Rex looked left and right at his father and mother for any clues. But he only found the same confusion as his own. What kind of question was that?
"Honey? I… I like it. It's sweet and smooth." Rex replied. It was simply what he thought about the nectar.
Pat!
Sylvester patted Rex's head and invited him to sit in the chair beside himself. "Good boy, that was the right answer. If you had said you hated honey, I might have considered it heresy."
Xavia embarrassingly rubbed her forehead. "Oh dear, it was all my mistake. I shouldn't have let you taste it back then."
"I sense an interesting story." Queen Trinity spoke. "I believe this dinner will be among the most enjoyable I've ever had."
Xavia chuckled and began telling everyone about the first few days after Sylvester's birth. "Back when we lived in Deserte Village, and I knew no better, I used to feel guilty for not being near him all the time because of work. So, I once gave him a taste of honey to make him happy—now he's an addict."
"At least I'm not addicted to poppy dust. Honey is good for one's health." Sylvester defended his addiction.
Xavia chuckled lovingly, and slowly they began their dinner. Sylvester showed Rex a few tricks to making food more tasty, bringing out some of his special spices from the Chonky Bank, who sneakily sat underneath the table to get treats.
"See, this is what I call Honey Spice Magnum sauce—try it; you'll never be able to eat fried chicken without it in the future." Sylvester poured some golden sauce on the excited boy's plate. It was Rex's greatest dream come true, after all. His godfather, his idol, was teaching him things.
Rex looked at his plate with stars in his blue eyes. Wasting no time, he dipped the fried chicken leg piece in it and took a bite.
"Woah! It's sweet and spicy at the same time! I love this!" Rex chirped and began to stuff his mouth with more of the tasty delight.
Sylvester chuckled and poured some more sauce and then a new one. "This one is called Peri Peri Sauce and Sprinkle. Try it."
"Yes, sir!" Rex was excited, and even if Sylvester gave him poison, he'd try it. So he dipped some meat in the spice and took a bite.
"Ooh… Spicy but… so AWESOME!" Rex boomed excitedly. "Father, try it. This is amazing. You love spicy food, don't you?"
"And hate it in the morning." Trinity jestingly remarked on the side.
But King Highland was an adventurous man and tasted the same sauce and spices. He didn't react but kept eating more and more. He clearly loved it.
Finally, the King looked at Sylvester sternly. "Sylvester… Sell it to me! I'll make this a globally traded spice! The world must know of this magical delicacy."
Sylvester chuckled, "Perhaps I'll start the business on my own. The Holy Land's venture into the spice trade will bring profits."
"YES!" Rex chimed in. "Godfather, can I become your Saint Scepter after you become the Pope? I'll be loyal and take the oath—I'll…"
"No." Sylvester instantly rejected him. "Your first duty is to the faith, and second duty is to the kingdom. You're the only child of King Highland—You must strive to become a great, respected, and resourceful king. That will be the greatest thing you can do for me."
Rex's expression fell, and he looked down. "But… I wanted to go to the Holy Land."
"You can still do that," Sylvester added. "I'll personally show you around the Holy Land after the war is over. But you have to study and train diligently until then. Be a respected King, as loved by the people as your father."
Sylvester then looked up at the royal couple. Both were delighted to see Sylvester imparting some essential lessons to Rex. It was clear that Sylvester's words impacted the young prince's mind more than his parents'.
"Anyway, Your Majesties, I wanted to ask you something." Sylvester steered the topic away.
"Ask anything." Queen Trinity said.
"To see a husband and wife couple Grand Wizards is as rare as finding a new Solarium Crystal mine. How did the two of you find each other and fall in love?" Sylvester asked, since looking at the two reminded him much of himself and Diana from a life almost forgotten.
King Atrox and Queen Trinity weren't only strong but also extremely good-looking. But at the same time, their characters and attitudes were far from similar to each other.
"Bwahaha!" King Atrox roared and held his wife's hand. "Well, the story is quite interesting. You see, Trinity and I have been lovers since we were kids. I was thirteen, and she was sixteen when we met each other for the first time—both of us were deemed the greatest talents of the kingdom back then, when my father was the ruler, and Trinity's father was the Governor of provinces.
"Our fathers decided that it was best we trained together in the Royal Castle with the greatest instructors. At first, we were rivals, and then friends, then eventually lovers. However, when she turned eighteen, her father called for a marriage tourney to let her choose a husband for herself."
She nodded, remembering the events that happened more than two centuries ago. "I still vividly remember the anxiousness in my heart that day. But then, my dear Atrox here came up with a plan."
King Atrox chuckled, staring into Trinity's eyes, clearly still as much in love with her as the day they fell for one another. "Oh, I had to. So, the tourney began, and men from all over the Highland Kingdom came. They were all to compete against each other and perform spectacular feats in an attempt to impress Trinity. It was a grand event, and in the end, there were duels.
"I was also a participant but kept myself shrouded under heavy robes and my face covered. I easily completed all the tasks and faced my opponents in the duels. I defeated them one after another—"
"And you won!" Rex interrupted excitedly. "You won, and Mum chose you?!"
King Atrox chuckled, shaking his head. "Oh, no, no, my son. I was a mere fifteen-year-old boy, and my opponents at the end of the duels were hundred-year-old men of Archwizard, or Golden Knight ranks. I lost against one of them, and at last, the decision fell upon Trinity to choose."
Queen Trinity scoffed at that moment. "My father wanted me to select the winner of the duels, a one hundred and fifty-year-old Archwizard, son of some wealthy trader."
"And?" Sylvester inquired, knowing the twist was coming.
She smirked. "I chose the fifteen-year-old, heavily robbed boy with his face covered. After all, the choice was up to me."
"Oh, the drama that unfolded after that." King Atrox barked. "Her father was furious, fully aware that the tournament was rigged. He nullified the marriage tourney and sent all the annoyed guests away, then dragged us to the Royal Palace to face my father's reprimand."
"Wait!" Sylvester interrupted him. "You were the Prince. Any father would have laid the red carpet for you to marry their daughter. What made your parents deny the union between the two most talented people of the kingdom?"
King Atrox sighed. "Superstitions—Our fathers were told by some dumbass, pardon my language, Cardinal—that I can only marry a woman younger than me, and she can only marry a man older than her."
Sylvester scowled but understood the anger of the King. "I hope that Cardinal is dead now."
"He died in an 'accident'." King Atrox replied and continued. "Our fathers then decided to lock us away in the castles until I was married off to someone after I turned eighteen."
"Let me guess. You ran away?" Sylvester guessed.
"Haha! And much more." King Highland relished the story tremendously. "I escaped the Royal Castle and then helped Trinity flee from her family castle. Then we ran away and lived in hiding for two years, always on the run—it was the best time of our lives. We fought vile monsters, Bloodlings, corrupt holy men, pirates, thieves, and anything that could help us grow.
"Once I turned eighteen, we decided it was time to return home—as husband and wife. However, the marriage couldn't be officiated without a royal seal, so we hatched a plan. Since we were much stronger, Trinity and I abducted over a dozen lords from all over Highland and openly threatened to kill them if our marriage wasn't officiated.
"We killed a few corrupt ones to scare them, and in no time, our fathers signed the decree and officiated our marriage. With that, we released the prisoners."
Trinity affectionately held her husband's hand tighter. "But we didn't foresee the consequences that followed our actions. Years passed, and the entire nobility of Highland protested and demanded money as compensation for the mess we created. In truth, they wanted money because of their lackluster harvest and low tax collections."
Sir Dolorem nodded, "I vaguely recall the incident. It must have been tough to resolve."
"Not at all." King Highland replied. "My father and Trinity's father came up with a great idea, and decided to abolish most hereditary nobility, and changed the system to merit-based administration. The nobles who stood with us retained their lands and titles. Those who went against it were eradicated completely."
Sylvester sighed as the atmosphere of the story suddenly grew intense. He was honestly too engrossed in their love story as it reminded him of his time with Diana.
"But then word about the curse spread," Trinity added, her eyes looking down sorrowfully. "Years passed, and yet Atrox and I couldn't conceive a child. Eventually, the warnings of that Cardinal came to haunt us. Our fathers blamed us until their dying breath—we thought we had ruined our bloodlines by not heeding their words."
Thud!
King Highland suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood up. The Queen also rose to her feet beside him. Both kept their hands locked.
"Sylvester… No, Lord Bard." King Atrox Highland spoke, the scent of worship, respect, hope, and love emanating from him. "Our lives were miserable. The walls of this castle felt gloomy and dark no matter how many bright curtains and lights we added. Our hearts felt cold even when the sun scorched the lands—We saw our lives going to ruins and dying future plans."
"But then, you came into our lives." Queen Trinity spoke lovingly like a mother, but full of worship and all the positive emotions one could imagine. "Because of you, the curse was broken—to a new delightful era, our Kingdom was awoken."
"Your Holiness."
The King and Queen of Highland bowed their heads in reverence and respect as they spoke in unison.
"For blessing us with a chance to experience parenthood, we are forever indebted. For giving us this new life, we are forever indebted."
Sylvester stood up, accepting their gratitude with a somewhat heavy heart. 'For such life, I wasn't fated. I'm glad that for these two, such blessings could be created.'
"No need to feel indebted, Your Majesty." Sylvester used light magic from his palm to make them feel warmth and raise their heads. "Let's rejoice together that we could overcome the tragedy."
No words were needed to declare the end of the dinner. So, Sylvester decided to begin a serious meeting regarding the war and mysteries of the Church.
"I believe we should head to your solar, Your Majesty,"
"Indeed." King Highland looked at Rex. "Go to your room and rest."
"But! I wanna talk seriously too."
Sylvester patted the boy's shoulder. "Rex, there are things that can get you killed just for knowing them. Unless you're strong enough to protect yourself and the kingdom, don't involve yourself in anything serious—like today."
Heeding his idol's words, Rex dejectedly nodded. "Understood, Godfather."
"Let's go." King Highland led the way.
Knock! Knock!
However, a Royal Knight appeared right as they left the dining hall. "Your Majesty! Lord Einarr of Blackhart has arrived."
King Highland looked at Sylvester for a response.
"Let him join us—I have a surprise for him."
Thank you for reading. GT votes are much appreciated.
