Chapter 39 - History Of The Heart Kingdom

After five minutes, he was escorted out of the back gate and was left to stand there. The guards that were escorting him then removed the cloth that was covering his head and headed back in. "We wish you good luck on your journey", they said. Lucas nodded his head and looked around. "Should I go do some more farming? Oh wait, I must register as an Adventurer", he remembered.

He then walked out from the back and saw the crowd still standing outside of the castle. "Now how do I get past this, and go to the Adventurer's Guild? And where is that guild anyway?", he contemplated as he looked at the crowd. Just as he was about to do something, a man from among the crowd began to talk.

"It seems that the Prince has been sent. We will find out who he is. He must be among us. Search for him!", he said. There was a chuckle in his head. "What's so funny about this situation?", asked Lucas. A shrugging emoji popped up on his screen. "Are you kidding me?", he whispered harshly.

Valentine was enjoying the look on Lucas's face. "Kid, they will hunt you, and find you. And when they do", he paused and began to chuckle again. "Did the Kingdom mistreat them? Is that why they are waiting for me to come out? To exact their revenge?", he thought. "Kid, The Heart Kingdom is one of the best kingdoms out there", he paused.

"To err is to be human. But to learn from that err is what makes The Heart Kingdom stand for all this time. Why do you think there has never been a coup?", he asked, his voice filled with pride. "For all this talk, you haven't come up with a solution for me to get out of this mess", Lucas scoffed back.

Valentine shut his mouth and just watched. Lucas was thinking hard. "Crowd control. But how do I do that?", he thought. "Or maybe, I should just tell the truth", he voiced out loud. "Truly interesting", said Valentine. "What truth?", asked someone next to him.

"When did I enter the crowd? It seems like I just kept on walking into the crowd as I was thinking. Let's use this to my advantage", he smiled. "I saw someone run that way. It must be the Third Prince", he said with a straight face. "The Third Prince has gone that way! EVERYONE, THE HUNT BEGINS!", said the man as he ran towards the direction Lucas pointed.

"The hunt?", he thought. Valentine began to explain. "This is kind of like a test, to see how much you can blend into this society. 'Commoners', as these royals have termed them, are nothing but human. Like us. But yet, they are despised by many of the nobles within this Kingdom. Do you know why?', he asked.

As a Prince himself, he knew why they were treated that way. "Pride. Arrogance. There are a lot of other factors, but these two are the biggest ones", he replied. "Correct. And do you know why this tradition started in the first place?", he asked. Lucas nodded his head as he began.

"It is said that our Ancestor, that is the one before the First Ancestor, was a commoner and he dreamt of becoming someone of importance every day. But the King that was ruling at that time, had only one rule. To overthrow him, one must defeat him in two out of three battles. One, a battle of combat. Two, a battle of the mind. And three, a battle of favorability", he stopped.

He pondered for a bit as he recalled. "It was quite an ingenious plan indeed. No one would be able to usurp or stage a coup d'etat. Everyone must defeat the King. He also had one month in which he took the challenges. His strategy was solid, but he was not a good ruler. He overcharged taxes, extorted from the poor, and turned the rich, richer". Valentine was listening keenly. "Seems like this kid has been taught good. Didn't know that Father's story would get passed down", he thought.

"Then, one day, Ancestor challenged the King, hoping to win. He was not a very exceptional warrior in combat, and thus lost to The King. In the battle of wits, and that was, a game of chess, The King was defeated for the first time. He was never defeated when it came to wits. And then came the battle of favorability. The King always gave one week to gain some Favorability to be just".

"Ancestor began from the bottom. The people hated the current King to their very cores. He convinced them and made a promise. That when he became King, he will slowly but surely change this place. He never used captivating words. What he used instead was the truth. The truth against a person".

"Slowly, people who hated him began to gather behind him. The population was split into 78:22 percentage. Ancestor never stopped preaching. Wherever there were people who needed help, he ran. For places he couldn't reach, he sent someone from his supporters. He slowly began to gain popularity".

"When five days had passed, one of the loyal people to the King had informed him of the situation. The King was furious to see that his people, or to be said better, his money vending machines were being lost. He ordered the assassination of our Ancestor".

"Ancestor found out about this, and he wanted to sniff out this rat. He went about his everyday duties and when nightfall came, he ordered every one of his followers to stay inside their houses securely. The man who was their informant made his way towards our Ancestor, asking him to follow him".

"As Ancestor had caught wind, he didn't hesitate. He hid some weapons inside of his clothes and went to the place. He fought with the assassin bravely and defeated him in combat. He tied both of them up, and when the next day arrived, it was the last day of the week. Ancestor gathered up his followers and stood upon a makeshift stage made for him".

"We have taken our steps towards our victory. The King is scared of losing his position. He has sent me a present, and I shall show you this present", said our Ancestor as he brought up the assassin to the Stage. Everyone was shocked to see that. "This is the gift from The King, An Assassin to murder me", announced out Ancestor to the crowd", now Lucas had sparkles come out of his eyes.

"Ancestor is so cool", he thought as he continued the story. "The crowd gasped. The Ancestor then addressed them. "Oh people who have followed me. Oh people who have pledged allegiance to me. Oh, people, who are sick of this regime. What shall we do about this present that has been sent to us?", said Ancestor. The crowd murmured for a while. And someone said, "Kill him". The crowd began to chant".

"Ancestor raised his hand in the air, stopping the chants. "As my life was trying to be taken, I have the right to claim his life. But what kind of person am I? We are going to make history. This will be a tale for the ages to come. I hereby", paused Ancestor. The crowd was anticipating in eagerness. "Announce that this Assassin shall be spared. I shall not take his life. However, you are to serve me and me alone for the rest of the ages to come. You and your next seven generations", announced Ancestor to the anticipating crowd".

"The crowd gasped. The Assassin swore allegiance to our Ancestor, becoming a major part of the arsenal of The Heart Kingdom. The traitor among them was brought forth. "This man here has betrayed our trust. This man has been working with the King to bring us down from the inside. If you want proof, my people. The Assassin will inform you", announced Ancestor again".

"It is true. I was ordered by The King to assassinate him. And the person of contact given to me was this man right here", he said as he pulled out a picture of the man, and behind were written the words, 'Contact this man for further info'. The crowd gasped, shaken to the core. "Traitors shall not be tolerated. For traitors, are what begins the fall of this kingdom", he paused. He took a deep breath. "And with a heavy heart, I announce this man to be executed, effective immediately".

"There is nothing to right my wrong, for I have betrayed your trust. But could you grant me one last request? As my dying wish?", asked the man. "State your request", he said. "I want you to save my family from that man. That Vicious King. Threatening me with my wife and kids. Save them, and if possible, please take care of them", he said. Ancestor lowered his sword and stopped the execution".

"He then announced that the execution has been temporarily postponed to a later date, to confirm the news that his family was indeed, being held hostage by The King. The next day came and it was the day to count the supporters. Now, Ancestor had gained 75:25 percent of popularity in just a week with his skills and intellect. Ancestor won and found out that what the man said was indeed true".

"He called the people around, and announced that the man had been wronged, and to right his wrong, he will be given a second chance. The Ancestor then was crowned king and changed the name of the Kingdom. "From henceforth, this Kingdom shall be reborn. And as the first step, we will give a new name. This Kingdom shall be known as 'The Heart Kingdom'", he announced.

"For The Heart Kingdom!", he cheered. "FOR THE HEART KINGDOM!", chanted the crowd.. And that was how this kingdom was born", finished Lucas.