Chapter 38: News
[That evening]
Behind the grand palace lies a peaceful garden, glowing softly in the light of dusk. The sky is painted with gentle shades of orange and pink, and a cool breeze carries the sweet scent of blooming flowers.
Neatly trimmed hedges line the stone paths that curve through the garden, leading to a small fountain in the center. Water dances gently in the fountain, its soft splashes add to the quiet charm of the evening.
In the middle of the garden, not so far away from the flower beds, sat two people while sipping tea.
"How is it going, son? Your sword training?" Sitting there while holding a cup was a man in his late thirties with blond long hair and a pair of aquamarine eyes.
The other person on the table also had similar features but was much younger.
The two of them belonged to the royal family—one being the head of the family and the other one being the youngest.
"It’s...good. I am learning a few things." The younger one responded with slight hesitation in his voice.
The King—Devon von Aldercrest chuckled, "I know, you needn’t to lie, son. I heard from your instructor that you defeated him on the first day and broke his sword."
The other one grumbled, "He told you..."
"Ahaha...it’s nothing to be embarrassed about, son. Be proud that at the age when children start to learn how to hold a sword, you have already reached the stage where you can defeat a trained swordsman."
The younger one sighed, "I don’t know, Father. I have never trained before but...when I hold the blade it feels as if everything happens instinctively."
Devon smiled at his son, "Don’t stress on it too much. Just remember: always use your sword to bestow the right judgment. Never torment the innocent and never forgive a criminal."
The Prince softly nodded, absorbing the knowledge his father relayed.
It was then that a certain man with round glasses approached them.
"Charles?" Devon was surprised since his butler never disturbs him during his tea time...unless there is an emergency.
"An urgent report arrived from the west, sir." He informed him before glancing at the Prince, "Um...but it won’t be appropriate to tell you here."
Devon’s eyebrows rose a little as he realized what he meant.
However, before he could ask his son to leave them for a moment, the younger one asked, "Can I also hear it, Father? Please?"
Devon was rendered speechless for a moment, torn between two decisions, but then he decided that since one day he would get involved with all this anyway, why not let him know a few things?
"Okay, you can stay." Turning towards the man, he nodded, "Go on, Charles."
The butler didn’t hesitate any longer and informed them, "The former Viscount of Ashenford—Mister Turner, was found dead earlier in the day in his private villa."
"Hmm? The same man you mentioned a few days ago who was causing trouble?" The King asked. He remembers hearing something about a former noble exploiting his influence to smuggle herbs to a different nation recently.
Devon was quite busy recently to do something about him. However, it was quite surprising to hear that the man with such influence was dead.
"The Goliath betrayed him?"
"The Goliath...isn’t he the one who appeared in the newspaper?" The Prince asked, interjecting.
Charles nodded, "Indeed, young Lord. He is the same person who was charged with murdering several entities a few weeks ago."
The youngest one frowned, "Why was he working with a noble, Father?"
His question leaned more toward ’Why was a criminal allowed to be anywhere but prison?’
Devon calmly responded, "Some things are not within our authority to influence. If we interfere with their affairs regularly, they will soon start protesting."
Charles added, "Nobles at low ranking have quite a strong sense of unity. That’s why the higher authority has to be very sensible while dealing with them."
The Prince nodded in understanding, "Forgive me, Father. I let my temper get the better of me."
The older blond chuckled, "It’s okay. I am happy that you voiced your opinion against injustice."
Turning toward the servant, he asked, "So was he betrayed?"
Charles shook his head, "No, sir. Every single man under his command, including Ross, was killed. And Turner was tortured brutally before he was murdered. All his bones were crumbled, his body was ripped with nails...and whatnot." The butler stopped himself from adding the description. After all, even though the Prince was quite mature for his age, it was a fact that he still was ten years old.
Devon had a frown on his face. He knew that the former Viscount was a cruel man with a twisted personality, but...he had quite the influence in the West. And he was murdered in his domain after having his strongest defense—the Goliath—breached?
After a brief pause, the King asked, "Unless there was something beneficial about this to me, you wouldn’t have come here." The King said.
Yes, Turner was a criminal but his death wouldn’t have ushered Charles to bring the news so urgently.
Then...what was it?
Charles faintly smiled, as he nodded, "Indeed, sir. It’s not the news of his death that shocked me...it’s the entity who caused the chaos."
The two nobles listened intently as Charles revealed,
"It was the second son of Baron Stronghart. A child who awakened a first-tier blessing. A mere ten-year-old child exterminated over three hundred soldiers, the Goliath, and tortured the former Viscount to death."
His voice held slight enthusiasm as if he wasn’t talking about mass murder.
The news thoroughly shocked the other two.
A... ten-year-old child....killed the Goliath? And killed over three hundred soldiers...?
"Are you sure about it, Charles?" Devon trusted his butler more than his chief advisor...but the news was too astonishing.
But, "It’s true, sir. I have confirmed it from my most trusted informer."
Devon hummed, cupping his chin as he thought for a moment.
This...was quite surprising and interesting.
Turning towards his son, he asked, "What do you suggest, Eric?"
The younger one instantly said, "We should not reward him for his bravery, father."
Devon had that in mind but he had something else as well, going inside his head.
But well, the first step was to meet him.
"Charles, why don’t you invite Baron Stronghart for a meeting?"
The butler smilingly nodded, "As you command, sir." Saying so he p a faint bow and left the duo.
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A/N:- Thank you for giving my story a chance.