Chapter 256: The Gates of the Kingdom
The roar of mockery and insults echoed against the throne room walls, yet the elder Eldridge Granville stood unwavering. He tilted his head slightly, sweeping his calm gaze across the crowd of enraged nobles and officers.
"That is precisely why we must seek peace with them," Eldridge declared with a composure that began to drown out the shouts. "Do you truly believe our neighboring kingdoms do not already know that our vanguard was crushed?! Do you think their spies are ignorant of the slaughter that took place in that forest?!"
The nobles exchanged glances, caught off guard by the weight of his words.
"Reflect upon this for a moment," the elder continued, taking two steps toward the center of the dais. "When Aethelgard and Valoria dispatch diplomats into that territory to offer them gold, silver, lands, or women in exchange for their military aid against us... what do you think they will do?! At this moment, that shaman and his tribe are an isolated force. We cannot afford the luxury of invading them right now, and our enemies know this."
Eldridge raised his cane and struck it firmly against the marble floor.
"If those kingdoms coordinate with the forest tribe, our defensive barrier will cease to be a protection and instead become the open gateway for those savages to attack us without mercy...!" declared the elder, his voice echoing into every corner of the hall. "Instead of exposing our necks by opening a third war front against an entrenched enemy, we must fortify ourselves, secure alliances, and stand firm in times of storm."
A silence once again seized the throne room. Several generals lowered their heads, unable to counter the elder’s political logic.
Eldridge’s words echoed with weight throughout the hall, yet the military caste, blinded by bloodlust and humiliation, was unwilling to yield so easily.
"Those are the words of an old man who has forgotten the taste of steel!" interjected the General of the Third Legion abruptly, stepping forward with his face contorted in rage. "You speak to us of diplomacy and diplomats, yet you forget that the crown is sustained by the strength of our swords, not by speeches! If that shaman witnesses our ambassadors arriving with banners of truce, the only thing he will understand is that the Kingdom of the Golden Rose has grown weak and fearful!"
A roar of approval erupted once more among the ranks of high-ranking officers.
"The General is right!" bellowed a guard officer. "If we send diplomats, those savages will only grow bolder! They will devour our envoys and use their heads as ornaments upon their walls! We must march into the forest and burn every tree until not a single savage is left breathing!"
"Coward! Senile old fool!" several young nobles shouted from the back of the dais, confronting the leader of the Council of Elders.
Eldridge did not flinch at the shouting, keeping his gaze locked on the monarch. Yet the atmosphere inside the hall was a powder keg on the verge of exploding between the generals demanding blood vengeance and the councilors foreseeing a military disaster across three fronts.
BOOOOOOM!
A heavy impact echoed through the chamber as the King struck the base of his golden scepter against the dais. The sound struck like a thunderclap that smothered the shouts, plunging the hall into a suffocating silence.
The monarch swept his gaze across the enraged generals, the Grand General Julian Montfort, the elder Eldridge Granville, and locked his cold eyes onto his son, Prince Caelen.
"Enough," declared the King in a deep voice that seemed to vibrate through the stone walls. "This hall is no tavern for my generals and councilors to bray like unbridled beasts."
The monarch leaned forward, fixing his sight upon Caelen, who remained standing, still shaken by Varis’s execution and Gideon’s revelations.
"Caelen," stated the King, causing the prince to give a subtle flinch. "It was you who led the expedition. It was you who witnessed that territory’s strength and saw three thousand of my men fall. Your lack of judgment brought us to this position, but in the royal blood lies not only victory, but the capacity to correct one’s course."
The monarch extended his hand and pointed at the heir.
"I grant you a chance to redeem yourself before this kingdom and before this hall. You have heard the Council of Elders’ arguments regarding the threat of Aethelgard and Valoria. You have heard the fury of my generals demanding blood. The final decision regarding what to do with the forest and the shaman... rests upon your shoulders, Caelen. Tell me, what will the heir to the throne command?"
The nobility, the generals, and Beatrix Le Croix turned their faces simultaneously toward Prince Caelen, waiting for his verdict.
The silence in the throne room was suffocating. Every pair of eyes—from the bloodthirsty generals to the elders of the council and Beatrix Le Croix herself—was locked squarely on Prince Caelen.
Caelen felt the weight of the crown pressing down upon his neck. He swallowed in silence, clenching his hands inside his silk sleeves. He knew that if he rashly demanded war to cleanse his honor, he would drive the kingdom into ruin by opening three simultaneous fronts against Aethelgard and Valoria. Yet if he simply caved and begged for peace, the court would mark him as a cowardly and incompetent heir.
He raised his head, forcing into his voice whatever royal authority he could muster.
"I accept the wisdom of the Council of Elders and the Grand General," declared Caelen, causing a murmur of frustration to ripple through the military commanders. "We will not open a third front while our northern and eastern borders remain threatened by Aethelgard and Valoria. However, I will not send civilian diplomats to do my work. I demand to personally lead the diplomatic entourage into the great forest."
The nobility’s chatter grew sharper. Caelen pressed on with resolve:
"For this mission, I demand to take former General Valerius and Count Gideon with me as my personal escort and field advisors. First, we are not going there to beg. The delegation will be escorted by our Honor Guard to make it clear that this truce stems from our magnanimity, not from fear. Second, we will demand the immediate return of every piece of armor, magic silver artifact, and weapon stripped from our fallen soldiers, along with a tribute of furs and forest resources as restitution for our fallen Auditors. And third... should that tribe reject our terms, we will declare the entire forest border under siege until we can march with the First and Second Legions to erase that village from the map."