Chapter 217: 217: Report
"I’ve brought in the report after a long time," he said with a bow. A guard came and took the scroll from him and then presented it to the King.
King Edward took the scroll and opened it. He looked through the scroll and raised an eyebrow, impressed.
"Finally. Found you," he said as he stared at the messenger. "Good job on your discovery. You shall be rewarded handsomely for this."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I highly appreciate it," the messenger expressed.
King Edward stared through the scroll for a while and then said, "He thought he could hide himself from the eyes of history by just taking the role of a priest?"
"He has been staying in the Kingdom of Elzager for years now. And he’s regarded as the best priest over there. The High Priest of Elzager who is known for his benevolent acts, wisdom, and miracles. He’s the Royal Priest closest to the King of Elzager. And his status is supreme too," the messenger explained.
King Edward scoffed. "Miracle. Interesting. I wonder if gaining a great name would miraculously take away your dark past."
King Edward sighed as he kept the scroll at his side. "Well, too bad. He’ll have to somehow pay for it. And he’ll do that by coming to help me take down the Wizard of EL himself. He should at least be able to do that."
"Do I find a way to inform him of your invitation?" he asked.
"Sure. Do that. Tell him that the King of Valencrest so much wishes to see the Grand High Priest Od Elzager," he smirked. "I’ll give you a personal message to pass on to him. So he knows what happens to him if he doesn’t honour my humble invitation."
The messenger bowed down. "Sure. I’ll do just that."
Soon, he was gone. And King Edward sighed. "Things should go smoother now. Since I can’t trust anyone to get the job done, I should at least trust this priest to do something about it. Shouldn’t I?"
Queen Lea smiled. "Whatever you decide to do is always so wise. So I highly support all your acts."
King Edward smiled proudly.
"But, why the priest? I got sort of confused because I am wondering what this priest has to do with anything? Why will he come and take care of the Wizard of EL? How? Why are you fixed on him? You’ve been looking for him for years now..."
The King smiled. "Soon. If fate wishes, you’ll find out," he casually said. "So don’t pry too much into things you shouldn’t know. It could be dangerous."
Queen Lea nodded. "Yes."
Not so long after, another message arrived.
This time it was an Imperial Message. The Imperial Messenger from the Emperor had come over with a message.
As soon as the Imperial Messenger stepped into King Edward’s court, King Edward and Queen Lea got to their feet to pay their respect to the Imperial Message.
"The Emperor has two sets of messages which he wishes to pass down to the King of Valencrest," the Imperial Messenger said, his attire adorned with royal gold and silver.
"I accept, with all respect, the Imperial Rule," King Edward and Queen Lea bowed.
The Imperial Messenger cleared his throat as he said, "Firstly. The Emperor is vexed at the laxity of you in bringing him the head of the Wizard of EL. He is jarred at the irresponsibility portrayed by you, even after having the Wizard of EL in your custody but still not doing anything. And so he says that if by the end of this month, nothing is done about it, he’ll be forced to send his troops down here to the palace and take action."
The Imperial Messenger paused and then said, "Whatever consequences come from it will be yours to bear by then, when the wrath of the Emperor falls on you."
King Edward was quiet. He kept his calm even though he was panicking from the message. He was aware that the Emperor’s words were never to be overlooked.
And if the Emperor decided to strike, it would be the end of his reign. He didn’t want that at all.
Queen Lea, on the other hand, was clearly panicking.
"We understand the worries of the Great Emperor. And we deeply apologise for the vexation. And so we promise to hasten up the process and give him a benefitting outcome soon. At least before the end of this month, something will happen," the King assured.
The Imperial Messenger said nothing. He cleared his throat and then moved to the next message.
"The Emperor, with the influence of his precious daughter, has decided to hold a Grand Engagement Banquet for his daughter and The Crown Prince Elvis. The Engagement Banquet is expected to happen as soon as possible, possibly in a week or so."
The Imperial Messenger cleared his throat and continued, "This is a great honour to the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Valencrest. To have their son marry into the Imperial Family, for it will strengthen their rule and reputation in general. But since the Imperial Princess favours The Crown Prince, and has told the Emperor about it, it has been set. So it shall happen as soon as possible."
The Imperial Messenger stared at the King and Queen.
Queen Lea was shocked. She didn’t like the news, and she didn’t like the idea of it. She wanted it to be her son, but Elvis.
But she guessed there was nothing she could do about it.
King Edward didn’t seem to have a problem with it, however. As long as they were merging with the Imperial family in some way or another, he was more than happy with it.
Either way, he was getting the power that comes with it.
And so he smiled as he slowly bowed down. "The Royal Family of the Kingdom of Valencrest are more than happy with this arrangement and wholeheartedly accept this engagement arrangement," he said.