Chapter 138

In the royal palace of the United Kingdom, following the abolition of fiefdoms, the nobility predominantly resided within the urban area of London and throughout the realm. Naturally, to dwell within the palace walls required a rank of no less than an Earl.

Yet, belonging to the House of Mistral did not automatically confer a noble title. Members of the Mistral family had to earn their rightful places through their own abilities, and even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was required to pay a heavy price to achieve this.

"So, have the people from the clan already made their decision? Is Tre希 truly forbidden from going?" Inside the palace, a man attired in magnificent ceremonial robes inquired of an attendant who had just entered his chambers.

"Yes, Your Majesty the King. The roster provided by the clan does not contain the name of Crown Prince Tre." Who could have ever imagined that this man was, in fact, the King of the United Kingdom?

"Is that so? Yet I daresay that child will not simply obey so docilely." The voice this time belonged to a lady, whose identity was equally evident.

"Indeed, Your Majesty the Queen. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is currently gathering immense momentum, apparently seeking to draw the attention of the clan." Though the attendant's position within the palace seemed ordinary, royal attendants actually held a status somewhat elevated above common folk outside.

"What did I tell you? How could my son ever consent to being constrained? At this rate, leave aside myself; even if the clan were to step forward in person, I doubt they could do anything to bridle him." Upon hearing this news, His Majesty the King was instead filled with delight.

After all, he was merely a puppet king! When the clan wished for him to occupy the throne, he had to reign; should they wish him to step down, he would be forced to abdicate in a matter of minutes.

Yet now, the script had changed. He now possessed a son formidable enough to deter the clan. And this son, while refusing to acknowledge him as a father, refused to acknowledge the clan either!

To put it bluntly, he acknowledged neither kin nor kind.

"To think that after all these years, you still protect your son so fiercely! Yet he is no longer a lamb; he is a crouching lion. The clan, on the other hand, has become a mob of hyenas—formidable when gathered, but inferior in single combat. It is only a pity that he will never acknowledge me as his mother." The current Queen was long not Tre's biological mother; Tre's mother had passed away from illness a decade ago.

Even though that illness had struck so suddenly—making one suspect foul play—His Majesty the King had merely maintained that it was nothing more than a natural sickness.

"Well, that is only to be expected. Tre has always been rather eccentric. However, my other two sons also seem to pay little heed to you. Ah, let it be, let it be. There will come a day when I can no longer control them. Let them grow freely! I believe that in the near future, they will take command of the entire United Kingdom and triumph over the power of the clan. I have faith in their abilities." The King glanced out at the world beyond the window.

He had lingered within this palace for many years. Aside from mandatory state visits, he had scarcely ever stepped outside. All that truly belonged to him was this tiny patch of the world viewed from the windowpane.

"It seems this must have been the reason Tre chose to leave the United Kingdom in the past! One wonders where he went all these years, and what he has been doing." As the King of the United Kingdom gazed out at the world outside, he fell into a trance. At that moment, however, the attendant suddenly spoke:

"Would Your Majesty care to know? This subordinate happens to know a thing or two."

"You?" The King cast a skeptical look at the attendant, and it was only then that he noticed something unusual about the man.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty! I am actually an emissary dispatched by His Royal Highness Tre. I have tended to His Royal Highness's daily life and routines these past years, and my name is Roger Durandal."