Chapter 123 - We Will Be Ready

King Ophire, as expected, sat at the head of the large elliptical hardwood table that was arranged at the center of the room.

One would wonder why a meeting room was named 'The Fountain Hall', the reason for this was a dead giveaway once they entered the room.

The large room had only one table at the center of the room and nothing else.

Any place that received frequent visits from the King could not have open spaces in order to prevent any assassination attempts and this room was the same.

The three walls of the room had no windows through which one could see the beautiful view of the palace garden.

However, this bland and boring room had one saving grace and that was the fourth wall.

The wall which was on the opposite side of the King's seat was not a wall, in fact, it was a fountain through which sparkling blue water flowed throughout the day.

The entire wall looked as though it was made out of flowing water which made the aesthetics of this place as one of the most sought after places in the Palace.

Yet the entry to this place was also one of the hardest to gain.

King Ophire smiled when he thought of the memories he and his younger brother, Draco shared in this room.

Thinking of his baby brother, Ophire was thrown into a downward spiral of worry and anxiety when he recalled the back injury that he had sustained on his expedition to the St. Claire fief.

He was the monarch of the land and if he could not keep an eye on the wellbeing of his family then would he still be qualified to look after the entire Kingdom?

King Ophire had long been aware of the person who had injured his beloved little brother.

'The child was in trouble and Draco helped her…' He summarized the entire incident of Yvonne injuring the young Prince Draco.

Though he was called as Grand Duke Draco Roschester after inheriting his maternal family's title.

He had not yet been officially dubbed as the 'Grand Duke' and hence he was often referred to as a prince by the people.

This event would take place once the young prince reached the legal age of 18, just like it had happened in the story written by Asmodeus.

'Her crime of injuring my brother was washed away when she saved my son.' He sighed when she was connected to the two people that Ophire loved dearly.

The Black Shadow knights had informed the King of all the events that had taken place during this trip to the St. Claire fief.

Not only did King Ophire know about Yvonne being Prince Fritzen's savior. He had even covered for her by not revealing this information to his son.

As he was not as petty as his son, Fritzen, King Ophire had long forgotten about the mistakes that she had made only to be reminded about them today.

The men sitting around the table gazed at the King in silence as they waited for him to commence the meeting.

Feeling their eyes on him, King Ophire cleared his throat and looked around the table only to find a few seats to be empty.

The one on his immediate right was left empty while the one on his left was occupied by Duke Brodie.

The next seats on either side of the table and the one at the opposite end were also left empty.

The men looked around and upon noticing the empty spaces they nodded as they had doubts about why those people had failed to appear today.

Duke Brodie, the devoted aide of the King, took it upon himself to explain why the other members of the panel of ministers had not shown up.

"Prince Draco is resting and unable to grace us with his presence." He mentioned as his gaze landed on the seat to the right of the King's.

Draco, the King's brother, was also a member of the panel of ministers despite his young age.

He was also present during multiple meetings earlier and would continue to do so in the future.

"Dean Aramis and Duke Tanner are away on official business and so is our Minister of foreign affairs." He gave a brief explanation without wasting any more time.

They had matters to discuss today and these talks could be done after the meeting in order to not squander the King's precious time.

Getting the meaning in his hasty words, the men all nodded and looked in the King's direction.

The white-haired man, whom Marquess Samed had identified as the historian of the Kingdom cleared his throat to inquire about something that had been on his mind ever since he had been summoned here today.

"Your Majesty, if I be so bold as to inquire why have we taken up the work of making new policies when we are not sure whether we will ever get another plague." He questioned what was on his mind.

A few others seemed to have the same doubt as they nodded their head as well.

"How can you be sure that we will not have another plague? One that is worse than the one before?" King Ophire retorted which brought a halt to everyone's train of thought.

They had always been fretting about things after the incident occurred and hence were curious when this new method of doing things had been brought up.

Ophire could make out their thoughts and so he decided to make things clearer for them.

"Wouldn't it be better if we work now so that we do not have to watch our citizens die when a plague arrives in the future?" He interrogated which gained a nod from everyone.

Now that the matter concerning the 'why' was sorted out. They had to deal with the 'how' of the situation.

"I propose that the Three-step plan be implemented to allow the previous policies to move ahead with the times." The King announced.

A brief silence engulfed the room upon hearing his words which were broken by the hum of a single man.

The Director of the Royal Medical Association, one of the ministers was a man in his mid-fifties who completely agreed with what King Ophire had planned to do.

"The Royal Medical Association will present a detailed report on the 'teach the citizens about hygiene' step that the Marquess had mentioned in his report." He offered to do his due diligence.

Ophire was pleased with his actions and gave him a nod which encouraged the others to propose different ways on how they could be of help in making this Three-step plan a success.

'Looks like we will be ready when the next calamity strikes our dear land.' He reckoned and glanced around the busy room with satisfaction evident in his eyes.