Chapter 141 Gathering Of Kings (2)

A smirk slowly crept onto the man's face as he spoke, "Oh, it seems that someone made it here before us. And I think I know who it is; if it isn't the ruffed-up puppy of the late King Feran". His eyes narrowed into slits, his words carrying a hint of sarcasm.

To all who knew him, he was a bloody demon whose actions had more reasoning in them than his words.

Beck responded coolly, "And if it isn't the greedy King who bit off more than he could chew and ended up paying for it". He knew that the man in front of him was currently evaluating him, testing him to see how he would respond.

Unfortunately, for the mad King, he wasn't as rash and dim-witted nature of his brothers.

The mad King stopped in front of Beck and sneered, "At least I am a King… and you, a fallen Prince, should at least understand that".

Beck retorted, "What I understand is that you are also a fallen King, just like me".

"Prince" The mad King corrected. "You are a fallen Prince, just like the rest of your brothers and sisters, nothing more, nothing less".

Beck opened his mouth to refute but was once again interrupted.

"However, I can't help but say that I am very disappointed..." The mad King shook his head in disgust. "From among your siblings, you were the one with the highest possibility of being crowned the next king...only you took charge and served your people while the rest of them fought over nonsensical ornaments like a crown and throne"

"Only you were able to lead your people to safety when the Moonlight's ice struck instead of trying to fill up your carriages with wealth in a futile attempt to regain the dying of your kingdom...you recognized that with the people a King is nothing, and for that, I understand and respect your actions."

"However..." The mad King's face twisted into an irritated expression with a scowl. "How did you manage to ruin all that?"

It only took a moment for Beck to process the madman's words, "Are you...?"

"How the hell did you allow that brother of yours who can't tell the difference between a sword and two mounds of breasts to become the next successor?" The mad King glared at him. "You had everything going smoothly for your next ascent, but, out of nowhere, you decided to ruin everything and uproot whatever chances you had of ever returning."

He added, "Fallen Prince Beck, you are a fool".

Beck sighed in understanding. At first, he thought that his mind was playing tricks on him, however, he soon realized that it wasn't. The madman, the ruffian disguised as a King, was strangely and painfully disappointed in him.

Still, Beck stood firm, "Whatever I do in my territory -in my city, is none of your business".

The mad King's face changed into a hideous scowl, "None of my business, my foot!" He stretched his right arm and quickly grabbed Beck's robe by the collar, pulling him closer. "Whatever happens in that city affects all of us, so don't you ever tell me that it's none of my business...or better yet, you might as well tell the Miracle Queen that it's none of my business when she decides to charge into our cities all because your brother pulled a stupid stunt."

"...My King," the white-clad assassins each stood in a protective position around their King.

The mad King turned his head to look at the guards gathered around.

"Wiping out all of them is the easy part, but what comes after that will be a problem" The mad king muttered audibly enough for everyone around him to hear his words.

Although he hated to admit it, Beck knew and understood how he felt. The guards flexing their weapons towards them were nothing more than decorations, as it wouldn't even take a minute or a few seconds, if they were motivated, to take down every last one of them to the last man.

"Soon, I will no longer be a fallen King" The mad King spat out, "So you are right, no matter what any of your siblings or you do, it is not my business. However, when the time comes, don't say that I didn't warn you". He walked away, positioning himself at a safe distance from them.

Beck was taken aback by the meaning behind those words. His head snapped towards the mad King's direction. A sly grin appeared on his lips as their eyes met.

'.… No longer be a fallen King' Beck thought to himself. He frowned before he shook his head disapprovingly.

If the mad King planned on dethroning the Queen and becoming the next King of the Vrymath Kingdom, it was his problem. Beck was convinced that the mad King wouldn't get far with his plans before he was bested again and forced to suffer the consequences of his actions, just as he had before.

The sound of snow breaking beneath someone's feet caught their ears. They turned to see a man adorned in black, shimmering armour, with a sword sheathed at his hip.

Everyone stared.

Even in the darkness, Beck could see that the armoured man shone as he spoke with a radiant smile that seemed to conquer all that was not pure. "I could hear all of your voices from miles away" The man said.

"Knight Boris Olenor, the last remaining ascendant of the once powerful Eser Kingdom" The mad King was the first to speak. "Now, however, it is a Kingdom only filled with the disabled and an orphanage filled with naive little kids...Am I right, or did I miss anything?"

Knight Boris shook his head in disagreement. "No, you are not wrong...but calling children naive as though it's a bad thing might make people have a bad idea about you, King Bor".

The mad King snorted "Let them think whatever they want to think." He then turned his attention away from Knight Boris.

"So, this is what a true Knight looks like" Beck thought.

He knew who Knight Boris was and the kind of character he possessed. From all of his deeds and the various information he had gathered, Beck could confidently say that the armoured man before him was a true Knight!

Boris walked towards him and extended his hand for a handshake, "And you must be?"

Beck grabbed and shook his hand. "I am Prince Beck."

"Prince Beck?" Knight Boris repeated.

"Yes. I am the third Prince of the fallen Brylen Kingdom, son of the Late King Feran" Beck corrected, introducing himself fully.

The confusion in Knight Boris's eyes immediately cleared up. Unexpectedly, without warning, he dropped to his knees and apologized, "I am sorry for your father's death that day, if not...you..."

Beck interrupted him. "It's all in the past. Besides, my father chose to do that himself, so you don't have to worry or take the blame upon yourself."

"Thank you," Knight Bael said, relaxing his shoulders and exhaling in relief. Somehow, Beck felt as though his smile had become even more radiant.

With a second, Knight Boris snapped his head to the side.

"it seems that someone else has decided to arrive early as well" Knight Boris said, as several people entered their sights, with two at the centre, each possessing a striking feature that stood out amongst the rest.

The first was an elderly man with an imposing figure who walked at the forefront, while the other was a young man in his mid-20s, standing behind him as they strolled forward. Meanwhile, the rest of the people around them, who appeared to be their slaves or servants, walked a little behind them.

Beck noticed how they scanned around and took in the faces of everyone present.

Knight Boris called out the title of the man who had just arrived, "Grand Duke Liam". He walked forward and extended his hand in goodwill.

A smile quickly adorned Grand Duke Liam's face as he received the handshake.

Grand Duke Liam waited for Knight Boris to greet the man beside him before he spoke. "It's been a long time since we've met like this."

Knight Boris chuckled. "Yes. However, the current situation isn't really pleasant for the mood".

Both the Grand Duke Liam and the man, behind him -someone who he barely recognized nodded in agreement.

Grand Duke Liam flicked his gaze over to King Bor. A frown crawled upon his lips before it turned into one of hatred. Beck watched as the mad King noticed the attention directed at him and returned the favour with a sly grin across his lips.

"So, you're here too?" Grand Duke Liam's voice turned cold.

"Why wouldn't I be?" The mad king sneered. "This was supposed to be a gathering of Kings, and now, all I see is a Knight, two fallen Princes, and a fallen Grand Duke… Don't you think I should be the one asking you that question?".