Otherworld Adventure 312 Resolving Their Conflicts

They were now currently waiting at the city's best inn and Cecil and Kaiser had just finished a match.

"Hahahaha! Son, you're a hundred years too early to even think about defeating me!"

"Tch..."

The two had just finished sparring for a few rounds and once again, Cecil had ended up losing to his father. Cultivation-wise he was indeed much stronger than his father, but in terms of technique and skill, even Cecil had to admit that he was inferior.

This was a given because if Kaiser lost to his son who was a few decades younger than him then all the training that he had put in all his life would have been in vain. Serilla and Lucia were surprised because the two had never seen their husband actually experience a genuine loss.

"...Dad can be such a kid sometimes," Fatima said.

"Father-in-law is strong," Serilla replied.

"Yup, this is the first time I'm seeing Cel losing so miserably..."

"Well, if Cecil had used his mana and ki, he wouldn't lose," Fatima argued.

"Yeah, but a loss is a loss. Cel already gave Father the method to cultivate Mana and Ki so once they get on the same level, wouldn't Cecil lose?"

"...Lulu, aren't you supposed to be defending your husband?"

Lucia only grinned back at Fatima and said, "Cel isn't one to mind about that. I believe that he'll get to the point where he can beat his own father one day!"

They had to put a hold on their conversation because a soldier brought in a report that the King of Regulus had accepted Kaiser's request for a meeting. Everyone going to attend the meeting quickly got ready and after a few hours of preparing themselves, Cecil, Lucia, and everyone else who was going to meet the king quickly set off.

It took a while because the women who were coming along had taken a long time preparing. Cecil scowled at the thought that his two wives had to dress up just to meet the king. When they arrived at the castle's great hall, a sickly old man greeted them from the throne.

"Ah, Kaiser...how are you—" Before the old man could finish his words, he began coughing and a maid had to bring him a cup of water before he stopped.

"...You don't seem to be doing so well," Kaiser replied after the old king stopped coughing.

"It's just my health. I'm old after all."

"I see... but I'm sure you should know why I'm here, yes?"

"...Yes..."

"Well, I'd like an answer. Was it you who ordered the attack...or was it your incompetent son?" Kaiser said before he dangerously eyed Albert who was standing not far away from the throne.

"...I have no excuses to give to you, Kaiser. What my son did was rash and thoughtless—"

"Thoughtless? Your son waged war on an allied kingdom! Although not a single one of my soldiers had fallen, what about yours? I know for a fact that your son had sent his men to their death that day."

The old king began coughing again and glared at his son. In his mind, he couldn't believe how incompetent and foolish this crown prince was. He had branded his own brother a traitor and attacked an allied kingdom. The worst thing was that he had returned with his tail tucked between his legs and lost nearly half of the kingdom's soldiers in a meaningless battle that shouldn't have happened.

"I'm not going to ask for compensation from your kingdom, but you should think about how to compensate your soldiers' families! With this unwanted war, your son has implanted in the minds of the citizens that we were the ones that killed their husbands, sons, parents..."

"..."

"I also came today to return to you the soldiers who surrendered or were found alive on the battlefield. I don't want any enmity with your kingdom because my daughter is going to be married to one of your sons, but I won't agree to the marriage if Albert becomes your successor!"

"What?! Shut up old man! Who are you to meddle in our kingdom's affairs?!"

"Who am I? I'm the one that spared your pathetic LIFE!" Kaiser bellowed as he released his Intent and focused it onto the prince. Albert immediately paled and fell to his knees once he was subjected to the intense pressure.

"You think that you would be alive right now if I wasn't magnanimous?! I could have sent my son to kill you the moment the battle started!"

"U-Urkk....grrhhhh..."

"Know some humility, boy. Even your father doesn't dare slight me, so who are you?"

The king frowned a little at Kaiser's words, but what he said was true. Unlike Albert, the King had already visited the Silvaria Kingdom once as a guest so he knew a little bit of the small kingdom's power.

Not just any small kingdom or power could firmly establish themselves inside the No-Man's Land which was inhabited by all sorts of high-tiered monsters. It was painfully obvious that the Silvaria Kingdom's military prowess was much higher than his own Kingdom's, the King understood this, but he couldn't believe that his own son couldn't.

The King had already noticed the mediocrity of his firstborn compared to his other two sons, Rowan and Armano. Armano's character was unbecoming so the King didn't even consider him, but after Rowan was born, he began having second thoughts about his decision of the crown prince.

"...Kaiser, can you stop, please?"

"...You should teach him better. No member of any royal family should have the arrogance to address others like lower beings. All humans are equal, regardless of their social stature. Belittling a 'peasant' just because of their status in society only proves that you are a narrow-minded fool," Kaiser preached before he retracted his Intent.

"...I will strip Albert's t.i.tle as crown prince and appoint Rowan as the new heir to the throne," The old King announced before he started coughing again. His body's condition had really turned for the worst as he continued coughing for a while before it subsided.

"I also brought my subordinates who also want to re-discuss the terms to our kingdom's trade relations, the fact that the Regulus Kingdom allowed the Merkruz Army to walk through their lands and attack my kingdom will not be overlooked."

"...The Prime Minister will be in charge of negotiations on our end."

Kaiser nodded and whispered something to the man who was a few steps behind him. This man was the current head of the Sciezle family, Harrison Sciezle. Since the Sciezle family was in charge of the kingdom's foreign affairs, Kaiser handed over the task to him.

The Prime Minister of Regulus and Harrison both exited the room to begin their negotiations and once they were finished, they would quickly convey the agreed terms to the two Kings. Once both Kings approved of the new arrangements, they'd sign the agreement.

"Also, I'm only going to inform you this, but we're going to attack Merkruz sometime in the future. I won't let their transgression go unanswered."

The old King was surprised at Kaiser's declaration and so was everyone from Silvaria. Only Cecil, Fatima, and a few from their entourage understood Kaiser's reasoning. It was just how the Silvaria Family operated. If one helped them, then they would receive an even larger bounty from the Silvarias. However, if you wronged them, then expect a huge retaliation.

"I see... so you will attack them. I don't have much to say because it is your kingdom's affairs, but is there still something, Kaiser?"

"...Yes, there is still another thing that needs to be addressed, Nemus," Kaiser replied.

Nemus, the old king, s.h.i.+fted uncomfortably in his throne. Before Kaiser had even explained what more conflicts there were between their kingdoms, he already felt awful. He couldn't help but glare at his son who was at the side and thought, what other conflicts were there? He turned his attention back to Kaiser and asked slowly, "What is it?"

"Let me introduce to you my son, the Crown Prince of Silvaria."

Kaiser gestured towards Cecil who had remained inconspicuous the entire time. Cecil looked up and sighed. He stepped forward and greeted the king with a polite bow.

"Nice to meet you, Your Majesty, I'm Cecil Silvaria."

"Cecil? Ah, you must be the missing child."

"Yes, that's me."

Nemus nodded and turned to Kaiser, "Is this what you wanted to address, Kaiser? Surely, introductions can be done after we've resolved our conflicts."

"This problem pertains to matters about my son..."

Nemus' attention was once again on Cecil and the young man before him spoke up, "A prince of your kingdom tried to **** my wife."

His simple and straightforward words had everyone in the great hall that wasn't in the know blank out for a moment. Once Nemus had processed Cecil's words he immediately stood up and shouted, "What?!"

He immediately glared at Albert and looked around for his other son, Armano. When he noticed that his second son wasn't present, Nemus paled a little.

"I-It can't be! Wwas it—"

"It was Armano, father," Rowan stepped forward and said. He also pulled out his MID and showed the recording of Armano's offense. Cecil hadn't seen it yet, but when he caught sight of the video from the corner of his eyes, the mana in the air around him began to grow turbulent.

"THAT b.a.s.t.a.r.d—hack, kahack!" King Nemus bellowed. His loud, angry shout only caused him to start coughing again as he continued incoherently while pointing and glaring at Albert, "Krggh—y-you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, all you know is—cough—give me—cough, cough—more problems!"

He had heard from Albert that Armano had been framed for something he didn't do and was almost killed. Albert didn't tell him anything specific, but his son had reported that Fatima and Rowan were the masterminds and the two tried to pin the blame on Armano so that they'd have a perfect excuse to execute his second son.

However, when Nemus saw the crime that Armano had committed, he immediately understood that there was no way that Rowan or Fatima had staged it. He already knew about Armano's nature and the consecutive offenses that he had committed.

Once Nemus' coughing subsided, he looked gloomily at Kaiser and asked, "H-How will this problem be resolved?"

The war from earlier should have been a point of no return for their kingdoms' peaceful relations. However, Kaiser was magnanimous enough to not break their relations and fall out with them. Now, no matter how magnanimous Kaiser was, his daughter-in-law had nearly been defiled by Nemus' son and this wasn't something that could be discussed and solved in a peaceful way.

Kaiser only turned to look at his son and responded, "The offense was committed towards my son, so I'll let him handle it."

Nemus turned towards Cecil and waited for his response. Cecil looked up coldly at the king and said, "I won't ask for his death because this seems unfair to your side, and as a father, I know you won't readily agree to it although he was the one who committed the crime. So instead, I request to duel with him. If he can beat me, then he may keep his life...but if he loses...swords and blades are blind so you can't blame me if he dies in battle."

Nemus frowned when he heard the latter half of Cecil's words. If the young prince had asked for an execution, he would have tried to persuade Kaiser from it and instead compensate Cecil for his son's offense. The woman in the video had been saved in the end so he could still try and plead for his son's life but now that Cecil had only asked for a duel it would be unreasonable for him to decline. Their lives were now placed within their own hands and the outcome was determined by whoever was more skilled.

He had long since noticed that Cecil wasn't a simple man. Being the son of Kaiser and the crown prince of Silvaria that Nemus believed to be a kingdom of warriors, there was no doubt in his mind that Cecil was skilled.

However, he also believed in his son's skills as well. Armano's skill with the sword and with his magic was without a doubt top tier. During the war against Merkruz, only Armano and Rowan were able to eke out a win during their losing battles before Fatima had stepped in to turn the tides around.

While Rowan had won his battles because of his beloved's advice, Armano had won his due to his sword. Armano was a fool, but he was a skilled fool. It was too bad that his opponent this time was Cecil... a very angry Cecil. His ending wasn't going to be good and Cecil was going to make sure of it.

After the king thought it over for a bit, he ultimately gave Cecil his consent to the duel.

"We will hold the duel 3 days from now."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Cecil bowed politely in thanks. He turned around and smiled darkly.