8mi Chapter 308: Taking the lead
Chapter 308: Taking the lead
"Still, there are some ways for you to prove your allegiance, and that will make all doubts about your loyalty vanish," The king said. "First of all, you will call that subordinate of yours... the earth mage that fights with his body as well and then make him bring those three that you invited to our lands. If you do so, we will all forget this."
The king's words made the atmosphere on the tunnel change, an unmistakable aura of hostility swelling among the sea folk guests, Seadir, Coraline, and Sirenus. The king's ultimatum, demanding the capture of the sea folk warriors, had incited an intense anger in them.
Seadir's muscles tensed, fingers twitching, hinting at a desire to reach for his weapon. Coraline wore a determined expression to follow Seadir no matter what, and Sirenus was ready to kill everyone in the room.
Rain harbored a mix of emotions. He felt no allegiance to the king and had not that much personal connection with Esmeralda, the king's daughter. He had always been loyal to his values, his family, and his own thing. Still, the weight of responsibility bore down on him. The suspicion that the king might be linked to the sea folk kidnappings fueled his curiosity.
Rain knew that if he were to take action and eliminate the king, it would drastically alter his life's course. Yet, he couldn't allow a perceived threat to his family and the peace he cherished to persist. If it came to that, he'd have to ensure it appeared as an accident, a tragic twist of fate. Would that be simple?
In the stifling tunnel, the tension hung heavy. Rain stood on the brink of a monumental decision, one that could determine the kingdom's fate and his own. He needed to tread carefully along this treacherous path, as many lives hung in the balance.
"Your Majesty, are you ordering me to do the same that the traitor of my family did?" Branden asked. "Do you want me to lie to them for personal benefit?"
"I want you to show your loyalty to the kingdom and to the royal family," the king said. "What is the most important thing to you right now? Loyalty toward strangers or toward the kingdom and the royal family."
Still, before long, Rain reached one of the cages, and thanks to a small hole in the ground, he was able to find Orcis. The dungeon smelled quite a bit, so it seemed that it either hadn't been cleaned in a while or it had been used recently.
While looking around, Rain saw Lorene in another cage and Branden with his head down. All of them were in complete silence. It seemed that there was a guard nearby, so they had to be mindful of him. After digging a bit more, Rain approached the cave where Branden was and then whispered to avoid the guard.
"This isn't exactly like I imagined a suit in the castle would be," Rain said.
"What the... how?" Branden asked. "I suppose this still is something easily achievable by an earth mage of your level."
"What is the plan now? Are you going to escape?" Rain asked. "I can help with that and make it look like you all just vanished into thin air."
"... Did you hear that conversation? What about the others?" Branden asked.
"Yep, they heard it," Rain replied. "It seems that our king is quite bloodthirsty even though he isn't the one doing all the fighting."
"This is insanity... this isn't like him at all," Branden said and then sighed. "There is a high chance that this could cause the end of this bloodline, but he still thinks that it is a risk worth taking... I need to investigate it more so I can't escape. We can't escape... we can still make the king change his mind."