“Deek Deekson, I felt the need to stop by for a bit.” It was the king himself who appeared at my door.
I stood up, keeping an eye out for Octin to tell me if I needed to bow or anything else. When he only turned thoughtfully, I gave a nod to the king.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“You’re taller than I imagined.” The king spoke after a moment.
“Ah… Alysia has spoken about me?”
He shook his head with a laugh. “Not at all. In fact, she’s made an attempt to not mention you. That’s why it is so worrisome.”
I frowned, not quite sure what he meant.
He walked over to a desk, where he managed to pull out a bottle of drink and a couple of glasses stashed there. He poured a drink for me, Octin, and himself before turning to the pair of us.
“Normally, Alysia doesn’t hold anything back, not from me or mother. However, she’s remained extremely tight-lipped when it has come to conversations regarding you. She’s faced you two times, and both times, she got the raw end of the deal.”
“Wouldn’t that suggest that she hates me?” I asked cautiously.
“If you know my sister as well as I think you do, you’d know how ridiculous that question is.” He gave me a look, and I had no choice but to look away.
“Is Ost Republic looking to have peace with Aberis?” I ask the important question.
“Deek!” Octin cried out.
The king chuckled. “A direct question requires a direct answer. I know General Octin here has been trying to ascertain that answer for weeks now. If it was my mother you were talking to, peace would be impossible. However…”
“However?” I looked back at him as he stopped on that word.
“General Nova has a lot of sway in this country, especially with the humans.”
“Is it so surprising?” Octin asked. “You would be said to have a lot of sway with beastkin and the Esmere. In fact, the minority races idolize you. You’re a human that accepts beastkin as equals.”
I hadn’t really thought about it like that.
“Many of his slave women are humans, and he has many human children.” The king’s expression flashed angrily for a second. “As much as he goes on about purity of the Osterians, he certainly is fine weakening our bloodline!”
“Where do I come in?” I asked.
“It’s simple.” He shrugged. “If the humans somehow ceased to trust in him, and found a new hero to admire… a human hero, then I wouldn’t need to sacrifice my sister to that man.”
“Are you suggesting I should defeat him in battle?”
He gave a slight smile. “We’ll see if you are as impressive as the reports say. I will be finding my place outside. Good luck.”
He left as abruptly as he came. After a moment of silence, Octin shook his head.
“That man shouldn’t be trusted. He has his own aims. It’s possible he wants you to defeat General Nova for his own reasons.”
“I agree… I don’t think it’d be a good idea if I defeated Nova.” I shook my head. “It’s time. Let’s go.”
I was having a nagging feeling ever since talking to the king. Something about him felt strangely familiar, and also off. He was definitely a schemer, and I feared that all of this had been planned out by him from the start.