窃情谋欲

"You may proceed with your statement, King Leonidas." said the Grandmaster.

All four kings and the other important personals of the kingdoms along with the Grandmaster and Lucy were gathered in a small tent near the coast side.

The tent was simply for the meeting purpose as the Spring King knows if the meeting were to happen in a comfortable room with fruits and juices, then the esteemed guests won\'t leave early.

Quite a clever man he is.

King Leonidas had his hands folded behind him while looking at each one present before speaking up. "I called all of you because I think- I thought what the Spring King was doing is essentially a genocide," he paused briefly, letting everyone listen carefully to his words.

"That is such a bold statement, King Leonidas," said the Spring King. "Especially coming from you."

"What would that m-" Before he could finish saying it, the Spring King continued to talk.

"You would- every single one of you would\'ve annihilated the Aurore Island if you were in my shoes. I simply did what I must do to save my kingdom." His voice was calm like he anticipated this whole thing since long ago.

He didn\'t even blink when hearing the accusation thrown towards him by another king. It\'s almost as though he has already prepared himself for it.

Lucy looked at the King who seemed unbothered despite being accused of mass murder.

"And how exactly did you save your Kingdom, your fitness?" Asked the Summer King. His eyes peeved but his tone wasn\'t hostile. He just wanted an answer out of curiosity more than anything else.

"By avoiding a war! By avoiding to wait for the war to arrive at my doorstep. By doing this I\'ve saved my people and have saved the people of this island." The Spring King spoke again after a moment of silence. There was no emotion or any kind of expression showing on his face. Like he doesn\'t care about their accusations against him. Just as he said, he avoided a war; not only that, but he also spared lives.

"You\'ve brought your army to a small island. You\'ve destroyed their navy and you\'ve killed their King. How are you going to defend that, your grace? Where is this war that was about to be on your doorstep, your grace? From what I\'ve seen- what we all saw, it is evident who brought the war where!" said the Autumn King, his tone getting harsher with every word spoken.

"If you\'re not aware of the situation, please refrain from speaking foolishness, your grace." Replied the Spring King, his voice cold.

There was silence between them now. No one dared to speak anymore. They know better. This isn\'t something they can solve through arguments. Their pride wouldn\'t allow them to admit defeat so easily.

"Now, now no need to bicker against yourself," said the Grandmaster, his voice was soft but stern enough to make sure none will dare to say anything stupid. "Tell us what exactly happened, King Redigal? Why don\'t you start from the beginning?"

King Redigal nodded and took a deep breath. His eyes traveled from one King to the other.

He could feel their eyes on him, judging his words, evaluating whether he was telling the truth or lies. It didn\'t nervous or anything but rather it made him excited.

"...The Aurore Island\'s Queen Serielle visited us for a diplomatic relationship between the two...nations. But there was also an attempt at her life but one of my Duke\'s sons stepped in and saved her. You might also know him, King Leonidas, as he is also a hero in your kingdom." He looked at the annoying old guy."

"Yes, yes I\'m aware of the boy. Damien or something, right?" asked King Leonidas, like he isn\'t quite aware of the hero status at all.

"Yes, that is correct. Damien Von Zadkiel, good boy he is, I\'ve heard. Anyway, as I was saying..."

King Redigal told about the events that happened after that about the death of the Queen and the subsequent accusation of the island.

·ƈθm "So you killed the King because of an accusation?" Asked the Winter King, who was silent for the whole meeting. His voice was not cold nor it felt like he was throwing accusations or something, it was calm and composed.

"No. In fact, we wanted to clear our name and mend the broken relationship and I send my trusted advisors to him for diplomatic talks." The Spring king smiled faintly. "I thought the best way to fix things was talking directly with the other party, instead of sending someone who doesn\'t really understand the situation.

But regardless, the boy King killed them. He killed all my advisors and at that point, there was no point of return." He held his hands like rendering, "Tell me esteemed and noble kings, what would you do at that point?"

"Lies!" shouted the Autumn King. "It\'s all lies he\'s saying. He slaughtered everyone who welcomed his delegation. He pretended to be civil and killed them when they all were in a room. You see, we all know the truth. We all know that he\'s trying to cover his own ass so that he\'ll get away from this mess without having to pay for the crimes he committed."

"That\'s a vile accusation, your grace." Said the Spring king, his voice was firm and steady. "We all know the truth, your grace. If you want to accuse anyone, then you should look into your own Kingdom\'s affairs first. And on what basis are you accusing me of such heinous crimes, your grace?"

"That is true, King Leonidas," agreed the Grandmaster. "Accusing someone of such a heinous act is a very serious matter. It requires a lot of evidence and proof."

"Indeed," added the Summer King. "Do you have such proof, Autumn King?"

"I do in fact," the Autumn King replied. "Reckon, bring him here!" He suddenly looked at outside and called out.

There was a momentarily shuffling and confusion among the group but soon, guards came inside with a young man.

Then they released him.

He was in shackles, his whole body was injured and bruised.

His clothes were torn and bloody. There was blood stains on his chest and arms.

They led him to the center of the tent where the Kings were seated.

All eyes turned toward the prisoner.

"This is Juan, a knight at King Sterlin\'s court. He was there when the supposed delegation from the Spring Kingdom started butchering the innocent king and his people." Announced the Autumn King, a triumphant smile on his face.

Everyone gasped upon hearing the news.

King Leonidas looked at the Spring king for any change in his demeanor but he was calm and collected as always. He even saw a hint of a smile on his face. This angered him. More than anger, this annoyed him.

Even in the face of absolute defeat, he was still smiling.

\'Let\'s see how much you will smile once everyone knows the truth!\' he thought.

"And how did you get this...supposed knight, your grace? If my calculations are precise, the time he took to escape from here and the time you called for a meeting are way off the charts. So, how?" asked the Spring King, his voice remaining calm and composed.

"That is certainly true." Said the Grandmaster. "Did you anticipate someone would escape from here or did you anticipate the Spring Kingdom will commit genocide?"

"Certainly not, grandmaster," smiled King Leonidas. "We had reports about the ongoing problems with the two nations and I feared something might like this happen and it appeared I was late."

"So you called a High table meeting because you "thought" something might happen?" Questioned the Winter King. There was a hint of aggression in his tone.

"Please, my kings," said the Autumn King raising his hands and smiling. "We\'re moving away from the topic. Just let us hear what Sir Juan has to say, shall we?"

When there was no opposition, King Leonidas looked at the pitiful man. "Tell us, Sir Juan, what happened back there?"

Juan murmured something and opened his mouth to speak but suddenly a knight barged into the tent, his armor suggested he was a knight of the Grand Magical Judiciary.

"Grandmaster," he shouted, his voice was of urgency and surprise. "King Sterlin is here!"

"What?!" exclaimed all the Kings. They immediately stood up except for the Spring king who remained sitting calmly.

"Bring him in!" demanded King Leonidas.

And he entered, ragged and injured, his clothes tattered and stained with blood. He was limping badly. But there was no mistake, this man was the boy King.

"My Kings," he said, his voice was horse and dry like he hadn\'t drunk water for so long. "The Autumn King is---aaaarrghhh!" before he can talk anything, a blade plunged through his chest

Blood gushed out from his wound, splattering everywhere.

Juan pulled back the blade and plunged it through his neck in a quick moment.