22. Nuisance Pest
The knock at the door interrupted Arsen and Reiga's conversation. Even Arion, who was getting sleepy, lost his sleepiness immediately. The three of them turned their heads towards the door at the same time.
Arsen turned his gaze coldly, "Come in."
The door opened and revealed one of the knights who immediately bowed respectfully to his king, "Your Majesty, you have a guest."
Arsen frowned and glanced at his right-hand man, "Reiga, do I have an appointment today?"
"No, Your Majesty," Reiga replied equally confused.
Usually, he was the one who arranged his king's schedule if he had guests. But Reiga was pretty sure that Arsen had no guests at all today.
Reiga turned to his subordinate, "Who is this person?" He asked seriously.
Not just anyone could meet the king without an appointment. Unless this person was an important guest from another kingdom or someone who had something urgent for the king.
The knight grimaced in doubt, "He's one of the nobles."
Arsen snorted coldly and lost interest in whoever came. Reiga turned his gaze seriously. He moved behind his king, preparing to protect the two members of the royal family.
Arion looked at them confused, 'You don't seem to like whoever came here.'
"Send him in," Arsen ordered coldly.
The knight opened the door wide and someone stepped in confidently. The knight bowed respectfully to his king before leaving the room.
"Greetings to His Majesty the King. May the lightning of Gewitter always protect you. I, Robert Walson, am at your service."
The man bowed respectfully. His gaze fell several times on the baby in the king's lap.
'What the hell is this guy? His gaze makes me uncomfortable.' Arion thought uncomfortably.
He felt the man glance at him several times with a dismissive and greedy look. He had a bad feeling about this person.
Arsen gave him a look of dislike, "What's your business?"
He noticed the nobleman's gaze on Arion several times, which made him squint suspiciously. He didn't like the way this man looked at his son.
Robert cleared his throat politely, his expression one of confidence, "Your Majesty, I'm just here to offer you a favor."
Arsen raised his eyebrows, "Oh, what is it?"
"Your Majesty, I'm worried that the queen will be troubled and exhausted from taking care of Prince Arion as well as Prince Eric and Princess Hana. In addition, the palace has been busier than usual lately, preparing for the celebration party for the second prince." He explained in a rambling manner.
Arion began to feel nervous, 'I don't like where this is going.'
Arsen snorted in boredom, "So?"
"I offered that my wife could help take care of Prince Arion."
Silence surrounded the room. Reiga glared at the nobleman with disgust. How could he dare to make an offer that had a very clear purpose? Besides, he was using a baby as an excuse. Reiga refrained from drawing his sword.
Arsen had a blank look on his face, not immediately reacting to his words. He just stared at the noble in front of him without saying anything.
Arion looked at him incredulously, 'What?'
Seeing that his king showed no sign of rejection, he boldly continued, "We also have a daughter who is close in age to the second prince, so Prince Arion will have company. I'm sure my wife can take care of both of them. His Highness will be happy to have company as well."
Arion gripped his father's shirt tightly, 'I don't want to.'
"Besides, with my wife looking after Prince Arion, Her Highness the Queen will be able to spend a lot of time with Prince Eric and Princess Hana. Her Highness must miss spending time with the twins." He said cheerfully. Unaware of the different moods of the room's occupants.
Arion's grip on his father's shirt loosened, 'That...'
Arion began to process the man's words. It was true that Natalie's time with the twins was reduced because she had to take care of him as well. He should not have protested. He was the intruder in this family.
The twins were more entitled to enjoy their time with Natalie, not him. If there was a chance for that, Arion should have accepted it. Even if Arion did not like it, he had no right to refuse.
Before he could fully release his grip, the sound of his father's chuckle made him gasp in surprise.
"You are quite brave."
Arion looked up to see Arsen smirking amusedly with his shining sharp golden eyes. He felt his father's hands move to cover his ears and block his view, preventing him from noticing any further.
"Your Majesty--"
"Don't say your nonsense to me again." Arsen cut him off sharply. His eyes stared intently at Robert who was trembling with fear.
Arion couldn't see the man's condition. But he could still hear the sharp tone of Arsen's speech.
Arion swallowed nervously, 'Will he defend me?'
He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Although his stupid mind had said something else a moment ago, he was relieved that it seemed like he wouldn't be taken away.
"Do you think I'm that stupid?" Arsen asked calmly, but everyone could hear the venom in his tone that made Robert tremble even more with fear, not daring to raise his voice in denial.
"What kind of fool would give their child to a stranger? Do you think I'm that fool?" He continued, not caring that the face of the person in front of him was getting paler and paler as if all the blood in his body had been sucked out.
"Do you think I can't take care of my own child when my wife is busy or tired?" Arsen continued without lowering the intensity of his sharp gaze.
Robert immediately shook his head frantically, "That's not what I meant, Your Majesty! I just--"
Arsen cut him off, "Arion is my son. What's best for him is my business and my wife's business. You and your family have nothing to do with it. If you try to bring this matter up again, I won't take kindly to it."
Arsen's final words made the nobleman completely silent. He will not tolerate anyone who uses his son for their own purposes.
Arsen is not stupid. It was not necessary to have a smart brain to know the true purpose of this nobleman. Using his son to gain his favor. Did he think that Arsen was so stupid not to see it?
Robert looked down deeply, not daring to look forward. His face was extremely pale. All of his self-confident expression was gone. The look in his eyes was full of fear. Cold sweat was pouring down from his forehead. His entire body was shaking violently. His legs even looked like they might collapse.
Arsen clicked his tongue, "Drag him out."
Reiga nodded in understanding and immediately dragged the noble away roughly. He had been silent the whole time their conversation had started. But even he was disgusted by this noble.
How dare he use the prince for his greedy purposes. If Reiga had not restrained himself, he would have dismembered this noble to the point that people would not have recognized him.
Although Reiga was a knight, he was the king's knight as well as his right-hand man. His rank was just below that of the king. He is also a high-ranking noble whose ancestors have served the king of the Gewitter Kingdom for generations. He wouldn't get into trouble for killing the noble who had offended the king.
Arsen exhaled to calm himself before his magic started to rage again. He looked at Arion with a guilty look, "Sorry, Arion. Did Daddy frighten you?"
Arion swallowed nervously, 'A little.'
This was the first time Arion had seen his father really angry. In the past, Arsen had once accidentally emitted a cold aura and spoken to the twins in a cold tone. But it felt completely different from what was happening now.
Back then, Arsen didn't mean to scare the twins. But this time, he sounded like he was ready to slaughter the man. Even though he was still holding back, he was really angry.
Arion could see that. Let's say it was because of his past experiences.
Arsen hugged Arion tighter, "Sorry, Dad kind of lost control." He whispered regretfully.
He should have been more reserved in front of his son. He didn't want Arion to be afraid of him in the future. Just thinking about it, Arsen could feel his heart breaking.
Arsen hissed softly while he covered Arion's ears, "How dare that damned person want to separate me from my son."
Even with his ears covered, Arion could still vaguely hear his words. He didn't know why his eyes got a little wet when he heard his words.
"Even though I'm very busy, I swear I'll take as much time as you want."
Arsen released quieter magic at the tip of his index finger, not his lightning magic, and controlled it so as not to release too much magic. He rubbed it gently on Arion's forehead.
"I promise."
The kiss on his forehead was the last thing Arion remembered before he felt his vision begin to close. Arion felt something warm flow into his body until he fell asleep.