Chapter 592: Arrival
It really was strange.
During the trial, Elion had known him as a young prince with a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. And despite that, there had still been a certain naivety to him.
The man on the screen had none of that.
He had lived an entire life that neither Elion nor Isla knew anything about.
The fact made him think... There was no account of some heroes fighting in the war against the demons in this war, so... how exactly had the war ended?
Of course, he already knew that Saints who led each of the races had defeated the Demon King in battle, but that was what the history books had said.
And if Elion knew anything, it was not all things they were led to believe were actually true...
Elion sighed...
’I’m overthinking again... That’s not my problem to worry about right now.’
"Even if he doesn’t remember you," Elion said, giving Isla’s head another gentle pat, "we can still talk to him."
Isla looked up at him.
"Really?"
"Of course, someday, definitely... Right now, it’s going to be Zenith and me down there. I still need to know about this Alexander’s own life before letting you meet him... I have never heard of the king having a sister before... So I want to find out how that could be possible."
Isla smiled and nodded.
"Un..."
"Well, Zenith," Elion said, looking toward the beautiful demon, who seemed to be constantly in her human form these days. "It’s you and me..."
Zenith smiled pleasantly.
"Of course, Hubby." She placed an index finger against her cheek. "Though, if things do go wrong, do I have permission to send a few heads rolling?" she asked casually.
Elion laughed.
"Maybe one or two..." He shrugged. "It depends on how things go. They have a Saint in there, and a bunch of other powerful people, Sages even, so let’s see if we can settle this cordially first."
Zenith’s smile widened slightly.
"How boring..."
Elion’s brow twitched.
"Please don’t sound disappointed that I’m trying to avoid starting a war."
"Hehe..." Zenith giggled softly, covering her mouth with one hand. "I’m only joking, Hubby."
Despite his casual attitude, he wasn’t taking the situation lightly.
There were far too many powerful people gathered within that court, and while he trusted Zenith’s strength more than anyone else’s, picking a fight with an entire kingdom when it could be avoided would simply be stupid.
Especially when he was supposed to be there to clear his name in the first place.
Starting a massacre inside the Royal Court would probably do a rather poor job of that.
Elion glanced back toward the screen.
There were a couple of familiar faces in there. Duke Dawncrest, Liora, Alexander, Mira’s father, her mother, and, funny enough, a professor from the academy whose name he couldn’t remember, cause he had never heard it before.
’Either way, things are bound to get interesting,’ he thought inwardly.
...
The pair of guards manning the entrance leading up to the reception of the Royal Court were still quite rattled.
"In my twelve years of working as a royal guard at this entrance, not once have I seen King Alexander himself walking up these steps," one of the guards spoke quietly to his companion. "What could have possibly caught his interest today that he would deem worthy of his presence?"
The other guard shrugged.
"I even saw Patriarch Kletis and Patriarch Moon making their way in as well. Whatever it is, it must be incredibly important."
Just as they were talking, a curious pair could be seen making their way toward them from across the quiet, paved courtyard.
They were walking on foot, which was curious because everyone up until now had shown up within the comfort of their fancy carriages.
It was almost as though the pair had simply appeared out of thin air.
The two guards naturally turned their attention toward them.
The first was a young man dressed rather simply compared to the nobles who had passed through earlier. A thin sword hung from his waist, swaying slightly with each step he took, while his dark hair shifted gently in the breeze.
Beside him walked a breathtakingly beautiful black-haired woman.
The guards stared for a moment longer than they probably should have.
There was something strange about the pair.
Neither of them carried themselves with the pompous stiffness one would expect from people approaching the Royal Court, especially on a day like this.
The young man walked casually with one hand resting near the sword at his waist, while the woman beside him wore a pleasant smile, seemingly without a care in the world.
"Who are they?" one guard muttered.
"No idea, they don’t have any visible insignia on them."
The pair continued approaching.
Elion’s gaze wandered across the grand structure ahead of him.
Seeing the Royal Court from this close was somewhat different from watching it through the Ark.
The guards straightened as the pair finally reached them.
"Halt!"
Elion stopped, and Zenith did the same beside him. The guard looked between them before speaking.
"State your names and purpose."
Elion blinked.
Then a small smile appeared on his face.
"Elion Nova."
Both guards froze.
The one who had been talking earlier slowly looked toward his companion. His companion looked back at him.
Then both turned their gazes to Elion.
So this was him?
No surprise that they had been told to look out for him, but the fact that this young man actually dared to appear after the King himself had already arrived?
Both guards looked him up and down, taking in his simple and young appearance, and the fact became even more unreal.
’That’s not our business...’ The man decided. No doubt, those inside would harass this Elion plenty for his late arrival.
They did, however, have a duty to do before allowing him inside.
"Do you have anything confirming your identity?" he asked Elion.
Elion had expected that much.
He reached into his storage and retrieved the relevant identification before handing it over.
The guard inspected it carefully before pulling out a piece of parchment from within his armour and unfurling it.
Elion raised a brow as he noticed the upside-down portrait of him within the man’s hands.
’The hell?’
The man showed the portrait to his companion, alongside the Academy ID card that Elion had handed to him.
"It’s always difficult to make accurate portraits, but that looks like him alright..."
The other guard nodded, quickly handing the ID back, and then his gaze moved over toward Zenith.
"And... the lady?"
"My wife."
Zenith’s smile immediately brightened up. The man raised a brow but decided not to comment.
"Please wait here for a moment. We need to inform the reception of your arrival."
Elion nodded.
"Take your time."
The guard turned and hurried up the steps.
In truth, Elion had considered suddenly appearing directly inside the reception hall, but that wasn’t exactly cordial, was it?
No doubt, doing such a thing while a bunch of important people were gathered would lead to them being detained as assassins or something.
A short while later, hurried footsteps sounded from above.
The guard returned, accompanied by one of the attendants from the reception hall.