Chapter 2: The King Of Malen.
The city of Senlika, A few days later.
"Any news of the boy?"
Minerva was back in the capital city of the kingdom of Malen. Speaking to her most trusted informant, she had already given orders to the intelligence service regarding the kid.
"Nothing as of now. There is a chance that the monster you mentioned might have gotten to him already."
Minerva put her hand on her chin and said,
"Keep looking."
The informant nodded and left.
Another maid entered the room a short while later, and she said,
"His Majesty requests your presence."
She got up from her chair and followed the maid. Whatever happens today, she had to know the truth.
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"Milord, Princess Minerva has arrived."
Walking behind the maid, Minerva looked around. This was the throne room that his father had presided over for more than three decades.
"Minerva, my child."
Emperor Gaius Augustus. Lord of the kingdom of Malen.
"Father."
Minerva bowed down on one knee to show him respect.
"Rise."
The Emperor was only in his fifties. Despite not being too old, he had not aged particularly well. Lifting the kingdom from a state of poverty, his work had encompassed his life from day one. Because of this, his health had been deteriorating at a serious rate. As of now, his trusted minister was the person making all the important decisions.
"Tell me, what did you need to ask of your father?"
Minerva raised her head and looked straight into his eyes.
"Some questions that the princess of the kingdom needs an answer to."
His expression turned serious.
"Go ahead."
Minerva took a deep breath and said,
"Is there a collaboration between The Church and The Throne happening?"
The King answered calmly,
"Yes."
"Then is it possible that this collaboration exists to search for potential heroes?"
"Yes."
"Then is it possible that this collaboration is applying slave seals to implement a curse over the heroes?"
Silence. All the ministers present had been shocked by the statement.
"What proof do you have for the words that you speak?"
It was clear that his daughter had witnessed something. It would be a waste of time to beat around the bush and condemn her for speaking out of line.
"A village named after the hero of the past was destroyed a few days back. A delegate of saints had visited the place, and they intended to inspect the children. I found this in the belongings of the head of the expedition."
She took out the metal plate from the priest's pouch and approached the king to hand it over.
After inspecting the inscriptions on the plate, he was enraged.
"Trajan!"
The minister standing by his side bowed to him.
"Call the head of the church in for a hearing right now!'
Trajan flinched. Over the years, the church had been growing in power. It was not easy to capture and bring in the Pope.
"Your highness, it might prove to be difficult."
Gaius clenched his fist.
"Either you bring him in here,"
Mana began to flow out from his body.
"Or I kill you and bring his head back."
Trajan began to sweat profusely.
"Understood, Your Highness."
He left. The mana around Gaius dissipated.
"Minerva, thank you for bringing this issue to my notice. As a witness, you need to be present during the hearing. Is that fine?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
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"Has the King lost his mind?"
The priest working as the secretary to the Pope looked at Trajan with contempt.
"The Pope will not go along with whatever scheme the King has planned against the church. You can leave, minister Trajan."
Trajan was not pleased. A mere priest had the gall to speak in such a rude manner?
"Do not test my patience. Ask the Pope to come out right now. We have a hearing to attend."
The priest scoffed and said,
"As I said, leave. A sinner like you is in no state to demand something from a priest."
"Alright, I am out of patience."
This priest was out of his mind. Trajan was the leader of the armed forces of Malen, and he showed him why he was considered to be among the strongest men in the country. He flicked his finger, and the priest was sent flying back towards a pillar.
"You dare to hurt my men!"
The flying priest stopped mid-air.
Trajan turned around, and the pope was glaring daggers at him.
"Your men dare to question a decree from the king. Be thankful that I didn't pluck his head off."
"What does Gaius want?"
Trajan approached the Pope and said,
"Your King has summoned you for a hearing."
The Pope furrowed his brows.
"The reason?"
"You will find out when you get there."
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Trajan entered the room along with the Pope. The ministers prepared to stand up and bow to him, but the king said,
"No need for that. Today, he is here as a suspect."
His voice was like a roar, thundering through the crown room.
"Gaius, what is the meaning of this?"
The king stared at the Pope and said,
"Representative of the church, one of your men has been accused of treason to the laws of Malen."
The Pope froze. What had happened?
"One of your representatives had an object commonly known as the 'Slave Plate' in his possession, and he had visited a village as a delegate from the Church. Do you plead innocent?"
This was not a mere crime. This was a treason of the highest order.
"Yes! That plate has nothing to do with the church and its people. What proof do you have that incriminates me or my creed?"
The king raised his voice and said,
"Minerva Augustus, step forward."
Minerva approached the Throne.
"Where did you find this plate?"
"Inside of the pouch that is identical to the pouch that priests are required to carry. It was hanging by the waist of a priest wearing a robe from the Church of Malen, and the pouch also has the Identification Symbol."
The Pope frowned.
"That cannot be true. Let me perform a divination on the item."
Gaius stood up from his throne and approached the Pope slowly.
He handed the plate and the pouch to him and said,
"Remember, I would immediately know if you changed anything."
The Pope didn't pay any attention to his threat.
The metal plate in his hand started to shine. The image of the owner appeared.
"This can't be..."
The Pope was shellshocked. The priest did belong to the church of Malen.
"Do you have anything else to say?"
The Pope looked at Gaius.
"My men do not have anything to do with this. This particular priest has sinned, and the church is ready to pay reparations for the sin. I will also personally see to it that all such heretics will be cleaned from the church as early as possible."
He proceeded to kneel in front of Gaius.
"I ask for forgiveness. This will not happen again."
A simple request for mercy.
Gaius turned towards Trajan and said,
"Trajan, prepare to restrict the movements of the Church from here onwards. The Pope will take on the role of weeding out the people that have been plotting to spread such practices in my kingdom."
The Pope sighed in relief. This was for the best. He stood up and left with Trajan.
He looked at Minerva and asked,
"Minerva, I will grant you a reward for your contributions. Tell me, what do you want?"
Minerva bowed down and asked,
"Your highness, I would like to use the royal spies to search for someone."
Gaius asked in response,
"Who is it?"
Minerva said,
"A village boy that had helped me during my travels. I would like to give him a job in the palace."
Gaius pondered for a moment, and then answered,
"Granted. The royal spies will be by your room shortly. Describe the boy's appearance for them, and the boy will be found."
Minerva stood up and said,
"Thank you, your highness. I will be taking my leave now."
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"Nero!"
The King stood in his eldest son's quarters, glaring at him with extreme hatred.
"Father, what is the matter?"
Nero. The beloved eldest prince of the Kingdom of Malen.
A few people knew how his mind worked, and the twisted thoughts that he could come up with.
"Did you ask that priest to take the slave plate with him?"
Nero averted his eyes and continued to scribble inside his book.
"I am asking you something!"
Nero paused his scribbling. He placed the book on the table and said,
"I did."
"You cannot keep acting like this."
Gaius placed his hand on the table and crushed it.
"Didn't it all work out in the end?"
"That is not the point. You are going to be a king someday. If you continue to cause trouble, I will not be able to protect you."
Nero looked at his father and smiled. He said in his mind.
'You will be proud of me one day, father. People cannot be trusted with complete freedom. Insects like them need to be kept under our feet. We are their masters!'
Gaius left, and Nero continued to scribble in his book.
"There. Now it is perfect."
The title of the drawing was 'A gift of death.'
The drawing itself was a portrait of Gaius. More specifically, his severed head lying on the ground, under Nero's feet.
He stared at his masterpiece and said,
"This would make a great gift to father. I'll give it to him as a surprise."
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