Chapter 658: Chapter 658- The Unprecedented Summit
When the maids noticed him, their eyes widened. They dipped their heads into a respectful bow.
"Your Majesty. We did not expect you to be here."
The King cleared his throat and spoke.
"I was inspecting the gardens. The flowers here have bloomed spectacularly."
What a sorry excuse.
The maids nodded. But their glances held a flicker of curiosity.
Why would the King be inspecting gardens so close to the Queen’s private training courtyard?
At this hour?
Before any further conversation could unfold, the door to the courtyard opened.
The first one to walk out was Reinhardt.
His tall frame blocked the view inside.
Although his clothes were slightly damp from sweat, his face remained a mask of calm.
Looking at that face, no one would be able to tell that just prior he was having an extramarital affair with the Queen.
The king went through a multitude of emotions at this moment.
Although a part of him wanted to beat this wretched fellow, another part of him felt excited from the turn of events.
Then again, even though he spied on them, he was unable to uncover anything.
Although the scenes inside seemed intimate, he did not have a clear view to judge things.
It could really be that they were simply training. All of this was still just his imagination.
From relief to disappointment, then excitement to being rational.
His emotions were like a roller coaster.
Seeing the king outside, Reinhardt gave a shallow bow.
He was quite surprised by the other party’s presence here, but that was all.
He had full confidence in his Divine Luck.
The king did not know what kind of expression he was making.
He nodded at Reinhardt’s gesture.
At this moment, the Queen also walked out from the training hall.
With damp hair sticking to her temples and cheeks, body glistening with sweat and something else, she was the very vision of indolence and sensuality.
Although she had tied a modest robe over her training gear, the aura she radiated after being showered by Reinhardt’s love could not be hidden.
Whether it be the maids or the king, all of them were mesmerized by her beguiling beauty.
The Queen’s eyes flashed with a dark pink light for a moment before disappearing.
"My Lord, is everything alright?"
"Y-Yeah."
The king answered in a daze.
He stared at his wife, who seemed to be exuding a powerful sexual aura.
He wanted to find the evidence of any action other than the training on her.
However, all he could see was her beauty radiating beautifully.
Solaris’s mind raced.
He had missed his chance.
The moment was gone.
The evidence was hidden behind calm faces and fresh clothes.
All he had was the burning, unshakable knowledge in his own mind. And the frantic, unsatisfied ache in his own body.
He had seen enough to doubt everything. But not enough to know for sure.
He was left with speculation.
With fantasy.
With a desperate, hungry need that would now haunt him even more fiercely.
The maids looked between their king and queen. Confusion was on their faces.
Even Reinhardt was glancing at the Queen.
However, his reason was different.
Just now he felt a trace of demonic magic from her person.
Given that the other soul inside her, Minerva, was capable of using demonic magic, he immediately understood that it was her doing.
However, what he couldn’t understand was what she was trying to do.
"Everything is fine," the king spoke with a slightly dry voice.
"I was just passing. I trust the training is going well?"
Reinhardt hurriedly put up a business-like face and nodded.
"It’s going extremely well, Your Majesty. The Queen is a fast learner."
Although the nature of their training had changed somewhat in the last few days, he hadn’t neglected his duty.
He saw to it that the Queen was getting stronger.
There were visible results.
This held true not only from his own eyes, but from the observing eyes too.
Even the maids, who were just ordinary humans, could feel the difference.
Hearing Reinhardt’s words, the Queen blushed a little. She held his gaze for a second.
"It’s all thanks to my knight’s undivided and proper guidance."
Needless to say, the one who could make such bold comments without caring about the consequences was none other than Minerva.
It seemed that she had taken over the body after the Queen fell unconscious from their earlier session.
The double meaning hung in the air.
Only two people really understood what those words meant.
"I see. In that case, carry on."
Saying that, the King turned on his heel and left. He left the maids with their tray and the two lovers standing in the doorway.
The truth of what had happened in the courtyard was a silent, screaming secret between them.
.
.
Time passed by quickly. The day of the summit slowly drew near.
The capital Solaris became increasingly busy.
With more and more carriages arriving at the city every day, the number reached an astonishing height.
What’s more, this number only seemed to be increasing every day with no sign of decreasing trend.
Kings, Queens, Princes and Princesses, Knights clad in full armor, envoys, dignitaries. All arrived one after another.
It was not just the great kingdoms. Even the smaller nations of Valdonia had gathered in Solaris.
The Seven Kingdoms Summit had convened numerous times in history.
However, one of this scale was unprecedented.
This was no longer just a summit. But a convergence of the entire human world.
.
One week later. Inside the Senate House.
The scale of the unprecedented summit became clear when one entered inside.
Thousands and thousands of seats filled the hall.
Kings, queens and their royal heirs, knights, envoys sat in those seats.
At a glance, almost all of the seats were occupied.
It needs to be mentioned that the Senate House was one of the largest buildings in all of the capital. With the exception of the royal palace.
The building had the capacity to hold tens of thousands of people.
Yet at this moment, it was packed.
The relevance and urgency of the summit could be seen from this alone.
The seating arrangement inside was like this.
At the back sat the royal heirs. The knights guarding them and the envoys who came along with their rulers.
And at the forefront were the kings and the Queens of the many nations of Valdonia. The highest decision makers.
A massive ring-shaped table, simple in design, sat in the middle of the hall.
Only rulers sat there. The ones who decided the fate of their nation.
Needless to say, the Kings and Queens of the Six Great Kingdoms occupied these seats.
As for the others, it was occupied by the rulers of the other smaller nations.
Every single one of them, without any absentee.
The presence of all the highest decision makers in Valdonia sitting around the round table made the atmosphere heavier.
The sheer presence.
The rulers sat there, conversing with each other cordially.
Right when the hands of the clock struck ten, the Summit officially began.
At the head of the table, the Queen of Solaris, the host of the Summit, stood from her seat.
Her presence alone silenced the room.
She looked across the countless faces and spoke with a regal aura befitting of the Queen of one of the Six Great Kingdoms.
"Welcome, rulers of Valdonia."
Right after saying that, she corrected herself.
"No, Leaders of humanity. The Seven Kingdom Summit has been held many times over the years. But never, not even once, had every nation attended with their full presence."
"This very day will go down in history. That said, this is not a moment for celebration. The only reason we all have gathered here is to address a threat. A threat to all of humanity. Demons!"
Although it was just a single word, that very word caused a ripple in the senate.
No one spoke. But every face tightened at that moment.
"You all know why you have been called. The incidents occurring all around the myriad kingdoms of Valdonia, the frequency of it, and the dreadfulness of the danger. All of it has spiked up in the recent years."
"Humanity is facing its greatest threat once again."
The Queen’s voice resonated through the chamber.
After saying all that, she did not continue.
But rather, she sat back down and glanced at a particular knight.
"I am not the most suitable person to explain this in detail. Thus, I will leave it to someone who is."
Reinhardt looked at the Queen and stepped forward from among the ones gathered.
As one of the Heroes of Humanity, one called the last fortress, his very presence commanded attention.
Plus given his divine looks, it was only normal that all eyes turned towards him the moment he stepped forward.
Reinhardt arrived before the assembly. His gaze swept across the rulers of Valdonia, then briefly paused on the knights behind them.
The Heroes.
