First Arc (King of Euphorion) - 43. Ilex's Offer

First Arc (King of Euphorion) – 43. Ilex's Offer

King Eudon sat on his throne in the Scarlet Stone Castle's main hall and waited anxiously. It had been three hours since Rose left the castle, he had sent some guards to pick her up but they had not returned yet, he had also sent a Magic Messenger to General Ferand but there still no reply.

A guard came to him to report and bowed.

"Your Majesty, Prince Ilex is requesting to meet you."

"Let him in."

"Yes, Your Majesty," he replied. Then he gave King Eudon a quick bow and opened the door for Ilex.

Ilex entered the main hall, approached him and bowed.

"Forgive me to bother you, Your Majesty. May I know about Slyhelm Town's condition?"

"We still haven't gotten any news from there. I hope you can wait patiently," answered King Eudon.

"I'm fine with that, but ..." Ilex paused for a moment, he looked worried and hesitant about something.

King Eudon noticed his worried expression.

"Is there any problem?"

Ilex bowed again as a sign of an apology for the words he was about to say.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty. I hope that what I'm about to say does not offend you. Actually, I'm not alone when I came here, but I was escorted by the royal elite troops. When I arrived, I found that Zephyrus was in the midst of a rebellion. Therefore I didn't dare to bring them into the capital since I didn't want you to misunderstand me by assuming that Asteria took the advantage of this revolt and left them at Slyhelm Town. "

'General Ferand said that the Slyhelm Town's rebels were trained like the military. Does this have anything to do with his troops? But if it was true why did he admit that his troops were there?'

"What are you trying to say to me?" said King Eudon, looking at him suspiciously.

Ilex bent his head with a worried expression.

"I am worried about my troops' condition. They are my responsibility. But I can't order them to do anything because this is Zephyrus internal problem, I cannot interfere without your permission."

'Does it mean that he wants to ask my permission to interfere in this revolt?'

"Tell me what do you mean?" King Eudon asked for a clear explanation from him.

Ilex raised his head again to look at King Eudon.

"If you allow me, I'm willing to help you to settle down the Slyhelm Town's rebellion. But, I hope you can reconsider my request earlier."

King Eudon looked at him irritably.

'Hmph! So he tried to use this incident as a bargain to me?'

"Forgive me, Prince Ilex, I cannot accept your help," he said with an emphatic tone.

Ilex sighed in disappointment.

"I understand. I hope I can get good news from you soon. I can't stay here for too long." He had just bowed and was about to leave the main hall, suddenly a guard came to report in a rush.

"Your Majesty, the rebels caught the princess!"

King Eudon's eyes widened in surprise and instantly got up from his throne.

"Are you sure?!"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Now, General Ferand is trying to negotiate with them. He cannot attack as long as the princess with them," answered the guard as he bent his head down.

King Eudon threw himself to sit back on the throne and thought hard. His worried expression was visible on his face.

'They caught Rose... This is really bad. What should I do?'

Ilex returned his gaze to King Eudon.

"Your Majesty, please let me help you. I'm sure my request is not comparable with the sole heir of this Kingdom's life," he said in a convincing tone.

King Eudon glanced at Ilex and thought for a moment.

'Right now I don't have much choice, using the elite Asterian troops that are already in the town to attack from within is the best way.'

"Leave us," he ordered the guards in the room.

The entire guards quickly bowed and came out of the main hall.

After the door closed, King Eudon returned to speak.

"I wonder what poison you want?"

"I heard the Heart Family has a strong deadly secret poison," said Ilex directly to the point.

King Eudon was surprised to hear that since only a few people knew about this secret poison but he tried to stay calm.

"Where did you hear about that? We never had that kind of poison."

Ilex bent down his head once again before he started to speak.

"Forgive my impudence, Your Majesty. I have known about this poison for a long time and I also know that this poison was not allowed by the previous king for peace. But we need that poison."

King Eudon looked at him with a sharp look.

"Prince Ilex, are you trying to say I lied to you?"

Ilex bowed his head.

"I don't dare, Your Majesty. I'm just trying to say that I understand your difficulties, so I hope you also understand our difficulties. We also do not want this war, but as the peace alliance's leader, Asteria must not fall for the sake of the peace. We want to solve this problem quickly before the war spreads to other kingdoms," he said again trying to convince him.

King Eudon let out a sigh and returned deep in thought.

'He is right, if there is a kingdom that wants to start a war they will surely attack Asteria first and destroy the alliance before attacking other kingdoms. If Asteria falls, with Zephyrus's current situation, we may be their next target.'

"How can I know that you will keep your promise?" he asked.

"I will remain here until Princess Rose is saved. If something happens to her then you may cancel this agreement," replied Ilex.

King Eudon sighed in agreement since he had no other choice.

"Alright, fair enough."

"Thank you, I will immediately give my orders to my troops to make their move." Then Ilex bowed and walked towards the exit.

When Ilex walked out of the main hall, he passed the guard who had just reported about the princess. Ilex gave him a slight evil smirk as a signal that their plan was successful and he had to leave the castle to regroup with the others at Slyhelm Town. The guard nodded slowly in reply.

He walked towards the castle yard, took out a Signal Fireworks tube from inside his blazer pocket and fired it. A magic fireworks shot into the sky and formed the lion's head crest of Asteria, as a signal that his troops were allowed to attack.

Chapter end