bookpower Chapter 261: A Sudden Royal Marriage
Chapter 261: A Sudden Royal Marriage
Meanwhile, in a dark room somewhere in the capital of Silvara.
A group of seven men, all wearing strange masks with numbers on them, sat at the round table with several letters opened on the surface. The same letter Asura received from Verana moments ago in the south.
It was the Queen's cryptic letter, shrouded in secrecy, announcing her unexpected marriage to the nobles.
"Ace, why did the queen do this?" Number Seven asked, his voice trembling with anxiety. His rough and slurred accent, proof of his southern roots, added a layer of tension to his words.
"The queen has lost her foolish son, and now the king seems infatuated with another woman. She is losing her power within the throne." Ace spoke with a confident tone, and his voice sounded like someone who lives in the capital.
"Are you sure, Ace?" The man with the rabbit mask and the number two asked, his accent foreign to Silvara, Adding to the air of ambiguity. "Perhaps the king and the queen are planning this to deal with the current threat in our society. I feel there is more to this than just a power play."
"Oh? Second, you seem quite versed in Silvaran dealings."
"It's my job. I deal with information for a living." Number Two shrugged.
"I disagree with Number Two," Six spoke this time. His accent sounded a bit like Ace's but was lower pitched. "This is just a foolish and desperate move by the royal family. The king couldn't tame a wife and bought one instead. The woman he is with is a distant relative of the queen. Imagine how amusing this information would be for the common folk."
"You say that like it wouldn't be amusing for us."
"If not now, it will be in the future," Six muttered.
"Do any of you want to pursue this for more information?" Ace asked.
No one said a word.
"Now then, onto the next itinerary. What shall we do regarding the wedding?" Ace changed the subject.
"Why are we involved with something that might get us executed?" Seven complained, clearly not liking this side's aim.
"I don't really like this either, but isn't the possibility of luring us out of the shadows the queen's true reason?" A soft, feminine voice sounded from the number five and a sophisticated Drakkur accent.
"Indeed." Ace agreed. "That thought occurred to me; that's why I arranged this meeting. We have two weeks to learn whether they are targeting our activities or we are just overthinking things."
"Or simply they are doing it for the sake of the kingdom," Five replied. "Don't forget, Ace; all we did was create a route for people to receive an opportunity to escape their suffering. Perhaps the queen sees this as a path for her subjects to have hope for their future. The war in the south seems to have escalated."
"Oh? Do you have information?" Ace's eyes behind his mask narrowed as he leaned back, stroking his chin.
"My family and I just received the news, and if that is true, they will be sending a full army to march south to conquer Romantica to avoid the growing threat from the western port city of Westrin that orcs conquered several days ago."
"We might have time to play." The third spoke for the first time with a Western accent, likely from the coastal cities in Silvara. His words were strangely addictive, and his tone was confident and precise.
"Alright, here is the plan. We will allow this farce to go on and follow through with the wedding as usual. It seems we have two weeks until the queen makes her next move, and our benefactor wants us to give the bride a gift on the day. What do you all think we should do?"
"Kill the groom." Number two insisted.
"Definitely kill the groom." Number three agreed.
"Who is your daughter? When did you ever touch my body? Don't dream! Vela is my daughter. Valos was your pathetic spawn!"
Once upon a time, the queen considered marrying this man for real, giving birth to his children if only he could have stood the temptation. Her mother's test was a cruel one, and thus, the king's first time would be with the woman who gave birth to Valos from the curse of her mother's case.
The king could never get another woman pregnant for all his life because of breaking his oath.
A shame the two women were almost identical, except for their aura of power.
"!!!"
"You are free. Spend your life with that woman in peace. Once Vela takes the throne, I will never pursue you or blame you. I hope you both will leave the palace and become happy." The queen's voice became soft for a moment, causing the king to stumble. His anger seemed to simmer before he stepped back.
"Forgive me. That night, I should have been more resolute."
"It's fine. The curse and my mother were cruel to you. That's why I never blamed you for going to her room each night. Make sure you treat her well; she is my family, too."
"..."
The king could say nothing, nor could he utter a single word to excuse his weakness, the damage from the years of feeding his body in secret. "Is this alright?"
"Why not? She's pretty, and you love her, right?"
"I do!"
"That's Good. Vela won't suffer the same fate as I did; she has already connected with her beloved. Now go, she is probably worried. You should prepare to leave, maybe take a trip around Silvara or visit another kingdom. I hear Romantica is good this time of year."
The queen dismissed him without waiting for the king's response.
His face was flushed as he stepped outside, looking at the woman he used to idolise; shaking his head, he vanished.
"Haha, I hope they go to Romantica and die."
The queen never forgot betrayal, especially those who claimed to love her.
"Vela, is your mother wicked?"
She looked at the mirror to the image of the familiar goddess, her old friend, her appearance mingling with hers for a moment before retreating.
"Your son is marrying Vela soon, and I imagined Verena will soon follow. Freya, your plans seem to come true one by one..."
"How frustrating!" The queen swallowed a large glass of wine while lounging on her sofa; she seemed to have a strange friendship with Freyja Fenix.
"War is coming, and you are not here."
While the rain battered the beautiful streets of Silvara's capital, lightning cracked in the distant skies like the wrath of a deity.
On the horizon, a terrifying miasma leaked from the eastern port city of Westrin, their shadowy figures converging in a rally on the sea. The very earth and waters seemed to morph and change like second nature.
These were the monster kingdoms' reinforcements flooding into Romantica by the day.