Chapter 116: What He Had Arranged

Chapter 116: What He Had Arranged

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It was one of the chamberlains who told him what it was.

He shouted in an urgent voice.

“Now the Second Young Master is groveling in front of His Majesty.”

It’s Heinley Garcia.

He was having an audience with the king alone and confessing his sins.

However, Duke Garcia scrunched his face in anger, not believing the chamberlain’s words a bit.

“Your joke has gone a little too far. Can’t you see me talking to His Highness right now?”

“I am not lying! You must go and see it! It’s urgent!”

The Duke was stunned at the chamberlain’s urgent look.

“That can’t be. He may be my child, but he is wanted now. How can a wanted man break through the royal security?”

“I don’t know about that! But if you don’t go now, it will be a problem. The Second Young Master is bringing up the name of the Garcia family!”

“What?”

“The Second Young Master says it was not him who rebelled against the country but Young Master Ceres! His Majesty has even given the order to capture the First Young Master!”

Duke Garcia was at a loss for words.

It was absurd enough that the second bastard of a son wanted for treason to the royal family appeared before the king.

But, as if that wasn’t bad enough, he was selling the name of his older brother, his eldest son?

That, too, for his own survival?

However, the Duke had no choice but to believe the chamberlain’s words.

‘This person is the one I bribed. There is no way he would lie about something like this.’

But then, the Duke tilted his head.

‘That idiot wouldn’t have the ability to do that.’

Moreover, the king even ordered his eldest son to be captured under the second son’s persuasion?

If his second child had that ability in the first place, he wouldn’t have chosen to throw him away so easily.

It was just then.

Jolt.

Duke Garcia asked with a cold face.

“Is this really your gift in return?”

“Yes. Do you like it?”

“!?”

Duke Garcia’s face hardened at Ian’s reply.

His face was full of disbelief, wondering how Heinley had managed to break through the royal security in the first place.

But what Ian said was not a lie.

‘I’m not the only one who came on the dragon.’

It was not just with the crown prince of Cantum either.

His knights, as well as Heinley, had been brought in stealthily, and Rio Banzaim dropped them off right in front of the royal palace.

They had easily crossed the royal security laden with multilayer defense.

And it was as Ian planned.

‘I am setting my eyes on the throne of Kaistein, and the person standing in my way the most is Duke Garcia. So, I will nip him off here.’

If Ceres was made to pay for his sins, the position of the next duke would naturally fall to the second-eldest son, Heinley.

Heinley had sworn to follow Ian.

Duke Garcia could no longer oppose him.

‘Heinley is the spearhead for that.’

And at that, Duke Garcia gritted his teeth and growled.

“So this is how you repay the favor I’ve shown you all this time. I am speechless.”

The false accusation against Heinley was a token of reconciliation to Ian.

He wanted to smoothen things between them, even if it meant forsaking his second son.

It was also meant to forget the past bad blood between them.

‘You once again reject the hand I extend to you.’

Grit.

Duke Garcia glared at Ian as if he were going to chew him alive.

Of course, that was not the only reason he was angry.

‘I made a lowly serf into a royal, and now you hit me in the back of my head?’

In the end, Ian only received the countless favors he had sent thus far.

A hundred soldiers and, not to mention, the Invincible Galon.

Not only that, Ian also received his third son Karan’s secret support and the wealth of the Duke family.

But what he gave back was always malice.

Reaching this point, Duke Garcia could no longer take it anymore.

‘This is an all-out war. I will never forgive you.’

Grit.

As Duke Garcia turned his back and walked away with clenched teeth.

Ian left a meaningful remark.

“Was that really a favor? The one who sent his eldest son to kill me?”

Duke Garcia’s steps halted.

“What are you talking about? I sent my eldest son to kill you?”

“Could it be that the great Duke Garcia is denying it now?”

“I don’t understand what you mean—”

“I clearly saw Ceres Garcia trying to kill me by joining hands with Arak of Bahara. I also caught a glimpse of the power of the Seven Sins he possessed. Are you still going to make excuses after all this?”

“!?”

Duke Garcia’s face stiffened.

‘Ceres was in Bahara? And the Seven Sins?’

But Ian hadn’t finished his words.

“I have identified the personnel of your Secret Special Force as well as their faces. Are you still going to make excuses?”

“...”

“And, as you said, it would be courteous of me to pay the favor I received back. Therefore, I limited my gift to your eldest son, not you. Do you still resent me?”

“...”

“I have also brought the testimony of those among the surviving servants of Bahara who heard the conversation between Ceres and the former king, Arak.”

They couldn’t see his face because of the mask.

However, the movement of the Garcia family’s supplies and people was incontrovertible circumstantial evidence.

Heinley shouted, slamming his head to the floor.

“I don’t know about my father, Duke Garcia. However, I assisted in my brother’s plan to kill His Highness Ian and fail the Northern Expedition. As a sinner, I ask Your Majesty the price of my sin!”

All Heinley was charged with was selling Ian’s information to another country.

But Ian had already pardoned that sin.

King Eloin was completely dumbstruck.

‘It is a crime pardoned by the king of a country, albeit a vassal state. The fact that he brought it up again...’

Public opinions that ignored it due to its status as a vassal state might surface.

It was not a good choice for Ian, who had just become king, nor for the king of the suzerain country.

On top of that, Ian ordered Heinley to ask forgiveness again from Eloin for the sin he had already committed.

‘That means, he took into account my face as the king of the suzerain country. That rascal.’

King Eloin, having finished his thoughts, commanded the royal guards at once.

“Arrest Ceres Garcia right now! You may mobilize all the royal forces! Investigate everything he did during the Northern Expedition!”

King Eloin did not interrogate Heinley.

As if it was a matter of course, he ordered Ceres’ arrest and a secret investigation.

That was only natural.

‘The supplies mentioned on this document are much more than I thought. That means, there is a lot of hidden wealth in Garcia.’

The problem was, all the supplies were war supplies.

Swords, bows, arrows, and even siege weapons.

A large number of supplies that should have been reported to the royal family without exception showed up.

This was something Garcia should never do regardless of how much wealth he had under his name.

Thus, King Eloin had no other choice but to punish Garcia, who was growing his power on the sly.

Heinley, however, inwardly burst into a laugh.

‘It’s settled. It’s all as His Highness Ian said.’

The sight of King Eloin in distress was the decisive evidence.

Heinley recalled his conversation with Ian.



“His Majesty is cruel enough to earn him the nickname Blood Lion. There is no way he will spare me!”

“Don’t worry, His Majesty will not kill you.”

“How come?!”

“Well, killing Heinley Garcia, who is not the heir to the family, will not have much of an impact. Rather than that, he would aim for the bigger picture.”

Sure enough, Ian’s lips curled up into a strange smile in the next second.



‘Anyway, it worked out as he said.’

King Eloin went after Ceres instead of Heinley, and going after Ceres meant that Duke Garcia was also in deep water.

With this, the Garcia family would surely fall into his hands.

Even so, the king was still a king.

“However, your sin is heavy. We can never overlook it as is.”

A strong sense of intimidation surged forth from King Eloin’s body.

It was such a crushing aura that Heinley, with his head lowered, broke into a cold sweat.

It felt like he knew all about his plans.

Heinley hit his head on the floor again, sweating profusely.

“Of course, Your Majesty. I will accept the price of my sin as you decide. I have only one request, if I may.”

“A request?”

“I have committed a sin unpardonable by His Highness Ian, so I hope he will give me a chance to atone for my sin.”

“Huh?”

King Eloin raised one corner of his lips, looking intrigued.

‘Is this also his plan? Not bad. Won’t he eat up the Garcia family at this rate?’

But he couldn’t just do as Ian wanted.

He was the king of Kaistein, once renowned as Blood Lion.

Just when King Eloin was about to put on his ruthless look of the past.

“Duke Garcia requests an audience!”

Duke Garcia entered the audience room.

He cast Heinley a cold glance. His hunch was telling him that something was going wrong.

The Duke gritted his teeth while showing courtesy to the king.

“You’re really intent on bringing down the family, aren’t you?”

“No, Father. I am truly sincere—”

“Shut that mouth!”

Duke Garcia calmed his anger.



‘The first thing to do is negotiate with the king. Regardless of what Ceres has done, I cannot allow the Seventh Prince to do whatever he wants.’

The same was true even if he had to open up the family’s entire warehouse.

But things didn’t go his way.

Just as he was about to ask the king for a private talk.

“Marquis Adelas requests an audience!”

“Count Vandal requests an audience!”

“Count Osiris requests an audience!”

Requests for an audience from numerous nobles came flooding in.

No, it wasn’t just them.

“Her Highness the First Princess requests an audience!”

“The queen is coming!”

The entire royal castle was literally on the move.

“His Highness Ian requests an audience!”

No, this all had been arranged by Ian.