“Your Majesty?”
Kael called out, slightly taken aback. He could sense that for some reason, the King was hesitating.
Soon, however, as if coming out of his reverie, the King nodded at him, and the space around him cracked.
His weakest bond came out, Kael’s eyes turned golden, and as he expected, it wasn’t corrupted.
He nodded at Alden, the King nodded back silently and stored his Bond back into the Sanctuary before bringing out another.
One by one, he continued to bring out his Bonds, Kael inspected them all and…
He didn’t find anything.
From the weakest all the way to his strongest beast, none of the King’s Beasts were corrupted, something that made Kael sigh in relief.
He had just begun to trust the King a little, if any of the King’s Bonds were corrupted, his trust issues would have gotten much worse.
This, however, posed another problem.
None of the Council Members were corrupted.
Then how did the information leak?
How did the Twilight get their hands on those documents?
The blame had now shifted to Therian and a few other subordinates.
“Since you are done inspecting all our Bonds. Why don’t you bring out your own?”
Suddenly, Edric called out, staring at the Hero with a doubtful look on his face.
“Huh?”
Kael narrowed his eyes.
“It is only fair, don’t you think?”
Edric questioned as he turned towards the rest of the council members, trying to rally them against the Hero.
His method worked, as a few of the council members now stared at the Hero. After all, the Hero’s first bond was still a mystery. Many even believed that it was corrupted and this was why the Hero is hiding it.
The Council Members wanted to make sure that wasn’t the case.
But…
“My Bond is still sh—”
Kael wanted to use the same excuse he always used, but then suddenly,
“Are you insinuating the Hero is corrupted?”
Veylara stepped forward, standing in front of Kael as she glared at the Prince.
Edric trembled at her fierce gaze, he, however, didn’t step back,
“Does this mean it was being insinuated that some of us were corrupted when we were inspected by the Hero?”
He questioned back.
“Yes, it was.”
Veylara answered directly, surprising not only Edric but others by her direct words as well. Veylara, however, didn’t care.
“We were the ones who failed to protect the information we deemed to be sensitive, not the Hero. He wasn’t even in this world when all this began.”
The High Marshal retorted, her gaze still as fierce as before.
“We proved our innocence, Lady Veylara.”
Edric answered.
“The Hero himself confirmed our innocence. Shouldn’t we receive the same in return?
We all know what sort of allegations are being pressed on the Hero, if we have a definite way to answer all those allegations, why not do it?
It will also ease my mind.”
“I will not trouble my Bond for your ease of mind, Crown Prince.”
Kael answered, looking right into Edric’s eyes, and the Crown Prince didn’t like that look one bit.
“I have said it before, I will say it again,
I will not bring out my Igni unless he is comfortable, and this is final.”
Kael answered, his tone much more solemn than before.
It seemed like he was prepared to fight Edric if it came to it.
“…”
Edric turned towards the King instead, waiting for his decision.
The King stared at Kael, who seemed hell-bent on not revealing Igni, but in the end, the King turned back towards Edric and questioned directly.
“Do you think the Hero is corrupted?”
“I…”
Edric momentarily stuttered.
He stared at Kael for a moment, and in the end, he took a deep breath and answered,
“I would like to believe he is not, but the world doesn’t move according to my belief. I would rather believe a proven truth than what I would like to believe in.”
It was the most politically correct answer possible while also saying what he actually wanted to say.
The Crown Prince was suspicious of the Hero, even Kael understood that, but then, the King laughed,
“What do you think would happen if the Hero himself is corrupted?”
Alden questioned as he glanced at his son.
Edric frowned at the question.
“You should trust the Hero, Edric.”
The King paused for a brief moment as he then glanced at Kael and his smile widened,
“Because if the Hero—a Dragon Tamer, the human with the greatest potential in all Nerathis—is an enemy,
Then we are fucked.”
“…”
“…”
Silence.
Absolute silence fell over the place as the council members heard the King’s crass words.
“Hahaha~”
The King, on the other hand, laughed loudly. It was a hearty laughter full of relief, something that Edric… had only seen when his father was together with his sister.
Something that… made the Crown Prince back down.
His gaze lingered on his laughing father as his eyes reflected confusion and… affection?
Of course, this flicker of emotion only stayed for a second and was very quickly hidden beneath his poker face.
The Crown Prince glanced at the Hero, who was observing his expression all this while. Once again, the Hero and the Crown Prince entered a staring contest until the King called out.
“Zephyr.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Shadow Regent bowed his head.
“I give you a week. I need at least five cases similar to Estwyn Head where the Bond between the Tamer and their Beast disappeared, yet the Beast was still alive and not in the Tamer’s control anymore.”
“As you command, Your Majesty.”
The Shadow Regent bowed his head and nodded confidently.
The King then turned towards the Master of Coins,
“Zarya.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Zarya bowed her head.
“Arrange a grand event next week, all Nations and forces throughout Nerathis, no matter how strong or weak, are to be invited. We will announce everything we have discussed here and declare Drakthar’s stance at the Energy of Dawn. We will also push the matter of having Drakthar Delegations sent to all Nations and popularize the use of Verdant Omen.”
“As you command, Your Majesty.”
Zarya nodded respectfully.
The King then finally glanced at the rest of the Council Members and,
“As the face of Drakthar Kingdom, every single one of you, including me, will be inspected by the Verdant Omen in front of the Grand Audience to set an example. So be prepared for it, I do not want any excuses.”
The Council Members hesitated as they glanced at each other, soon, however, they all shook their heads and accepted their fate.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”