Chapter 153: Deal

Strangers Street, Helm Ville, Iron Kingdom.

A green gem leaf suddenly let out a dim light in an underground basement and illuminated the basement.

The next instant, a shadowy figure appeared in front of it and blocked the green light.

The shadowy figure was none other than Charles!

Turning around, Charles quickly conjured a ball of flame and made it hover in the air to illuminate the room. Then, he went to the nearby fire torch, adds some mustard oil into it, and lit it.

After that, he touched his face and changed himself into an old-looking one.

In seconds, he changed his appearance and turned into Oswald Raven.

Following that, he ordered the Holem's Crown to turn it into a black cane and started walking towards the staircase.

Two minutes later, Charles walked out of the small room while holding a black cane for support and looked up at the dark sky.

He then turned his gaze towards the surroundings and soon frowned.

"I don't know what time it is now." Saying so, he continued to walk and soon arrived in front of the backyard entrance.

He then used his [Hand of Mystery] skill to open the door from inside and stepped in.

A moment later, he saw lamp lights were still lit in the main hall and showed a trace of a smile.

'The kids haven't slept yet.' Muttering inwardly, he started walking towards the main hall and soon slowed down his footsteps.

He noticed that all of them were in the middle of discussing something serious!

Rhea sat on a wooden chair at the center, while Jessie and Titus sat on an old sofa. From the looks of it, Rhea and Jessie seemed to have some fierce argument.

Meanwhile, Noel stood near the wall as he leaned his back against it and listened to their argument with a carefree expression on his face.

"The Churches' announcement can't be a fake one. I need to go to Royal city before the end of July and have to show my face and tell them that I'm still alive. Otherwise, Churches will officially declare me as dead and I won't be able to become a monarch at all."

A restless young voice echoed in the main hall.

"But think logically, Rhea. What will happen if they found out you are still alive before you prove to them that you are the real Rhea Boneflare? They will kill you no matter what. We can't trust anyone." A harsh voice came from Jessie's mouth as she firmly shook her head and opposed her decision.

As Rhea was about to say something, she suddenly heard footsteps from her back and hurriedly stood up. Then, she turned around and soon saw a shadow figure was walking towards them from the other side of the corridor.

"Teacher!" Her eyes widened as she saw Charles and greeted him with a bow.

At that moment, Noel also noticed his arrival, so he straightened his back and bowed at him in respect.

Meanwhile, Jessie and Titus also stood up from their seat and bowed their heads.

"Raise your heads." He spoke as he arrived beside Rhea, sat on the wooden chair, and asked while stroking his chin.

"What are you guys discussing?"

"It's about this..." Rhea started to explain how her family was assassinated after Blood Priest abducted her, then about her sister's achievements and other frictions between Ruler Caste people and Subordinate Caste people.

"So, the Churches suddenly decided to declare you as dead, huh." A frown was clearly visible on Charles's wrinkled forehead.

'Something is not right. Did they found out her identity already? Is it some kind of tracking spell?' At that moment, he suddenly thought of the fate-related spells.

'Information... Blood Priest must have sealed her memory to evade the divination spells. But when Rhea regained her memories 25 days ago, the Churches or her enemies must have perceived some change in the trajectory of Fate and found out that Rhea is still alive and is hiding in the kingdom. Although they don't know her exact location, it won't long before they found some trails about her.' A helpless expression appeared on his face.

"When are they going to make an official announcement about your death?"

"It's on August 1st, Teacher." This time, it was Jessie who replied to his question.

Charles tapped the cane's heel on the floor twice and asked with a frown.

"What day is today?"

"It's April 9th, Teacher." Jessie gave an instant reply.

Charles nodded his head as he leaned his back against the chair's ladder and closed his eyes.

After a whole minute of silence, he opened his amber eyes, glanced at Rhea, and posed a question.

"Are you sure about your decision?"

"Decision?" Rhea tilted her head in confusion and showed a puzzlement look on her face.

Charles let out a disappointing sigh and spoke.

"It's about becoming a Monarch of this Kingdom, lass."

Before she could reply, Charles crossed his legs together and spoke in a stern tone.

"It's not some normal job. Before making a decision, you need to first understand how much strength you possess." He suddenly paused for a moment and then started to ask multiple questions

"What is your current strength? Who are your allies? How many army soldiers are under your control? How many personal knights and mages do you possess? Are there any nobles backing you up? How many gold coins do you possess to feed your army soldiers? Then, who is your enemy? Do they have powerful Mages or Mystics under their control? How many of them are there? Are you willing to sacrifice 100 soldiers to save 10,000 citizens?"

Upon hearing those series of questions, Rhea went dumbfounded. Soon, her face went pale as a white sheet.

"You think your half-siblings will give up on the throne just because you appear in front of them? Naive. You will die before you reach the Royal City." Charles said in a harsh tone, causing her body to quiver all of a sudden.

Soon, realization dawn on her face as she recalled her Teacher's series of questions.

'I have no strength, no soldiers, no mages, and not even a single noble's support. I also knew nothing about my real enemy... They openly assassinated my father, my mother, and my sister. If so, won't they also squash me like an ant?'

Frustration, anger, and helplessness appeared on her face.

She then clenched her fist, appeared in front of Charles, and knelt on the floor.

"Please help this poor kingdom and the commoner citizens, Teacher. If other Ruler Caste members became a monarch, this kingdom will be doomed." Her head touched the floor as she pleaded with a helpless tone.

Crystals of teardrops fell from her eyes and soon splashed on the concrete floor.

Ashley hurriedly ran out from the kitchen and shouted in a panicking tone upon seeing Rhea's sudden action.

"Your Highness, Rulers should never kneel!"

But Rhea didn't raise her head at all. She never cared about those traditions.

'I want to fulfill my father's and big sis's wish. I want to abolish slavery and end the discrimination once and for all.'

A firm resolution appeared in her mind.

This resolution didn't appear in her mind so suddenly, though.

During the past twenty-five days, she went out and watched all types of discrimination happening in the town. She watched all those discriminations and felt guilty.

At that moment, she finally understood why even mages didn't support her father's and her sister's decision.

'My father wants to go against the tradition and change everything. That definitely won't be a good thing for Mages too. So, they betrayed their own King.' She knew that she had no chance of winning, but she persisted.

In the meantime, Charles looked at her for whole ten seconds and finally asked.

"If I help you become a Monarch of Iron Kingdom, what can you give me in return?"

His question surprised everyone in the room.

Rhea, too, surprised by his words as she raised her head and asked in confusion.

"What can I give you in return?"

Charles nodded his head and spoke.

"It's called an equal exchange, lass. If you want to achieve something, you have to give up on something."

"But I don't have anything right now." A troubled look appeared on her pale face.

Meanwhile, Charles shook his head and spoke.

"Once you become a Monarch, you will own this whole kingdom. So, what can you give me in return? I'm warning you. Once you agree to this deal, you can't back down."

The room fell into dead silence for a whole minute.

After racking her brain, Rhea stood up from the kneeling position and gave a suggestion.

"If I become a Monarch, I will reward you with a title of Duke and a large territory, Teacher. Is that enough?"

"Who wants your land and noble title?" Charles snorted coldly and shook his head.

In the meantime, Rhea glanced at Jessie and others and started to get anxious.

'I'm sure our Teacher has already fixed his eyes on something. But what does he want?'

Finally, she gave up on thinking and asked directly.

"What do you want, Teacher?"

A smile appeared on his face.

"You can't figure out my intention, huh. Hmm, I want a Magic Tower. If you promise me that you will build a five-layer magic tower for me, I will help you become the Queen of Iron Kingdom."

He said with a firm tone.