159 The past came hunting I

Don turned to see a youth who might be a little older than him walking towards them. The youth didn't wear any fancy robes like the rest of the nobles but wore a battle robe that had a few patches on them. There was a feather stuck into his shoulder-length brown hair and had a scar on his neck. If Don saw him somewhere else instead of this gathering, he would have mistaken him for a mercenary rather than a noble, there was nothing noble about him except for the ring with a big green gem in his finger.

"Rodrigo"

Looking at King Enrico's face, they realized that he and the youth knew each other.

"I take these"

The youth grabbed two glasses full of wine from one of the servants and gulped one at the spot as he came to them.

"King Edward, King Don, meet my eldest, Prince Rodrigo Lemos"

When he introduced him to them, there was no pride or joy in his eyes but disappointment and regret.

"I would shake your hand but"

Rodrigo looked at the one empty and one full glass in his hand

"Where have you been?"

King Edward as Rodrigo gulped another glass of wine and turned his gaze away from Don and Edward

"In the pit, where else, why am I not smelling like jasmine and roses?"

He was smelling more like sweat, mud, and blood and by the look of him, he seemed to be proud of smelling like this.

"How many times I have to tell you, Rodrigo? You shouldn't go to the pit before the important events like this"

King Enrico frowned but Rodrigo snickered

"Humph, I'd rather be in the pit fighting the beast than here talking with them, father"

Rodrigo looked at the nobles around him and then King Edward and Don.

"There's a beast in front of you, stinky"

Lord Clemo thought to himself

King Enrico hit the wheelchair hand when he heard Rodrigo

"Look at him"

He pointed at Don

"He's much younger than you but he's ruling two kingdoms at the same time, and I'm just asking you to rule one, be a king that you're born to"

"Oh, oh"

King Edward knew that youths don't like to be compared with someone else, especially in front of others.

However, Rodrigo didn't look furious after seeing his father's sudden outburst as he calmly observed Don with a smile

"I'm sure you can rule more kingdoms with your knowledge in politics and fight your way through in court surrounded by dangerous people" he paused for a moment and looked at Lord Clemo, his tone was overflowing with sarcasm and mockery

" I'd rather use my sword in a fight with real enemies out there, in the real world than keeping it for a show but I'm sure you can talk politics and kill them the beasts in the wild in case you're separated from your soldiers"

King Enrico was burning with fury and regret hearing Rodrigo as Lord Clemo had a cold sweat appear on his forehead.

"The sword on my back, it's not for show, Prince Rodrigo. In fact, every time I unsheath it, there will be blood spilled"

"King Don, Rodrigo"

King Enrico sensed the tension as he quickly tried to calm both of them while Lord Clemo felt pity for Rodrigo.

Having heard Don, a grin appeared on Rodrigo's face as he threw the empty glasses away,

"Is that a challenge, King Don?" 

He caressed the scabbard on his hip and asked

"Just the fact, excuse me, King Enrico"

Don nodded at King Enrico and turned back and started to walk away

Seeing him turning his back on him and walking away, Rodrigo became enraged and released a sudden burst of magical fluctuations

"Do you have the guts to accept my challenge then?"

"That's enough, Prince Rodrigo"

Don stopped walking when he heard the sudden appearance of a feminine voice that echoed through the hall.

"Queen Cassia"

"Your majesty"

Don turned back and looked up to see a woman in a sparkling blue dress walking down on the stairs with a crown on her head.

She was tall and had a slender body that most women die for. Her blue eyes, like the sea, were calm and emotionless. Long, wavy blonde hair, so smooth and silky, almost as if it was tailored from gold fabric. Every step she took had the grace to it. Most of them didn't even notice the man holding her hand because of her charm and beauty. Even though the man was handsome and had a lean body beneath his robes, everyone's gaze was on the queen herself.

"Queen Cassia, King Virgo"

King Edward and King Enrico greeted both of them as they nodded and Queen Cassia turned her gaze towards Rodrigo

"Prince Rodrigo, I don't need to tell you that this is not the place for you to draw weapons"

She said with a gentle smile but her voice was stern and domineering as Rodrigo sheathed his sword 

"But is there a place for me and King Don to put up a show for these lovely people gathered here?"

He wasn't going to let go without having a battle with Don and King Virgo looked at Don

"You can settle this with a simple apology, Lord..." 

King Virgo had mistaken Don for a noble as Lord Clemo stepped forward and bowed towards Queen Cassia and King Virgo

"Queen Cassia, King Virgo meet his majesty Don, king of Emir and Agoria"

"It's you"

The moment Lord Clemo introduced him to them, King Virgo's smile disappeared from his face while the queen gently smiled still Don could identify a fake smile when he sees one 

"What's your answer, King Don? Do you accept my challenge for a duel?"

Rodrigo reminded again with a grin on his face while everyone started to stare at Don

"If that's you want, I accept"

Rodrigo's grin grew big as Queen Cassia nodded

"You can settle this matter in the arena later, for now, let us continue with our gathering"

Queen Cassia said and walked away from them without saying anything to him while King Virgo turned his gaze towards Lord Clemo

"You should tell your king to be more careful in the future, Lord Clemo"

Before Lord Clemo or Don could reply to him, he followed Cassia behind leaving Lord Clemo bewildered

Yet, Rodrigo couldn't care less about King Virgo as he looked at Don

"Then I will meet you later at the arena, King Don"

He nodded at Rodrigo as Arrora and Yvonne came and joined them.

"What happened? King Don"

Yvonne asked as King Enrico looked concerned about what's going to happen

"King Don, forgive me for my son's doing but you shouldn't have accepted the challenge, he's a mid-level great master"

Yvonne almost coughed up the wine when she heard King Enrico but she didn't open her mouth about Don's cultivation level. He was worried about Don and was forced to reveal his son's cultivation level to make Don withdraw from the duel since it was his son's rudeness and arrogance that led to this point.

"You should worry about your son, King Enrico"

He said and excused himself from the old king and walked away to find a place where there would be fewer eyes gawking at him than here.

King Edward nodded and stayed with King Enrico while others followed Don behind to the far end of the hall.

"Lord Clemo, why don't you take Miss Lucroy for a dance?"

"Is this your way of telling me to fuck off? Fine I'll leave you two love birds alone"

She chuckled and dragged Lord Clemo with her leaving Don and Arrora behind

"What's she talking about?"

Don frowned 

"Doesn't matter, where's Joel?"

"Your majesty"

Don heard Joel's voice behind him as he turned back

"Your majesty, you should be careful with King Virgo"

Joel spoke so quietly as only Don could hear him

"I learned that he studied under the same roof with King Garreth's wife, queen Gwen"

"So they were friends?"

Don asked as Joel nodded and continued

"It seems they were good friends, by the way, he reacted when he saw you, your majesty"

It made sense to him now as if King Virgo was a good friend with Queen Gwen, he would certainly be angry or hold a grudge against the man who ordered to kill his good friend's son and her husband in cold blood.

"Anything else I should know?"

"Yes, your majesty"

Joel nodded and looked left and right before continuing

"I heard that Prince Rodrigo has a warehouse where he holds the magical beasts before transferring them to the pit"

"The pit?"

"The pit is where Prince Rodrigo trains your majesty, by fighting with captured bandits, criminals, and magical beasts to hone his skills, everyone in Mairis know about this"

Rodrigo did and acted like a battle freak who enjoyed being on the verge of death and the thrill of battles.

"Before the duel starts, make him bet the building itself, your majesty. Apparently the building is located in a noble district where"

"A business would flourish"

It was a great idea since if Rodrigo bet the building and lost, King Enrico would have no choice other than giving the building to him. Besides, he would gladly give up a building than losing his son when Don reveals his cultivation level in the arena.

"Finally, something good came out of this gathering"

At first, Don wanted to find a way to strike a deal with Cassia and open a business in Enarin but after realizing that there might be some bad blood between him and King Virgo, he removed that thought from his mind.