Chapter 199 – Chapter 42: Awareness (2/2)

Although the sword duke was laughing loudly, it was a serious incident. Felicia started fidgeting, and the sword duke laughed again.

“Princess is really funny.”

Felicia’s face wrinkled again at his words, but the sword duke disregarded it. He stroked his beard and explained,

“The captains need to defend Aegis Gate. The Winter King seems to have started moving.”

“The Winter King!”

Felicia exclaimed with surprise. The Winter King wasn’t just the king of the northern barbarians, but also the king of all things beyond the Aegis Gate. He had only appeared as a background story in Knight Saga, but he had power comparable to the demon king.

“Originally, the princes and princesses would’ve gathered at the Aegis Gate to confront the Winter King. But Shutenberg’s invasion is closer.”

If the opponent was the Winter King, then it was understandable to put the captains on standby. It was already 200 years ago, but when the demon king and the Winter King first clashed, two captains had been lost. It was the first and last time that a captain had been killed in the history of the Demon King’s Palace.

“Both of them… It is clear that something unusual is happening.”

The Winter King was the Winter King, but Shutenberg wasn’t ordinary either. Apart from the sword duke, the children of the demon king and the sura warriors were also being mobilized. Therefore, Shutenberg might be much stronger than Chris thought.

The sword duke nodded at Chris’ words.

“Yes, tremendous things are happening in the destiny of the Demon World. Then please do this.”

&

After the meeting in the bridge ended, the demon king’s children scattered to rest. The story was heavier than they thought, so the mental fatigue was significant. Rather than following the others, In-gong went up to the deck where the sword duke was enjoying the wind. It was stuffy inside the narrow cabin, but he had a more important reason.

“Sword Duke.”

“Prince.”

The sword duke turned like he had been waiting for In-gong’s call. It was as if he had been waiting in a place where no one was present, knowing that In-gong would come. In-gong took a deep breath as he stood next to the sword duke and said,

“I’d like to ask you one thing.”

“I can guess what it is, but go ahead. Ask.”

The sword duke was smiling, but his eyes were blank. After seeing them, In-gong was convinced of it. It was clear that the sword duke already knew.

‘Sword Duke, am I a pure-blooded gandharva?’

‘Correct. Prince is a pure-blooded gandharva. You don’t have a single drop of blood from the demon king.’

In-gong asked using message magic, and the sword duke used Trill to reply. The sword duke answered so naturally that In-gong felt awkward.

‘The 5th Queen… No, my mother…’

‘It wasn’t an affair.’

The sword duke interrupted In-gong. He laughed and gazed far away.

‘The 5th Queen wasn’t like that. She truly loved the demon king.’

‘But…’

‘Prince, I will tell you the most important thing. The demon king recognized you as a prince. No matter what anyone says, you are one of the two people closest to the throne of the demon king.’

This was an expected story. The demon king already knew everything, and yet, he had delivered the Seed of Extreme Nothingness to In-gong. The sword duke sighed and took out a blue ball the size of his thumb.

‘Watch this.’

In-gong felt a tremendous magic power in his hand. It was a magic power which he had encountered for the first time in his life, but In-gong knew its identity immediately. It was the magic power of 5th Queen Semita Ignus.

‘This bead contains the truth about the secret of Prince’s birth. You can only watch it once, so when you are ready, watch it with those you want to share the secret with.’

After those words, the sword duke left the deck. Once left alone, In-gong grasped the bead and prepared his heart. There was no reason to delay any further.

“Green Wind, ask Carack, and my brothers and sisters to come to my room. Tell them not to come with their aides.”

‘I understand, Master.’

Green Wind left In-gong’s side. In-gong fell deep into thought as he headed for the bridge.

He had already shared the most important secret about the Conquest Knight with Felicia. So, there was no reason to hide this from her. Caitlin shared the Moonlight and Starlight Core with In-gong and was a member of the King’s Knights. So, she was trustworthy. Silvan was the same. He was also a member of the King’s Knights. Chris didn’t belong to the King’s Knights, and he was the most political person among the children of the demon king. However, he was a strong supporter of In-gong. He was a political person, so it was better to confide the story now instead of having it come out later.

This was a situation where the sword duke and demon king already knew In-gong’s status. Moreover, Chris knew about Caitlin’s birth secret. It was beneficial for the lycanthropes to side with In-gong.

In-gong sat in the room as the children of the demon king started to gather. When Felicia and Caitlin arrived, it was still okay. However, after Silvan and Chris appeared, the cabin instantly became cramped.

In-gong sat in the middle of his small single bed, with Felicia and Caitlin on his right and left. Silvan and Chris sat on chairs in front of the bed.

“Shutra, what did you call us to talk about?”

Once seated, Caitlin asked as if she was representing everyone else. In-gong smiled at her and sighed. He raised the blue bead the sword duke had given him.

“Everyone, I wanted you to watch this with me.”

Everyone’s eyes became focused, and In-gong injected magic power into the bead.