Second Arc (His Art of War) - 111. Chaotic Meeting III
Angel raised his hand, ordering them to stop talking. But since they were already burning in anger, they didn't notice it, instead, their voices got louder and louder.
"I don't think there's any other way besides replacing the king," said Marquess Digory in a cynical tone. If Marquess Digory said this in front of King Eudon while he was in full authority, Marquess Digory would lose his head. But since the highest authority was Angel, he didn't hesitate to say it.
"Insolent! How dare you say that to your king!" another noble said.
Meanwhile, King Eudon held back his anger. Even though he knew Zephyrus' aristocracy was in chaos, hearing the noble try to take him down directly, provoked his anger. But he knew he had to hold it back for this plan.
Seeing they ignored Angel, Frost leaned to him.
"Your Majesty, should I silence them?" he asked.
"There's no need," he replied. He swung his hand and hit the table hard with his palm to get their attention.
- Bang!
A crack was seen where his hand landed, indicating how hard he hit it.
"SILENCE!" he said in a frightening king's voice. His eyes glared at them as if to say he would kill anyone who still made a sound.
The nobles pressed their lips and lowered their heads. Some of them who had been standing, sat back in their chairs and those who were pointing, lowered their hands. In an instant, the room atmosphere that had been heating up turned into frightening, as if bloodshed could occur any time there.
"You want to change the ruler but none of you behaves like a ruler," he said firmly.
They were silent since what he said was true.
Marquess Digory bowed politely.
"My apologies, Your Majesty. I think this mess was because many of us were dissatisfied during King Eudon's reign." He knew what he was saying was reckless, but this was a good opportunity. He had to overthrow King Eudon before Angel and King Eudon got too close. After all, there were no benefits for Angel to continue defending King Eudon. He just needed a little spark to convince Angel that the best decision to stop this mess was to appoint a new king.
Angel glanced at him.
"Are you saying it because you are disappointed at King Eudon's decision?"
"That's right," answered Marquess Digory.
"Don't you want to know the reason why he took it?" he asked again.
"Whatever the reason, I think a king should put his kingdom's interests ahead of his personal interests. And I'm sure you don't want to cooperate with someone like that." Marquess Digory knew that King Eudon's main reason why he gave the poison was to help Rose and he was sure Angel knew that too. Therefore, he decided to use this excuse to show how unwise King Eudon was as well as a justification for his argument.
"I agree with Marquess Digory, Your Majesty," said Viscount Gilbert.
"At least the king (King Eudon) should think about his kingdom more than anything, even including his own family."
Angel let out a chuckle since they got into his trap. These words were what he was waiting for.
"Looks like you misjudged King Eudon." He turned to Ivetta and Duke Bartlet.
"I'm sure you have heard about what happened this morning. Didn't you find it strange or question it?"
"May I know your reason, Your Majesty?" asked Ivetta, unable to contain her curiosity. While the other rebels chose to remain silent and pray that what they were afraid of was wrong.
"For Zephyrus and Euphorion peace, King Eudon has made a deal with me and agreed to give Princess Rose to me ... As a wife, a concubine," he announced.
The announcement was greeted with shocked faces. Even as a concubine, for the Heart Family supporters this was good news, but for the rebels, it was a disaster. Ivetta gritted her teeth, held back her frustration, she did not expect that Angel and Rose's relationship could be this fast overnight. While Duke Bartlet smirked to mock her. With this, the rebels had no choice but to add Angel to their kill list.
"We'll get married in a month after I finish taking care of my business at Zephyrus and Draconis," Angel added. He deliberately mentioned the deadline so that they would act faster before they recruited new members.
The rebels exchanged glances with one another. Although there were many considerations in their minds, they all agreed on one thing. If they wanted to take over Zephyrus, they had to do it quickly, before Angel stabilized his authority here and King Eudon managed to restore Zephyrus from the war.
"Now, I don't think there's any reason for you to refuse to sign it," said Angel.
Finally, the nobles took pens and signed them, though some of them looked reluctantly.
Frost collected their letters and gave them to him. While Angel checked the letters to make sure their signatures were valid. While the rebels thought about what they should do next.
"Thank you for your cooperation," he said as he passed the letters to Frost. Then he stood up and smirked.
"I look forward to your cooperation in the future. I'll excuse myself." And he walked to the exit followed by Frost.
Everyone in the room stood up and bowed, except for King Eudon. The nobles thought the meeting was over but they were wrong. As Angel was at the door, he stopped in his tracks and turned around.
"This meeting will be continued by King Eudon. I'm sure he wants to discuss a couple of things with you." Then he continued his steps.