Once the meeting was over, Zaro Aventine met Prime Minister Dallas alone in his chamber.
The Prime Minister who was still thinking of what happened in the meeting, stared at the King, trying to figure out what was on his mind. However, the King just sat still with his gaze fixated on the outdoors through the opened door of the balcony.
"Do you wonder why I want to meet you?" Zaro Aventine asked, shifting his gaze to the Prime Minister.
"I was wondering what you're thinking," the Prime Minister honestly replied. "Did something bothers you, Your Majesty?"
"Should I make a move against Aryan Tripas?" the young King promptly asked. "I think I already hold back long enough. I still have a promise to fulfil."
"I understand what you think, Your Majesty," Dallas Vareky responded. "But we have so many enemies now.. Entering a war will exhaust us and we will soon become an easy target for our other enemies."
The King shifted his gaze back to the opened door. "You mean Qalagon? They are probably the ones who can't wait to eliminate me."
"Cedore won't be much different, Your Majesty," the Prime Minister said to the King. "Emperor Kalos Francia and his son the Crown Prince, they are joined by... "
His voice trailed off as he refused to say the next name.
"Orius," Zaro finished it for him. "I know how the whole continent wondered how the Second Prince of Jerivia turned out to be the son of the late Commander Darien Alewine."
Zaro heard everything. How Orius was now an Alewine, a member of the Cedore imperial family and the Commander of an Alewine Army. Of course, he also heard of his marriage to the daughter of Duke Manea.
Though the Prime Minister didn't know the details, he also assumed many things ever since he heard the truth and... most of them were correct yet he had no idea.
"Do you think a son is destined to follow in his father's footsteps, Prime Minister?" the King asked him.
"I believe that each one of us is responsible for our lives," the Prime Minister said. "Fate? It is just a thing which depends on our actions and decisions."
The young King thought about it and nodded. "You're right."
He was reminded of the words Iria said to him that day. The day she pleaded with him not to destroy his life.
She said he will be the one to destroy his own life.
"What bothers you, Your Majesty?" the Prime Minister asked.
Zaro Aventine narrowed his eyes at the question. "It's useless," he muttered. "There's no point in saying it."
Gathering his courage, Dallas Vareky cautiously asked, "Is it about Commander Iria?"
"She is not a Commander anymore but the Queen of the Qalagons," Zaro promptly said in a rather cold tone.
"I always wonder how things went wrong between the two of you," Prime Minister Dallas muttered. "I never thought that this day will come."
Zaro Aventine knew he was the one at fault but... he couldn't say it.
What's the use now?
It's not like that will solve anything.
"I always believe that she will have a reason," Dallas Vareky continued. "I strongly believed that disloyalty doesn't lie in the blood of the Alewine's."
Darien Alewine was his friend and he knew him too well. He also knew Iria since she was born and he knew she wasn't the type to turn her back on her kingdom.
Was it because she find out that Orius was her brother?
The Prime Minister thought of how Iria reached out to him in the past months. He meant it when he said that they should meet in Jerivia but... he still hasn't received a response.
He wished to know the truth that was hidden for a whole year but... he didn't know what to do.
Zaro Aventine refused to respond to what the Prime Minister just said. It's better to keep his mouth shut rather than lying.
"How will our relationship with Qalagon goes on, Your Majesty?" the Prime Minister asked. "Ever since Arin Helev took over the throne, Qalagon is getting stronger each day."
"Do you think Iria will listen to me?" the King asked and shook his head. "She hates me. Jerivia is her enemy now and it's obvious that Arin Helev will support her."
Prime Minister Dallas always thought that it was strange. Did the Masked Commander really fell for the Qalagon King during the alliance marriage?
After all, it was Arin Helev who aided Emperor Kalos in bringing the Alewine Army out of Jerivia.
If the marriage which took place eight months later had anything to do with political purposes, how will they explain the fact that they were immediately known as a loving couple even from the day of their marriage?
The whole continent knew their love for each other!
"Shall we give a try, Your Majesty?" Dallas Vareky cautiously asked the King. "I bet that will define the future of our two kingdoms."
"It will be useless," the King firmly stated. "Besides, I don't want to do anything with Arin Helev."
"Think about it, Your Majesty," the Prime Minister insisted. "Turning to the Qalagons will help us in eliminating the Nardodians. Arin Helev is wary of Aryan Tripas as much as we do."
Zaro Aventine recalled what Iria and Arin Helev said during the gathering at Vialand.
Iria said that she won't forget that day while Arin Helev said not every sin was pardonable. That made everything clear, so he believed that following the Prime Minister's instruction will be a loss of time.
"Nathania angered Qalagon by turning to us," he said. "Now, the two kingdoms are enemies and we stand in the middle." Making a brief pause, he continued by saying, "Athena is the Princess of Nathania. Talking to the Qalagons will put her in a complicated situation. I don't want that to happen."
Hearing out the King, the Prime Minister saw where he came from. As such, he nodded in agreement. However, his pending meeting with the Qalagon Queen still troubled him.
What would he do? He wished to know what would be the best way for Jerivia.....
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