If it weren't for the fact that everyone knew that King Ducan wouldn't spare another fuss, the people would have instantly opened their mouths to object to the order. The Audoran Forest became a free territory for obvious reasons. From the very beginning, no one could enter that place. Even the Mage Association, which was known for having the strongest magician associates, never entered the Audoran Forest again after they lost many members to fighting the monster.
Asking someone to kill such a powerful monster was like asking an entire prince to die in vain. No one could understand what was going through King Ducan's mind as he made that reckless decision with a calm expression.
"I will not give a time limit for this request of mine. Assisted by the Mage Association, I have affixed the throne seat and the royal crown with magic that will only recognize the prince who killed the monster."
King Ducan also added. "The princes need to remember one thing about this requirement. Only those who kill the monster with their hands are considered worthy of becoming the crown prince. Even if you order others to pave the way for you to enter the Audoran Forest, my requirement will only be fulfilled if you kill that monster with your own hands."
King Ducan's words drew more severe criticism from the nobles. Although King Ducan had always been known to only care about Princess Abigail, who was the child of his first wife, sending the princes to die because of his ridiculous requirements was still not tolerable. From the start, King Ducan was asked to take another wife because he needed a prince to inherit the throne. Now, if King Ducan sent everyone away, who would replace him in the future?
Everyone had the same thought. And the meeting, which was originally solemn, slowly turned into a battlefield of debate among the nobles.
Although King Ducan had previously forbidden anyone from speaking before he allowed them, the sound of whispers and indistinct murmurs once again echoed in the spacious throne room. This time, King Ducan did not stop the commotion. Having finished saying what he wanted to say, King Ducan went off alone and left Queen Consort Helena, who was still too shocked by her husband's words.
"Ha, how ridiculous. Does His Majesty want to kill us all with that order?"
"Watch your language, Jarvis. More importantly, I can't believe he let that servant participate in this election."
After King Ducan left and the situation began to spiral out of control, Jarvis took advantage of the situation to complain and immediately got a warning from his brother, Leroy. The eldest prince's eyes looked coldly at Kenneth, who was caught up in his thoughts while frowning. Since long ago, Leroy believed that he would be the next king. The prince didn't want to believe that even Kenneth had a chance to become a king.
Leroy's irritation immediately peaked because of that. He couldn't believe his father was willing to send all of his children to go to a dangerous area. However, since King Ducan had affixed magic to the throne chair and crown he used, they had no choice but to grant the king's requirements if they wanted to become the next king.
On the other hand, Kenneth, who saw King Ducan was about to leave, finally abandoned the matter of inheriting the throne and rushed to sneak after his father. The prince bypassed everyone to reach his father. But, as soon as Kenneth reached his father, a man in golden armor immediately prevented Kenneth from approaching him.
"What do you want to do with His Majesty, Your Highness? His Majesty is not in the mood to be disturbed. If you wish to see him, you can send a letter of request to His Majesty the day before your meeting."
"I just need a moment to talk to Father. Please let me pass!"
Kenneth said so because he knew King Ducan would only ignore his letter if he did what the chief of the royal knight told him. Kenneth only wanted to ask his father about Princess Abigail's whereabouts. Even Queen Consort Helena came to listen to King Ducan's announcement. After Kenneth could not find Princess Abigail in the throne room, the prince knew something had happened to his eldest sister.
Although Princess Abigail was King Ducan's favorite daughter, Kenneth instinctively sensed something different about his father. King Ducan was not a king with many expressions to begin with. But when Kenneth saw his father, he could tell that there was something different about the man.
The blank look in his eyes made Kenneth realize that his father had changed a lot since the last time they met. When Kenneth saw those eyes, the prince could not help but feel that he could no longer rely on his father to protect Princess Abigail in the palace.
"I still cannot let you pass. Please go back, Your Highness. Rather than making a scene here, you'd better return to prepare for your departure."
Kenneth completely ignored the knight's words as he saw that he would soon lose his father. At least before Kenneth left, he wanted to make sure that his sister was alright. As an unmarried woman, Princess Abigail was arranged to live in the main palace with her father. Security in the main palace was so tight that Kenneth could not pry any information about what was going on in there. So, apart from King Ducan, Kenneth didn't know who else to ask about Princess Abigail's situation.
"Father! Why don't you invite Princess Abigail to listen to this announcement? Isn't she, as the Princess of the Lucano Kingdom, also entitled to know what will happen to this kingdom?"
In the end, Kenneth had no choice but to shout to attract his father's attention by shouting. Fortunately, King Ducan's steps completely stopped because of Kenneth's shout.
"Your Majesty."
When King Ducan turned around to approach Kenneth, the royal knights who were blocking Kenneth's way immediately stepped aside to let King Ducan pass. Kenneth subconsciously gulped his saliva violently as he saw his father's blank stare from a short distance. As Kenneth had expected, his father was too different from usual.
"Father, I just want to know if Princess Abigail is alright."
Despite his nerves, Kenneth was finally able to squeeze the words out of his mouth. For a few seconds, King Ducan just stared at him without saying anything. But after a while, the king finally opened his mouth to answer Kenneth's question.
"Currently, she is under house arrest. She is my daughter. So, what can happen to her while I am here to protect her?"
"She... is under house arrest?" repeated Kenneth incredulously. They had just met and talked a few hours ago. Kenneth could hardly believe that in that short time, he heard the news that his sister was under house arrest.
"But why, Father? Has Princess Abigail done something wrong?"
"She has defied my wishes. I placed her under house arrest so that she could cool her head. Even if she is my favorite daughter, I will never allow her to go against what I want to like this."
King Ducan's blank eyes dropped to stare at Kenneth, who was too shocked and confused by his words. The man continued his speech in a warning tone so that Kenneth would not question his decision as well.
"Now, go and kill that monster along with your brothers. You'll all be useless if you can't kill that damn monster."
Even after King Ducan left along with the royal knights, Kenneth still hadn't recovered from his shock. King Ducan whom Kenneth knew would never speak about Princess Abigail so coldly. Everyone knew that King Ducan loved Princess Abigail more than his own life. Princess Abigail remained unmarried also because King Ducan had difficulty choosing a suitable man for his favorite child. Kenneth grew up watching how King Ducan pampered his daughter. But on that day, Kenneth could only see cruelty when he talked about his daughter.
"Lately, Father keeps acting strange and sending people to conquer the Audoran Forest. He doesn't even listen to my words anymore and only allows the people of the Witches' Association to be by his side."
As Kenneth was lost in his thoughts, the prince could not help but recall Princess Abigail's words. Now that Kenneth had confirmed it with his eyes, the prince was convinced that the Mage Association had done something to King Ducan.
Kenneth did not know what King Ducan meant by doing all this for Princess Abigail's good. But no matter what, Kenneth knew he still had to go to the Audoran Forest, even if he knew they might all have been played by the people of the Mage Association.
After King Ducan had seriously affixed magic to his throne and crown, Kenneth had no choice but to kill the Audoran Forest Guardians if he didn't want his other brothers to become the next king. Kenneth knew they would not let him and his mother live if he failed to be the first to kill the monster. Kill the monster or die. From the beginning, Kenneth only had two choices in that matter.