Chapter 151: Follow Your Heart
"They are anything but young, Your Majesty." Crown Princess Natalia told the King who quickly turned his attention toward Valerius, Damien, and Kenric. He seemed totally surprised for some reason as if he really thought the men were younger than him.
"Oh...!" That was all he said a couple of moments later as he adjusted his sitting position on the throne before turning his attention back toward Crown Princess Natalia. "You seem to trust them." It wasn’t exactly a question but the Crown Princess still decided to answer.
"So do you, Your Majesty. If not for your trust in them, you would have never shared the secret of the investigations with them." The soft smile on the Crown Princess’ lips made it clear that she was able to see through the King’s thoughts.
The King let out a small chuckle as he shook his head slightly and spoke, his words directed at Valerius and the rest. "If you all are really prepared to investigate these incidents, the least our Mortal Realm can do is to help as much as we can. I’m handing over both of these items to you. Hope you will succeed in your mission."
A look of understanding passed between Valerius and the King before the latter signaled his eldest son. The Crown Prince stood up from his seat and moved to collect the parchment and the box with the pendant before he offered it to Valerius who accepted it and passed the box to Kenric.
Instead of returning to his seat, the Crown Prince moved to the center of the hall and kneeled down while facing his father, the King. "Your Majesty, can I ask for your permission to accompany these people in their investigation? At the end of the day, this case is also related to our realm and we should be responsible to our people. We are also a part of our world, we should be liable to protect it."
The King seemed not so happy with his son’s words but his unhappiness seemed to be related more to his worry toward his son instead of the latter trying to be brave. "Elijah, I’m not trying to stop you my son but you have to remember that this fight is against a very powerful evil force. You will..."
"Father...!" The Crown Prince stopped the King from finishing whatever the latter was going to say and even though it was an act of great insolence, everyone let it slide, including the King, as the Crown Prince’s intentions were clearly pure.
"... I’m aware that at the end of the day, I am nothing but a mortal with the title of the Crown Prince of the Mortal Realm. Neither my title nor my lousy martial arts skills will be able to help me or anyone else much in this quest of ours. However..."
The Crown Prince’s attention suddenly turned toward Annalise as he continued, "... someone just made me realize that I’m probably not as useless as I have been considering myself for the past couple of years, that I can also be good enough to be a part of this wonderful world."