“Indeed. The Town Head of a small town at the border of the Kingdom had documents that supposedly contained ‘sensitive information’ that only the higher-ups of the Drakthar Kingdom should know about,
Who do you think gave it to him?”
“…the Twilight.”
The Shadow Regent muttered, and in an instant, he realized what it meant.
A traitor.
His eyes darted around, staring at every person present here. And he wasn’t alone, the rest of the council members stared at each other as well.
The tension in the air became palpable.
Everyone doubted everyone, after all, every single one of them knew about the mission since all of them had some part in issuing those missions… the traitor could be any one of them.
“Who else knew about the mission?”
Veylara questioned.
“Marshal Therian and a few servants.”
The Shadow Regent, Zephyr, answered.
“Gather every single one of them an—”
“We are not here to discuss who the traitors are.”
Suddenly, Varyon spoke up, staring into everyone’s eyes.
“We can go around discussing who the traitor could be, but we all know this isn’t a matter that can be solved within a day.
We have a more urgent issue to deal with.
The Xenthalor Empire.
It doesn’t matter if they are working together with Twilight or if they are acting independently, they are currently injecting the Power of Corruption inside a huge number of Beasts, much more than Twilight ever could.
If what happened in Estwyn was indeed true and the Twilight has the power to break a Bond’s connection with his Tamer using this energy, we need to stop them.
Both Twilight and the Xenthalor Empire.”
The Grand Marshal spoke with a grim look on his face.
“And how are we supposed to do that?”
Sylvara questioned.
“We have a traitor amongst ourselves. Even if we come up with a way to stop them, wouldn’t it be useless since the enemy would already know what we are planning?
How are we supposed to win here?”
“We need people to know that Energy of Dawn is harmful, in more ways than one. We need to look for more cases where corrupted beasts broke the connection with their Tamers.
We need to spread the word.”
Varyon spoke, looking at Zephyr, who nodded in an assuring manner. This was his field of work; he would find similar cases that would then help them spread the word.
“We also have the Hero on our side. If the Hero and the Church come out and declare Energy of Dawn and Energy of Corruption to be evil, we can influence the masses.”
Zarya, the Master of Coins, spoke up.
At her words, however, the Crown Prince shook his head.
“Only the Church. We cannot use the Hero’s name.”
Kael frowned at those words. Not just him, Zarya, Veylara, and Varyon frowned as well. All four of them stared at Edric, who stared back at Kael.
“Hero Kael still hasn’t revealed his first Bond. It isn’t about his first Bond either, a few of you must have already sensed it.
The Hero is hiding quite a lot of things.”
Veylara, Varyon, and Zephyr reacted to those words.
All three of them were Demi-Gods, they knew what the Crown Prince was talking about.
“I am sure the Hero has his reasons for doing what he is doing, and with there being a traitor amongst our ranks, it all makes much more sense.
He cannot trust any one of us. But at the same time… we cannot blindly put our faith in him either.
The notion of his first Bond being corrupted has already spread quite a bit, not only amongst the commoners but even the nobles. If we use the Hero for this campaign, it might have opposite effects, and the Hero might be forced to reveal all his Bonds to prove his innocence.
Something he is clearly not prepared for.”
Edric explained as he stared at Kael, as if trying to say something. Kael, who heard those words, couldn’t help but laugh at himself.
Just as Veylara told him, not only the King, even the Crown Prince knew his real strength—every member of the Council did.
They just… stayed silent and didn’t react to it.
He felt foolish trying to act smart, especially when he knew next to nothing about this world. Kael controlled the urge to turn his head towards Veylara. Instead, he closed his eyes for a moment before he stared at the King.
“Your Majesty.”
He called out.
The King tilted his head.
“I wanted to do this after the meeting, but it seems I cannot hold back anymore.
I wish to have an audience with you.”
He then stared at the rest of the council members and,
“Alone.”
The Council Members, especially the Crown Prince, frowned at that. Kael didn’t care, he just stared at the King, who stayed silent, as if considering something. Then, he took a deep breath and stared at the rest of the council members.
“The meeting will be ceased till the Hero and I return. You are to stay here and wait for us.”
“As you command, Your Majesty.”
The Council Members bowed their heads. Alden stood up. The rest of the Council Members and Kael followed.
The King then stared at Kael and,
“Follow me.”
He ordered as he walked out of the meeting hall. Kael did as he was told and followed the King. They walked past countless halls, passing several servants. Kael also noticed that the number of guards around them continued to increase as they walked.
Soon, he and the King walked into a grand room. All this while, Kael believed that there couldn’t be anything more lavish than his own room, after all, the room he was given was that good.
But compared to this…
Even his room felt… small.
The room had high vaulted ceilings and walls lined with deep crimson banners embroidered with golden dragons. A massive oak desk, covered in scrolls and maps, stood near a large window overlooking the city. A fireplace crackled warmly, casting flickering shadows on the polished stone floor. A heavy canopy bed, draped in rich velvet, sat in the corner, exuding an air of quiet authority and comfort.
“This is my personal chamber, the safest place you will find in the Drakthar Kingdom. I am quite a fearful man, you see. So I make sure I keep myself protected, especially during my sleep.”
The King chuckled.
Kael smiled politely.
The King then turned around and suddenly, the doors behind Kael were shut.
“So? What did you wish to talk about?”