Chapter 159 - 159 – The Press Conference

As it turned out, Ren and Fang didn't even have to do much at the press conference.

Fang opened the press conference by addressing the room full of media persons.

"Thank you for coming to listen to my side of the story," he said politely. "As you all know, the deposed royals of the Valley Kingdom have made a rather strange announcement earlier today. I am as surprised as the rest of the world. While I got to know that I was the long lost son of the late crown princess of the Valley Kingdom a few days ago when Ren started investigating the affairs of the royal family of the Valley Kingdom because the erstwhile seventh prince of the Valley Kingdom tried to abduct me – what we learnt was that my late mother had been disinherited because she married a man from the Dragon Kingdom. After that, we learnt from my aunt, the Dragon Queen, that my late father was actually her older brother and a prince of the Dragon Nation."

"Why would your mother be disinherited if she married a prince from another kingdom?" a reporter asked rudely.

Fang shrugged. "I have no idea. I was stolen from my mother's arms the day I was born and I lived in the Orchid Orphanage until Ren brought me home," he said. "I didn't even know who my biological parents were until a few days ago – nor did I want to know. As far as I am concerned, Ren is my family, and I neither need nor want anyone else – especially not people who seek to harm me." He turned to the Dragon Queen sitting next to him. "Well, let me amend that – my aunt, the Dragon Queen, has been very kind to Ren and I ever since we first met – however, although she realised that I was the baby who had been stolen at birth, she did not reveal my origins because she was afraid that I would meet the same end as my late parents if certain people found out about me."

Pandemonium broke out amongst the audience.

"Prince Fang, are you saying that the deposed royal family of the Valley Kingdom murdered your parents?!" several voices cried out in shock. And similar questions were flung at Fang from every direction.

Fang remained silent until the noise died down.

"It is still under investigation," Fang said quietly. "But yes, they seem to be the prime suspects. Ren has already turned over all the evidence we found to the international police force, so it is not in my place to say anything further. We will wait for the excellent folks of the international police force find out the truth."

"Are you going back to the Valley Kingdom to claim the throne?" the first reporter – the rude one, asked Fang.

Fang shook his head. "Cosmopolis is my home," he said simply. "And I have no intention of being a monarch of any place. I am happy here, with my Ren and our little ones, and I am happy visiting the Dragon Nation sometimes to meet my family there – but that's all."

"What will happen to the Valley Kingdom, then?" the rude reporter demanded. "Don't you think that you owe it to the people there to take responsibility for what the deposed royal family of the Valley Kingdom has done?"

"Why should Fang take any responsibility for the people who are as much his enemies as they are of the people of the Valley Kingdom?" Ren asked sharply. "If you want someone to take responsibility, I would be happy to sponsor a trip to the Dune Country for you. You can take it up with the actual parties involved and leave my Fang, who is an innocent party, out of it."

The rude reporter paled at Ren's sharpness. Ren could be very scary when he wanted to be, and right now, his golden eyes were narrowed in displeasure, and felt like sharp blades stabbing at his enemies – and Ren's enemies would be anyone who dared to trouble his darling Fang!

Pax, who was sitting on the stage along with Ren and Fang, exchanged a meaningful glance with his twin brother Wolf, who was standing by the side, ready to leap into action if anyone dared to threaten either Ren or Fang. The two brothers nodded at some of the members of the Blue Wolves who were mixed in with the audience members, and issued silent instructions to keep an eye on the rude reporter. It seemed from his behaviour that he had been paid off by someone to create trouble for Fang – and Pax and Wolf would never let either Ren or Fang be bullied by anyone – not on their watch!

But Pax and Wolf were not the only ones determined to protect Ren and Fang today.

The ministers of Cosmopolis were here to defend them as well! Their goal was clear – to claim Prince Fang as their own, so that he would continue to stay here. Both the ministers felt their heart settle when Fang declared just now that he considered Cosmopolis to be his home – and they would support him with all their power!

"Indeed," the Minister of Home Affairs of Cosmopolis spoke up. "Chairman Ren and Prince Fang are absolutely right. Prince Fang is a citizen of Cosmopolis, and has nothing to do with the Valley Kingdom. He has never even been to the Valley Kingdom, for that matter. He was born in the Dragon Nation and brought to Cosmopolis at birth. He can be considered to have dual citizenship of Cosmopolis and the Dragon Nation – and that is something we shall discuss with the Dragon Queen, who has offered these dual citizenships to both Prince Fang and Chairman Ren, and we feel that this is a legitimate claim. However, the Valley Kingdom is nowhere in the picture. For twenty years, it was claimed that the late mother of Prince Fang, who was the crown princess of the Valley Kingdom, had been disinherited, and the royals of the Valley Kingdom never said a single world to refute this claim. Further, even when the royals of the Valley Kingdom found out that our Prince Fang was the long lost son of the late crown princess, instead of approaching Prince Fang, the seventh prince of the Valley Kingdom assaulted Prince Fang and Chairman Ren and nearly abducted Prince Fang. If it had not been for the excellent security provided by the members of the Blue Wolves, I fear to imagine what would have happened to Prince Fang. The royals of the Valley Kingdom have shown no goodwill towards Prince Fang at all – in fact, it is quite the contrary."

"Despite that, however," the Minister of International Affairs took up the thread smoothly. "Prince Fang and Chairman Ren are already helping the people of the Valley Kingdom, and so are we, at their express request. We all agree with the people of the Valley Kingdom that it should be converted into a democracy, and we shall, together with the Dragon Nation and Sand Country, extend support to the people there."

Excited murmurs broke out amongst the audience once more. The rude reporter frowned deeply and glanced at his phone – perhaps waiting for instructions.

"So, the Valley Kingdom will now become a democratic nation? Who would be the new leader of the Valley Kingdom?" another reporter asked eagerly.

"How would we know who the next leader will be?" the Minister of International Affairs asked with a frown. "The people of the Valley Kingdom would choose their own leader. We are not going to interfere with their internal affairs. We are just providing them some help to stabilise the current situation and help them conduct their first general elections peacefully, that's all. Who the people of the Valley Kingdom choose is their decision entirely – it is not in our place to interfere, and we don't want to interfere, either. It is for purely sentimental reasons that Prince Fang and Chairman Ren are helping out – and we are very supportive of them. We are very proud that Cosmopolis has such great citizens, like Chairman Ren and Prince Fang."

"That is true," the Dragon Queen said. "We are in full support of Prince Fang and Chairman Ren, and that is why we have made an exception in our policies and granted the two of them dual citizenships. Prince Fang is a prince of the Dragon Nation, just like his father before him. That is all there is to it. The Valley Kingdom, as has already been explained, will become a democratic nation, as has been decided by its own people. We feel that there is nothing wrong with that and it is a decision that would be beneficial to the Valley Kingdom in the long run.. The wrongdoings of the deposed royal family of the Valley Kingdom and their relatives have already been exposed recently and everyone knows about those. Such persons do not deserve to govern a country!"