Episode 119 - Cracked Dreams 5 ‘Offending the King’

Last Chapter: Eugene noticed that the weirdness of the hierarchy again. Crown Prince and Eugene defended Musician Hal. Unwillingly for Commander Kal and the King to take Musician Hal away, Eugene began to act. Ep ended with Eugene dramatically landing on the ground.

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The audience room was like a place out of time. A room for holding hearings. A place people greet and pay respects to the King. A world normal citizens can’t step into. A bright place that brings happiness and content to people. Yet as of this moment, it was dark. A dark claustrophobic, unbreathable room for everyone present in this room. It wasn’t that Eugene couldn’t step down, but she wouldn’t. Rather, she needed to be crazy for a while, so in her form, she performed a skit in front of this holy place, not minding the consequences.

So what if she offended a King? A king that's nothing but a human scumbag.

And so her emotions exploded and soured the mood of the King and Commander Kal.

Unable to hold his anger any longer, The King slammed on two of his armrests violently and stood up! His right hands directed to Eugene, and he glared murderously at the back of Eugene's head!

‘HOW DARE SHE!’ He trembled in anger, wanting to do nothing but murder the child in front of him.

She wasn’t speaking to a King. A being above heaven! She was completely looking down at him! And worse was, he was unable to do anything to her!

Though she wasn’t a direct Royal figure, her title Paladin makes her more or less a member of the royal family of Xenperia! Not to mention, her connections to the Royal family make her just as important as a full Royal figure of Xenperia!

The King clenched his fists tight as his eyes glared bloodshot!

Knock-

Just then, a loud knock to the door followed by a guard announcing the arrival of Xenperia’s guests was heard.

A ‘dead’ Eugene twitched in surprise. ‘Why are they here so soon?’ she thought as she laid on the cold and hard floor.

“.....” She blinked before getting up in a millisecond, pretending as if nothing ever happened. ‘If Louis were to see me in this state, I would be a laughing stock for the rest of this life…’ she thought as she scooped her hair back and looked towards the empty air with a bland face.

“.....” The King breathed in and out heavily as he glared at the door.

‘Blessed. You are too fortunate.’ He gritted his teeth as his entire body shook in anger. Seeing Eugene stand upright with a nonchalant face raised his blood pressure to an unheard-of level.

Like the King, Commander Kal wasn’t in too good of a mood following Eugene’s dramatic act. However, he changed pace quickly and allowed for the guard to let the guests in.

Duke Marleigh and Duke Rodriguez walked in first. It didn’t take a second for them to see Eugene and Aedelak standing in front of the throne. Seeing that they seem to be in excellent shape, the two walked towards them. Louis, Ron, Aeselak, Ramon, and Aernest followed two steps behind the Duke, and Dea, Arie, Aren, Argen, and Con followed after.

The newly arrived group scattered right beside and right behind Eugene and bowed, “Greetings and Blessings, Your Majesty, King, His Highness, Crown Prince”

The Crown Prince nodded slightly to acknowledge them.

‘Masters!’ Aedelak could finally breathe peacefully!

“....” Eugene threw a curious look at Dea, Arie, Aren, Argen, and Con, all of whom were kneeling to greet the King of Zene.

‘They look better than they did yesterday.’ she thought as she studied their faces.

It was the first time Eugene was seeing Dea and the others since they went to their perspective quarters yesterday. Despite sharing the same floor, Dea and the others did not appear at the dining hall for dinner. But who would? Who would be able to swallow dinner following the death of their mentor?

The King sat back down reluctantly and accepted their courtesy, “Good afternoon, esteemed guest, knights-in-training.” he said curtly.

Everyone noticed the King’s sour temperament and said nothing. Without needing to understand what was going on, Louis and the others instinctively understood that Eugene was responsible for the King’s distress.

Duke Marleigh shook his head inwardly but reached over and put his right hand on Eugene’s shoulder protectively,

“Isn’t Miss Eugeneia very cute, Your Majesty?” he asked, not knowing that he was rubbing salt over the King’s open wound.

Hearing the Duke’s words, the King almost spat blood out from anger! ‘What?! Cute?!!’

But what can the King say? That Eugene wasn’t cute? That she more than lacked manners? That she was looking down upon this King? How can he admit such embarrassing things!

Therefore all he could do was hold himself back. He swallowed blood back down his throat and squeezed the next words out with his teeth clenched,

“Sure-”

Duke Rodriguez laughed, feeling relieved, “Hahaha! That’s good! That’s good!”

“...” Eugene blinked blandly as she watched the show.

The Crown Prince looked at the King in shock! ‘His… His Majesty … is willing to back down?!’ his eyes widened, threatening to pop out!

However, just because the King wanted to back down did not mean Duke Marleigh was willing to!

“I heard Your Highness' knights apprehended Miss Eugeneia Veria because she happened to coincidentally meet Musician Hal during her walk. Is it possible for Your Highness to give us a 'good reason' why Miss Eugeneia was taken without our consent?" he asked in a cold and deep voice.

The King’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he faced Duke Marleigh’s righteous eyes.

Commander Kal smiled politely and stepped up,

“It was a misunderstanding. A genuine mistake.” he apologized lightly and continued, “Our rigorous knights were too hasty. Please forgive us for their mistake. Miss Veria is by no means an accomplice to the Nameless Musician and has bravely proved his innocence just now.” he replied to diffuse the situation.

The King glanced at Commander Kal with his eyebrows furrowed. However, he said nothing.

‘Good!’ The Crown Prince breathed out in relief and eyed the Nameless Musician with the corner of his eyes.

Naturally, being declared innocent made him very relieved. The Nameless Musician turned to Eugene and bowed! He was grateful. Very grateful! Only Eugene and the Crown Prince were willing to believe and defend him!

“Thank you! Thank you!” He bowed again and again towards Eugene and the Crown Prince. ‘Thank you. Thank you! Thank you!’ Tears dripped from the corner of his eyes as he repeatedly thanked them from the bottom of his heart.

Eugene blinked her eyes awkwardly as she watched the Crown Prince and the Nameless Musician walk to the corner of the room to fade away from everyone’s eyes. The audience room, which she had originally thought was bleak, was now filled with brightness. No longer was it a confined, unbreathable space.

Duke Marleigh sighed lightly. Seeing that Eugene made a mess out of their brain cells more than he thought, he backed off,

“I see. If that’s the case, Xenperia won't make a big deal out of this matter. We accept your apology.” he smiled politely as he half-threatened them by using ‘Xenperia’ in his sentence.

“...” Commander Kal’s eyes didn’t smile as he returned the Duke’s polite smile.

Eugene and Aedelak took a step back and walked over to Louis and the rest of the group. As they got closer to Louis, his brows furrowed, causing Eugene to pause.

Louis was first to speak, “Why are you pale?” he asked with his eyebrows scrunched together.

Eugene raised her brow and patted her small face, “.....”

‘Is it because the floor was cold?’ she thought quietly.

“I’m pale?” she asked, plenty surprised that Louis sounded concerned over her.

Louis shifted his eyes to Eugene and stared at her blankly, “.....” he didn’t respond to her and moved his gaze back to Aedelak.

“......” Eugene closed her mouth.

‘I should have known to think twice.’ The corner of her mouth twitched before she turned to Aedelak.

“You are pale.” She stated as if it's a matter of fact.

Aedelak touched her cheeks slightly, ‘Isn’t because of you Eldest Miss! I almost got a heart attack!’ she thought but dare not say.

Aedelak shook her head, “It is nothing Young Miss, Eldest Young Master.”

Eugene doubted her words but said nothing. Turning to Louis, she asked, “Why are you here?”

When she heard the guard announcing that Xenperia’s guests were at the door, she had thought that the two Dukes were here to save her. But seeing that everyone is here, including the Zene trainees, it seems that that wasn’t the case.

Aernest tapped on Eugene’s shoulders and replied instead, “The King of Zene summoned us.”

Eugene raised a brow and flicked Aernest’s fingers away, “Is that so..”

Cough-

Commander Kal coughed to get everyone’s attention.

“The reason why His Highness, Majesty, summoned everyone is because of yesterday’s matters” he stated with a stern and serious face.

“As you are aware, The King decreed the Royal Knights to escort our distinguished guest as well as our knights-in-training back to the Palace yesterday. This was because something unfortunate happened which caused the fire to spread widely to and in the capital city of Zene. We judged the capital to be unsafe and risky for our guests to stay in, which was why we brought you to the Palace.”

Everyone listened silently.

Commander Kal continued, “Unfortunately, the fire is still on-going. And though we've put out all of the major fires, there are still a lot of small fires that need to be put out.”

Eugene could hear Dea and the rest shifting uncomfortably behind her and sighed softly.

“Nature is unforgiving and it is very unfortunate that this happened while our esteemed guests are here in Zene.” Commander Kal sighed,

“As a result, we have come to a decision to discontinue Xenperia’s and Zene’s joint training. This is the best decision to protect our esteemed guest’s safety,” he concluded.

“!!” Eugene blinked her eyes in surprise! ‘Finally!’ she breathed out in relief and glanced at Aernest who too, looked relieved.

Duke Rodriguez nodded and agreed,

“Duke Marleigh and I have also discussed this matter and came to the same conclusion. Though it is unfortunate, safety matters the most.”

The quiet King finally reacted and spoke, The quiet King finally reacted and spoke, “We have prepared a Royal Carriage and a party of knights to escort you to Xenperia this evening. Though it may seem hasty, it is best to evacuate as soon as possible to avoid the fire blocking the road to Xenperia." His real meaning, quickly get out of my country!

‘This evening!’ Hearing that they will be leaving today, Eugene felt more excited! She couldn't wait to inform Euria, who was most likely still spying on the chickens! She reckoned that Euria would be very happy to hear this news!

Duke Marleigh bowed, “We give you our thanks.”

They are lucky that Zene’s side also wanted to discontinue the joint training. The widespread fire was worrying, but what’s more alarming was the hypnotism method on Zene’s hands. Though he hasn’t fully confirmed if it existed, it was best to stay away from such things as a precaution.

Furthermore, it was difficult to continue investigating while ensuring the safety of the children. As a result, the safest and best choice right now is to back out.

Commander Kal looked past Duke Marleigh to Zene’s knight trainees and said,

“It's a shame you'll have to say goodbye to your new friends so soon, which is why His Highness Majesty allowed you to join the party of knights to escort our esteemed guests to Xenperia,” he concluded with a light smile.

Dea lowered his head and thanked the Commander and the King.

Commander Kal nodded and turned, “Now-

“Your Highness Majesty! Great Commander!” a trembling voice echoed throughout the room!

Everyone turned towards the owner of the voice, Arie.

“?” Commander Kal stared at Arie with a puzzled expression, unsure what was causing the panic in his voice.

“Um.. Your Highness Majesty, Commander Kal... I.. I.. have a question.” Arie repeated.

Yesterday, a royal messenger sent from the Palace informed them of Sir Ario’s passing. He had thought that they were summoned today to discuss Sir Ario's matters, but was taken aback when the Commander made no mention of Sir Ario at all! However, it wasn’t just the commander.

Despite the fact that Sir Ario is one of the most respected aides and a popular figure of Zene, not a single person mourned for him!

Dea’s eyes widened in shock and he couldn’t help but raise his voice to scold him, “Arie!!”

Arie shook his head, ignoring Dea.

The King raised a brow but motioned for Arie to come closer, “Go on.”

Arie bowed and stopped 4 steps from the high stairs. Dropping to his knees, he raised his head,

“Commander Kal! Is.. Is It true?” he asked with a teary voice.

Commander Kal’s eyebrows rose in alarm as he realized what this was all about! Just when he was going to quickly dismiss him, the King cut in,

“Speak clearly.” The King demanded with a low voice.

Eugene and the others watched Arie in silence. They had a faint idea of what Arie was going to ask but felt wary after seeing Commander Kal’s reaction.

‘What’s going on?’ Eugene was perplexed when she noticed the panicked expression on Commander Kal’s face.

Commander Kal stepped forward, “Your Majesty, This-”

“HAS SIR ARIO REALLY PASSED?!”

“....”

Silence filled the room as Arie’s frustrated voice echoed throughout the audience room. A touch of coldness touched everyone’s skin like poison after Arie’s big declaration. The cold air came from the King’s body that was trembling violently after Arie’s words.

“.....” Eugene frowned.

The King’s lips quivered as he looked down from his throne.

“WHAT NONSENSE IS THIS!” The King shouted as he stood up! His eyes narrowed down dangerously as he stared down at Arie coldly.

“Do you wish to be executed for your nonsense?” He threatened with a spine-chilling voice.

‘Non...sense?’ Everyone froze on their tracks.

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