Chapter 5: Chapter 5 The Royal Palace
The gates were opened as the horse rode inside the Royal Palace.
The palace towered above every other building in the city; it was absolutely massive, with stained-glass windows that reflected sunlight, making the entire structure look like it was glowing.
Golden decorations lined the rooftops, while a dozen white flags carrying the holy cross swayed proudly above the walls. Rows of armored knights stood on either side without moving, each holding a long spear upright.
The horse continued forward along a neatly paved way as more Royal knights scrambled around the palace, protecting every inch of the palace.
Aiden didn’t get a chance to admire the entire palace, but from the little he had seen, it was truly magnificent. There was no way to see pictures of any of the kingdoms, so users could experience them themselves.
The horse finally came to a stop, stopping at the foot of a long marble walkway.
Several palace maids and attendants were already waiting at the door, and all of them bowed their heads as they saw Aiden.
The knight climbed down from the horse first, before helping Aiden off the horse, "This way, your Holiness." He said respectfully.
Without waiting for a reply, he led Aiden forward into the main palace. Aiden felt so out of place, staring like a child taken to the white house for the very first time.
His footsteps echoed across the polished marble floor; the entrance and hallway were so large that they could easily accommodate several hundred people. A crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling, filling the room with light.
Massive pillars lined both sides of the hall, and paintings were placed around the walls, each carved with scenes of the goddess of light blessing the people, and Aiden was surprised by how they got her face so perfectly, but in this painting, she was fully clad in white clothing and had a halo above her head.
In most kingdom-themed games, visiting the Royal Palace wasn’t something all the players could do; for most, you had to achieve something significant to be called by the king, and for some games, it was simply impossible.
The palace was littered with servants, and all of them stopped what they were doing the moment they noticed Aiden. One after the other, they lowered their heads as he walked past; even palace guards lowered their heads without saying a word.
The knight continued leading Aiden through one magnificent hallway after another before finally stopping in front of a pair of enormous doors with two words written on top of the door.
’THRONE ROOM’
Two knights were in front of the door, and both of them pushed the doors open.
The knight who brought Aiden first stepped inside before he did. The moment Aiden stepped inside, the first thing he noticed was how massive the throne room was.
The room was big with rows of tall white pillars stretching from the entrance all the way to the end, and large windows at the back of the throne allowed sunlight to pour inside.
Red carpets ran through the center of the room, leading to a raised platform where two elegant thrones stood, a larger one and a slightly smaller one. Behind the thrones was a massive banner with a cross embroidered across.
Standing on both sides of the hall were armored Royal knights, and finally, at the center of the throne room was a large table, surrounded by six chairs, one at the end where the king sat, and the other five were occupied by nobles and a military commander.
A map was laid out, with tiny metal carvings placed on it as the commander moved them around the map.
Aiden didn’t need to be told who the king was; he had played and read through many games and comics to know exactly who the king was.
"Your Majesty!!" One of the nobles spoke as he was the first to lay eyes on Aiden as he stepped inside.
The king was lost in thought with both of his hands covering his face, and when the noble spoke, the king raised his head to see Aiden and a knight walking towards them.
The room fell silent as everyone around the table stood up, all eyes in the throne room fell on Aiden, and he couldn’t help but feel a tiny shiver run down his spine.
The knight who escorted him immediately dropped to one knee, "Your Majesty, we found a survivor from the holy church. I’ve brought His Holiness safely"
The King’s eyes widened as he stared at Aiden. For a moment, the king couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
"A... Male priest," He muttered under his breath.
One of the elderly nobles stepped forward, staring at Aiden like he had seen a miracle, "We thought the Holy Church had fallen..."
"The church did fall," The knight answered, "But by the goddess’s blessing, His Holiness survived and was found by the gate"
For the first time since the battle had begun, hope returned to the King’s face as he clapped his hands.
"Excellent... That is just excellent!" He exclaimed, "My son can still be saved"
Without wasting another second, the king rushed towards Aiden and held his hands, "Your Holiness, my son was stuck during the initial ambush. The blade carried a strange poison; every healing spell by the priestess has failed to remove it, but I know you can save my son"
Aiden’s heart skipped a bit. He wanted to tell them they had made a mistake, but the knight had string him along, and now he was in front of the king, he could tell the king there has made a mistake, but something at the back of his mind told him that was a bad idea.
Still, he knew nothing of healing magic; if by chance his system could come up, that would be a different case, but for now, he had to do something.
But even before Aiden could speak, the king had already turned around.
"Take His Holiness to the Crown Prince immediately!"
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