Chapter 142 Gathering Of Kings (3)

The mad King's lips twitched as he looked at the faces of everyone present.

Yes! He knew that a few Kings had fallen, but there was still one more King who hasn't arrived yet.

Grand Duke Liam responded. "And yet, we are the only ones who still have a Kingdom to run and the capability to run it". He then ignored him.

Nonetheless, there was something that Beck caught from their exchange.

"And here I thought that meeting a fallen King would at least have some kind of significance" However, another response came from an unexpected source.

The mad King's eyes narrowed as he turned to the man who spoke. 'And who are you?' He demanded.

The man who Beck barely remembered responded. "Prince Murdock". His voice was calm and collected.

The mad King nodded. "Take note, I don't squabble with little kids" He said dismissively.

"I might still be a kid in this gathering, but if we go by your actions over the last three weeks, then----" Prince Murdock retorted, but his words were cut short as the gates of the castle suddenly opened wide, halting whatever chaos was brewing within the gathering.

As the gates of the castle were thrown open, an old, elegant man in a black, two-feather suit appeared in front of them. Beck immediately regarded the man with suspicion, and he was sure he wasn't the only one.

The old man took a deep breath before addressing the gathering, "Is everyone present and accounted for?" His voice was calm and measured, but there was an underlying sense of authority that commanded attention.

The man posed a question -No, as Beck turned to look at the faces of the other royalties present, he knew that this was not a question, but rather a command, spoken as if addressing a group of dogs about to be thrown into a battlefield.

He inwardly shook his head in disappointment. 'They still haven't let go of their egos' He thought to himself.

As he turned to face Knight Boris, Beck couldn't help but notice the strange glint in the knight's eyes. For some reason, even the knight seemed to have other thoughts than responding.

The tension in the air was palpable as the seconds ticked by, and still, no response came.

The man's gaze swept across the faces of those gathered, taking in the solemn expressions and the heavy atmosphere. As he spoke again, his tone was low and cold. "Is everyone here and accounted for?" A breeze blew through the group.

'Magical energy!' Beck felt it. And he knew that there was no way he was wrong, as he watched the others, each communicating with each other with nonverbal commands, even though they hadn't spoken with one another until today.

Beck couldn't understand it, or what was even going on in their minds. Regardless, he could smell chaos brewing from afar, and so, he responded. "Everyone is present a---".

However, he was interrupted. Someone had beaten him to the punch.

Grand Duke Liam asked. "And who might you be?". His eyes peered at the elderly man in scrutiny.

The old man smiled and bowed deeply in front of them. "I am Queen Mavena's loyal butler, and head servant of the castle" He said, his voice smooth and elegant. "Before we begin, please do not hesitate to let me know if there is anything you desire. Whether it be a cup of tea, a warm bath, or anything else, I will be more than happy to fetch it for you".

"BULLSHITT!!" The mad king snarled, loudly. And in what seemed to be the umpteenth time, everyone turned their heads towards his direction.

"I know bullshit when I hear it, and right now, you're shovelling it into my ears" The mad King walked forward, with his assassins behind him, and only halted his steps when he arrived in front of the old man. "I had a head servant once, and I'm sure even he didn't possess that kind of magical energy".

"So as the fallen Grand Duke had asked before, who are you?".

Again, Beck shook his head inwardly. On one hand, he felt as though the mad King had been desperately trying to brew some chaos since he arrived, on the other hand.... he felt as though the mad king was desperately trying to brew some chaos since he arrived.

There were two sides of a coin to pick from, yet he picked one and slapped it across the other!

As the only one among the group who seemed to possess a level head, Beck knew he had to step in and diffuse the situation before it got out of hand. He stepped forward, ready to intervene, but was quickly blocked by an armoured arm.

"Just stand back and observe" Knight Boris said, his tone serious. Beck looked around and saw that everyone present was watching the scene with a sense of seriousness on their faces.

A gentle sigh escaped his lips as he decided to stand back and watch how everything would unfold. Maybe, he might pick up a few interesting things before the end of the day.

"Ahem!" The old man cleared his throat, with an amused smile spread across his lips. "Whether you believe it or not, I am indeed the head servant of this castle

The mad King laughed, his eyes filled with amusement. "Believe it or not, I don't believe you," he said, with a hint of challenge in his voice.

The old man shook his head. "Mad King Bor, I don't think that it is wise if y…..".

"BOOOM!!"

Fast. Too fast. It happened too fast for him to clarify what had just happened.

Beck blinked. It took a full five seconds for him to come to the realization that Knight Boris had launched a ferocious attack on the old man, but unexpectedly, the old man had caught the blades with ease, his fingers now wrapped tightly around the steel.

He…. caught.. the blades!

A chuckle filled the surroundings, drawing Beck's attention back to the mad King.

He was grinning, his eyes alight with amusement. "You see, even Knight Boris here had a head servant, and from his expression, you can tell that he or she wasn't as strong as you" He said.

But still, the old man didn't falter. He gripped Knight Boris's blades tightly and responded, "And as I have said before, I am nothing more than the head servant of this castle".

Thank goodness that he hadn't blinked, or else, he would have missed it, again!

The mad king had released his aura, his hands tightly, and neatly wrapped around the elegant old man's neck, who watched his actions with a detached gaze.

"The question..." The mad King growled. "Answer the question!".

Verily, Beck watched the absurdity of the situation unfold, and took a sharp breath. Wrong. Wrong. They were doing all this the wrong way!!

At first, he thought that they doubted the old man's words as the Queen's butler. But it seems that -No, he was wrong. They believed the elegant old man's words as the Miracle Queen's butler, however, what they wanted to know was who he truly was.

His name? Yes, the man hadn't said his name yet or mentioned anything that would be used to determine his background.

Regardless, Beck's brows creased. 'Was that all?' He thought, and as he watched the scene in front of him, he couldn't help but shake his head at the chaos that had erupted in front of him for the third time.

'But why aren't the guard…." Beck turned his head to the side, only for him to catch the scene of one of the guards shivering with a spear in his hands. Another guard had his hand pointing towards the ground, standing still as though he hadn't noticed a thing. But if one looked closely, you could easily tell that he was frightened by the beads of sweat gathering around his forehead.

And the others?

With a single glance, Beck shook his head, and withdrew his attention from the decorations and focussed it on the scene in front of him. Even with a sword grasp at the centre of his palms, and his neck squashed under the hand of the mad king,----

The elegant old man remained standing. His lips were further stretched, more amused, was the word. And with a colder tone but mixed with a tinge of amusement like before, he spoke "Don't tell me that this is the way you all decided to know where I stand in your self-determined hierarchy".

He flicked Knight Boris's sword out of his grip with a fluid and effortless motion before he then folded his hands behind his back and locked his piercing gaze onto the mad King "Well, I am placed ahead of you ---" He declared.

He turned to stare at everyone present. "… Everyone of you. So don't waste your time pondering these futile thoughts, for they will lead you nowhere".

"Humph!" An annoyed sound escaped from Grand Duke Liam's mouth, before he walked forward, with the Prince walking beside him, and their entourage following behind them.