In the morning, Mathias woke up as the sun's light spilled into his room.
As he sat up in his bed and looked out the window, he heard a knock on his door.
He got up and opened it to find a burly, tall knight in golden armor standing there.
The knight wore the royal insignia on his chest, indicating that he was a Knight of the King, a powerful force directly under the king's command.
These knights were even more powerful than the Dragon Knights, as they had the authority to have a wyvern as a companion if they so chose.
They were the Loyal Knights of the King.
"Prince Mathias," the knight said, bowing slightly in a formal greeting to the royal family.
This was an old rule that the ancestors of the royal family had set, although it had become more relaxed over time and was now largely an unspoken rule. Mathias nodded and looked at the knight questioningly.
"Prince Mathias, the king has summoned you to the King's hall," the knight said in a neutral tone.
"Alright, I'll come in a moment," Mathias said, confused. He still wanted to wash up, as it was his habit to do so in the morning.
After Mathias nodded and responded, the knight stood there emotionlessly.
As Mathias went to close the door, the knight stopped him with a hand on the door.
"What?" Mathias asked coldly.
"The king is waiting. You must follow me now to the King's hall!" the knight also said coldly.
Mathias sensed that something was wrong, but he knew he could just escape using shadow walk if necessary.
"Lead the way," he said coldly.
The knight nodded and led Mathias to the King's hall.
Mathias followed the knight up the stairs to the sixth floor, where the King's hall was located.
The massive gates of the King's hall appeared, and the knight pushed them open with a loud noise.
Mathias saw the vast, luxurious, and exquisite King's hall beyond the gates.
A carpet led all the way to the throne, with a set of stairs under the throne leading up to it.
The king was sitting on the throne, resting his arm on the armrest and tapping his finger on it impatiently.
The king looked domineeringly at Mathias as he entered with the knight.
The knight bowed and presented Mathias to the king.
Mathias felt a sense of pressure from the king, but he noticed that the king seemed curious about how he could act relaxed in front of him, despite being timid in the past.
"Your Highness," Mathias said formally, bowing to the king.
"I see. I can see that you have grown," the king said thoughtfully, looking at Mathias and nodding.
"Why has the King summoned me?" Mathias asked formally.
He couldn't call the king "father," as he did not have a good impression of him.
Moreover, calling the king "father" when he was not the favorite would be impolite to the king and his followers.
That was just how the royal family worked in this world - you couldn't even call your own king "father."
"I have heard that you defeated Prince Ren, the son of Ana," the king said with a thoughtful expression.
"Perhaps I did," Mathias nodded, admitting to the defeat.
"Well, they have accused you of using an evil art while fighting him," the king said, his tone growing cold.
"Evil art?" Mathias frowned.
He had never heard of such a term before.
It was normal for this world, where magic existed, to have an evil art, but he had never encountered one before.
"I apologize, Your Majesty. This is the first time I have heard of such a term," Mathias said.
"Oh? You just heard of it now?" the king asked, frowning as if he did not believe Mathias.
The witnesses had all said that when Mathias had attacked Prince Ren, he shouted a skill that sounded like an evil art - "The One Thousand Years of Death." No matter how you looked at it, this skill sounded like an evil art.
"Apprehend him!" a beautiful voice sounded in the hall, and everyone turned to see Queen Olivia.
"He used an evil art and attacked Prince Ren in an inappropriate area! That alone is evidence of his crime!" Queen Olivia said coldly.
"My queen," the king smiled and looked at Mathias with a cold expression.
"You heard her. Apprehend the bastard!" he ordered his knights to attack Mathias.
"Yes, my lord," the knight in the golden armor said, bowing to the king before approaching Mathias.