Chapter 30 : Meeting the king… Meeting?

The riot caused by the underworld organizations was quickly resolved.

The power of Ruina’s bow was as destructive as its tension, and the heads pierced by Ruina’s arrows were completely shattered without leaving any fragments.

Therefore, the soldiers who arrived late cleared the bodies lying in the streets, and the blood spilled on the floor was cleaned up by the mages who arrived a little later.

It only took three hours to clean up the streets, excluding the destroyed buildings.

After providing some testimony and descriptions of the events, Ruina and I calmed down Elia, who must have been startled by the sudden accident, and found a place to stay.

The next day, after spending the night at the inn,

Knock, knock, knock

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door of the inn where we were staying.

However, from the dignified sound of the knock, it seemed like a visitor who came for an important reason rather than for any improper purpose.

I quickly threw on some clothes and opened the door, leaving Ruina and Elia behind.

Click

“Who is it?”

“Nice to meet you, Lord Kael. I have come to deliver a message from His Majesty the King.”

“Ah.”

When I opened the door, I saw a man dressed in the uniform of the royal palace attendants.

At the same time, hearing his mention of the King’s message, I immediately understood what he meant and responded with a tone that indicated I had already suspected it.

It was something I had already anticipated when I captured Benjamin and Sherda yesterday, so there was no need for further explanation.

“His Majesty the King has sent a message for me to meet with him, right?”

“Yes, in addition, His Majesty the King has ordered that you, Lord Kael, and Lady Ruina, along with your daughter, come to the palace.”

“Our daughter… as well?”

“Yes, His Majesty the King said, ‘Since you didn’t invite me to the wedding and I haven’t had the chance to see her, bring her this time so we can meet.'”

Ah, of course.

I couldn’t help but smile as I imagined the King’s, Arad’s, image, sending his message.

Even in his old age, he was still so cantankerous.

It seemed that he was a little upset because we had only held a modest wedding among ourselves.

Moreover, he must have been even more upset that we had invited his son, Prince Enoch, but not him.

Arad had always been a bit petty about such things since his younger days, so I was sure of it.

“Well, I understand. Then we will head to the palace today.”

“You should arrive by 3 p.m. today. We will prepare everything, Lord Kael.”

The man bowed in gratitude for my prompt acceptance and retreated.

As I watched his back descending the stairs, I muttered to myself in a soft voice.

“I guess I’ll need to stop by home for a moment.”

Since I was going to meet Arad, I had to stop by home to bring our family’s formal attire.

I also recalled the simple court manners I would teach Elia and closed the inn door I had opened wide.

It was now 8 a.m., just as the sun had risen.

There was still plenty of time.

After stopping by home to prepare the formal attire and briefly teaching Elia the court etiquette, we had breakfast and spent some time as a family on the royal road, and before we knew it, the time had come.

Ruina and I each took one of Elia’s hands and headed toward the royal palace, where Arad was waiting in the heart of the Kingdom of Shardena.

Clink

“Excuse me. May I ask for your identity?”

As we approached the entrance of the palace, a halberd fell in front of us.

Ruina and I removed our cloaks, which had covered our upper bodies.

Immediately, the soldiers, surprised, widened their eyes when they saw our faces.

However, perhaps because they had frequently seen high-ranking guests, the two soldiers quickly hardened their expressions and said,

“Identity confirmed. Welcome, Lord Kael, Lady Ruina, Lady Elia.”

“You may proceed inside.”

With the halberd now raised, the soldiers stepped aside, and Ruina and I, still holding Elia’s hands, began walking inside.

We passed through the entrance of the palace and into the royal garden.

Perhaps because it was spring, the flowers in full bloom surrounded us, filling the air with their sweet fragrance.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been here. Has it been almost 4 years?”

“Really? I think I came a few times after the war ended.”

“I came occasionally to discuss matters with the kingdom and the court. So, I had a reason to stop by twice.”

“For me, the last time I came was right after the war ended. It’s been 8 years now, hasn’t it?”

The last time I visited the royal palace was eight years ago, right after the war ended.

In other words, this was my first visit in 8 long years.

Since I had become immortal, my sense of time had become ambiguous, so 8 years didn’t feel particularly short or long.

However, thinking of Elia, who was once a baby and had now grown so much, I realized it had been quite a long time.

‘Come to think of it, Elia…’

As I briefly thought about my immortality and Elia’s growth, negative thoughts that I had buried deep inside naturally resurfaced.

The thought of Elia eventually dying before me.

‘No, I shouldn’t think like this.’

However, since these thoughts had been buried for so long, as soon as they surfaced, I shook my head to shake them off.

Elia was only 8 years old.

There was still plenty of time left for her, and no one knew what the future would hold.

What I needed to do was to live for Elia and act for her.

If I let these negative thoughts take over and failed to create proper memories with Elia, the daughter who loved me, what kind of father would I be?

Thus, I buried those negative thoughts deep inside again and, without realizing it, we had already passed through the garden and entered the main palace.

Inside the main palace, we were greeted by the knights in full armor.

Clink

“Welcome. We truly welcome you to the royal palace.”

The two knights standing to the side immediately placed their hands on their chests and saluted us with formal gestures.

Then, the knight in the center, who faced us directly, also placed her hand on her chest and saluted.

Clink

“From here, I will guide you. Lord Kael, Lady Ruina, Lady Elia.”

More precisely, it was Zenre, who was smiling mischievously, who spoke.

“Eh…?! Master!”

Elia widened her eyes as if she hadn’t expected Zenre to appear here and called out to her.

At her call, Zenre responded with a slight smile.

But only for a moment.

Realizing that she was currently engaged in official business, Zenre wiped away her usual mischievous grin and returned to a neutral expression.

Bowing her head to us, she spoke.

“You may entrust your baggage and weapons to our knights. I will guide you to the audience chamber afterward.”

At her words, Ruina and I handed our robes, swords at our waists, and the branches of the World Tree to the knights beside us.

Lastly, even Elia handed over the robe she was wearing.

The two knights who received our belongings stepped aside, clearing the way for us.

Zenre, who stood in front of us, took a step forward and began leading the way.

“Let’s go. His Majesty the King is waiting for you.”

Come to think of it, the commander of the knights had always been the one to escort people to an audience with Arad.

But after eight years, I had forgotten.

It seemed Ruina had also forgotten.

As a result, we couldn’t help but be surprised by Zenre’s unexpected appearance.

Seeing our reaction, Zenre gave that same teasing smile from earlier.

‘Why does she seem so smug?’

Maybe because we spent three years together, she seemed more comfortable around us than before, making her appear even more irritating.

I decided that if I got the chance, I would definitely get back at her.

Following Zenre down the hallway, we finally arrived at a massive door.

At her signal, the soldiers guarding the entrance grabbed each side of the door and pushed it open.

Rumble…

The door, which was easily over five meters tall, opened with a deep, heavy sound.

As the door fully opened, the long audience chamber stretched before us, leading to the throne at the far end.

Seated on the throne was Arad, now well into his old age.

And behind him, the ranks of knights stood in a long formation.

Following Zenre’s lead, we stepped inside the audience chamber.

“Your Majesty, I have brought those who have come for an audience today.”

“Mm.”

At the brief report, Arad flicked his hand, and Zenre promptly walked briskly to stand behind the throne.

Then Arad turned his gaze to us and commanded the other knights in the chamber.

“All knights in the audience chamber, except for the commander, leave your posts.”

“As you command.”

As soon as Arad’s words fell, the knights at the far end turned and exited through the still-open doors.

Now, only Zenre, who served as Arad’s bodyguard, remained in the chamber with us.

Once the knights had left, Arad finally stood up from his regal throne and burst into laughter.

“Aha! Lord Kael, Lady Ruina! It has been a long time since I last saw you both!”

Despite being a king addressing two ordinary citizens, Arad spoke with great familiarity.

Even though Ruina and I had the title of war heroes, this was still an unusual situation.

Naturally, Zenre, who was standing behind the throne, widened her eyes in surprise.

After all, Zenre had only been the commander of the knights for seven years.

She was promoted to the position a year after the end of the Demon War due to her merits in battle.

When Ruina had an audience with Arad four years ago, it was in a formal setting with other officials present.

And as I had mentioned earlier, the last time I saw Arad was eight years ago.

In other words, Zenre was unaware of the full extent of my relationship with Arad.

So it was no surprise that she was shocked to see the king speaking to us so informally.

However, her reaction felt like payback for her smugness earlier, so I remained silent and simply greeted Arad.

“Oh, it’s been a while, Arad. Eight years, was it?”

“That’s right. While eight years may be short for you, Lord Kael, for someone like me, it is quite a long time. I am disappointed that you never visited, not even for my wedding…”

“We had no choice. Kael and I didn’t want our wedding to turn into a chaotic event. While Enoch could sneak away, Your Majesty could not, could you?”

“Still, I can’t help but feel disappointed, Lady Ruina… But more importantly, is this young lady behind you your daughter, Elia?”

As expected, Arad lamented not being invited to the wedding but soon turned his gaze toward Elia, smiling warmly.

Elia looked a little flustered at his sudden attention but smartly followed the etiquette I had taught her.

“The loyal subject of the kingdom, Elia, greets Your Majesty the King…!”

“Oh ho ho! Such a well-mannered child! You are even more polite than our princess was at your age. But there’s no need to be so formal. Don’t think of me as the king—just see me as your friendly old neighbor.”

Just moments ago, Arad had exuded the dignity of a king, but now, laughing heartily, he truly seemed like a friendly grandfather.

Unlike his younger days, when his body was lean and muscular, he now carried more weight and had a round belly, making the effect even stronger.

It seemed he was slowly preparing to pass down the throne, learning to let go of his kingly authority.

However, to me, he still seemed like the same reckless Arad from the past, and I couldn’t help but sigh.

“Seriously… aren’t you ruining your royal image in front of my daughter?”

“By the time your daughter grows up, Enoch will already be the next king, so it won’t matter, will it? By then, I’ll visit you often, Lord Kael.”

“I don’t need a troublesome visitor like you.”

Even after stepping down from the throne, he would still have an entourage following him everywhere.

The thought of him dropping by frequently already made me shudder, and I quickly waved my hand in refusal.

As we laughed and chatted happily, my eyes caught sight of someone in the distance.

…?

It was Zenre, standing there with a dumbfounded expression, her mouth slightly open.

I struggled to hold back my laughter.