Chapter 129 - Only One Person Is Worthy
King Ophire glared at the man who had come bearing such inauspicious news that it had made his mood to sour.
"What do you mean by missing!?" He growled and arose from his seat.
The difference in the heights of the two men was evident once the King stood before the steward.
Though this steward was physically fit and had a muscular build, he was still puny when he stood in comparison with his lord and master.
Ophire gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes when he saw the cowering figure of his faithful steward.
"Speak, lad!" He snarled when he did not hear the answer to his earlier question.
The steward tried his best to not stutter his answer out as that might infuriate the King further.
Though King Ophire could make out his fear and anxiety, he was in no mood to care for it as the crisis at hand was much larger than the two of them.
"The present that was sent as a tribute to His Majesty has been missing. The servant boy in charge of overseeing it has not been able to locate it." The steward muttered with his head lowered.
Ophire felt the rage inside his body bubbling up when he heard these words in answer to his questions.
The tribute that they had been speaking about was a valuable treasure that had been given to the King by the ruler of a neighboring kingdom.
Since Rosenhyde was a vast and militarily advanced kingdom, it offered protection to the smaller kingdoms who in turn would offer tributes of the best quality to the Rosenhyde Royal family.
These kingdoms wished to stay safe under the protective cover of this larger kingdom without having to lose the sovereignty of its own land.
King Ophire had been the one to sign this peace treaty which ensured certain chosen kingdoms to stay under the safety of Rosenhyde.
The tributes they sent on a frequent basis was more than sufficient for the King to continue offering his support to these neighboring lands.
The most recent tribute that had been sent was something that King Ophire had been overjoyed to receive.
"Where is the servant who failed to complete his task?" He inquired while glaring at his faithful steward.
Just as the steward had expected, King Ophire was furious and wished to speak to that incompetent servant on his own.
"I shall ask the guards to fetch the servant, My Lord." The man replied as he raised his head to answer.
"Hmm.." King Ophire hummed in response as he took a step forward.
The young man nodded his head and gestured for the King to take the lead and that he would follow him as a servant should.
As they were on the way to the Throne room, the steward signaled a guard who hurried in the opposite direction to fetch the reckless servant.
'I hope that His Majesty is not too harsh with the punishment.' He wished but what would happen next was not something that he could have a say in.
King Ophire had come to the Rose Palace with a bright and overjoyed smile as he had come to inform his beloved child about the birthday celebration that he wished to organize for her.
Now that he was leaving the same Palace, the anger and wrath apparent on his face revealed that he was about to make someone's life difficult.
The reason for this fury was none other than the loss of the tribute that he had received.
This tribute had not been like the others that he had received in the past.
It was neither silver and gems or gold and jewels that he had been presented with this time around.
Instead, this time he was given the rarest of the rare present that anyone could have wished for.
'I was given an 'etcher' and these fools managed to lose it?' He growled in his heart as his feet strode in the direction of his Throne room.
The doors of the Throne room were held open for him upon his arrival and he took no time in reaching his throne, taking his seat on the place that was rightfully his.
Now that he sat on his throne, he stared at the door as he awaited the man who was responsible for this grave indiscretion to take place.
While he awaited the man's arrival, he thought back to the letter that he had received from the King of the neighboring country which stated all the information about the tribute he had received.
Two days ago, King Ophire had received a secret letter from the head of the Black Shadow guards that a cargo ship from the neighboring kingdom had entered their waters.
Upon further investigation, it was proved that this cargo contained the tribute meant for the King.
Thus, after making sure that it held no threat to the King's life the cargo was transferred to the Royal Palace.
What King Ophire witnessed when the cargo was unloaded made his eyes gleam with excitement.
The large dark steed whose crimson eyes glowed in the dark space as it was brought out made King Ophire Rosenhyde to almost squeal out in excitement.
One look at the beast and he was able to make out that this was no ordinary beast but was an etcher of the highest standards.
The large body of the beast combined with its terrifying aura made the guards flinch yet they held onto the chains binding the etcher in order to ensure that it could not harm their King.
Soon, the smile on his face which had been jubilant became overwhelming when he thought of a certain aspect.
'I already have my etcher so this beast means nothing to me.' He surmised as he had already been etched a long time ago.
He sighed out loud while thinking of his lazy etcher who at this very moment could be taking a nap in some cozy corner of the Palace.
Though he couldn't get this etcher to stay by his side he was also reluctant to let it be used by anyone else since he had already decided the person who was worthy of this beautiful beast.
'Only one person is worthy of this beast and that is my beloved brother!' He declared while stepping closer to the beast.
The crimson eyes glared at the King without letting any weakness appear on its face even though it was tied up with chains from top to bottom.
Ophire chuckled when he saw the stubborn behavior of the beast as it refused to stay shackled to the heavy chains.
'He is just like that little brother of mine.' He associated the two as they appeared to have similar traits.
The person to whom King Ophire wished to gift the beast to was none other than his baby brother, Draco Roschester.
"Keep him safe until Prince Draco gets back to the Palace." He commanded the guards who nodded submissively.
Taking one last glance at the struggling beast, he smiled at the lovely surprise he had planned for his brother and then left the etcher in the hands of his trusted men.
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