Due to the urgent situation, a huge force was dispatched by the Church to accompany Athena.
When the forces of the Churches appeared, they were greeted by a huge lineup of Knights of Leonhart emitting an intimidating pressure.
In between crossroads, two lines of forces came to face off against each other.
The group of paladins were surprised by such a greeting.
On one side stood Paladins wearing golden armour shining brightly headed by a silver-haired youth giving a menacing gaze and confronting them, Alex stood followed by his Knights wearing silver armour.
From afar, it looked like two forces were going to clash against each other brutally at any moment.
The tension in the air was at its peak, which made the people watching from afar sweat profusely.
Bassie, who was in charge of organising things, glanced at Morderk and whispered "Why do we need to receive them like this? It looked as if His Majesty was trying to oppress them and show them his strength."
"Bassie, you are too young to understand. It's physiological warfare. His Majesty, need to put up a front.'
Bassie's expression is distorted.
'Young! You are calling me young. Are you drunk?'Bassie wanted to scream but he kept his act together.
" By the way, shouldn't you stand beside His Majesty," Bassie asked, giving Morderk a weird look.
"I.....I was thrown out. He said I don't look good in body armour." Morderk spoke, turning his gaze away and trying to stop his tears from falling.
Alex greeted the silver-haired man and raised his hand for a shake.
"Nice to meet you, King Alex!"
"Nice to meet you too, Holy Son Adam," Alex spoke, trying to squeeze out a smile.
Alex raised his brows a little as he saw Adam squeezing his hand tightly as if he wanted to prove his superiority.
Alex had digged a bit into this guy's past, he was one of Athena's followers and he tried his best to cancel Athena's marriage and even opposed the Emperor, only to end up getting punished for three months of self-reflection and was forced to make a pilgrimage to other Empires.
He had returned recently and as soon as he heard about Athena, he decided to put forward his name in the current task.
If not for Alex's inability to use the power of divinity and light elements, Alex would have accompanied Athena as the Holy Son but he can't in his present state.
"Holy Son Adam, it seems you are quite tough," Alex spoke with a smile and clenched Adam's hand.
Crack!
A faint crackling sound echoed which turned the entire atmosphere to come to standstill.
Adam, breathing stopped for a moment and his expression became contorted as if he stepped on some shit.
He opened his mouth but no words came out of it for a moment.
"Did I hear something cracking up?" Alex asked, pulling his hands.
"It might be your imagination, King Alex."
The gentle smile still didn't leave Adam's face except for the fact, he seemed to be biting his lips to suppress the pain.
"Early Epic rank,19 years, soon to be 20. You have a great future ahead alas you have to stay in the academy to learn etiquettes as a punishment for bad conduct otherwise your deeds of bravery may ring throughout the Kinley." Adam spoke with a mocking smile.
Alex knew that he was ridiculing him for being forced to attend the academy but he couldn't hit a man straight and had to play with the words.
That's why he hates political battles where you have to use your words to get out of trouble.
If it came to fighting, this guy would already be done by the time he opened his lips to spout bullshit.
"Early Transcendental Rank at 26 years bad Not bad."
"The deeds of glory you have performed for which you have sent on a journey have spread far and wide," Alex spoke with a smile.
The Priest standing behind Adam frowned a little.
Adam had been inactive and they could get the subtle meaning underlying Alex's words.
Everyone could see sparks flying between Alex and Adam as both started to battle verbally but it stopped due to the entry of the main character.
Athena, wearing a white noble gown with a small crown on her head, walked towards the frontline and was followed by Alex's wife.
Adam along with the Priest and Paladins bowed their heads on Athena's entry.
Before Alex could step up, like a dog Adam stepped forward and bowed to one knee before Athena.
"Saintess."
A gentle voice escaped from his lips as he extended his hand to take Athena's hand and kiss the back of her hand according to noble courtesy.
But his hands stopped in the middle as Athena's hand was snatched by a wolf glaring at him.
"Ex Saintess."
"Holy Son, please mind your words otherwise many would misunderstand."
"Moreover, she is now the Queen of Leonhart."
"I apologise for addressing her wrongly but King Alex can you stop interrupting me from greeting her, "Adam spoke, raising his eyes and staring at Alex viciously.
"It is normal for you to not know about my wife. She is germaphobic. Except for me, and some others she feels repulsed by others' touch. So, please don't make it difficult for her." As soon as Alex's words fell everyone's gaze fell on Athena.
They knew Athena very well, how can a lady like her who devoted her time to helping the sick and needy be germophobic but was there anyone brave enough to voice out their words?
"But I remember, she wasn't before?" Adam asked with surprise.
"She had developed it after marrying me due to other men trying to woo her," Alex replied with an icy gaze.
Even Athena was perplexed for a moment and taken aback by Alex's comment.
She could feel Alex's hand clutching her wrist tightly while his eyes conveyed that he was reluctant to part with her in this way.
Athena smiled a little as he saw jealousy in Alex's eyes.
Adam coughed awkwardly and got up and asked for an apology.
"Sorry, Highness Athena, I didn't know about it."
He knew it was a lie but what can he say about it in front of everyone?
Alex turned towards Athena and spoke, "Athena take care, don't work too much."
"You have already become thin, I don't know why the Church makes you work so much despite your poor health." Alex shed false tears.
"I will take care of myself," Athena spoke with an elegant smile.
Alex nodded and kissed her forehead and glared at Adam indicating him.
'Did you see, she is mine? She already had my stamp on her.'
Athena raised her chin and whispered to Alex's ears" I am going to play a prank on Yvonne. Be prepared to face her wrath."
Athena pulled away and walked forward towards the carriage with other Priestess assistance and soon the carriage was followed by Paladins disappearing from Alex's sight.
Catherine, who stood beside Alex, asked with an uneasy tone, "Will she be alright?"
"Hmmph!" Alex snorted and spoke.
"It would already be good enough if Adam didn't cry tears of blood after trying to approach her."
"Instead of worrying about her, you should worry about that punk Adam."
"All my wives are strong enough to take care of themselves."
