His words sounded strong, but their meaning was shocking and even laughable in different parts of the statement.
They as subordinates of the Ninth Prince? What kind of joke was that?
Everyone knew that the Ninth Prince was the shame of the family. He was even almost killed inside the castle, and the ones who made the most fuss about it were a minister and some nobles, who the king easily overshadowed.
It was said that they could kill a minister, whom they considered to be the one who tried, but the news did not go any further. The minister is still alive, and the news did not leave the castle.
If something like that had happened to another prince, it would have been global news, but it wasn’t even mentioned with the Ninth Prince.
That just meant that no one in the castle supported Ryan. His status was too low, so he didn’t matter.
How could they suddenly give him an army of 400 soldiers?
They looked at him in shock. The vast majority of them were just soldiers—elite soldiers, but soldiers of low rank. They did not dare speak or show their contempt for the Ninth Prince.
However, several high-ranking officers were present. For example, there were four captains, at the same level as Garner, and two Ground Commanders, one rank above Garner.
The two commanders belonged to a noble family. Although they were only viscounts, given their rank in the armed forces, they had a good status.
One of them did not sit idly by after Ryan’s statements.
"Ninth Prince, it’s not that we despise you or anything; we know your status is great," he said, although his voice sounded very sarcastic. The status was great, but he believed that Ryan did not deserve it.
"But how could you say that we will be your subordinates? Don’t fool yourself, Ninth Prince, we are Royal Guards, the elite among the soldiers serving the king. We don’t obey just any prince, and you don’t have the ability or strength to command us."
Ryan nodded and ignored any attempt to show his contempt for him, as he tried to hide it quite well.
"Ground Commander Eben Porter, right?" he asked, though he didn’t need confirmation.
"As a military member working for the royal family, your only mission is to do what the royal family members tell you to do. You are not here to question me, and you should be proud that you are finally done working for your commanders and generals and starting to work under one of those competing for the crown." Ryan said in a flat but authoritative voice that left the Commander stunned.
And since Ryan knew he didn’t have time, he took out the royal document and held it up to the Commander’s face.
"I am not a bossy person, nor am I unreasonable. I will treat my men well, as long as they behave themselves. I don’t care if you are a nobleman or an ordinary civilian; I will treat you equally. For that reason, and seeing the incompetence of these commanders handed over to me, I will appoint a new commander for the troops." After saying that, he smiled.
"By royal decree," he emphasized to ensure that no one dared to say anything.
Then he spoke again. "Starting today, you, as troops of the Ninth Prince, will be working under my command, and Captain Garner will be your next commander. His achievements have been sufficient to raise his rank, but unfortunately, I cannot do so yet. However, I will eventually do so, and he will be your interim commander."
They looked systematically at Garner, who had already recovered from his previous surprise. Although his uniform revealed that he was of a lower rank than the two commanders in the group, they couldn’t say anything because they were looking at the king’s signature on the document Ryan had.
This time, they hadn’t been taken from their dormitories for no reason; in fact, the king had decided to grant the ninth prince an army as well. It wasn’t unreasonable; the moment he became a Walker, he was destined to obtain a personal army, just like all his brothers.
But for it to happen... was very strange.
Everyone had grown accustomed to the idea that this prince was useless. He would never get an army; he would probably die before thinking about it.
But now he stood before them with a royal edict that marked him as their new leader. He also placed a captain above them all. Several of them were not happy about this, although most did not care.
In any case, everyone had to remain silent and stand at attention before the king’s signature.
’I’ll have to earn their respect,’ Ryan thought, realizing that they didn’t really respect him. Still, that was something that would happen naturally. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel⸺fire.net
Captain Garner introduced himself quickly, before Ryan signaled for them to listen to him.
"Today will be our first mission, and our job is to recover the recently stolen treasure from my father’s chambers. We will leave immediately, so if you are ready, we will depart at once," he informed them.
’Recover the treasure? Not even the third prince has been able to do that!’ The commander felt he couldn’t hold back his laughter.
Clearly, the king had given this boy the army to embarrass him and waste his time.
’I knew it. Not even the king is thinking about this boy.’ Eben sneered, but revealed nothing in his gaze.
He simply nodded: "We’ll bring the carriage right away!" he shouted.
Afterwards, they went to find a carriage, which they soon left in. Only Ryan was inside the carriage, while Garner, Eben, and Patrick, the other commander, were driving.
Even though this had been quite quick, these guys were professionally trained to absurd levels. They were more than ready to start a mission at any moment, so they didn’t have to waste any time.
Soon, they were at the main exit of the castle and had to stop because a carriage and many soldiers were nearby.
"Prince, it’s the Second and Third Prince’s carriage," Garner reported. After looking more closely, he spoke again. "It looks like they’re talking to Miss Cecily."
Ryan smiled. ’Good girl, as always.’