The entire hall was plunged into a deathly silence as the royal consort finished reprimanding Prince Oberon before everyone else and that too expressing strong disapproval towards the gift he eagerly and meticulously prepared.
But hearing the words he said, they couldn't help but feel convinced. Still, he scolded someone like Prince Oberon, and nobody could tell what consequences might follow.
Prince Oberon's face seemed as if it had lost a few shades of color, and nobody would guess what he was thinking right now. But they could sense the drastic change in the atmosphere of this hall.
"Your Highness, you are being a bit too harsh on my son, who presented that gift only in good faith. It isn't right to disrespect such a noble effort," Seron said as he looked at Asher with a piercing cold gaze. It seemed as if he was trying his best to not cause a scene, though his wife, Rebecca, seemed as if she wanted to explode at a certain someone.
"I am afraid the royal consort is right," Sabina Thorne suddenly spoke up, much to the surprised look of others.
Even Asher couldn't help but look at this charming beauty that gave off a dangerous aura and never expected support from her. He definitely had to look into her some other time.
She elegantly spread open the hand fan and added, "None of us are qualified to assume what Her Majesty needs or wants. His Highness is also right about the fact that we shouldn't give too much importance to some Hunter, let alone in the form of a gift. If we do that, aren't we giving more fame to this so-called Golden Prince? Maybe this is what he must have planned before he died. Relying on the fact that we might use his death to spread his name further. In my opinion, the best way for us to move on is to forget these insignificant characters, especially since they are dead. We can never progress if we are slaves to the past. What we should focus on is killing more Hunters, especially ones like him," She concluded with a charming smile.
Some murmurs echoed right after Sabina finished saying her piece. Now that such a high-ranking member spoke in support of the royal consort, people couldn't help but feel as if he was right indeed. The more they thought about it, the more they felt Prince Oberon's judgment was poor, and he chose the worst gift possible.
"Elder sister, what are you doing? Why would you speak in favor of that crippled consort?" Edmund Thorne asked his sister with a strained voice, his expression taut. He clearly didn't take well to her comment, nor did he expect this from her.
Sabina playfully smiled as she looked at him but suddenly pressed her sharp fingernail against his hand, "Don't forget your place, brother. You might be my fiance, but I am still your elder sister. Didn't you learn to never question your elders, hmm?" She asked while maintaining the playful smile, though Edmund broke a sweat as he stiffly nodded, "I...I understand...."
"That was uncalled for, Sabina. You played down the efforts of your own brother by saying that," Esther Thorne said with a critical look.
"Leave it, Esther. She has always done as she pleased," Thorin Thorne said offhandedly, making Esther click her tongue while Sabina softly chuckled and leaned on her chair.
Prince Oberon's expression looked as if he swallowed something ugly, but then he suddenly bowed and said, "This prince was inconsiderate. Please forgive me for not assuming things I shouldn't have. I might have been too hasty in picking a gift for this day."
People nodded with a look of approval upon seeing the prince apologize and admit his mistakes. This surely showed how sincere he was, and they felt more admiration for him.
Rebecca smiled proudly, seeing how her son was smart enough to turn even a disadvantageous situation in his favor.
"No worries. It seems like one year wasn't enough for you to think. Next time, take two," Asher said as if he was offering genuine advice, making some even gasp, wondering if Prince Oberon was really getting verbally bullied by the crippled consort. This was just too humiliating and a slap to his face.
"Pffft-Nnngh!" Kookus almost burst out laughing, but Ceti immediately punched him in the stomach, which made his chortle sound like a groan as he collapsed on his knees with a grimace, "Why….so cruel…sister…" He looked at her with an aggrieved look, making Ceti harrumph while feeling relieved that she was able to stop her brother from offending someone he shouldn't.
But she couldn't help but stare at Asher's back, wondering if this was his true nature. Who would have thought after gaining his soul, the crippled consort could even make a powerful prince feel tongue-tied?
Asher's words made Oberon's eyes emit a deadly light for a brief second before he slowly raised his head. His facial muscles around his lips briefly twitched as if he was greatly suppressing the words that were coming up his throat.
"Your Highness, you should think twice before you judge someone. I am giving this advice as a concerned member of our house considering the fact that your mind wasn't in the right place for all these years," Rebecca said with a sharp smile as a vein popped up in her temple. It seemed like she couldn't contain herself anymore while her son was getting humiliated by this cripple. She even indirectly insulted him that he was a retard for all these years.
'Somebody is really angry, huh,' Asher inwardly chuckled, seeing her getting riled up. It was amusing to see her dark expression.
"Enough talking about this matter," Rowena suddenly said as the entire hall plunged into silence.
Rebecca's eyes twitched with indignation. But she could only sit back after swallowing her words.
Everyone eagerly awaited what their queen's decision was about this matter after this simple matter of presenting a gift got heated up.
"I have no doubt Prince Oberon prepared the gift in good faith," Rowena said with a fixed gaze, to which Seron nodded with a pleased look, and Rebecca smiled as she shot a glance of contempt toward Asher.
Prince Oberon's expression brightened a little as he said, "Thank you, my queen. I am honored and glad Your Majesty understood my sincerity."
"But as the royal consort and Lady Sabina said, I don't wish to see that dead hunter's face again, nor do I need any solace. The time of grieving is long over, and my father wouldn't wish any of us to do so. This is the time to make the people of Severed Realm realize that we remain undaunted despite the losses we suffered. From now on…they should be the ones to grieve, not us," Rowena said in a deathly cold tone that sent chills down everyone standing inside the hall. They could feel the entire hall getting filled with their queen's bloodthirst for revenge which in turn fueled their bloodthirst as well.
Her tone was cold and calm, but they could sense the boiling rage within her words. Considering how she had been so reserved for a while, they all thought that she was still grieving the loss of her father, just like the denizens of this kingdom.
But only now they realized she had been suppressing her anger all this time and realized it was only natural she would feel so.
Asher didn't seem that surprised, but he could feel the blood cold killing intent oozing from her entire being as she spoke these words.
He had no doubt that if his true identity was made known to her, she wouldn't hesitate to grant him the most miserable death.
Even if she believed her father killed him in his previous life, she knows the Golden Prince was the main cause of her father's death.
Seron's expression stiffened while Rebecca was tightly clenching her fists. She had known Rowena for a long time and never expected the girl who loved her father so much to act so indifferently about her father's death.
Oberon had a subtle look of disbelief as if he couldn't believe he had gotten it all wrong. But he still shot a cold glance towards Asher, who felt his gaze and smiled subtly.
"But I won't ignore your effort and will accept your gift, though I won't use it," Rowena glanced at one of her Bloodborn Guards, who came forward and collected the plate with the severed head while Oberon looked on with a strange expression.
However, he quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for being so kind. This prince is more than honored that my gift was accepted. It doesn't matter if Your Majesty has no use for it, as now I realize how inconsiderate and foolish my gift was. I won't even mind if Your Majesty wants to get rid of it. I could spare you the trouble and do it myself."
"There is no need for that. If my wife wants, she can do it herself since she accepted your gift. You need not concern yourself too much," Asher said with a casual smile. He couldn't risk letting that head fall into his hands since he was sure someone like Oberon would surely check out those memories before he destroyed it.
He also couldn't rest easy completely knowing that Rowena would still have the head. But knowing her character so far, she struck as a person who would never do anything opposite to what they say. If she said she won't use the gift, then she wouldn't. Or so he could only hope.
Hearing Asher mention the words 'my wife' again, Oberon clenched his fists so tight his nails were digging into his skin, making blood ooze out.