Time flies......

Under Owen's watchful eye, the course of history advanced a few more years.

The king, who had been ill for a long time, was finally dragged under the double pressure of old age and heavy government affairs. Knowing that he was about to be called by the Divine, the scrawny king summoned all the princes and princesses, as well as their respective mothers, to his chaste.

No matter how these troublemakers usually fight to the death, and how the harem concubines are jealous, on this day, the king does not allow any of them to say more easily. This father, whose life has come to an end, his only wish is to have a complete last dinner with his relatives.

However, this meager hope has become an unattainable luxury. Despite the gag order of His Majesty the King, the princes who fought the most fiercely for the succession to the throne still did not give an inch, like enemies meeting, from cold words and ridicule to spitting stars, their biological mothers were not to be outdone, shouting and cheering for their respective sons, knocking on the side, and other princes and princesses in the "second line" chose sides one after another. A good family dinner was almost ruined like this.

The king was too lazy to bother with such a terrible annoyance, which was foreseeable but unwilling to come true, and had to let it go. In addition to the fact that the king in his old age no longer has the courage he once had, there is also a reason that there is a quiet corner of the king's soul at the noisy table.

This corner is located at the other end of the table, at the farthest point from the king.

Marne, 17, was the youngest brother of all the princes and princesses present. In spite of all the success he had achieved in the last two years, it was not an exaggeration for Marne to sit down at the King's side, and no, Prince Marne should have sat at the King's side, for his late mother was the noble Queen. But little Marne still insisted on sitting at the bottom of the list according to his age.

No matter how hot the fight was raging, he was unmoved, eating the food in front of him by himself. Marn was not deliberately trying to maintain neutrality, for the partisan strife had intensified to such an extent that those who insisted on neutrality were often the first to suffer, nor was he afraid, how could a young warrior who had charged into battle and fought bloody battles on the battlefield be so easily afraid? The arrogance and contempt in little Marn's eyes showed that there were no such noisy brothers and sisters in his eyes.

Was it in Marne's opinion that such a struggle was not necessary at all, because the throne had long been famous, or was there still a game in his mind that was far greater than the throne? The old king did not know that, despite his rich life experience, the old king could not guess the thoughts of this young son, who had been exiled to the people and suffered a lot in his early years.

In fact, the old king didn't know what kind of mentality he should face this son with. Because when Marne and the queen were out in the dust, as a husband and father, he turned a blind eye to the queen's disappearance, and faced the imposters who pretended to be his son in the palace day and night without seeing the horse's feet; when the son returned with the ashes of his wife, the king did not surprise and make a big noise, let alone track down the culprit behind the persecution of Marn's mother and son, but silently dealt with the imposters, and completely erased the truth of the queen's death and the dark history of Prince Marn's five years of wandering among the people on the grounds of covering up the court scandal. The king had expected Marn to rebuke or hold grudges in anger, but unexpectedly, Marn did not show any resentment or resentment, which only made the king even more terrified. Because the king knows very well that when "hatred" is not vented, it will be buried in the bottom of his heart for a long time, what kind of disaster will this bring?

After the noisy feast, the princes, princesses, and concubines who were scolding each other scattered, and Prince Marne, who was the only one to attend the feast, was summoned by his attendants to the king's illness before leaving.

"Look, Marn, I'm done today. Can you promise me one thing?" Removing the splendor of the banquet, the king looked tired and depressed. Before his death, the king met with a prince alone, not to leave a legacy, but to make a humble plea.

"Say it. "Marne was as cold as ever. did not deliberately become enthusiastic because the old man on the bed was dying.

"Please spare this country and its people, and don't destroy it. Is that okay?" the old king had probably guessed his ultimate purpose from Marn's forbearance, and this was the last thing he wanted as a king.

"......" looked at the yellow, withered hand that clenched his wrist, and Marn once again remembered what his mother had been like before she died, and his otherwise calm face was clouded.

"Who would have spared my mother and me?" asked Marn rhetorically.

"Marn, I know you've been haunted all these years. But I can swear that 10 years ago, I was not involved in the plot to kill you and the Queen. ”

"I know that Father, you are not directly involved, it was done by people from the second brother's faction. But do you dare to swear again, you really don't know anything about it?"

The son's questioning made the father embarrassed, but after a brief moment of embarrassment, the old king breathed a long sigh of relief.

In the years since the father and son were reunited, the father and son have been pretending to be crazy and stupid about the truth, pretending not to know each other, but everyone knows that there will be a time to face reality in the future. Now, the two are finally about to have a showdown, although the embarrassing situation is inevitable, but the old king feels relieved like a fishbone stuck in his throat for a long time finally spit out.

"Definitely. I know what the second child did back then, but I can't protect you mother and son......" The old king finally admitted cheerfully, "This is also the most painful pain of my life. But, Marne, you know, back then, ......"

"Don't talk about that year. Marne unceremoniously interrupted the king's remarks, "It is true that the Queen Mother and I have been tormented by exile for whatever purpose, that the Queen Mother killed herself in the storm, in the midst of sickness, and that I smell the blood of this foul-smelling palace, and even more. What's the use of belatedly reflecting or apologizing? No matter if you sincerely regret it, or if you are hypocritical, you can never go back what has happened. The Queen Mother will not come back because of self-deceptive remembrance. You know, my father!"

This time, Marn didn't suppress his emotions anymore and spoke more excitedly. The King, however, was pleased with Marn's offense, and was able to pour out his pent-up resentment into words rather than any other unguardable way.

"Marn, I have told you the truth, and there is one thing that you should tell the truth as well. ”

"Say it. ”

"Duke Lante's murder, did you do it?"

"Yes or no, you should have already made up your mind. If I deny it, will you believe it? If I admit it, you will send me to the Chief Justice? ”

"Wait! I still have something to say......" The direction in which the prince of the kingdom had left, stretched out his hand with difficulty.

But the prince neither looked back nor stopped, leaving only one sentence: "You don't have to worry at all that I will ruin this country, because I still need it." ”

"No! I have something more important!"

"Please tell the Queen Mother. Marn turned a deaf ear and reached for the door to the room.

"That's a secret I've been keeping buried in my heart!" the excited king snapped and planted the quilt from the sick, "about you and the Golden Dragons!

“！”

Marn froze suddenly. Two seconds later, half of the door was opened, and he slammed it shut inside.

"Don't put that dirty name in front of me. Marn said indignantly.

It was a back that Marn will never forget. Once, his most respected and trusted mentor, the man from the Golden Dragon Clan, ruthlessly chose to stand by while their mother and son were in distress, and little Marn was constantly crying and pleading. Although there is a rule among the dragons that they cannot casually intervene in the internal struggle of humans, the back that once seemed majestic to little Marn, Marn only sees determination and deliberateness.

Little Marne could feel that the so-called rules were just an excuse.

After the final dinner, what the old king said to Prince Marne in the palace was unknown to the rest of the world.

The only thing that is known is that at noon the next day, the old king fell into a peaceful and permanent sleep in his bed, leaving behind a country full of infighting. At the same time as the king died, Prince Marne left the royal capital alone, leaving the kingdom and his whereabouts unknown.