"Tell me more." Dyon ignored the screams of Minister Brodaya, focusing his attention, instead, on the fake.
He was quite intrigued by Luna's elder sister, Queen Laura. It seemed that this woman was pulling the strings. Although this may seem like a rushed conclusion, Dyon had multiple reasons to believe this.
The main reason was the characteristics of the current King. According to the detailed reports that Dyon had received, the Angel Clan had had interactions with him before.
As a subordinate clan, they were, of course, obligated to attend the wedding of Queen Laura to her current husband. One had to say that the humiliation that the Angel Clan sustained during those few days was not a small amount. It was even to the point where he blatantly flirted with Queen Luna in the presence of both Dyon's current body and his wife to be, Laura.
The previous owner of Dyon's current body was forced to endure. Firstly, because with his father dead, the Angel Clan had fallen in status. The second reason was actually because of Queen Luna herself.
Coming to this point, flashes of memories entered Dyon's mind as he triggered more of them.
He remembered Queen Luna acting extremely respectful and almost subservient, despite being in the presence of her husband.
Dyon knew that with his personality, he would never allow something like this to happen. Even if it meant offending the Moon clan and warring, he would rather die than allow another man to freely treat his own woman as he pleased.
The truth of the matter was that if Queen Luna hadn't acted as she did, the outcome would have been very different. Despite her previous husband's cowardice, he was head over heals in love. If she showed dissatisfaction, he would act. And yet, she chose not to.
Dyon decided to keep this observation in the back of his mind. But, the more he learned, the colder Luna's place in his heart became. It was likely that if Dyon knew that Luna had promised herself to that King, he would dispel her from his heart completely.
No matter how the trial affected Dyon's feelings, his personality was still his own. With how arrogant and prideful he was, would he accept such a treatment? He had no intentions of being played a fool.
Ironically, this was likely the very change in Dyon that made Luna see him in a completely different light.
That aside, how could a King with such a personality – one with complete lack of regard for proper etiquette and diplomacy have the patience to wait decades before attacking?
Somehow, this greedy King with powerful backing, saw a woman he liked in Luna, and yet waited before taking her?
The cold light that flashed in Dyon's eyes when this memory surfaced in his mind caused the fake to tremble and not dare to be slow in answering his question.
"DON'T TELL THIS MONSTER A DAMN THING!"
Dyon sighed as the fake was interrupted by the still writhing Minister Brodaya.
It wasn't as though Dyon couldn't guess why he was angry. If one thought logically, Minister Brodaya was mad that his son had died and for some reason, blamed him. Clearly, that meant that for some reason or another, he believed it was Dyon's fault that his son was forced into his scouting position and therefore his fault that he died.
Even the world's worst fool would find such reasoning ridiculous. So, Dyon knew that there was likely more to this story. "Dyon" had to have had a stronger role to play in this minister's son's displacement.
Dyon did find it odd that a man from such a prominent family would be a scout, though. Not only was Michael from a major family, he was also, clearly, very loved by his father. To have the doting of a dao formation expert from birth wasn't something to look down upon. In fact, it was luck beyond belief. By all rights, this young man should have had a much more prominent role.
Minister Brodaya sobbed, seeming like a broken man. His soul was close to giving in, so he just spoke. After all, Dyon's question was very broad, as long as Brodaya felt that he was answering it, the pain would lessen. However, if he tried to attack Dyon again, there would only be more pain.
"My son… My son…" Minister Brodaya's words choked.
Dyon decided to listen silently, signaling for the fake to remain quiet for now.
Even before Brodaya began to speak, another flood of memories was triggered, causing Dyon's anger to raise to another level.
'This bullshit King.' Dyon grit his teeth, reaching a moral dilemma.
Michael used to be a member of Dyon's personal guard, among his most trusted. However, the problem was that he fell in love with Amphorae.
Under normal circumstances, these feelings would be buried, avoiding a Lancelot situation. After all, in reality, Dyon was his King and best friend of decades. In addition, Amphorae had only ever had eyes for one man her entire life.
The problem was that Dyon practically treated Amphorae like dirt. His treatment of her made it impossible for Michael to bury his feelings, even causing them to fester.
In the end, he couldn't take it anymore and tried to break Amphorae out to give her a life she deserved. Unfortunately, Amphorae wasn't swayed and was completely duty bound.
Feeling guilty, Michael confessed his crimes to Dyon, and insisted on being punished. As such, he was banished….
It was no wonder Minister Brodaya hated Dyon. This was all the fault of him.
Dyon didn't, not even for an instant, blame Michael. And, in truth, neither did the previous owner of this body. If it wasn't for Michael's insistence, Dyon would have pretended like it hadn't happened at all. However, this was something that only Dyon and Michael knew… To everyone else, Michael was sent away in a fit of his own anger.
Now that Michael was dead, even if Dyon told this story, it was hard to say how many would believe him. It would only seem like he was trying to cover his own tracks doing such a thing.
From these memories, Dyon realized two things.
For one, Michael was banished. Therefore, Dyon was wrong about him being a scout. He likely just caught wind of something he shouldn't have and ignored his banishment to rush back to the clan to inform them.
Secondly, the reports he asked for weren't perfect. Not a single one had anything about these events within their pages. That meant that, in all likelihood, this was something the previous King had ordered to never be talked about again. Or else the ministers who put together the report would have never missed something so important.
So, the question was whether or not there were any other things of importance that were left off of the reports. It seemed Dyon needed to be wary. He was too naïve in believing he would receive a perfect accounting.
At the moment though, Dyon ignored this. He was facing his first major dilemma as a King. Before, everything had been smooth and logical, one plan just made sense in flowing into the next. However, now, he was dealing with emotions much too complex to make a quick and assertive decision on.
On one hand, Minister Brodaya had to be made an example of. He was a member of the upper echelon of their society. If he could break the rules and get away with it, what kind of precedent would that set?
On the other hand, Brodaya had every right to blame him. This King was much too incompetent. He couldn't even understand the feelings of those closest to him, how could he understand the feelings of the people he ruled then?
Luckily, though, it seemed Amphorae wasn't willing to allow Dyon to carry this burden all on his own. She didn't ask Dyon for permission to speak. Much like a real Queen, she simply stepped in when she deemed it appropriate, causing Dyon to inwardly nod with satisfaction. The Amphorae of a day ago would definitely not have done this. It was clear she wanted to take this opportunity to place a stamp on the hearts of the ministers before Dyon left.
"As a father," she began, "it is important for you to protect your son. As a family head, it is important for you to protect your honor."
Minister Brodaya looked up at Amphorae with complex emotions, it was likely, and maybe irrationally, that the person he hated the third most in this world was Amphorae. The first was Dyon. The second was Luna. And the third was her.
To him, if Amphorae had accepted his son's invitation, how could his son be dead now? Instead, she decided to side with an inferior man. Was his son not good enough?
"However," Amphorae's eyes became sharp, radiating the Presence of a Queen, "You've failed in both aspects."
Minister Brodaya's feature twisted with an ugly expression.
The minsters were shocked by her words. Many of them thought that Amphorae would take a softer approach. After all, many of them had deeply engrained biases against women. They knew that Amphorae had a cold exterior, but did that also come with a strong heart?
Dyon couldn't help but shake his head in disdain for such thoughts. Amphorae weathered through humiliation for decades, all in the name of doing her duty – a duty she was born into and had no choice about. And yet, in the face of temptation, in the face of a better man and a better life, she turned it all down.
With Michael's talent, how could they not flourish elsewhere in the universe? With her talent, how could she not be a pillar to his growth? Together, they could have become something great. Yet, Amphorae turned it all down for the life of a humiliated and neglected concubine.
If anyone had the rights to say the words she was saying, it was her.
"Michael was young and naïve. He was kind hearted, and thought what he was doing was for the best. However, the truth of the matter was that he was blinded by his emotion, something that you, as an elder, should have been able to help him through.
"And yet, not only were you not there for him to avoid this mistake of his, you actually tarnish his memory by betraying the people he so fervently wanted to protect?
"You've failed as a father by not understanding the heart of your son. And you've failed as a clan head by not protecting the honor of your family? Is this what you wanted? For the successor of the Brodaya family to be dead and for its current head to be labeled as a traitor?
"Tell me, how is it that you haven't failed?"
Silence reigned over the throne room…
