Chapter 18: The Beginning
The moment the old king arrived, the banquet hall fell silent.
"Father."
"Father."
Three princes and one princess stepped forward to greet him. They were the First Prince, the Third Prince, the Seventh Prince, and the Second Princess.
Aside from the Sixth Princess, the four most advantageous contenders had all reached the royal capital. The Sixth Princess had not yet arrived, not because of the distance, but because some trouble had arisen in her territory. The earliest she could come was tomorrow, or possibly the day after.
The old king looked at the four children before him, and the surrounding officials were utterly silent.
After more than ten seconds, the old king waved his hand, signaling the four princes and the princess to step down.
Su Xiao's gaze swept over the four princes and the princess. The First Prince was unremarkable, with a small beard under his chin as his distinct mark. The only impression he gave was gentleness and courtesy. He was surrounded by a large group of officials, like stars clustering around the moon.
The Third Prince, on the other hand, wore light armor and had a somewhat gloomy expression. He was about the same age as the First Prince, but he gave off an aura of iron-bloodedness and decisiveness.
The Seventh Prince was a handsome, elegant young man, completely different from the previous two princes. He was only twenty-eight years old, and he was currently flirting in the banquet hall. Of course, "flirting" was just a shorthand; the full description was flirting with his own sister. At the moment, aside from the officials and wealthy merchants—a bunch of old men—the only young women in the hall were the two princesses.
The Second Princess sat at the edge. Although she was not young, she had a delicate, beautiful face. A few officials were hovering around her, trying to curry favor and leave a good impression. As for "choosing sides," that was still unlikely at this point.
Today, the old king was not the main character of this banquet. These four were.
The old king gestured for his attendants and guards behind him to withdraw. In this setting, the officials in the banquet hall did not need to bow to the old king.
Holding a glass of wine, the old king walked slowly through the banquet hall, like an old lion patrolling his territory.
"Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty, please take your time."
"Your Majesty..."
Wherever the old king went, the atmosphere grew lively. His attitude toward the officials was neither too close nor too distant.
Soon, the old king approached the seats near Su Xiao and the other three. Seeing the old king walking over, the Kingdom's Military Commander, Hesterlet, shrank his neck. This fearless man feared only one person: the old king.
"Your Majesty."
The Chief Administrator, Joe Valentine, quickly stood up and hurried to the old king's side to support him, playing the role of a loyal lackey to perfection.
Su Xiao remained seated, as did the Kingdom's Financial Officer, Rowan Harvey, beside him. Rowan seemed to have had too much to drink, while the Kingdom's Military Commander, Hesterlet, looked around nervously, looking for a chance to slip away.
Under Joe Valentine's support, the old king came to the three of them and sat down in Joe Valentine's previous seat.
"Hesterlet, when you saw me coming, were you thinking of sneaking off?"
The old king spoke, his tone unhurried.
"How... how could that be? Your Majesty, you worry too much."
"Sit here quietly. If you dare to sneak away today, I'll break all three of your legs."
"Yes, yes."
Sweat beading on his forehead, Hesterlet nodded repeatedly. Rowan Harvey secretly turned his head, a sly grin on his face.
"Rowan, how is that matter progressing?"
The old king seemed to have noticed Rowan Harvey's sly grin, so he called him out as well.
"Your Majesty, aside from the real estate, Elvi Anthony's assets have been mostly confiscated. Among them, there are a total of..."
The old king raised his hand to signal him to stop.
"If anyone dares to cause trouble in the royal capital, the four of you will grind their bones to dust."
This seemingly casual remark from the old king actually carried many layers of meaning. The most obvious was to have the four of them temporarily unite their power structures.
The four of them stood or sat around the old king, each holding a different position. There was the lackey (Joe Valentine, in charge of managing officials), the financial manager (Rowan Harvey), the Kingdom's Military Commander who instantly cowered before the old king (Hesterlet), and Su Xiao, who held the position of Iron Hand, responsible solely for killing—simple and brutal.
The old king did not go to the head seat, so that single chair remained empty. It was the seat of supreme authority, representing power but also loneliness.
The old king seemed to have grown tired of this loneliness. Soon, he would abdicate. So he came to share a table with Su Xiao and the other three, drinking and chatting happily with his four most trusted people, showing no sign of a man nearing his end.
The atmosphere in the banquet hall gradually grew lively. After a few glasses of wine, the old king, Rowan Harvey, and Joe Valentine all had flushed faces. They were just ordinary people in terms of physique.
Su Xiao and Hesterlet showed no change in complexion. This low-alcohol fruit wine meant nothing to Su Xiao; getting drunk was difficult.
Just as they were drinking and chatting, a knight in armor quickly strode into the banquet hall, went straight to the old king, and whispered a few words in his ear.
After hearing the knight's secret message, the old king's expression did not change at all. He simply signaled the knight to withdraw.
"Your Highness..."
Joe Valentine sensed something was wrong and quietly probed.
"Shalin has been murdered."
The old king's voice was not loud, and his face showed almost no emotion.
"The little princess..."
The Kingdom's Military Commander, Hesterlet, was about to stand up, but an arm pressed down on his shoulder. It was Rowan Harvey.
"Hesterlet, calm down."
Rowan Harvey's eyelids drooped. He leaned toward the old king and whispered something.
"Mm, then I'll leave it to you. Handle this matter as quickly as possible."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Kingdom's Financial Officer, Rowan Harvey, stood up and walked out of the banquet hall. He had very important matters to deal with. Even if the little princess had been murdered, it was not his place to investigate. The old king had professionals by his side, such as the Iron Hand.
"Your Majesty, should I seal off the royal capital?"
The Chief Administrator, Joe Valentine, also whispered to the old king. At this moment, there was no trace of drunkenness on his face. As for "sealing off the royal capital," he meant restricting other officials from entering or leaving the capital. Others could not achieve this, but the Chief Administrator, Joe Valentine, certainly could.
"Seal it off... until tomorrow morning."
The old king gave his consent. Joe Valentine also stood up and walked out of the banquet hall. By now, the officials and wealthy merchants had noticed something was wrong. The old king was still seated, yet two of his trusted confidants had left first. That didn't make sense.
"Hesterlet, leave now. Head to the front lines."
"Understood."
Hesterlet did not ask why. The old king giving such an order at this time definitely had a purpose. As for what it was, Hesterlet was already accustomed to "following orders blindly." This was also the main reason he held military power.
Hesterlet also stood up and left, heading straight for the front-line battlefield. This meant he would have little to do with the upcoming power struggle. The person who would lose the most from this was the Third Prince, as Hesterlet had been a staunch supporter of his.