Chapter 49 The King Of Findale

"Your Majesty, do not worry, it is not fully cooked yet." Sally suddenly said as she glared at the two beside her. "But they are very close to it. You can say the meat has been placed on the plate. It is just waiting to be swallowed."

Sally was trying to be subtle with how she spoke but this only caused Alice to laugh even harder and Vance's lips to twitch. He did not know why but every time he opened his mouth to speak to the king he always ended up saying something strange. But now Sally was not making things any better.

"Okay! Enough!" The king yelled out. His face looked quite sour at this point as he glared at Sally and Vance. "I understand you have a deeper relationship with my daughter than I had thought. But, since you have not fully crossed the line, this still enables her to be married to someone else of proper stature. So let me ask you. Will you be willing to leave my daughter if I gave you a million gold, a fief, and a noble title?"

"Umm? I do not mean to be rude here but are you dumb?" Vance asked. He could only think this king was truly dumb. "You asked such a question in front of Alice. Are you not worried she will come to hate you? Plus, who in their right mind would give up Alice? Look at how cute she is! Not to mention the thing she can do with her….."

"Enough! I do not need to know more!" The king's voice bellowed through the hall.

"Huh? I was talking about her bow. She is a natural archer." Vance continued, not caring for the warning looks he was getting from the king. He had already figured out that the king would not do anything to him, but now he had made the king's face begin to grow red. If it was anyone else, after all the things that have been said today since the conversation started, he would definitely think something dirty. But now…. He truly felt embarrassed!

"Enough! Sally, take Alice to the side room for tea. Have one of the guards test the tea before drinking it. Young man, come with me." The king stood up and walked towards a side room. Vance quickly followed behind him. Sally also did what she was told and took Alice into another room. They had already eased the air, so it should be fine. She was not worried about Vance.

Upon entering the room, Vance was told to sit down while the King sat behind his desk and folded his hands in front of him. "Now tell me. What are the odds of you getting evidence against my son Edward?"

"It really depends on him. From what I can tell, he was a little too anxious when Sally went to deliver a message to Alice's uncle. Sally killed three members of his guard. So he is lacking in resources at this time. Alice originally had multiple potions covering her identity, from looks down to even her voice. It's only been a day since she recovered her appearance. I think with how many he sent to keep an eye on us last night. He will make a move once he gets a chance. If anything, he might do it while Alice is outside the capital." Vance explained.

"Outside the capital? Why would she leave the capital?" The king asked.

"When this is over, we will be traveling the world. Right now, we are growing our strength so that we are not left unprepared for what is to come." Of course, Vance could not say he was going out to level. It would make things hard to explain.

"I see…" The king fell into silence before finally asking. "So Alice will become the bait?"

"She will, but this is also a perfect way of making sure we can capture someone who is willing to talk. Once we get one confession, we only need to raid his residence and find actual proof. After all, Alice and I can not just walk up to the lion's den. It would be too suspicious." Vance explained.

"Alright." The king let out a long deep sigh before saying: "Now, let's get down to the main situation. How far have you and my daughter gone?"

"Does it matter?" Vance asked. "I mean, for one, I would never force her to do anything she does not wish. Sally is at her side, so I am also outnumbered. So if I did something she did not like, I would probably not be sitting here. As long as your adult daughter gives her permission, how far would go are things that should only be between us unless she is willing to tell you. I know you are trying to protect your daughter, but Your Majesty, as someone who is waiting for your daughter and an outsider of the family to resolve your son, I do not think you really have a right to question my relationship with Alice. If you truly cared about her, you would have long questioned your son on why he sent people to kill her in the first place."

Vance knew he was talking out of line, but he had a right to. As a father, he was neglecting the cause of the issue at hand. If he truly cared about Alice, he would have long looked into things.

One word from the king is enough to end an entire family line. Yet he sits there and does nothing when his own son might be trying to kill her. This angered Vance quite a bit.

The king could not find a way to retort. He waved his hand and said: "Go…. I leave my daughter in your hands. I will not get in the way of her happiness."

Vance stood up and bowed his head before leaving the room. Only when he left did the king slump down in his chair. "I am truly a bad father…."

"You are only trying to do things in the interest of the kingdom. But he does make a point. If you were to do an investigation on your own, you could easily find the evidence needed. Why test your daughter, who has no plans of taking the throne?" An old man suddenly appeared in the room.

"Father, it is not like I do not want to, but I am afraid of overstepping and getting the nobles who side with Edward angry. It could cause an uprising."