"Stop."
The King called out.
"Fathe-"
"Enough. The Hero must know the truth. He deserves that much."
Alden spoke with a solemn look on his face as he stared at Kael, who was about to leave. At his words, Kael paused, sowhat surprised. He turned around and glanced at the King.
"What do you an?"
He frowned.
"Selene didn't lie."
Alden revealed, and Kael's eyes widened in surprise.
"What…?"
He turned toward the Crown Prince, who seed to have lied to him, and Edric just turned his face away, not saying anything.
After all, the King had spoken.
He couldn't stop it any longer.
"Drakthar did have a Magic Prodigy who was hailed as the Future of Magic.
Her na was Lavinia Dragonborn."
"Dragonborn…?"
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"Yes, she was my daughter."
Alden admitted, though his face showed no expression.
"Lavinia was blessed by Lord Feraos. She had a never-before-seen Magic Talent. She had a high affinity with every elent there is, she could learn spells much faster than others, and as she grew, she even started creating her own spells.
A few of the spells she created had even beco standard spells that every mage learned simply because of how efficient they were.
Even the Xenthalor Mages, who usually never used spells created by Drakthar Mages, actively sought her spells without sha simply because of how brilliant they were."
The King gave a brief description. He tried to hide it, but Kael didn't fail to notice his eyes shine as he talked about his daughter. It almost felt as if he could go on and on about how great his daughter was.
The old man was barely holding himself back.
Soon, however, his expression turned grim.
"But then…
When she turned 18, it was revealed that she had been corrupted."
"What…?"
Kael blinked, unable to believe what he just heard.
No, it wasn't because Lavinia fell to corruption, he already knew that part. He was surprised by sothing else and this ti, he wasn't acting.
"Wait, wait, wait. You're telling that she created her own spells, spells that beca standard for mages throughout Nerathis when she wasn't even 18? How strong was she!?"
"She was a Seventh Circle Mage at the age of 17 and was about to beco an Eighth Circle Mage before it was revealed that she had fallen to corruption."
"That makes no sense."
Kael frowned in confusion.
"Why would soone like her fall to corruption?"
He questioned, bringing up the question that had been in everyone's mind throughout this ordeal.
"We… do not know…"
The King shook his head. His eyes were twitching unconsciously, and he hid his hands under his cape, clearly trying to hide sothing.
"But there has to be a reason-"
"She fell to corruption, Hero.
She used the Power of Corruption to corrupt her Bond.
Regardless of her reasons, such an act is a grave cri—one punishable by execution."
Crown Prince Edric jumped in once again.
"E-Execution?"
Kael stuttered as he turned toward the King. The King, however, shook his head.
"On the grounds of everything she has done for the Kingdom, she wasn't executed but was sold as a Slave with her Powers sealed."
"You… sold your own daughter as a Slave…?"
At that question, for a very slight second, the King's emotionless poker face cracked. His mouth twitched, his eyes reflecting intense pain. Soon, however, his emotionless façade returned, and,
"King's Daughter or not, Justice is fair for everyone."
He declared.
"Did you at least try to listen to her explanation? She had such a bright future and an excellent mind. What if she had figured sothing out?
Like the Xenthalor Empire, what if she had co up with a way to strengthen her Bonds using the Power of Corruption without any side effects?"
The King, however, shook his head at those words.
"The Power of Corruption is inherently evil, Hero."
"But the Xenthalor Emp-"
"We do not know what the Xenthalor Empire is planning, but we do know that whatever it is, they are on the wrong path.
Leaving the Seed of Corruption inside a Bond's Body can never be good. No matter how much you try to suppress it, that inherent evil cannot be subdued."
"But-"
"We shall not talk regarding this matter anymore, Hero.
I told you about the Princess because you deserve to know the truth. That girl, however, is no longer a Princess or even a part of Drakthar.
To us…
She doesn't exist.
And you are not to speak of her again. Is that clear?"
The King spoke. His face was still emotionless, but Kael didn't fail to notice the heavy breathing that he was trying to suppress.
He paused for a mont. Yes, this conversation had gone according to Elira's predictions, but Elira only cared about getting the Princess's na out of the King's mouth and hadn't bothered to continue the conversation from there.
Now, Kael was on his own.
"Then what about the Xenthalor Empire? They are using the Power of Corruption. What would be Drakthar's stance on that?"
"I believe I have already ntioned this. A eting regarding this matter will be held, and a careful decision will be made."
"Why now? Did you have a eting when Princess Lavinia used the Power of-"
"I believe you were told not to speak of that na again.
Or are you going against the King's order?"
Edric spoke up, once again interrupting Kael, and this ti, Kael had enough. He turned toward Edric, his gaze sharp.
"Do I not even deserve a mont to discuss important matters with the King without the Crown Prince interrupting again and again?"
His voice was firm but full of frustration.
"I was summoned to this world as its Protector. And yet, what do I actually know about it?"
He started, his hands clenched into fists.
"I train every single day, pushing myself to my limits and further so I can get stronger and protect just one more person. At night, I scour through history books, trying to understand the world I'm ant to protect.
I study about the Royal Family that summoned , the forces at play, the enemies I'm supposed to fight."
Then, the Hero glanced at the King with the sa frustrated expression.
"And what do I find?
A force nad Twilight that no one ever ntioned.
A prodigy—once known as the future of magic—erased from history as if she never existed.
And what's worse?
If it wasn't for the Tower Head of a foreign empire, I wouldn't even have known about her existence."
Kael's gaze flickered back to Edric.
"And when I try to bring this up, what happens?
The Crown Prince tries to lie to my face and send away!
You wanted to keep in the dark about sothing so important."
He raised his voice, showing his anger. He even directly pointed his finger toward the Crown Prince before he finally turned towards the King again.
"And it's not just him. Even you, Your Majesty, refuse to speak of her.
You tell not to ask questions and to let this go.
And for what?
For the sake of the Kingdom's image? To bury an uncomfortable truth?
Do you not see how strange all of this sounds?
Are you not even trying to see things from my perspective!?"
The Hero finally confronted the King.
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