Arctus was too filled with shock to even hold any anger in his heart.
His father had been killed. What else could he do but be shocked?
Right now, the only reason he moved forward was out of instinct. His instincts told him that if he didn't obey the orders of the hero, that he would end up the same way as his father.
Arctus was the third son of King Ruthobold. As the third son he held essentially no stake in the inheritance.
Even if by some freak accident his oldest brother were to be killed or assassinated, the country would fall to his brother Sylvester.
Arctus lived his life under the assumption that he would not be inheriting the throne, and instead focused his efforts elsewhere.
Arctus was not a powerful warrior like Sylvester nor a great leader like Reginald. He was somewhat introverted, and tried to keep to himself.
For this reason, he turned to studies to become a scholar.
In the Kingdom, magic was not viewed as heresy like it was in the Empire. While it was rare for one to study magic due to the difficulty of the field, this did not stop Arctus from performing his studies. In the Capital of the Kingdom was a college for those who were talented in magic to study.
Working at this college as a researcher, Arctus locked himself away from his colleagues. While he came out of his lab every once in a while to share his findings with others, Arctus did his best to keep away from others.
His laboratory was the only place where he could truly be himself.
The world outside the laboratory was harsh. If he didn't make a major breakthrough, the other members of the college would speak ill of him, gossiping and saying that the only reason he was allowed to stay in his position was due to his ties with the king.
If he did make a breakthrough, which he had on a few occasions, then people would quiet themselves only for a short time before once more spreading rumors about him. It was a vicious cycle. He would either have to always be exceeding expectations, or everyone would turn against him.
However, when Arctus was inside the laboratory, none of that mattered.
When he left the college, people would treat him as they would any prince. He was well respected by the soldiers of the castle and not looked down upon by any directly, but Arctus always knew that he would never be able to live up to his brothers.
A scholar will never be able to live up to the glory of a leader or a warrior, no matter how many breakthroughs he makes.
Among the nobles, he was a topic of frequent gossip.
"It seems that the youngest son of the king is off in his own little world, trying to study magic.... such a fruitless field will never get him anywhere...."
"When will he realize that he needs to step up and become a proper Duke when his brother takes over the country? He should be managing a domain when he is older, but at this rate he won't even be able to do that."
"It's such a shame. Perhaps the king needs to better discipline his sons."
Of course, his father was not exactly pleased with Arctus either.
He would always prefer his other two brothers over him, bragging and boasting about their achievements at the dinner table. While he would sometimes note the achievements of Arctus, this was only to preserve his own dignity as the king- nothing more.
Something along the lines of 'It would be impossible for me to bear an incompetent son.'
As such, Arctus didn't exactly have a ton of love for his father, and he had mixed feelings towards him being killed in front of his eyes today.
Of course, he was not happy that his father was dead. But he was not exactly sad either. He was merely shocked.
Right now, he just wanted to return to his laboratory to relax and perhaps run some experiments. He had a few new pieces of equipment that he had been working on, and was hoping to run some tests when the prototypes were completed, so this was nothing more than a distraction.
It then hit Arctus.
'Wait a minute.... if I am to be working as a servant from now on, then will I not be allowed to go back to the laboratory? That would be horrible! Wait.... that hero did say something else. If we didn't want to cut our ties to the royal family, then we could still work as servants. Or something like that. What if I were to merely cut my ties to the family and cease my work as a servant? I could then work full time towards becoming a professor at the college, and put my full focus on my studies!'
Arctus thought this, but as soon as he played these words in his mind he realized the flaw in his logic.
'I wonder if the hero will allow that though? He seemed to be somewhat bent against us, but I suppose I will try to ask later when he is in a better mood. Of course, I would not be able to have any further royal backing, meaning that I would have to get results or the people of the college would likely kick me out.... and they already had some resentment from my use of the system before, so they would likely be eager to do so, therefore I must get results... and quickly. Furthermore, it would mean truly saying goodbye to not only my brothers, but also to my sister....'
Arctus was legitimately concerned for what would become of his sister Reagan.
Would she be forced into menial labor?
Would she be alright?
He was concerned, and this held him back from immediately deciding to leave.
He knew that his brothers would rebuke him if he were to leave. They would call him a traitor, and likely tell him to never return.
Of course, this would also mean he would never be able to see his sister again.
But....
What if the hero said otherwise?
It was true that the hero seemed bent against the royal family for one reason or another, but was that necessarily the case?
What if Arctus instead bowed to the hero and became his informant?
What if he betrayed his brothers and relayed any plans of betrayal directly to the hero, and then as a result gained the favor of the new king, allowing him to continue his studies as before?
This might actually work.
He would be able to continue his studies, with royal backing, and he would still be able to keep an eye on his sister. He might even be able to convince this hero to treat her well if he could get her in on this plot.
'Oh! That could be great! My brothers might never even consider this, since they're the first and second sons! Of course! They've always been loved by father, and so they are clearly filled with anger and hatred because of his death. They will be unable to think clearly about the situation, and I will be able to take advantage of that! Furthermore, because they are in highly esteemed positions, they have too much pride! They won't be able to give up that pride so easily, but what about me? I've lived my entire life as the backup of the backup. I have no reason to keep my pride! I've always had to serve underneath someone, and so changing who that is isn't that big of a deal for me! For them though, it will be very difficult to serve under someone else, and especially the man who killed our father!'
Arctus decided to serve the hero loyally, and reap the benefits from doing so.
If there was a system to use, then he would use it. He was not stuck on trying to be number 1 like his brothers were.
Arctus also wanted to convince his sister to come over to his side, but that might be a bit more difficult.
After all, as the only daughter and as someone who was meant to be a great diplomat, she was loved by their father as well. Perhaps even more so that the older two sons.
She would likely be devastated by the loss of her father, and being put into a life of servitude.... well, it might be too much for her to handle.
But she was still his younger sister.
Arctus did want to protect her from such a fate, so he would do his best to convince her.
After all, if one was too stuck on being number 1 all the time, then they would always fail. There was always someone better than you, and if you tried to be the best at everything, then you would just end up disappointing yourself.
Rather, people should focus on doing what they can, with their own abilities.
Thinking this, Arctus looked around.
It was getting somewhat late. It was already dark out. They were in a commercial sector, and many taverns seemed to be crowded with people and there was music blaring from them. They could hear the happy shouts of people in their drunken fervor.
Shops were closed down, and only the taverns and perhaps the brothels were open at this time. Not many people were out and about on the streets aside from a few people who seemed to be leisurely walking.
'I wonder if my brothers have ever even been to these parts of the city? I've been here before to gather materials for my research, but this must be a brand new sight for them.'
Arctus continued walking, and the group made it to a thin alleyway- too thin for the carriage to make it through.
The door of the carriage burst open, and Kyle stepped out.
He was followed by the 7 prostitutes which he called his mothers.
The hero spoke out in a loud voice as they were standing in front of the sketchy alleyway.
"Alright everyone. Follow us. We've made it to our home."
----
'Eh? This garbage dumb.... is their home?!'
'The home of the hero.... what!?'
Reginald and Sylvester were completely surprised when they saw the filthy alleyway in which the hero was standing in front of, while proudly proclaiming that this was his home.
'How can the hero come from such a..... such a filthy place like this! It's unbearable! It's not fit for even a peasant, much less the hero! And this is the man who has taken the throne as the king!? I won't accept it. I must put forth all effort to remove this scum from the throne! Our country.... it will go to waste if we allow someone raised here to rule it! There is a difference between peasants and nobles who are raised to rule, and there is a difference even between myself and those nobles, as I was raised from the moment I was born to be a king! For the sake of my father, and for the sake of the people of this country, I cannot allow this uneducated fool who is acting on whims to take over! It was a mistake for someone like this to even be selected as the hero in the first place! It's impossible! How can someone like this become the hero!?!? He's no hero!!!!'
Reginald was petrified and filled with anger at seeing the alleyway which led to the brothel.
He knew in his head that the man in charge of this country was nothing more than an idiot wielding power. A peasant who didn't feel like bowing down to the rules of society! At this rate, things would become anarchy! No, he wasn't even a peasant! He was the son of a whore, raised by the scum of the earth- a ragtag group of prostitutes who had clung together like barnacles to a ship. They fed off the successes of others like parasites, barely surviving while leeching off everyone else!
Reginald knew clearly exactly what he had to do, but he had to be patient.
This kid was a loose cannon, and he could go off at any time.
He couldn't afford to show any displeasure here, so he put on a straight face, completely masking his true emotions.
His brother Sylvester on the other hand, could not stop himself from showing disgust.
On seeing this, Reginald held out his hand, touching the shoulder of his brother.
"Brother."
"I know...just...."
"We must be calm, and patient."
"Alright. Understood."
The two whispered back and forth to each other, and Sylvester calmed himself.
Kyle, who was standing at the front, with his mothers by his sides and soldiers around them, got ready to enter the alleyway.
"Now then everyone.... we are going to be doing a moving expedition, however I am sure we already have plenty of rooms and furniture in the new homes which my mothers will be staying in, so we're only going to be collecting personal belongings. Of course, you all will be the one packing and carrying everything, since it wouldn't do for my mothers to have to lift a finger on such a menial task that can be done by laborers."
"Eh? We're not getting our own stuff?", Naomi asked.
"Why would we be, when we have all these men around us to do it for us?", Riley responded slyly.
"Oh, I see. I guess we've never been in a position to order people around."
"Well, you may not have. But I order the men around all night."
Sylvester seemed to cringe at this exchange between the women.
'They're nothing more than whores... how dare they act all high and mighty towards us....'
Kyle then waved to all the soldiers and the royal sons to follow him.
"Let's go. Unless you all have something you want to say?"
Sylvester grit his teeth and walked, following the group alongside his brothers.
"That's what I thought.", Kyle retorted.
The group went through the alleyway, to find the broken down shack that was the brothel.
It was in bad condition, but it had a sign on it.
Irene's Brothel.
'We might be in the poorest sector in the entire Capital...', Reginald thought while hiding his displeasure.
Looking around, it seemed as if the people had completely isolated and avoided this entire sector.
The only people who would come here were the men looking for pleasure- and cheap pleasure at that.
The group entered the brothel to see the rooms.
"Ah, please pardon the mess. We haven't had our janitor anymore to clean anything up, so the floors might be a bit sticky.", Irene said as the group of 7 whores stood outside, watching the soldiers file in.
"Just pack everything up in boxes and carry them yourselves.", Kyle ordered. "As soon as we get everything, we return to the royal palace for the night, where you all can rest."
"Yes, Sir!", the soldiers replied.
Sylvester was filled with jealousy at seeing the soldiers show Kyle such respect.
'They never showed me that same respect when I was the Captain of the guard. Tch! Why!? Why would they respect this scum!?'
Sylvester walked in after all the guards, who had filed into the various rooms.
The place was completely broken down. Wooden boards creaked as he walked on them, and the lights were hanging by a single string while flickering.
It looked like a shack out of a horror movie where a ghost would pop out at any moment.
It was very dark, and the lights barely provided any illumination. How was he supposed to see with this?
It was then that Sylvester stepped in something.
Squish.
'Ugh! What is this!? Did they spill something here? Even if they don't have a janitor, they should clean up after themselves! Disgusting!'
Sylvester continued into one of the rooms.
When he entered, he was petrified.
The room was filled with whips, chains, cuffs, and all sorts of disturbing devices.
'My goodness... just what has been going on here....'
Squish. Squish.
'Good grief! It's like the entire floor is coated in whatever this is!!! What am I even supposed to be collecting here?!?'
"Ah, looks like you've entered Riley's room. Bad luck for you, Sylvester. Here, you might want to take this."
Sylvester looked behind him to see the hero right there with a sly smirk on his face. He held a mop out to him.
"Go on. I used to be the one doing this, but I think that since I am now in a similar position to how you've been living all your life, that you too should take a sneak peek at how my life has been. Here. Clean up the floors."
Sylvester was furious. This kid was mocking him.
If only he could have slugged him right there.
But he couldn't.
Sylvester grabbed the mop, and started mopping the floor.
'I swear....'
When he had mopped up a path to the items, he looked around to see a few boxes.
Grabbing them, he started throwing everything into them. Clothes, items, everything small that could fit.
'Where are the other guards? Are they all in other rooms? It seems like they left me alone to be tormented as this hero watches me clean this shit up! Where are my brothers?'
"Ah, you missed a spot. No, the entire floor actually. Come on, Sylvester. You can do a better job than this. Mop the ENTIRE floor."
'Grr.....'
Sylvester went around the entire room, mopping and cleaning it.
Squish. Squish.
"There we go! Now it's nice and clean. Thank you very much, my older brother Sylvester. Now just grab those boxes and we should be good here. Oh, and carry them all home. You're a strong warrior. You can handle it all, right?"
'Why do you have to keep mocking me like this!?'
The two walked out to see that all the other guards as well had finished packing up the other rooms, and were all holding boxes as well. The two brothers were also holding boxes.
"Sir, we've finished up here.", one of the guards stated.
"Wonderful. Ah, Sylvester you might want to clean off those boots. You stepped in quite a lot of filth.", Kyle mocked.
Sylvester knew that his boots were covered in some slimy substance, but now that he was outside it was no longer as dark as it was before, so he could see his own feet.
His boots were covered in a sticky white substance.
'EH!?!? You don't mean.... this is.....'
Sylvester's face became red with anger and embarrassment. Looking over, Kyle did not have any of the substance on his feet, as if he knew exactly where to step to avoid it.
The soldiers similarly did not have nearly as much as Sylvester did on his feet.
'I knew it!!!! This guy is just mocking me, trying to piss me off!!! What a disgusting piece of filth, you and your mothers!!!!!'
Sylvester wanted to drop these boxes and stab Kyle in the back then and there, but he knew it would be useless.
So he gritted his teeth, and carried on after wiping his feet on the ground in an attempt to clean them off.
'I'll be throwing these boots out as soon as I get the chance. Disgusting.'
The group then went back to the carriage, and the 7 mothers along with Kyle went back inside, leaving the soldiers to carry all the boxes by hand.
The group then made their way back through the city to the Royal palace, where each mother was assigned a temporary room, and the boxes were placed in the respective rooms.
"Well done, men.", Kyle congratulated the group. "Now, you all may return to your rooms. As for you three brothers.... I want you to come with me for a little talk among siblings. Of course, your... no, OUR sister as well."