Sylvester drank with the King two more glasses of the exclusive drink. By the end, the King got visibly drunk and started to doze off every ten seconds. It was clear that the meeting had ended.
Then, with Grand Wizard Atlas' help, the King stood up. "Son, take the letter of armistice from the castle while on the way out… and stop the people from rioting. Tell them… the King has announced a week of celebration in the name of the Lord's Bard. All food and drinks in taverns shall be half the price from evening till midnight for seven days."
Sylvester was shocked that everything had gone so smoothly that now the King had basically announced celebrations for his own upcoming seven days of slow death without even knowing. It was depressing, but Sylvester accepted.
"Understood, your majesty." He bowed his head.
King Riveria started walking away. "Ah… I should retire to my chambers now. Take care, son. I shall call for you soon with a detailed plan."
"I will be waiting, your majesty." Sylvester didn't act close to the man by taking his name and politely saw as the Grand Wizard took the King away.
But still, Sylvester didn't feel as happy for some reason. He didn't like that the man would just die slowly in his sleep. Sylvester hated King Riveria for making his life frustrating for the past few years. The bounty on him made everything messy, as on any given occasion when he was outside the Holy Land, he had to be careful about too many things.
'Killing him like this feels more like an act of kindness than a punishment.' Sylvester thought and sighed. However, no matter what, he had finally removed a thorn.
"What did you do to make him so kind to you all of a sudden?" Lady Aurora asked. "And what about that expansion plan?"
Sylvester didn't elaborate. "Let's not talk here. In fact, let's leave this city quickly."
"Back to the Holy Land?"
Sylvester denied. "No. We shall go further down southwest in Riveria and meet Duke Conrad. No more questions here. Let's move."
So, Sylvester went to the castle as the King had advised. He was soon guided by the servant at the caste's gates to the administrative wing of the King's office. Yes, the King had a whole wing dedicated to his administrative work.
Sylvester noticed multiple doors on the sides of the corridor, each marked with different departments and the name of the person occupying it. He saw the Head of Agriculture, Head of Fisheries, Head of Industries, Master of Commerce and whatnot.
'Good lord, now it makes sense why Riveria is so rich and has a big industrial output. Unlike the other Kings and their offices, the work here is well-distributed and structured. If this were a normal king, all the heads of these departments would sit beside the King in the same meeting room or the throneroom and discuss things there.'
Sylvester was in awe. He wondered if King Riveria was behind this system, and if the man was, then he had to agree that the King was good at something finally.
Soon, Sylvester received the letter announcing the armistice with all the proper stamps. It was written by the King's Prima, and it turned out to be none other than the Grand Wizard Atlas.
'How much does the King trust his Grand Wizards to give them such a major position? Does he not fear they'd remove him and become the King instead?' Sylvester wondered. But he didn't voice himself.
"Thank you, Lord Prima." He bowed, took the letter and left without much fanfare.
They made their way out of the castle and proceeded towards the boundary wall. The loud explosions were still resounding in the city, and the crowd's shouts had only increased. It was clear that even if the sun was setting, the people had no wish to back down.
"Woah! Golden man!"
Just as Sylvester was moving beyond a small garden near the castle, he heard a squeaky voice of a child. Interested, he looked and found a black-haired, chubby-faced, dark-skinned boy. The boy also had eyes similar to the King, so it was clear who it was.
"So cute." Aurora wanted to go to the child and pull his cheeks.
"No." But Sylvester dragged her by the arm. "It's better if you don't get attached to any of King's young children, Aurora. Don't forget; a raging storm can easily destroy little saplings."
Lady Aurora sighed, glanced at the kid once last time in pity, and followed Sylvester. They didn't stop anymore and arrived at the gates.
"Lord Bard! Please!" The commander of the Royal Guards came running to them. "Tell them to back off. Look what they have done!"
Interested, Sylvester followed and climbed the stairs of the walls to stand at the top to look. Unfortunately, the gates had been shut closed long ago as the crowd had become too restless.
"Look what they did to the walls!"
Sylvester glanced carefully. The giant crowd had reached the castle walls, but instead of trying to climb, they took turns using charcoal to write something on the wall, covering all of it with words.
'Pfft…!' Sylvester could hardly contain his laughter.
Lady Aurora, however, was in a position where she didn't need to hold back. So she burst into laughter. "Ahaha… Who gave them this idea? This is genius!"
Sylvester noticed the annoyed Royal Guard, but the man could do nothing to Lady Aurora and only watched as the people wrote more.
'Useless cunt lover'
'Weakest cock of Riveria'
'Cockless King lives here'
'Harem King with a weak thing.'
'Just Die.'
'War Monger.'
'Leave some for us!'
'Just Stop!'
'Does it even stand?'
Sylvester shook his head and stopped reading them. But he did wonder why most of the curses were about the King's thing. He didn't know the people held such resentment against the King for having a vast harem.
'Perhaps the city's men are jealous of their king?'
He eventually got closer to the edge and raised his hand, shrouded in light. It took a few minutes for everyone to notice, but they ultimately stopped shouting and drawing different words or shapes on the walls.
Woosh!
Sylvester showed a parchment in his hand. "It has been signed! There shall be no more war! Only peace! So no more violence, my brothers and sisters. The King has announced a whole week of celebration in my name. All drinks and food in the city taverns shall be half the price for seven days from evening to midnight!"
"Yeah!"
"Bard!"
"Bard!"
The people started to chant for him, all faces full of smiles and excitement. In Sylvester's eyes, they were the biggest fools because they not only damaged their own city but also worked as his pawns for free, and after this celebration, his name was going to be immortalised in the city.
Sylvester turned around and walked downstairs to the gates to leave the city. Lady Aurora stood before him as the people would pounce at him at any moment. The crowd had only increased over time, and it seemed like the entire city had come.
Sylvester kept chanting a hymn under his breath and created a halo. He then raised his right palm and shined some light on the people, making them feel the warmth.
He didn't sing this time, as that would be overdoing it. So instead, he just kept walking, and the people kept moving apart, making way for him and Lady Aurora. Many even went down to their knees and prayed.
Sylvester was the miracle the city needed to rekindle its belief in the faith. With his light, thousands of hearts had once again accepted the light of Solis wholeheartedly.
'I need to add this to my mission report and list of achievements.'
It took Sylvester and Lady Aurora an hour to get out of the enormous crowd. Often, some people would stop him and cry out about their problems, from things related to their failed romantic endeavours to their sick parents or children.
Sylvester could only shine his light upon them and say a few good words. However, he did advise many of them to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. That would not only generate more revenue for the Church but also spread his name far and wide as the city's people would meet the other pilgrims from around the world.
Eventually, Sylvester arrived at the Monastery, and they got on Aurora's carriage quickly. They didn't know how the people would react when the King would fall sick suddenly, and they didn't want to take any risks.
They just informed the Bishop of the Monastery and left the city in the darkness of the night when the people had moved to various taverns and eateries to have fun.
"Let's find a small town on the way and rest there. We should keep ourselves well prepared for any attacks from any direction." Sylvester advised and made the horses go faster.
Lady Aurora agreed and gave a few words of warning. "You're right. When I spoke with that Grand Wizard Atlas, the King's Prima, I couldn't understand his motives. He seemed uninterested, yet he was so caring for the King. Not to mention, he's the King's Grandfather from his mother's side, so he's likely to suspect us."
Sylvester then had the realisation. "So that's why the King was confident enough to make him Prima. But sadly, just having blood ties in this day and age is not enough. What's about to come for the Riveria family as a whole is going to be nothing short of a fiery storm."
"Is it related to the Duke?" She inquired.
Sylvester neither nodded nor shook his head. "The Duke, well, he's going to be the King soon. But… Ever wondered what will happen to his over one hundred half-mothers and nearly four hundred half-siblings once he takes the throne?"
Lady Aurora took a calming breath and stared at the road ahead. "As you said, those mothers harmed and tried to kill the Duke and his younger brother from an early age—So I'm afraid it will be nothing less than a bloody carnage."
"Indeed, my sister. But again, bloodshed in a war of ascension is as common as solarium in the air. If there were no bloodshed, then that would've been suspicious."
She agreed but didn't like the fact that even the kids won't be spared. "At least we should take the little ones as orphans into the church."
Sylvester immediately warned her. "Don't even think about it. Those kids are not just children. They are sleeping bombs for the Duke—Who may someday come to claim his throne. No, we can't have the Duke hate the Church. Let him do whatever he wants."
They silently accepted what was to come and drove on the plain straight road in the middle of the night. But of course, Sylvester's mind never rested, for the nights were his greatest enemies, as there lurked a shadow, ready to ensure he never saw the light of tomorrow.
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