Chapter 282

282 Blood is Thicker than Water

“What’s the matter, Dad?” Lina asked, worry seeping into her voice. Perhaps they had got a report on a recent rogue attack to tie the girl she’d found in the woods back to the scene.

“Well, it has something to do with your uncle. He’s...” the king started only to cut be interrupted by Lina.

“Is he really our uncle? He looks and feels a lot older than that,” Lina complained, her mind quickly switching topics.

The moment she’d realised this was nothing concerning rogues, her mind had moved several miles and caught up with the king, quickly interrupting him in the process. The queen gave her a quizzical look, but soon ignored her daughter’s sudden burst of misconduct.

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“No, he’s not your uncle. He’s your grandfather. Although, he’s only my father’s brother which would actually make him your great Uncle. I think you understand what I’m trying to say,” the king explained or at least did it the best way his flustered mind could let him.

The rest of the family could clearly see his mental struggle. And it was absolutely odd for the king to be in such a state which only made the situation look even graver.

“Well, if that’s the case, then why call him our uncle?” Lina asked with a smirk on her face.

Upon seeing the girl’s smirk, the king sighed, “I’m glad to see you’re still cheerful in light of everything that has happened.”

“I’m doing my best to stay cheerful, Dad. It’s not so easy to come to peace with the fact that your grandfather was working for the rogues the entire time you’d known him,” the girl’s smirk fell and was replaced with concern.

.....

“While that may be true, I ask that we go and have a chat with him. We never got to hear his side of the story,” the king suggested. This, however, seemed to be the reason behind his restlessness.

An act of treason was an act of treason. There was no way to spin it and yet the king was allowing Sean the benefit of the doubt and still delaying his judgement.

“You can’t be serious, Father. You already know that he was the one that had the students sent off to the reserve where an army of rogues was waiting for them. What more proof would you need?” Drake stood up, bewildered by the thought of giving the man in the dungeons a chance.

“Drake, don’t raise your voice when talking to your father,” the queen’s voice rose above Drake’s.

“Forgive me, mother,” the prince took his seat. King Davin sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“It’s fine, but I have known Sean longer than any of you. He’s not the kind of person to do things without a reason. He wouldn’t have worked for the rogues unless there was a reason why he was doing so,” the king tried. Drake did not look convinced.

“What can you think of that would bring him to act like that? And more importantly, why are we discussing a traitor when there is one walking by my sister’s side?” Drake said, his voice getting irritated once more.

“We agreed that matters concerning Kyle were to be left for Katie to decide. There will be no more discussion on that matter. Is that clear?” the king was starting to lose his calm demeanour.

Noticing he was pushing his boundaries, the man raised his hands in surrender, “Very well, Father. I’ll leave it be. I just hope our negligence doesn’t come back to bite us when we least expect it.”

The king let the man’s comment slide and proceeded to his suggestion, “I was suggesting we go to the dungeon and question him ourselves as a family. He’s bound to tell us something if we approach him that way and even if he doesn’t, we need closure once the worst comes to pass.”

“You don’t want to put him down, do you?” Drake sighed, “What aren’t you telling us, Father?” Lina was almost starting to believe Drake was in favour of killing their grandfather as the laws dictated. His aggressive reaction to the matter had brought down her own voice.

“Well, you might not believe it, but when my father was still alive, your grandfather Sean was every bit the rebel. He would never stay for too long at the palace and went wherever he pleased, whenever he wanted to.

He hated the concept of a family and even more so, that of a mate. There was nothing that could appease him and yet...” the king paused, smiling at the memory.

“Come on. Don’t end it there,” Lina lashed out, finally finding her voice in the name of boundless curiosity, “And yet what...”

The king chuckled at his daughter’s enthusiasm. The twinkle in her eyes when she was curious was one he’d come to know all too well, “The king at that time trusted no one more than his brother.

Every time the man came back from his travels, he would talk to the king as if time hadn’t passed at all. Their bond was the strongest brotherly bond I’d ever seen and I grew to trust the man.

When the time came that my father died, he was the one that read his will. As it had turned out, the two men were so close that he knew all the king’s secrets and it was said that the king shared his as well. If there is anyone the king trusted blindly then, it was him.”

“That sounds like an enormous level of trust for the king to have in one person,” Lina replied.

Drake turned to her sister, “Wouldn’t you trust me that much too, sister?”

“Forgive me, brother, but it would be Honour before you if I’m being honest,” the girl revealed, disregarding the hurtful meaning behind her words, “And you’re free to interpret that in whatever way you see fit.”

“Wow, Honour means that much to you?” the king sounded surprised.

“Yes, she does,” she replied, before quickly attempting to change the subject, “Now can we go and see Grandpa Sean or what?”

“Oh yeah... Let’s go and see him. I had Alpha Jackson prepare a security detail just in case he tries to escape. Now let’s go...” the king held up a key with a smile on his face...

‘You’re just happy you get to see him again,’ Lina mentally groaned.