Episode 89: Reunion (1)
“Sir Damien! What on earth are you doing?”
As soon as the meeting ended, Oliver Apple cornered Damien, his voice filled with panic.
“An orc hunt? Me? There’s no way I can handle something that big!”
“Then why didn’t you say so during the meeting?”
“How could I? Everyone was looking at me with such expectation!”
Oliver’s voice rose in protest, but he quickly stepped back when Damien raised a hand.
“Still, wasn’t it quite a sight to see the bureaucrats change their tune?”
Oliver fell silent, acknowledging the truth in Damien’s words.
“And wasn’t it nice to see His Majesty pleased?”
Oliver nodded, unable to deny it.
Oliver Apple was a man who craved recognition more than anything.
Someone like him couldn’t possibly dislike the attention he had just received.
“Don’t worry. Just succeed, and no one will ever underestimate you again.”
“But…”
Oliver’s voice trailed off weakly. Just then, a servant approached Damien.
“Sir Damien, His Majesty requests a private audience with you.”
“I’ll be right there. Your Highness, I’ll see you later.”
With that, Damien followed the servant to the king’s office.
“Sir Damien, what is going on?”
As expected, the king wanted to discuss the matter concerning Oliver Apple.
“I know my son well. He’s not the type to volunteer for something like this.”
The king wasn’t reprimanding Damien; his voice was filled with genuine concern and curiosity.
It was understandable. His son had suddenly taken on a dangerous task.
“Your Majesty, that’s a misconception.”
Damien addressed the king with confidence.
“The Crown Prince has a strong desire for recognition. He greatly admires his uncle, Lord Alexander.”
The king listened intently.
“He has always wanted to prove himself for the kingdom, just like Lord Alexander.”
“So he volunteered for the orc hunt?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The king pondered for a moment.
“As a king and a father, I’m pleased to see Oliver take action. I want to support him. But as you know, his position as Crown Prince is precarious.”
Oliver Apple had lived a reckless life for a long time. The royal family tried to keep it under wraps, but it wasn’t perfect. The inner circle was well aware.
“I can only offer basic support. Anything more might harm Oliver’s reputation.”
The king was right. It could appear as favoritism towards an incompetent Crown Prince.
“Yet Oliver bears too much risk. If this hunt fails, it could be disastrous.”
Damien had seen firsthand how precarious Oliver’s standing was among the nobles and officials.
If he volunteered for the orc hunt and failed, it could jeopardize his position as Crown Prince.
“Don’t worry. I’m here.”
Damien’s nonchalant assurance instilled a sense of trust in the king.
“With you by his side, I feel reassured. But… I don’t understand. Why go to such lengths for Oliver?”
The king’s question made Damien pause.
Damien’s motivation for helping the prince was to protect his family.
In the future, the Apple Kingdom would fall due to rebellion, with the king dead and Oliver suddenly ascending the throne.
The inexperienced king failed to govern properly, leading to chaos and suffering. Eventually, the kingdom crumbled in a war with Dorgo.
Damien was here to prevent that.
The Apple Kingdom was home to his family, after all.
But it wasn’t just a practical decision.
“I just couldn’t stand by and watch.”
Damien hadn’t expected to grow so fond of Oliver Apple. Initially, he found him a nuisance.
“With you stepping up, I can’t just sit back.”
The king opened a drawer and took out a small ebony box.
When he opened it, a pine-like scent filled the air. Inside was a blue orb wrapped in silk.
“It’s the core of a Sea Serpent.”
A core was a magical essence formed within a monster’s body.
Some monsters used these cores to wield extraordinary powers.
The Sea Serpent was one such creature.
It was a massive sea-dwelling monster, not only enormous but also capable of manipulating water.
To sailors, it was like a demon’s minion sent from the sea.
“An intriguing item.”
Cores weren’t common, especially from rare and powerful monsters like the Sea Serpent.
The core’s magical energy was as notorious as the Sea Serpent itself.
“If you successfully complete this task… or even if you don’t, I promise to give you this.”
Damien’s chronic issue was his lack of magical power.
The Sea Serpent’s core could solve that problem entirely.
It was an extravagant reward for a troublesome task.
“Trust me.”
When Damien finished his business and left the study, he was greeted by Liam Bluegreen.
“Sir Damien, did your meeting with His Majesty go well?”
Liam was waiting outside the study.
“There’s someone who wishes to see you. Could you spare a moment?”
Only one person came to Damien’s mind who could use someone of Liam’s stature as a messenger.
“Lead the way.”
Damien followed Liam to the royal garden.
There, by an artificial lake, stood a small pavilion.
Someone was seated inside.
“Sir Damien, we meet again.”
Prince Alexander Apple greeted him with a warm smile.
“Please, have a seat.”
Alexander gestured to the seat opposite him. Damien pulled out a chair and sat down.
“Your Grace, what brings you here?”
“I wanted to offer some advice to a promising young man walking into a dangerous situation.”
Damien smirked slightly.
It seemed Alexander was once again meddling, just like at the city gates.
“Sir Damien, you seem too young to understand the ways of the world.”
“I think I’ve aged just right.”
“Haha, and yet you side with my nephew?”
Alexander laughed heartily.
“You may not realize it, but Oliver is in a very precarious position.”
Damien listened to Alexander’s words with little interest.
“My nephew… he’s not exactly reliable. His behavior leaves much to be desired.”
Unaware, Alexander continued.
“At first, everyone tried to change Oliver. There’s a saying, ‘A tiger father begets a tiger son,’ but he never changed. He remained the same.”
Damien wasn’t paying much attention to Alexander’s words.
It wasn’t because he trusted Oliver Apple. He simply believed that if Oliver didn’t listen, he could always resort to harsher measures.
“Now, everyone has given up. It’s no exaggeration to say that almost no one believes in him. In fact…”
“It seems you’re uncomfortable with the attention His Highness is receiving.”
Damien interjected. Alexander nodded slightly.
“Why would I be uncomfortable with that?”
Damien chuckled. Alexander might think he was hiding it well, but Damien had already noticed.
The moment he spoke, Alexander’s eyes had flickered ever so slightly.
“Thank you for your concern, but your advice seems unnecessary.”
With that, Damien stood up. Before leaving the pavilion, he turned to Liam Bluegreen.
“Sir Liam, I didn’t expect you to be on this side.”
Liam offered a faint smile.
“It’s a choice for the kingdom.”
“Then there’s nothing more to say.”
Damien left without another word.
Once Damien was gone, Alexander Apple crushed his teacup in frustration, turning it to powder.
“That insolent brat.”
He muttered through gritted teeth.
After that day, notices went up calling for volunteers for the orc hunt.
But no matter how much time passed, no one came forward.
Even letters sent in Oliver Apple’s name yielded no results.
The knightly families found various excuses to refuse participation.
“It seems it’s because of my reputation.”
Oliver Apple spoke with a dejected expression.
“The families close to the royal family know all too well how I’ve lived. They have no intention of sending their forces.”
The fact that the Crown Prince was a troublemaker was well-known among the nobles and knightly families connected to the royal family.
With the knightly families refusing, there was little Oliver Apple could do.
He could invoke the king’s authority to forcibly conscript forces. But as the king had said, such support would only tarnish Oliver Apple’s reputation further.
“What should we do? If we can’t even start the hunt…”
Oliver Apple’s face turned pale. He was already dreading the ridicule from others.
“Well, there’s nothing we can do.”
“Y-yes… I suppose there’s no other choice.”
“We’ll just have to use my name.”
“What?”
Damian spoke nonchalantly.
“Add my name to the notice. Say that Damian Haxen is recruiting forces to take down the orcs.”
And so, an extra line was added to the notice.
Less than two days after Damian’s name was posted, a knight arrived with his troops.
“Brother! I’m here!”
Michael Lionbloom.
The eldest son of the Lionbloom Marquisate.
The future swordmaster had arrived.