Chapter 18: Chapter 18: The Little Princess’s Privilege
The current king of the Kingdom of Oran is Richard August.
He wears shiny dark-gold armor, a crown on his head, and long golden hair falling loosely over his broad shoulders.
Unlike those weak kings, Richard is not just a ruler. He is a real, true 8th-Rank Earth Knight!!
Right now, his bright green eyes, exactly like the little princess Lilian’s, are filled with cold anger.
"Are you done??"
Richard’s voice is deep and smooth. But when it rings out in the empty meeting hall, it hits like a physical force.
"If you’re finished."
"Then shut your smelly mouths, all of you."
Slowly, he stands up. The king’s heavy iron boots hit the marble floor. It sounds like Death knocking on a door.
He walks down the steps one by one, stopping in front of Voran, who is kneeling on the floor.
"Voran, you just said you want to send court mages to watch him??"
He leans down a bit. Richard looks down at his own Justiciar, with eyes like he’s staring at a corpse.
"Do you not know, just last night?"
"That crazy woman from the underground black market sent a high-level Shadow Assassin to sneak into Arthur’s dorm??"
His whole body shakes. Justiciar Voran stammers, "I... I’ve heard some rumors."
"Then do you know what happened??" Richard’s voice suddenly shoots up, loud as cracking thunder.
"The result? That assassin couldn’t even get over the Inner Academy wall. He got badly hurt by an 8th-Level defense spell called ’Arcane Arts True Sight Eye’!!"
The moment he says this, everyone in the hall gasps.
Everyone gasps in shock. Even General Thorne, who isn’t very smart, can’t process it right now.
"’Arcane Arts True Sight Eye’?!!"
"Isn’t that just Dean Alberto’s special magic trap?!!"
He gives a cold laugh. Richard turns and walks over to Thorne.
"Right, my general."
"That old monster Alberto didn’t just raise the defense level of the whole Inner Academy to the max."
"He also went crazy and put the core of that 8th-Level barrier right above Arthur Voss’s lab!!"
He turns to face all the top officials of the kingdom and spreads his arms.
"Don’t you get it yet, you idiots?!!"
"Alberto has made his move!!"
"He is using his actions to warn the whole Kingdom of Oran. He is warning me, the king. He is even warning the whole continent!!"
"Arthur Voss is now the one person Alberto will protect with his life!!"
The meeting hall goes completely quiet. The only sound is everyone’s heavy breathing.
Alberto is the Grand Archmagus.
He is the real protector of the Kingdom of Oran. He is the top mage that even the king must show total respect to.
Angering him would take away the only big threat that keeps the Kingdom of Oran safe.
"You, Voran, you wanted to send people to kidnap him??"
He points right at the Justiciar’s nose. Richard lets out a bitter laugh.
"Do you want Alberto to use a meteor rain to burn your house and your whole family to ashes?!!"
His face goes pale. Justiciar Voran collapses to the floor like a wet rag.
"Your Majesty, please calm down!!" All the officials bow their heads to the floor at the same time.
He takes a deep breath. Richard slowly pulls his Earth Knight energy back inside himself.
The pressure drops fast. Now the officials finally dare to breathe again.
"Your Majesty."
The finance minister, who had been quiet this whole time, slowly lifts his head. He wipes the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Since we can’t use force, how should we treat this... this Mr. Arthur??"
"If we just leave him alone, he’s still a huge wild card."
Richard walks back to the throne and sits down again. His eyes grow deep and complicated.
"I never said to just leave him alone."
He taps the throne’s armrest lightly with his finger.
"If you try to chain up a young dragon that can bring doom whenever it wants, that’s the dumbest move you can make."
"A smart hunter just uses the sweetest water and the softest bed to keep him calm."
The ministers look at each other. They don’t quite get what the king means.
Richard’s mouth curls into a knowing smile.
"Besides, our royal family is already one step ahead of everyone else."
He turns to look at a hidden side door in the hall.
"Lilian, come on out, my little sweetheart."
The moment he finishes speaking.
With a soft creak, the door pushes open.
A tiny figure bounces inside. She’s wearing a fancy princess dress, has blonde hair and green eyes, and is not even five foot tall.
It’s Lilian August, the little princess of the Kingdom of Oran.
She’s still holding half an eaten cream cake in her hand, with a ring of white frosting around her mouth.
"Father, you called for me??"
Blinking her big doll-like eyes, Lilian isn’t scared at all of the trembling ministers in the room.
"Ahem."
Seeing his daughter being such a foodie, Richard almost cracks his usual serious king vibe.
He walks down from the throne, takes out a handkerchief himself, and gently wipes the frosting off her lips, feeling a bit heart-ached.
"Lilian, let me ask you something."
"Did you go to the Golden Rose Restaurant yesterday to eat with that freshman, Arthur Voss??"
At the name "Arthur", Lilian’s eyes light up like stars.
"Yeah, yeah!!"
"Arthur is super cool!!"
"His magic is super flashy, and he’s so nice. He’s nothing like Andrew and those other annoying noble brats!!"
Watching her turn into a total fangirl, the high ministers in the room just stare with their jaws on the floor.
A princess of a great nation is actually calling a farm boy "brother"?!!
Justiciar Voran opens his mouth to scold her for the undignified nickname, but a single icy glare from Richard shuts him up right there.
He looks down and places both hands on his daughter’s small shoulders. His voice becomes gentler and more serious than ever.
"Lilian, I’m going to give you a huge mission for the kingdom."
"It’s a mission that could mean the life or death of the whole Kingdom of Oran."
She pauses for a second. Then Lilian suddenly stands up straight and tries her best to look serious.
"Yes, Father, I’m ready!!"
"I promise I’ll do it!!"
Looking at his daughter, Richard speaks slowly, word by word:
"I want you to go test him."
"I want you to figure out what’s really on his mind."
"I want you to find out what he really wants."
"Is it money?? Is it power?? Is it rare magic materials?? Or does he just have huge ambitions??"
Deep in Richard’s eyes, a flash of cold, royal ruthlessness passes by.
"Just say the word, and the entire treasury of the Kingdom of Oran will be open to him."
"But."
The king’s tone shifted.
"If he shows hostility toward the kingdom, or if he leans toward any other empire..."
Before Richard could finish that killing remark.
"That’s impossible, Father!!"
Rolling her eyes, Lilian bluntly cut through the king’s heavy atmosphere.
"Arthur isn’t nearly as complicated as you think!!"
Puffing her cheeks, she put her hands on her hips, like a mother hen protecting her chicks.
"He’s incredibly lazy."
"Yesterday at the cafeteria, those guys insulted him and he didn’t even bother to fight back. His head was just full of how to make magic more convenient and easier to use."
"You guys don’t understand him at all!!"
Watching his daughter fiercely defend Arthur, Richard’s heart suddenly filled with that bittersweet feeling only a father knows.
The princess he spoiled since childhood had only met Arthur a few times. How could she trust him so much??
But as king, Richard knew this was exactly the best card to break the current stalemate.
"Fine, maybe Father doesn’t understand him."
With a bitter smile, Richard patted his daughter’s head and let out a sigh.
"That’s why this mission is yours alone."
"From today on, I’ve specially granted you an exemption from the royal curfew."
"You can come and go from Arthur’s private lab freely. You can talk to him about magic whenever you want."
"You can even use your top clearance to pick out any magic materials from the Royal Treasury that interest him, and give them to him."
Every word from the king felt like a heavy hammer slamming into the hearts of the ministers around them.
How was this some kind of "test"?!!
This was plainly just handing out money and gifts, while handing the princess over for free!!
This was a blatant "beauty trap" paired with a "cash attack"!!
