"Prince Nathaniel?"
Arthur called out, and the black-haired boy turned toward him.
Nathaniel's heart raced upon meeting the Emperor's gaze.
"Is what your brother said true?"
Silence filled the hall as they patiently awaited the First Prince to speak.
Nathaniel's mind drifted, lost in thought.
At first, he didn't want Adrian to get involved with that organization, fearing that his brother would be caught up in their web once more.
That was why he lied when Adrian asked about his wound.
However, the fact that he had dragged him into this made it seem like Adrian knew he was lying.
"Prince Nathaniel, are you listening?"
The Emperor called out once again and after a brief silence, the black-haired boy eventually responded.
"Yes, Your Majesty. My brother spoke the truth. I fought with one of them."
"Do you know who they are?"
Nathaniel shook his head.
"I had no idea."
"I see."
To be honest, he was uncertain about the organization's objective.
All he knew was that they were seeking those items and conducting some kind of experiment.
Even in the previous timeline, their whereabouts remained a mystery.
No one knew the location of their hideout.
They operated in the shadows, carrying out schemes and causing chaos wherever they went in order to find those items.
But once they revealed themselves, it was too late.
Empowered by those items and their experiments, their strength was beyond imagination.
In just a few hours, they defeated the entire Imperial army and took over the Sun Palace.
That was why Nathaniel established a mercenary agency across the continent.
On the surface, the agency worked like any other, taking on jobs and completing missions for clients.
But in the shadows, Nathaniel had tasked them with a secret mission: to search for the items that the organization was after.
Nathaniel was determined to collect those items before the organization could get their hands on them.
He knew that those items were the key to the organization's power, and like hell, he was not going to let them fall into their hands in this timeline!
Nevertheless, since his body was that of a child—which limited his actions, perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea to seek help.
After all, it was for the welfare of the Terra continent.
With that in mind, Nathaniel continued.
"But I recall him possessing the ability to regenerate in some way."
Nathaniel's words hung in the air, and Arthur's forehead creased in confusion.
"Regeneration? What kind of regeneration?"
His voice was laced with concern.
"When I inflicted damage on him, smoke would rise for the cut, and his wound would close by itself."
The hall descended into chaos when the attendees began to murmur among themselves.
"Everyone please calm down!"
The Emperor's aide called out, his voice ringing through the hall.
Luckily, the chaos was contained, and the audience settled down.
Arthur's piercing gaze was fixed on the black-haired boy standing before him, his expression unreadable.
After a moment of silence, he shifted his attention to the report on his desk.
The rustling of paper echoed throughout the hall as the Emperor skimmed through the document, his eyes scanning the words carefully.
As he flipped through the pages, his face gradually darkened, and his eyes narrowed in anger.
Eventually, Arthur threw the report onto the table with a loud thud and leaned back in his chair, his hands massaging his wrinkled forehead.
He took a deep breath before speaking, his voice was low and dripped with anger.
"Prince Nathaniel, why is it not written in the report?"
Nathaniel shifted nervously, feeling the weight of Arthur's gaze bearing down on him.
"That's… I'm not confident about who they are…"
Arthur clenched his fists, trying so hard to not shout at the young Prince.
He took a deep breath before speaking again, his voice still laced with anger.
"Prince Nathaniel, my son, do you comprehend the gravity of your report? By withholding this information, you almost caused the deaths of millions of innocent people."
Nathaniel closed his eyes and took a deep breath, not allowing his emotions to sway him.
Opening his eyes, he spoke in a calm and collected tone.
"I offer my sincerest apologies for withholding the information. I take full responsibility for my mistake and any negative consequences that may have resulted as a result of my actions."
Arthur sighed deeply, his rage dissipating slightly.
"Very well. I'll let it slide this time, but please bear in mind that you cannot repeat the same mistake. Do you understand?"
Nathaniel nodded in acknowledgment.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I understand the gravity of my mistake, and I assure you that it will not happen again."
Arthur nodded, satisfied with his son's response.
"Good. Remember, as a Prince, it is your responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of your people. Do not take that responsibility lightly."
Nathaniel bowed his head in respect.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will keep that in mind."
Arthur nodded once more before switching his attention to the white-haired boy, and spoke.
"I have a question."
Adrian answered delightfully.
"Please go ahead."
The Emperor leaned forward in his chair and asked.
"Let's say that we signed a treaty with the Kearny Kingdom. What benefits will we gain from it?"
Ho?
It seemed his father was convinced, which was good.
Waste no more time, Adrian answered.
"Your Majesty, I suggest that we make certain demands before establishing a treaty with the Kearny Kingdom."
Adrian continued.
"For instance, we could demand that they provide monetary compensation for any damages they have caused us in the past. Alternatively, we could request that they send their troops to reinforce our own when needed."
Arthur leaned back in his chair, considering Adrian's suggestions.
"Truthfully, we are not in dire need of money at the moment."
Adrian's lips lifted in a small smile and added.
"Your Majesty, we could explore alternative forms of compensation. For example, our Ambassador could investigate whether the Kearny Kingdom possesses valuable resources that we could utilize. We could then request that they provide us with these resources in lieu of monetary payment."
The white-haired man nodded in agreement, impressed with the young Prince's strategic thinking.
"Very well. But what if they refuse our terms?"
Adrian smiled stretched wide.
"Make them choose: either be razed to the ground or agree to our demands. How dare they toy with our mercy?"
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢