Chapter 122 It's Not All Bad Intentions

Yes, she agreed. It would be wise for a cat to associate itself with more rats if it is planning on traversing down a rat-infested sewer. Regardless, those rules don't apply to them.

They weren't cats but ferocious magical beasts, in a den of ants.

She shook her head.

'He wouldn't' She thought. Surely he knew that they had nothing to gain from this man, even though he was previously a King.

"If you put it like that, then there is no reason to say no" Pince Wyatt responded.

Instantly, a brief remembrance flashed passed her mind, and her eyes closed slowly in resignation and her lips parted "Of course, he would'.

….....

Despite the looks I received from Annabelle, I still strode forward and followed behind the fallen King- whose name I still wasn't aware of towards another room.

Generally speaking, I should have been cautious of this being an advent of the enemy's attack, but from his conversation with Annabelle, I concluded that he had no reason to be enemies with us.

And even if he does, then it would make sense for him not to be alone or have a good reason to do so -no buts or maybe included as that would be stupid, and a king who has survived this far even without a kingdom should be anything but stupid, right?

Fuck. Don't jinx it. I shook my head. Thinking in such a way is just like asking for trouble. Besides, I still needed to know who Nina's attackers were, and I can't do that if I isolate and retrain myself from making a few connections.

I turned my attention towards Nina. Weird. Just a few minutes ago, I felt like she would rather dive into a pot of steaming hot water than step into the territory of one of the fallen kings.

And now, she seems incredibly....…. excited.

"We are here" The fallen king pulled the door open, and led us in.

What th --

"As you can see, breakfast is set" He added. I resisted the urge to gulp.

No. I had no idea that when he said breakfast, he meant a feast. He is a fallen king remember….. So of all the things, I imagined about him, eating like a king after everything he had gone through was the least of my thoughts.

No matter the economic crisis of a jungle, a lion never eats grass they say. I think that a medieval fantasy king should be added to that adage.

"Please, sit and enjoy the meal, you are my guest" The king turned to us and spoke. His voice rumbled with laughter.

I nodded and took my seat together with the two women beside me.

"Captain" Annabelle muttered quietly, with irritation clear in her voice.

"Yes, Annabelle" I responded. I made sure to match the frequency of her voice.

"I don't think that it's a good idea to be associating ourselves with people like this" She said "The more we avoid them, the better it is for us".

Somehow, when she said 'we', I had a feeling she meant 'me'.

"Annabelle"

"Yes, Captain"

I kept the spoon that was about to enter into my mouth back on the plate and explained "I understand your worries more than you do yourself" She raised her brows in doubt "But there is something I want you to understand".

"Which is?" If the irritation on her face was clear enough for me to notice before, now it wasn't. Her face was devoid of any kind of expression as she stared at the meal in front of her blankly.

"We are not fictional characters on a quest for something greater which requires treating every place or person like a checkpoint, neither, are we lifeless beings who think every situation is like an event that needs to be solved quickly" I picked up my spoon and dug it into the roasted chicken with various assorted vegetables and beef around it.

However, before I lost myself in the delicacies in front of me, I continued "Besides, we are ascendants, we are destined to live long…" Unless we don't choose our battles wisely. I thought. "So instead of seeing everything as an obstacle that you ought to get through quickly, why don't you enjoy the process called life" I peeked a glance at her expression while I placed the food into my mouth.

She was making that expression again. A face that made it seem as though my mind was full of hogwash, and I was speaking parables of nonsense.

She went silent for a few seconds, probably contemplating my response. "But what if the food is poisoned? For all we know, it is possible that he didn't call us without an agenda" Soon after, She cleared her throat and asked

I paused. I raised my head and stared at her, before turning towards the fallen King who seems to be also enjoying the meal.

"AHEM!!"

The sound of my voice carried over to the ears of everyone present at the dining table. Nina stopped eating and stared at me curiously, Annabelle glared at me doubtfully, while the fallen King on the other end of the dining table slowly frowned.

"Is there any problem?" He asked. His face was clouded with doubt.

"Yes, there is" My hand grabbed a piece of the chicken leg and tore it off " King…" I didn't yet know his name.

"It's King Ameal" He corrected.

I nodded. "King Ameal, I am under the suspicion that you brought us here to poison us" I could hear the sound of a spoon hitting the floor beside me.

The calm atmosphere around me suddenly grew still.

"How -- Where -- No" King Amea fumbled on his words before he shook his head in confusion. His eyes stared at mine, and I could tell, that at this moment, I had the full attention of one of the fallen kings.

"Forgive me for asking, Mr…"

"It's Mr Wyatt" I corrected.

He nodded in response "Mr Wyatt, please how did you come to the idea that I am trying to poison you?"

"Isn't it obvious? You invited us here for breakfast without any reason soon after we paid up the money that she owned for destroying a section of your city" I answered. My eyes darted over to Annabelle, and I caught the worried expression unexpectedly growing on her face. "Even a blind man can tell that you aren't willing to let us go that easily".

Silence.

I could see the speechlessness on his face. And then, he laughed.

A thick heavy wave of roaring contentment escaped his lips.

Soon after, he stopped, and the room fell silent again. With the chicken lap, waiting to be devoured in my left hand, I waited for his response.

"If that is the case, Mr Wyatt, then even a blind man can tell that I have nothing to gain from touching a hair on our skin or poisoning you" He said, and flickered his eyes over to Anabelle before he positioned them back on me.

"And besides, I already have a belief that you all are pirates, which means you are all associated with the man who wields more power in the kingdom apart from the Miracle Queen herself. So if I am stupid enough to plunge deeper into my already pathetic life, then yes I have plans to poison you. But if you walk out of here as healthy as you came in, then you should already have your answer by then".

He went back to enjoying his meal, not paying any heed to me.

I turned my head to peek at Annabelle, I resisted the urge to say something sarcastic. "You see, we have no reasons to worry" I said.

"Captain, I me…."

"And I thought that I was the cautious one" I shook my head in concession. I continued "If you insist, then why don't you supervise us instead of eating. The poison might be a fast-working type or a slower one, so in case I -we die, then I can count on you to avenge us".

Her countenance morphed into incredulity.

"I have several uncomplicated goals in this life, and treating everybody I come across like some kind of enemy isn't one of them" I added before tearing part of the meat and diving into the rest of the buffet.

Before my ship is ready is sail, I might as well enjoy the peaceful environment while it lasts. Besides, I still had my eyes on my surroundings to notice if changing Bones's past had impacted anything.

…....…

That was good!

"It seems that you enjoyed the breakfast Mr Wyatt" King Ameal said with a smile. His outstretched arm grabbed a cup of water, and he gulped it in.

"Yes, I did" I turned to look at Anabelle who looked away with a snort.

My lips curved, amusingly.

"Then, how about coming over some other time again?" He offered.

"If I find another free time, then I will make sure that I come here to taste more of your delicious delicacies"