Grand Entrance

Watching the group of beautiful servants exit the Fourth Prince's room, all of the medicinal doctors, except for Winfred himself, had hints of desire in their eyes.

Nevertheless, they also knew that His Majesty intentionally assigned such beauties to serve the Fourth Prince for obvious reasons.

Therefore, unless they wanted to offend the Royal Family, none of them would ever dare touch a female of the Royal Palace; even if they were just mere servants.

Once all the servants had left, Winfred took the lead by re-entering the Fourth Prince's room. Although all of the other doctors followed suit after, what greeted their eyes was Winfred's surprised look.

Upon witnessing the appearance of the Young Prince, all of them instantly became confused as well.

Aside from his royal attire, the Fourth Prince had a magnificent complexion that could make even the most beautiful of women jealous.

In fact, if they hadn't treated the prince themselves, they would have never believed that the Fourth Prince was ever ill in the first place.

"...Ahem." Vayle interrupted the medicinal doctor's sudden staring contest.

"..Ah." Winfred was the first to end his daze. "Young Prince, I must honestly say that your recovery seeks no bounds. It's as if your health is even better than before."

Without hesitation, all of the doctors subsequently nodded in agreement. The results, despite being quite wonderful, were simply too shocking for their minds to fully process.

"Hm, perhaps it was your meticulous care and my own good fortune that led to this miracle." Vayle lightly smirked. Even though the medicinal doctors were surprised, he wouldn't bother refuting them.

"Now that I have made a full recovery, I believe it would be best for me to see my father immediately." Vayle continued speaking in a crystal-clear voice.

"Since my mind is still blurry, my knowledge on where to go is nonexistent. Therefore, I ask that you please guide me."

"Of course." Winfred did not hesitate to accept and respectfully bowed.

The other doctors, despite being overly excited, quickly made way upon seeing the Fourth Prince walking forward.

Once he passed them all, Winfred quickly walked toward the right side of Vayle and began explaining the structure of the Royal Palace.

At the same time, all of the other medicinal doctors respectfully followed.

Even though the Young Fourth Prince appeared to be incredibly healthy on the outside, they still had growing suspicions on his mental health. Amnesia wasn't a joking matter.

After exiting the room, the entire group casually walked through the palace halls without restraint.

During that period, Vayle continued asking questions on nearly everything that caught his curiosity.

Innocent as this may seem, from the perspective of the doctors, it looked as if the Fourth Prince forgot a great deal of common knowledge.

Winfred, of whom was answering all the prince's questions, had already come to the conclusion that the Fourth Prince suffered some sort of mental damage that affected his memories.

Soon enough, all of the remaining doctors inevitably reached similar conclusions.

None of them were really surprised by this conclusion though.

Seven days of constant treatment have led them to believe that, even though he was practically glowing with health on the outside, it would be foolish to assume that there were no residual ailments on the inside.

Therefore, unless ordered otherwise, all of the other doctors didn't dare to leave and continued following both Winfred and the Young Prince.

Should the prince suddenly have an unexpected health episode, they were all prepared to take appropriate action.

Although their intentions were earnest, from the perspective of the guards and servants that they passed, their high-class attire made them look no different than a noble's entourage.

After walking through multiple grand halls and passing countless noble people, of whom expressed shocked and fawning faces, the entire group finally reached the entrance to the Royal Throne Room.

Encompassed with gold and showered by red, the grand doors were exceedingly luxurious and undeniably huge. At this time, these doors were currently secured by a squad of twenty-five heavily armored Royal Guards.

With ten guards inside and fifteen guards outside, this squad formed two layers of protection that completely blocked access to the throne room doors.

Although the Royal Guards had long noticed a group of nobles approaching, they didn't let their senses dull in the slightest.

In fact, they became growingly attentive upon realizing that this group was obviously approaching the Royal Throne Room.

After noticing a single important character, all of these guards changed expressions quickly.

Caution turned into shock before finally developing into both joy and deep respect.

Once the group got closer, all of these powerful guards quickly kneeled down on one foot while speaking up in unison, "We pay our respects to the Young Fourth Prince!"

Although their words were loud, it was nowhere near enough to reach the ears of the nobles that were presently within the throne room.

Since a great deal of important discussion occurs there, it is a given that the throne room was made virtually sound-proof.

As to avoid undesirable issues, certain protective measures were taken to counter the flaws of a sound-proof room.

As he witnessed the courtesy of the Royal Guard, Vayle couldn't help himself from breaking into a light smile.

Beside him, Winfred's face was also full of smiles.

In fact, despite being unable to see it, both of them could somehow sense that the medicinal doctor's behind them were also bearing bright smiles.

After a few short seconds had passed, Vayle calmly spoke in a dignified tone, "Rise."

All of the guards respectfully brought themselves back up while slightly bowing their heads. By this point in time, each of them could already guess why the Fourth Prince was here.

As to not be disrespectful, none of them dared to move without listening to the prince's intentions first.

"Ha-ha." Vayle lightly chuckled as he looked at the Royal Guards. "As all of you have probably guessed by now, I am here to meet my father, the Imperial Emperor. Although it appears that this may not be the best of times, I hope that all of you will still open these doors for me."

At the end of these words, Vayle intentionally let out several hints of intimidation.

Naturally, given their keen senses, all of the Royal Guards quickly realized that this was more of an order rather than a request.

Therefore, without sparing a second thought, several guards quickly walked up to the throne room doors, unlocked them, and positioned themselves accordingly.

As Vayle walked forward, the guards started to gradually push the doors open.

***

[A few minutes before Vayle woke up.]

The Royal Throne Room was large enough to comfortably hold over a thousand people.

To the left and right of the throne room were modestly decorated pillars made of both gold and silver.

The floors were composed of high-class marble while every thread of cloth in the room was nothing less than pure silk.

At the farthest point in the room was a wide, low-rise stairway that was beautifully engraved with dragon-styled edges.

Although it was only twenty steps at most, each step was enough to make even the most vicious generals lower their head down in respect.

At the end of this stairway was a moderately sized marble platform that stood as the foundation for the Royal Throne itself!

Instead of just one, there were actually a total of five. Although these thrones were evenly spaced, each one had a different size.

At this very moment in time, the largest of these five thrones was occupied by a middle-aged man in his early fifties. Despite showing visible signs of age, his azure eyes were still sharp and the aura he emitted was even sharper.

Dressed in a pure crimson robe with gold trimmings, of which was also adorned with an obsidian emblem, his grandeur was undeniable.

Aside from his partially grey beard, his most noticeable aspect was the illustrious crown that rested on his head.

This man was none other than the King of the Obsidian Kingdom!

Aside from him, there were no others on the elevated portion of the Royal Throne Room.

Throughout the rest of the throne room, there were roughly eighty nobles present and over a hundred Royal Guards remaining on standby.

All of the nobles were constantly discussing important issues at the center of the room while the guards patiently stood around the sides of the room.

Since time was of the essence, every noble was vigorously trying to solidify their own point of view before the King called for a consensus.

The Royal Guards could care less about such political matters and focused solely on their duties.

As for the King, ever since it was confirmed that the Second and Third Princes were both dead, his mind was filled to the brim with grief. Nevertheless, to avoid showing any signs of weakness, he maintained an air of indifference while patiently watching the nobles argue between each other.

"Given our tensions with the Azure Cloud Kingdom, it would be best to close down our northern ports immediately!" One of the middle-aged nobles spoke up.

"Nonsense! Without the trade from those ports, our kingdom's resources will fall into an even deeper deficiency!" Another noble clearly refuted.

"Besides, even if the Azure Cloud Kingdom concentrated their naval forces, they wouldn't dare attack since our northern ports are an important trading hub for their merchant fleets as well."

"Hmph. In all of our history, the northern territories have never posed a real threat." A young noble arrogantly spoke.

"If anything, our concerns should be focused on the East! The Heavenly Star Kingdom has recently been getting out of hand with their foreign policies. In fact, their new generation of aristocracy is so conceited that it makes me look humble in comparison."

Upon listening to these words, nearly all of the surrounding nobles simply nodded in agreement.

Thinking that his point got across, the young noble quickly smiled.

However, all of the other nobles weren't necessarily agreeing on the Heavenly Star Kingdom being a threat. Rather, they were agreeing on the fact that the eastern nobles have been growing more arrogant.

The discussions continued as the King casually listened in. After fifteen minutes had passed, the King suddenly spoke out in a voice that reverberated throughout the entire Royal Throne Room, "Have you all reached a consensus yet?"

As these words faded, the bickering between nobles came to an abrupt halt. After a few short seconds, one of the elder nobles stepped forward and spoke in a respectful tone, "His Majesty need not worry. Our discussions have just reached a turning point. Therefore, with just a little bit more time, we will be able to provide a thorough agreement."

"So be it, then continue." The King immediately declared despite bearing a small frown on his face.

Almost immediately after receiving acknowledgement, all of the nobles returned toward their originally heated discussion.

Several minutes quickly passed and they were finally coming to an agreement on what issues should be prioritized.

Just as they were about to finally introduce these priorities to the King, the unlocking mechanism for the throne room's door could clearly be heard. Although the room was technically sound-proof, this was only under the condition that the throne room doors were completely locked and closed.

The moment that the throne room doors were unlocked, noise would be able to pass into and out of the room. In response to seeing the throne room doors suddenly unlock, the King went wide-eyed in surprise.

Unless it was an emergency, nobody would dare interrupt the King and nobles when a meeting was obviously in session. If it wasn't an emergency, then the only other reason would be that the castle has been invaded.

As for the nobles, they responded by rushing away from the throne room doors. Once they reached the edges of the stairway leading to the throne, each of them abruptly paused.

They wouldn't dare rush up these steps unless there was actual danger.

On the other hand, most of the Royal Guards did the complete opposite by rushing forward. The rest of the guards moved into a formation that was designed to closely protect both the nobles and the King.

As the throne room doors were gradually opening, all of the Royal Guards took combative stances and unsheathed their weapons.

Upon noticing that the ones pushing open the doors were also Royal Guards, everyone in the Royal Throne Room immediately grew confused. This confusion only lasted a few seconds because of a single figure that unhesitantly walked through the open doors.

His azure eyes were sharp and the aura he emitted was even sharper.

This resemblance instantly shook the minds of everyone in the throne room.

In addition, since he was dressed in a crimson silk robe with gold trimmings, of which also had an obsidian emblem, his formerly unknown identity was quickly confirmed.

Clearly, this person was none other than the Young Fourth Prince!

Immediately after seeing who it was, all of the formerly combat-ready Royal Guards quickly sheathed their weapons, dispersed from their formations, and fell down on their knees in respect.

In response, while gazing at the kneeling Royal Guards, Vayle spoke up in a perfectly clear tone, "All of you may rise. Since I am the one at fault, none of you will shoulder any blame." Vayle lightly smiled as he understood that many of the guards were confused.

As Vayle finished speaking, the group of medicinal doctors, of which included Winfred, respectfully entered the throne room as well.

By this point in time, all of the formerly scared nobles had already recovered. When they saw the group that was following the Fourth Prince, many of these well-tempered nobles couldn't help themselves from letting out ugly expressions.

Without giving any of them a chance to speak, Vayle walked forward with swift yet elegant strides.

Noticing the sudden change in pace, all of the Royal Guards politely stood up while all of the nobles immediately made way.

In several short moments, Vayle had already reached the stairs that led to the Royal Throne.

Halfway up these stairs, Vayle took a quick glance behind him and noticed that all of the medicinal doctors had abruptly stopped following him.

After quickly understanding why, Vayle gave an acknowledging nod before continuing up the steps.

Once he reached the top, he could sense a surge of warmth emanating from the person sitting on the centermost throne.

After walking several more steps, Vayle respectfully bowed and exclaimed, "Greetings, father. Please forgive your careless son for causing you needless worries."

Silence.

The emperor did not bother responding in words.

Rather, he stood up from his throne, walked forward, and softly looked down upon his last remaining son. From that point forward, time passed without anyone breaking the silence.

Curious as to what happened, Vayle couldn't help himself from finally looking up. Before him was the King of the Obsidian Kingdom.

However, all Vayle could see was the worn-torn wrinkles and soft tears of a relieved father.

"It is good to see that you are well." The King warmly spoke as he brought Vayle into a fatherly embrace.

Though Vayle was slightly stunned, he did not mind such a heartfelt first encounter.