Silence prevailed after this declaration. The only source of noise was Sol, lightly tapping his finger on the table as he closed his eyes.
Even though the information Milia gave him was quite shocking, it wasn't as if he hadn't been prepared for something like this. There were simply too many clues.
Milia’s shadow abilities that shouldn't be possible for a cow woman, the weird mixed odor the fingers had, the revolution that changed the Crown's hound into the crown's shadow, and many others little action or words of the like.
Though, knowing that the cause was his grandfather was quite distressing.
At the same time, Sol couldn't help but feel heartache at the situation.
He didn't know what kind of experiment they went through, but the fact that only ten out of two hundreds survived was enough to understand that it wasn't pleasant.
Milia meanwhile did her best to hide her trembling hands. Remembering the event of those times wasn't particularly pleasing. Most of them had become broken one way or another.
She was also fearing Sol's reaction. She knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't discriminate against her because of this, but it still didn't stop her from worrying.
It was then that she felt something warm around her hand.
Looking at the side, she could see Sol holding her hand in her and giving her a reassuring smile.
This helped her calm her wildly beating heart.
Once he was sure that she was calm enough, Sol stood up before addressing the others.
"I know that what I am about to say is, in the grand scheme of things, quite meaningless. Still, in the name of the royal family, I would like to express my greatest apologies."
Saying so, he bowed down, giving them quite a shock. Aside from Milia and Ketia, most of them still had some grudge against the kingdom. Even though Mars saved them back then and got their allegiance to the kingdom, they were loyal to him. Not the kingdom.
Seeing him bow like this, even though as he said it didn't alleviate their pains and suffering, they had to admit that it somewhat calmed down the grudge in their hearts.
Raising himself, Sol continued, "I know it cannot help much and that no amount of reward could pay back what you went through, but if you have any demands, I would like to hear it. I will endeavor to realize them."
Milia and the other four looked at each other, Edgar finally spoke. "Your highness. Our loyalty lay with you, and therefore this kingdom. As long as you promise that no such brutality will ever happen in your time, our blades will be for you to wield."
This time, Edgar didn't have his usually flippant attitude. This was something very important for them. They knew that anything could happen in the future. But they also knew that as a hybrid, Sol's lifespan was exponentially longer than most humans. As long as nothing happened, he would without a doubt live for a few generations.
Sol didn't hesitate to promise. Even if they hadn't asked him, he would have done so. Sol didn't fancy himself the ally of justice, but there were some limits he wasn't willing to cross.
The previously tense atmosphere somewhat settled down, of course, trust didn't suddenly bloom between them all. He wasn't like a certain blond-haired ninja who could make the greatest villains sacrifice themselves for them just after speaking for five minutes.
Trust was something that needed time to form, but at least with his words, Sol took the first step.
Thinking about that, he looked once again toward Milia, "You don't have to continue, you know? I can hear the rest later."
He knew he couldn't even begin to guess how she felt currently and didn't want to make her feel even worse.
Milia smiled bitterly, "If you permit, I will go into the details with you later. So I will simply resume the rest of the situation."
Saying so, her expression became a little soft, "As you know, I was once married. My husband was also a cowman. Eric. Though we nicknamed him bull. Of course, even though I call him husband, it wasn't as if we had some true ceremony. He was one of the survivors. Sadly,"
Her expression became dark, "The other four wanted to continue the experiments. Even though they knew how horrifying it was, they thought that it was the next step to evolution. The best way to surpass everything before us. My husband was a good man, but he was also quite naive, and I guess he couldn't support that I was actually stronger than him. His naivety and his jealousy were his downfalls."
She closed her eyes before opening them again, even though they were slightly red, no tear could be seen in them. She had already cried enough long ago.
"I killed him. I killed them all. At that time his majesty was already dead, and you were only 3 years old."
She tried to give a smile, though, with her current expression, it looked more like an ugly grimace than anything else. That day, she had nearly broken.
No, she was already broken before that. This event simply broke her further.
Sol's mind jostled, he remembered something hazy. Even though he was a reincarnator, he wasn't born with his full mental capacity. The brain of a baby simply wasn't developed enough to handle so much information.
Standing up, he hugged Milia tightly. She hesitated a little before finally returning his hug.
Looking at them like this, none of them had the heart to break them apart. Edgar in particular had a somewhat relieved expression.
He had always respected Milia. When they were all suffering, she had been the one to stand up for them. When she knew they were at the edge, she would make a fuss and be punished just so that they could be better treated.
Edgar did not doubt that, if not for her, there wouldn't have been ten survivors, but only one.
That's why he had always been against her infatuation with Sol. After all, he was a royalty. While Milia was just his servant. He didn't really believe she would be treated as she should.
He had to admit that he was also somewhat jealous. Not because of any romantic feelings, but because Sol was able to make her smile when all they could, was bring more burden to her.
Standing up, he clapped a little to get everyone's attention and said, "Your highness, I suggest that we stop here for today, I think everyone's emotions are quite raw right now. What's more, we already briefed our subordinates about the operation that might happen tomorrow. In the meantime. What do you think?"
He adjusted his monocle as he said this. Sol, understanding the considerations simply nodded before leading a silent Milia away.
Sometimes, words were not necessary to express gratitude.
Once they left, Edgar sighed before sitting back.
Aria, who has been holding her smoking pipe lit it up with a weak fire spell and inhaled deeply before exhaling the smoke,
"So, what do you guys think?"
Her previous flirtatious expression was nowhere to be seen. Despite being the chief of a prostitute den, she was not one herself, and in fact, did not even like men.
Ketia looked at the three and said calmly, "He isn't as kind as his father was, but I do not think this will be a cause of worry. He really loves Milia as you can see."
"Bull also loved Milia, it didn't stop him from betraying us."
The murmur of Berthold caused the atmosphere to tense a little.
Aria took another puff before saying, "Love and so does not matter. The prince's talent is without a doubt as much as his majesty, if not more. As such, he has no reason to feel jealous or inferior like Bull or like the Puppet King."
The others nodded, but Berthold continued, "Are you sure he is as talented as his majesty? We do not know his overall Capacity. What if he is like Lilith and unable to make contracts?"
This time Ketia frowned, "What does it matter? Even if he doesn't reach the level of his father, he is without a doubt extremely talented. What's more, Queen Lilith proved that even without enough Capacity, one could reach great heights with just martial art."
Berthold shrugged and gave a calm smile, "I have nothing against the prince. I just do not want us to take a stand just after meeting him once."
Aria nodded, "Well, you are indeed right. Talented or not, the prince is still a half-dragon. In terms of authority alone, he would be equal to a prince or a princess if he was in the elf country. So, we should avoid getting on his bad side."
Saying so, she turned toward Ketia, "So, did you inspect the elf who followed the princess? What do you think?"
"I do not think she is a piece sent by the elves. It seems like she is really just a friend of the princess. Still, we should be careful. Even though her background didn't seem high, people showed an odd amount of respect to her."
"Should we rough her up a little?"
Ketia shook her head at Edgar's question, "No matter what, she is still the friend of the princess. What's more, even if she is a piece, she would hold no ill feelings toward the prince."
"Well, then we will trust you. I guess now we should go prepare."
Aria stood up and was about to leave when she suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, did we get information on the blue wolf slave the Gorfard's heir has?"
Edgar showed some confusion as he answered, "This is something weird. She isn't an official slave, but we couldn't find in which black market she was bought. Well, it isn't that important. She is just a slave, so she shouldn't affect the grand scheme of things. We will be able to save her and all the others soon."
Saying so, he also got and began to leave. Berthold, who was still smiling, followed.
This was how the meeting came to an end.
