Not being able to convince Lily about not coming with him at the royal palace, in the end, Kratz allowed her to come, and he could only pray to God that nothing happens to her.
"You two there, what business do you have in the royal palace?" A guard at the gates of the royal palace asked. If it was in the past, the guards would've immediately recognized Kratz and would have military saluted him, striking their chest with their fists and standing straight, but now not only Kratz didn't get recognized but was also seen with a little a bit of disgust even though the guards hide it well.
"I'm Kratz, the personal guard of the second prince, I want to see the King, please tell him that I am here with urgent news." Said Kratz as he took a medal from his pocket, he always thought that this medal was useless, but he still kept it with him because it was a gift given by the King when he was bestowed with the holy knight title and with that the holy knight skill.
'In a room, in the royal palace.'
In the bed sitting was a woman, she had covered her body with blankets, she had a pale face, chapped lips, brown eyes, white hair and looked old, and you could see from her face and body form that even though she looked old when she was young, she was a beauty courted by everyone.
She was Queen Justina and beside her was a man, he had black hair, black eyes, tall with a dignified figure and was wearing golden battle armour, and currently, he was looking at Queen Justina with cold eyes, eyes that shouldn't be when you look at your wife.
"Where is my son, my dear wife, you already buried one son a year and a half ago, do you want to bury another one?"Said the King with a voice full of anger, he is the King of the Daw kingdom and his name is Alfred Daw.
The Queen looked at him directly in his eyes her eyes were calm like a mountain unmovable. "He is safe and will come back after he grows up and is done training with Arturio, he is in the company of 100 knights level 60, a level 80 holy knight and an arch-mage, I told you these things a long time ago."
But King Alfred wasn't convinced, the anger within him burned, even more, seeing her attitude."Things didn't go like you wanted right, after all, I know for sure that you would have sent him to your father the emperor in the west, but there hasn't been any news of them, or any rumours at all like they vanished all of the sudden, do you understand vanished."
"And why did you send him away, if you were so sure that someone is going to assassinate him why didn't you think that for your other son the crown prince that is, he would not have died if we knew, you are hiding something from me and I'm not letting you die until you tell me."
The King began to curse her again and again, but the Queen's expression didn't change at all because this was what Alfred did for a year and a half already, cursing her almost every day.
The death of his son and the disappearance of his other son had him not only crying and depressed that even some white hair in his head has come out but more so anxious and desperate to find his missing son.
Queen Justina didn't ask but she was curious why was he this anxious, and there were days that he didn't sleep at all waiting for any news to come, and he even sent some of his trusted Holy knights to guard a bastard son of his to protect him not caring at all about her or the reputation of his, and it's not about the continuation of the throne because they have also a daughter who is the crown princess by now, but the queen couldn't think of the reason why was he this anxious but in the end, the queen wasn't in the mood to care.
'Knock, knock.' Just at that moment, a knocking sound was heard and the Queen relaxed finally the cursing ceremony was over.
"Come in." A deep voice sounded and a majestic aura spread from the King, it was like all the whining a minute ago was another person.
"Excuse me my King but a person has come claiming he is Kratz the Holy Knight, the personal guard of the second prince, we also verified a medal that he gave us and it was real, he said he has urgent news for you, my King." Said the guard that was kneeling in the ground, and didn't dare to raise his head to look at the King.
"Very good, you can bring him here if this is a fraud, I'll personally kill him."
5 minutes later two people came to the room, they were Kratz and Lily.
The King was shocked when he saw Kratz because he recognized him even though his face had wrinkles now like he was old and he didn't look tall and gallant anymore he still recognized him, his looks had completely changed that tall figure and straight back now it was bent, an uncomfortable and a bad feeling rose inside the King's heart.
Kratz directly knelt in the ground, and he couldn't see the king or the Queen in the eyes, the shame, the loss, the fears, and the sadness had made him wish that he was dead, in this year and a half if it wasn't for Lily that reminded him that he had a daughter and a wife waiting for him at home, he might have committed suicide because even though he always delude himself that the prince is still alive, he couldn't deceive his heart.
"You, what happened to you, wait, where is my son?" The king was bewildered at first because he couldn't believe a holy knight has lost his system but then remembered about his son, his heart trembled, his face went pale, the uneasy feeling he had before grew even more.
"The prince was abducted." Said Kratz but it was a lie, and Kratz knew the moment he heard about the death of the crown prince, he knew the prince Van that he protected for whole these years was dead.
"What do you mean abducted, what was Arturio doing, drinking his mommy's tits?" The King bellowed and cursed with a loud voice.
Then Kratz explained everything, about the queen orders to leave to west empire oblivion, he talked about Arturio that had build powerful formation, and that the formation did work the entire time, about how Arturio died inside the formation by a simple arrow.
He described the battle as he took down the arch-mage with forbidden potions that Arturio gave him when he saved his life the first time they met, he also told him about his friendship with Arturio, as they got closer with each other when he gave shelter when Arturio was wounded, and when he finished the King was just standing there shocked and dumbfounded, Arturio was dead and probably his son too, this was big blow not only for him but to the whole kingdom, but still, a part of him couldn't accept it.
"You Queen Justina?" A voice came near Kratz only now did they see that there was another person in the room, they were so much distracted, that they didn't see her at all, but Kratz almost lost his mind when he heard her speak, what is she doing?
"You are in the presence of the queen." Bellowed Kratz as he tried to make her lower her head, but the queen just waved her hand, expressing that it was nothing.
"No need, I'm just an old woman now, barely living, what do you need young child." Kratz was shocked when he heard her, raising his head he could see an old woman resembling the queen sitting in the bed, he almost didn't recognized her, what happened to the queen?
"Nn met someone called Van." The moment she said those words, it was like a bomb, King Alfred opened his eyes wide, Kratz dropped the jaw he never thought that she came all the way here about this, indeed they had the same road, but a doubt arose in his heart, as for the queen Justina she just raised an eyebrow.
"You met my son, where is he?" The King was anxious but he still acted calm, to not scare the kid even though half believing her."
"Nn he died." Boom, another bomb came in the room.
"Whaat do you have any evidence?" The King still tried to deny reality, trying to not let the rope go so he won't find himself falling into infinite abyss, as for the Kratz and the queen they just closed their eyes, they knew he was dead, the queen knew he was dead since long time ago, she understood now that fate cannot be changed.
"Nn, was there when he died."
"Do you have any evidence?" The King still tried to deny reality, but tears were already coming out, and without him knowing he had sat powerlessly in the chair near the bed.
"Nn here, he gave this for you." Lily said as she gave a crystal thing that had an emblem inside to the queen.
"He trusted this to you?" Asked the queen surprised and shocked, this wasn't such an important thing but only the members of the royal family had this, but the system had a law that you can't give this to anyone, you can only show it to others and no one can steal it from you, the system had a lot of different laws but they were absolute, and the only exception to give the emblem to someone is only when you trust that person 100% and that person also trust you 100%.
"Let me see this." King Alfred said as he snatched it and began to inspect it carefully. But gave it directly because it was genuine, he wished that was fake but this was the truth.
"And why did he give this to me?"
"Nn to free the people in the mine, they are innocent."
"Mine?" Asked the King, wasn't this an assassination? How did they end up in mine?
"Nn, Van died in mine as a slave." The King was enraged by these words not only they killed his son but they also forced him to be a slave? He looked at Kratz to explain what the fuck was going, but Kratz could only shake his head, he had no idea.