Captain of the Royal Guard stood behind Amarant's chair, on his left and right respectively, roughly 3 metres from the table.

Regina sat directly to Amarant's left, while Sam took up his position to her left, roughly the same distance away that the Royal Guard's stood from the King.

The two Royal Guards stared at Sam out of the corner of their eyes and couldn't help but scrutinise him while inwardly gulping at the magnificence of his armour. Sam himself just stood still, scanning the table and his surroundings without moving an inch.

Seeing Sam standing, Amarant turned his head to face him, asking,

"Sam, you are welcome to join us for the meal if you would like."

Sam turned his head to meet Amarant's gaze and replied,

"Apologies, Sir. I am currently escorting Dr. Halloway on a diplomatic mission. Therefore, my assigned position cannot be altered."

"Insolence! You dare reject the King's kindness!" Adrian shouted from across the table as if such a thing were a reflex.

Hearing the shout from his Son, Amarant snapped his head in Adrian's direction and glared at him fiercely, reprimanding.

"Prince Adrian, I am plenty capable of speaking for myself in situations such as these. And for your information, there was no such offence within Sir Samuel's words. Refrain from showing any more unsightly behaviour before our guests. This is your only warning."

Hearing his Father's reprimand alongside seeing the gazes of everyone on him, most of which he interpreted as mocking, despite them not being so, Adrian's face went red with anger. Still, he looked away and kept his mouth shut, grinding his teeth till his gums nearly bled.

"I apologise for his outburst. Still, if you feel as though that is your duty, you are more than welcome to continue, Sam."

"Thank you, Sir."

Once again, Adrian and the rest of the people present in the dining hall, sans Dr. Halloway and Eleanora, tensed at the way Sam addressed Amarant. It was considered a great taboo not to address members of the Royal Family with titles such as Highness or Majesty. However, seeing neither of the Monarchs were speaking up about the matter, the rest just tried to ignore it…

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