The Sulten looked at the young boy in front of him. Kin was nothing like he was before. Everything about his appearance had changed. However, his character was still insufferable—perhaps not as entitled, but still annoying.
"How... What happened to you, Your Highness?" Sulten Lee asked.
Kin looked at the Sulten. It seemed he was finally coming to terms with the fact that he was indeed the prince.
"Well, a lot has happened in the past months. The most important thing right now is that I'm alive, well, and, most importantly, I'm planning on taking back what's rightfully mine."
"Oh, really?" Sulten Lee held his chin. "And how exactly do you plan on doing that? With all due respect, you are just a child. Burak and Jai are men who have amassed power since your father died. You have nothing and no one. You are basically powerless."
"All that can change if you pledge your allegiance to me. Serve me just like you did my father," Kin said.
The Sulten was silent for a while before speaking again.
"Serve you, huh? Jai wants me to serve him. Burak wants me to keep serving him. Now you, too, want me to serve you? I'm sorry, Your Highness, but I must decline. I can give you anything you need to help with your journey to wherever you are going—food, provisions, even coin—but I can't give you my allegiance. It's my ticket to life or death."
"Sulten Lee..." Farouk said in anger.
"Lord Farouk, need I remind you that both you and the prince lack the means to protect me and this city should it be attacked for aligning with you? If I choose to side with you, I'm putting my life and everyone here at risk. I can't do that. I'm sorry."
"You can't do such a thing, Sulten Lee! You are going to side with insurgents over the rightful heir?" Farouk said.
"Rightful or not, he has nothing to offer at this moment," Sulten Lee said.
"That can all change if you swear allegiance!" Farouk retorted.
Sulten Lee scoffed at Farouk's comment.
"I expect the prince to be naïve, but not you, Farouk. We both know it's not that simple. My allegiance will mean nothing if I can easily be wiped out in a moment's notice. I'm not as powerful as you think. Cosant's wealth is not as massive as that of Hadia or Jubai. Jai and Burak both hold the major cards here," Sulten Lee argued.
Both men continued their argument while Kin stood in silence. He knew he had nothing to bargain with to sway the Sulten. No one knew how powerless he was better than him, and he knew Farouk wasn't naïve enough to think Sulten Lee would just bend over.
Kin sighed. There was little or nothing to achieve here, but there were two things he could obtain from the Sulten. One was information, but he couldn't risk relying on good and reliable information from someone he didn't trust, especially when he had nothing to give. The second, on the other hand…
"Do you have weapons?" Kin suddenly asked.
"Weapons?" Sulten Lee asked in confusion. "What do you need swords for? Do you have an army stashed somewhere?"
"No, and I don't necessarily mean good weapons. They might be broken, bent, or even unusable. I need them for something," Kin said.
Sulten Lee stared at Farouk in confusion. He had thought the prince would press harder to try to win him over—maybe even make promises to sway him. But the prince was suddenly no longer interested in convincing him. Instead, he was asking for broken swords and weapons.
"May I ask what you plan to use them for?" Sulten Lee asked.
"None of your concern, Sulten. You said I could ask for anything but not your allegiance. You've staked your life on who you swear allegiance to, and I cannot deny that I don't have the means to help you as I am. So, I'm going to take you up on your offer instead. Do you have the weapons or not?"
"Yes, I do. We have a lot of unused weapons. They're dumped underneath the barracks."
"Good. Take me there," Kin said.
Sulten Lee and Farouk both looked at Kin. It seemed he was serious about not wanting to further convince the Sulten and was ready to take the swords instead. Since that was the case, Sulten Lee decided to oblige.
The military barracks were located not too far from his mansion, so he was able to gather a few of his men and quietly sneak the prince and Farouk into a carriage. They all left the mansion and made their way to the barracks.
When they got there, the Sulten brought them to where they kept the weapons they no longer used—abandoned weapons that were either broken or worn out. When Kin saw them, he was quite amazed. There were more than a thousand weapons here, all scraps and broken. All of them just lying there.
Kin smirked.
"Will all this do?" Kin asked.
"No," Ashell replied. "But it's progress."
Kin sighed inwardly. This armor better be worth it, Kin thought.
"I never make anything worthless," Ashell replied in annoyance.
"So, how do you plan on taking all of these?" Sulten Lee asked Kin.
Kin turned to him and smiled. "I have my way."
He stretched out his hand, and a golden light emanated from within him, spreading to cover the entire room.
Farouk and Sulten Lee were shocked. They were taken aback by what he was doing. It seemed the prince was no longer ordinary.
Kin didn't mind their surprise. After all, it was exactly what he was going for. He continued spreading the light until it covered the entire room.
Once it did, the light grew brighter for a while before suddenly disappearing—along with everything that had once been in the room.
Sulten Lee and Farouk were speechless.
Once he was done, Kin turned to the door.
"Let's go," he said.
"Wa-wait!" Sulten Lee stammered.
"What?" Kin asked as he turned back to the Sulten.
"You're cursed?" Sulten Lee asked.
"Yes," Kin replied in an obvious tone.
"Yes? What do you mean, yes? Why didn't you mention it earlier?"
"What difference does it make?" Kin asked. "I'm still a prince with nothing and no one."
"But—"
"There are no buts, Lord Lee. You've already made your stance clear. You will choose the side that guarantees your life and the lives of those in your city, and you're right to prioritize that," Kin said.
"But—" Kin added, his tone suddenly growing cold as his curse leaked out, directing its ominous aura toward the Sulten, making him step back.
"The choice you have made today also means you will die when I ascend the throne. You think you've chosen life? No, you just chose death. Look at me, Lord Lee," Kin said, his voice dripping with malice. "I am death."
Kin turned and walked away.
Farouk immediately followed the prince. The Sulten finally collected himself and followed as well, his mind racing. He was contemplating his next move, trying to decide if allying with the prince would be a favorable path.
With what he sensed from the prince's curse, it seemed powerful. He didn't know its exact abilities, but he was sure it gave Kin an advantage.
As the Sulten was thinking, they finally left the room and were met by a worried Teng.
Immediately Teng saw the trio, he went straight to the Sulten and whispered something to him.
Sulten Lee's eyes widened from the news.
Farouk and Kin noticed this, and Kin spoke to the old dog.
"What do you think that was about?" he asked.
"Probably news from Amresh and Sworis. Something decisive should have happened by now."
"Hmmm. So, you think my uncle won?"
"Well, he does have the advantage," Farouk replied.
"But Burak won't go down easy. He's just as resilient as Jai."
"Good for us," Kin said. "It would be better if they wear each other down."
"You're right, my prince," Farouk said.