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Path to Prosperity - B2 Chapter 47
🕑 Added 2024-09-22 10:00:08 +0000 UTCPercy wasn’t sure what the conversation between the two women meant until he recalled something.
I was supposed to meet the queen this morning? Are they serious?
Various thoughts flashed through his mind, but none stuck and remained. They dispersed long before Percy could grasp what was going on. As the myriad of thoughts entered his mind and dispersed, Percy’s eyes never diverted from the queen.
This was insane.
The tension in the air grew happier, and Percy was glad when Paul Reeze stepped forward. The Reeze Duke cleared his throat and turned around to speak to everyone.
“It’s already late, and I think I speak for ever yone when I say that everyone had a long day,” He turned to his wife and the queen and added, “How about we return to the palace to talk there instead of the royal forest, your excellency? I think everyone would love to clean themselves and change into more comfortable clothes.”
Percy wasn’t comfortable with that suggestion, and he sought help with his gaze among the crowd of knights and other esteemed figures. However, not even Melissa could help him. If anything, Melissa Reeze looked the most shocked to Percy.
Great. That was GREAT.
At least I’m alive and won’t be killed anytime soon. That’s good, I guess.
The Queen nodded slowly but didn’t look away from Percy. Not even once did she divert her attention from Percy. Her eyes got teary, but only Percy and the duchess could see that from their positions.
Paul retrieved an ocean-blue crystal from his spatial ring and channeled mana into it. After a moment, the crystal glimmered brightly, and a man's restless voice could be heard.
“Did you find–...” The voice’s volume dimmed as Paul decreased the mana influx until only he could hear the man’s voice.
“We found Sophia. Yes, she is fine. You can return to the palace. We will be there in a few minutes as well. Yeah, there is nothing to worry about, Your Majesty.”
A few more words were exchanged but there was nothing important.
Percy looked over to the Reeze Duke and gathered his courage to speak up.
“Can…Can I leave now?” He was sincerely hoping for a simple ‘yes’ in return because he wanted to run as far as possible at this very moment. The entire situation was too much for him. The unspoken truth was too much for him to handle.
But before anyone could answer, Sophia intervened, “Nooo! Why do you want to leave?!”
The flood returned in her eyes, and she began crying bitterly.
This child is driving me crazy!
Percy swore in his mind, his expression distorting in pain.
Still, he bent down again after swallowing the turmoil of emotions raging inside him with a deep sigh.
“We can play again in the future, okay?” He said calmly, wiping the tears trickling down Sophia’s cheeks.
Sophia was still sulking, but her ugly crying stopped. But someone else started sobbing next to him, replacing Sophia’s bitter cries. Percy looked up, only to see the Queen crying, seeing Percy and Sophia acting like that.
However, it was Melissa who breathed out heavily, seeing the princess and Percy like that.
“Like siblings….”
***
What am I doing here?
Percy shook his head. He disliked the current situation but had complied nonetheless. Seeing the princess cry bitterly was already bad—like really, really bad. It felt like his heart was torn and twisted, but the situation was even worse with the Queen. Seeing the Queen, the ruler of the Kainech Kingdom, crying like this was scary.
Percy didn’t dare to deny Paul Reeze’s suggestion to return to the palace and followed silently. Sophia was happy about that and embraced him tightly. She didn’t want to let go of him, forcing Percy to pick up the young princess and carry her back to the palace in one arm.
He was sure that wasn’t the princess’ normal behavior, which was affirmed by the hushed voice all around him, but Sophia squealed and complained whenever he told her to walk on her own. She wasn’t short on excuses to have Percy carry her home and coiled her arms around his neck with enough strength to nearly strangle him when he ignored her excuses and was about to have her walk nonetheless.
Only a few minutes passed after Percy gave in when Sophia fell asleep in his arms. She had been overly excited for most of the day, but it must have been exhausting for her. She left the palace at night, roamed through the royal forest, and collapsed when she was forced to summon the Kainesh Lion to protect her from a pack of Dwarven Wolves. The adventurous girl deserves some sleep.
“We can take the princess from here,” One of the servants offered before hurriedly adding a “...sir.”
The servant looked vigilantly at Percy as if expecting him to do something, but Percy nodded in agreement when the Queen didn’t say anything. Sophia grumbled in his arms, but the servants managed to release the clingy girl after struggling for a good minute. Percy watched the servants leave with the sleeping princess before paying more attention to their destination. For the first time, Percy inspected the king’s palace properly.
The royal palace was a majestic structure atop a small elevation, rising above the surrounding landscape like a crown upon the earth. Built of pale stone, its tall, slender towers reached for the sky while their spires glinted in the moonlight with the kingdom’s flags. The flags fluttered gently in the breeze, revealing the Kain house’s symbol to the kingdom. The palace walls were adorned with intricate carvings depicting ancient legends of the kingdom. At least, that was what it looked like at first glance, but Percy could see much more with [Hawk Eyes] active.
The palace walls were covered in hundreds of thousands of runic enchantments, which created the intricate carvings. The ancient legends of the kingdoms depicted in the carvings shrouded the truth. That the royal palace was covered in runic enchantments, transforming it into an indomitable fortress.
From a distance, it looked like the royal palace floated above the capital, like a watchful protector looking down at the bustling city below. A wide stone staircase carved into the hill leads from the palace gates down into the heart of the capital, connecting the royal seat to its people. That was where they were headed. They emerged from the royal fortress in the back of the royal palace and reached a second staircase that led around the royal palace and into its heart from several positions.
Percy had no idea what to expect but his heart was beating wildly. He had numerous questions but was also scared to blurt them aloud. Nobody was ready to ask any questions, even after the hushing voices of the knights and higher personnel disappeared. The Queen ordered them to return to their post or their rooms, which left Percy alone with the Queen and the Reeze family.
They could have left Knight Liam or some other Glacia Knights for my emotional support…
He joked inwardly, but that wasn’t enough to disperse his worries. He was still worried and felt increasingly more uncomfortable. The closer they were to the royal palace, the less comfortable Percy felt with the situation.
Their group didn’t take the main entrance to the palace but one of the entrances in the back. They walked silently through a large garden and entered the palace. The Queen turned around, her lips parted as if to say something, when a voice rang out from behind.
“Reina, you’re back! Where is Sophia? Is she fine?!” A voice – the same one who’d spoken with Paul earlier – rang out from behind.
A young man around the Queen’s age appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He was almost two meters tall and had a great physique. However, the most important feature of the young man were his azure-blue eyes.
That was the King. Phillip Kain.
He was breathing heavily and rushed to the Queen, embracing her tightly. He ignored everyone else and sighed in relief, seeing that the Queen was fine.
“Where is Sophia?” He asked again, a tinge of worry mixed into his voice when he saw how red the Queen’s eyes were.
“She is fine and asleep. The servants brought her to bed,” The Queen calmed her husband, “You can lecture her tomorrow. Today…Today is not a good day to be angry.”
She turned back to Percy, a faint smile blossoming on her lips,
“Today is a good day.”
The King followed his beloved’s gaze and stared straight at Percy.
His eyes squinted to tiny slits while the Queen spoke in a quivering voice.
“I…I don’t know how…but…but I think it’s him.”
The King didn’t say anything. He swallowed hard and narrowed his eyes even further.
The King took a deep breath and nodded.
“Let’s find out.”
