Chapter 174: rulership

"Will it kill you to be in time?" Desella still poured her anger on him.

"…"

"Aye darling don't be like this and tell me why I am summoned here?"

"We want you to be the next king" Gui Song proposed the matter.

"No" Severus straightforwardly denied it. He did not even take a second to consider the situation and without any hesitation, cut off him. "Ruling doesn't suit me, nor I wish to take it."

Vlass who was sitting there as if all this does not concern him started his persuasion. "If not you then who? I do not see anyone else more fit except you to take on this responsibility. You know this kingdom like the back of your own hand. I don't think you will face any difficulty ruling this and by chance, if you did, then we all are here to help you out."

Severus vehemently shook his head. "This is not about how familiar I am with the kingdom or how efficiently I can rule it. It is simple. Why can't you Guys understand it? I just don't wish to."

"You probably can't force me against my wishes" Severus declared. Although the words he said were casual but the underlying weight in them was heavy. Severus killed the strongest people of this kingdom. Who was stupid enough to force him?

Gui Song knew that the persuasion would be futile. He had spent days with Severus and thus was aware of his nature. Severus was as stubborn as mule in this case. Gui Song saw no hope, so he resigned to fate.

Desella was aware of Severus' personality. Given that she was aware of how much Severus had suffered in this kingdom, she herself did not wish rulership for Severus. Call her selfish but she wanted Severus happiness more than anything, so she too remained quiet.

Selena too silently supported Severus. For her, whatever Severus did was considered the right thing to do. "If brother Severus chose to not become king then I support him. He helped us a lot and I don't think anyone present here can actually repay the favor so what we can do is, to support his decision."

Everyone was hit with a realization when Selena brought this up.

"I am flattered Selena" Severus chimed in with a dashing smile.

When Selena witnessed the brightness on his face, she nearly had a heart attack. Severus was smiling brightly at her with an ongoing conversation.  She felt content as well as embarrassed.

Desella "…"

Desella did not have any words to describe Selena's fangirling over Severus.

Everyone turned quiet as each one of them was brainstorming for the ongoing problem.

If not Severus and then who?

This was the main question that was turning people mad. They probably cannot let anyone else take the position of king or else kingdom would be done for. Those old geezers were probably waiting for the position. There was no way Vlass could handle such an important position to just anyone.

Thud!

Vlass slammed his fist on the table.

Everyone was startled by his action but soon regained their wits.

"What?"

"Stop banging table like this. I nearly got a mini heart attack from surprise" Desella chided Vlass.

Earlier she used to fear that saint but now, after spending several days with him, she found out that he was a pretty easy-going person in real life. Last few days she enjoyed poking fun at the old man but now suddenly he was behaving seriously today. She understood that he was concerned about the kingdom, but shouldn't he be a little bit more sensitive towards Severus' feelings too. She was not satisfied with Vlass behavior.

"I apologize." He genuinely apologized.

" I know Severus that you didn't have any good memories of you with this kingdom, but this is an undeniable truth that Rivera was your home place and would forever be. How can you bear to leave it when it is in a state of chaos?" He wanted to to say  more but Severus cut him curtly.

"So?"

"Are you saying that I should help Rivera first and when it is stabled then I am allowed to leave this place?"

HA!

He snorted.

Vlass wanted to say that this was not what he meant but Severus didn't give him any chance.

"It's not only you Vlass's but I am sure that the rest of the people think the same. Deep down in their hearts, they want me to just help them out whenever they face difficulties. Those filthy nobles want me to help them win over other kingdoms, you want me to help Rivera, Gui Song wishes the same too so that he can have a good alliance with Rivera" Severus exposed everyone.

Gui Song and Vlass felt uncomfortable when their intentions were caught. Well, it was not wrong for them to think this way but what offended Severus was, their forcing nature.

"I am leaving Rivera tomorrow early in the morning."

Screech!

All the four chairs made noises when they were screeched against the floor. Everyone jumped in shock when they heard Severus.

"What?"

"Why brother Severus?"

"Why kid?"

"You are joking right?"

Everyone asked different questions at the same time.

Severus did not bat his eyes on their shocked expression. "Don't get all hyped up. There is more so sit down and listen."

He ordered with a straight face.

Everyone instantly sat down. They did not know why but suddenly the aura of Severus changed completely. His words started carrying the weight and his presence made everyone feel suffocated. A never seen fear developed inside their hearts. "You can all forget the idea of making me a ruler. I won't agree to it and no one can change my decision so it would be better if you all save your efforts."

"Don't get up Vlass. I'm still not finished" Severus saw Vlass was getting impatient so he warned him dangerously.

Vlass felt chill run down in his spine as he froze on his seat in an instant.

"I want three rules to be followed in this kingdom after I take my leave."

"First and foremost, just remove all the traces of necromancy from Rivera. I know it sounds strange, but Marquis had already killed all the necromancers in our kingdom and the rest who are left are just low-grade ones who neither have the knowledge nor the potential. I do not want this kingdom to survive on a dead art. Instead try your hands in the market, vegetables, and human service. There are several remote places in our kingdom that are devoid of attention so our second rule would be to focus our resources on them. Maintain public resources and divide them equally".

"Third and the most important one. I want you all to make education compulsory for the kids. And when I say kids, I mean both girls and boys. Education is the only way through which we can overcome the barriers of society and help everyone to lead a respectable life."

"And yes, who should be the one who would take responsibility for implementing all three rules?" Severus gazed at each of them to see who would volunteer but no one did. Gui Song already had his kingdom to manage. Selena was still a kid. Desella was out of the question since she would be following him. The only one left was Vlass.

Just like Severus, everyone had the same thoughts, so they all started staring at Vlass.

Vlass felt uncomfortable with their stares so he glared at them in response. "What? Stop staring at me. You all are giving me creepy vibes''.

HA!

"You are the one who is creepy Vlass" Desella snorted at him.

"…"

"Look here, everyone. We got our best candidate for the position of king. It is none other than beloved Vlass" Severus introduced him grandly.

Clap!

Selena And Severus started clapping while the rest of them had expressions like they saw shit on the ground.

"…"

"Wait what…?"

"No"

"I am not doing it" Vlass denied.

"TSK TSK"

"Forcing brother Severus to take up the job but when it is your turn you are making excuse Mr Vlass. Never knew Onyx had such a pathetic leader."

"…"

"Where did Onyx come in between? And why the hell are you hugging Severus?" He asked in obvious confusion.

Desella who was not paying attention immediately turned her head to see Selena gluing herself to Severus.

She internally gritted her teeth.

What is with these sisters? Both of them like sticking to Severus as if he is a magnet to which they are both attracted.

Severus didn't mind it. He even patted Selena's head adorably.

"There their lil sally. You do not need to get angry because of these old geezers. I will not allow them to bully me, so you be calm" He finally soothed out angry Selena.

Selena turned into mush when she was being patted on the head. Her cheeks turned scarlet as she blushed until she was red as ripe tomatoes.

On the other side, Desella barely managed to control her urge to kill Selena.

Sally?

Are you serious Severus?

She wanted to scraem out the question but didn't.

"I don't want to listen to any of your shit Vlass. No one else can be more convincing to become a king for this kingdom than you. First of all, you are the head of Onyx so people will automatically believe in you regardless of what you did. You have a good speaking skill so spread the truth so that people can be aware of what actually happened. I want everyone to know what happened 30 years ago so each and every member of Reseen can live a worthy life. I do not want anyone to look down on people from Reseen. You are the one who can successfully make necromancy vanish from this kingdom. I request you to turn Rivera kingdom into a new leaf Vlass."