Kapitel 6: The Many-Faced King
Silence filled the throne room. The king was at a loss for words, his eyes transfixed on my face in shock.
I had finished my plan. Now all that waited was the king's reaction.
"Heh." A soft chuckle escaped from the king's lips. I could catch a slight smile forming on his face. "Heh…ha…"
The laughter slowly increased in volume, the occasional chuckles transforming into sustained laughter.
"Father?" Darius suddenly spoke up. "Are you alrig-"
He was quickly cut off. From out of nowhere, a sea of torrential laughter roared from the king's throat, resonating eerily within the vast hall. The laughter was guttural. It was terrifying. Perhaps even unearthly. Yet despite this, I couldn't help but smile.
Why?
Because it meant that my plan had succeeded.
"Hermes! The audacity!" The king shouted, his voice still laden with madness. "Do you really believe that you- the worst spawn of this entire history of this kingdom- can save this world from the Demon King?"
"Yes." I answered confidently. "I know I look crazy right now, but I believe that this path is the only way to atone for my sins."
I caught Gaelin raising his brow as I said those words. I cursed myself internally. My guess must have been correct. He can discern the truth behind someone's words. Unlike everything else that I said beforehand, I was not genuine this time. After all, there are definitely more ways to make up for a bratty prince's sins than saving the world.
I waited for Gaelin to expose my false intentions to the king, but surprisingly, he said nothing. Interesting. I need to be wary of him. There must more to him than what met the eye.
"Very well then!" My king finally responded. "This will be very interesting! I can't wait to see you fail miserably!"
Wait…he's now patronizing me?
I didn't expect that.
Perhaps my judgment of the king's character was more off the dot than I thought. The more I got to know this man, the more I realized that he was a prick. It would be a pain to deal with him in the future.
"I guess I'll accept your pledge then." He continued, a wide, devilish smile splitting his face. "In the name of the Goddess, I, King Kalanthius, the Seventeenth Ruler of Durham, will accept your pledge, Hermes. Good luck saving humanity, you fool! I will thoroughly enjoy the spectacle you put on show for me!"
"Thank you, father." I replied flatly, showing no emotion. "I am honored to serve humanity under you."
"Oh cut the bullshit!" The king snapped back. "I may be careless and rude, but I'm not stupid. It doesn't take a genius to tell that you have some other motive in this decision."
My eyes widened. This king…
"See? Your face tells me everything. I may be not be able to read your mind, but I can certainly judge your motives by reading your face."
I nearly scowled. This king was an enigma. He was just and virtuous one second, crude and careless the other second, and now he is cold and calculating?
Which one was the real king?
"Father-"
"No need, Hermes." The king cut me off. "I don't care what your motives are. As long as you continue to fulfill your pledge, nothing else matters.
"But-"
"No buts. You made a promise, now you will keep it. You may leave now."
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Had the king just outwitted me?
"Scram Hermes! The hero's party needs you!"
I closed my mouth. Further discussion would lead to my death. My time talking with the king was over for the day. I bolted out of the throne hall.
"No curtsy?" I heard Gaelin say as I ran away. "Hmmmmmm…interesting…"
I clicked my tongue in irritation. How was I supposed to know to curtsy there. For fuck's sake. I had just given them a clue to revealing my true identity. It didn't matter how smart I was. If I didn't learn more about this world soon, I would inevitably find myself dead before I knew it.
I soon found myself out of the throne room and continued walking down a vast hallway without looking back. I had enough of the king and his company for one day. Yes, my plan to pledge myself towards saving the world worked. I might not completely understand the king or his multiple personalities, but after Henry's remarks and my speech, I was sure of one thing.
The king liked boldness. He liked people that showed ambition, regardless of their motives or desires.
But that also terrified me. He didn't care if any of his subjects plotted against him, and he definitely wasn't a fool. So that could only mean one thing.
He was so confident in his own power that he thought that no one could steal his kingdom from him. Even with a Demon King threatening to destroy humanity, he showed complete sureness in his power.
I gulped, immediately pushing the thought out of my mind. I had enough to worry about already. How was I going to play my role as the third prince when I knew next to nothing about Hermes? And how the hell am I supposed to obtain information about this world without revealing myself?
"Excuse me, my prince?"
I jolted upright at the sound of the voice. I was so deep in thought that I didn't even notice the young maid standing right next to me.
"Are you alright?"
I quickly regained my composure before responding.
"Yes. I'm fine. I'm just heading down the hall."
I ignored the maid's expression of surprise and started walking right past her. I couldn't get in a prolonged conversation right now. I needed to know more about Hermes first.
"My prince…those are the maid's quarters, you realize…"
I stopped. The maid's quarters?
Wait a second?
Where was I even supposed to be heading anyway? I have absolutely no idea where anything is in this palace!
"Oh…my prince…" I twisted my head back towards the maidservant.
Why was she blushing?
"Don't tell me that…you've found a maid actually willing to open her legs for you…"
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
NotBlind
NotBlind It's funny. Usually I plan out my character designs before I write the chapters, but for the king, I kinda came up with his multi-faced personality in the middle of writing the chapter.
Gotta give myself a pat of the back for that one.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
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Rangliste 
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Stein