Dilan Lorin was blinded by revenge and he only realized now that his action was putting his whole family in danger.
Even an intelligent man like him turned into a dumb one to avenge his late son.
Now, he realized that the assassination attempt against the Queen could cost not only his life but also his family.
"Please let me bear the punishment alone!" he pleaded to the young King once again, not even responding to his question.
Hanson Lorin didn't know what he was supposed to do in this kind of situation. His family was always loyal to the kingdom and the throne even from his ancestors. He never thought that this day would come.
"Elian," the King called out and the Vice-Captain of the Royal Guards quickly stepped forward. "Send Minister Dilan back to his mansion. He is not to meet anyone or leave the mansion without my order.."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
With that said, Elian quickly brought the Minister out of the room despite his constant begging. Now, there were only three people in the room and it was quickly followed by complete silence.
After what seemed to be forever, Hanson Lorin spoke up and finally break the silence.
"Are you showing mercy, Your Majesty?" he asked as he knew that his father would already be ordered to be killed if that wasn't the case. Then he shook his head, "Please don't do this. I don't want to be your weakness. This is against the rule."
Arin Helev stared at his friend for a while and said, "It's Iria's wish and I agree with her. However... I can only assure you that his life will be spared, Hanson. Nothing more."
He walked towards the door but when he was just a step away from leaving...
"Why?" General Hanson asked. "Didn't you told me that you promise to eliminate everyone who get involved in that assassination attempt?"
Arin Helev halted and stood still at his place. Until a while ago, that was his plan - eliminating everyone.
"I don't want to be someone who killed the father of his best friend," he muttered and quickly walked out of the room before Hanson could say anything.
The General didn't expect to hear such a response from the strict King! However, he soon realized that he and the Queen were the only ones in the room now and what Arin said crossed his mind.
This was her wish.
"Do you loath me too?" Iria asked him and added, "I want you to be frank with me."
Hanson Lorin remained still for a while before he finally turned to Iria. "No, Your Majesty. I admit that I feel somewhat bothered when I find out your identity. But it was mostly because I thought of my father.
"I'm a warrior too and I understand that everything is acceptable on the battlefield." He made a deliberate paused and recalled what he and the King heard when they stood near the door before entering. "What you said is right. That's just the rule on the battlefield."
As Hanson observed the former Commander, he noticed that she was struggling too. She acted strong while she dealt with his father before but... that's not the case on the inside.
However, he stood still as he didn't know what to do. He wanted to say something but... he was too ashamed to even speak up. Not after what his father did.
* * *
In the royal palace of Cedore, the Francia's were quite troubled by the sudden proposal of alliance marriage from the Aederin Empire. Apart from the Emperor, Empress and the Crown Prince, Orius was also there to discuss with them.
"I already talked with Duke Manea and it seems like the majority of the officials want to accept the alliance marriage. Only a few object to it and they are mostly someone who hopes for their daughters to become the Crown Princess," the Emperor explained to others and looked at his son. "What's your opinion, Andres?"
"I don't know," was the Crown Prince's response, making everyone sighed.
"Think carefully, Andres," Orius spoke up. "She is the treasured Princess of Aederin. Once you make up your mind, there is no going back."
"Orius is right," Empress Amina chimed in. "Besides, your opinion matters the most. If you disagree, no one will force you."
Before this, Andres Francia was okay with marrying whoever was chosen for him. But... this wasn't simple. An alliance marriage influenced the fate of two empires and Aederin was way more powerful than Cedore.
What if things go wrong?
Cedore will be the one paying the price but... will it be a wise decision to turn down Emperor Lucius Arille just for fear of failure?
Will he be able to make things work with the so-called spoiled Princess?
He had many things to consider.
The powerful Princess will surely have many suitors but... why him?
This was what he wanted to know the most.
"What do you think is the best way, Father?" he asked the Emperor. "Putting aside the fact that I'm your son, what decision will be the best for our empire? If you were one of the officials, what will your opinion be?"
Emperor Kalos thought about it for a few seconds and said, "I think I will side with the majority of the officials. An alliance marriage with an empire like Aederin... I don't think it's an opportunity which can be easily turned down."
"Then I will accept the alliance marriage."
"Andres," his father promptly called his name. "I don't say that to make you accept the marriage. That's solely based on political views but for me, your opinion matters more."
"I already said before that I'm willing to marry whoever you choose," Andres calmly said. "Be it a noble lady from our empire or the Princess of Aederin... there isn't much difference. Accepting the alliance marriage will also benefit our empire and I plan to marry anyway. So, it will be better if I choose the one that will benefit Cedore more."
Empress Amina quietly stared at her son before she turned to her husband. "Let's do as Andres said," she muttered. "I believe that he will know what he's doing."
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l