The Hero's Forsaken Princess
Chapter 157: His Reason

Chapter 157: His Reason

The next day...

King Zaraki summoned Eve to his quarters. She came alone. There were no royal guards inside.

Eve looked at the king. He emitted a dominating aura, his dark eyes scrutinizing her from head to toe.

However, Eve didn’t let him intimidate her. She tried her best to compose herself as she faced the tyrant ruler.

"Eve, do you want revenge for the death of your grandfather?" King Zaraki asked her, assessing her reactions.

Eve narrowed her eyes at him. "You drove my mother away. You betrayed your own brother just to take the throne. You caused my mother’s misery. I would have lied if I said no."

King Zaraki let out a humorless laugh.

"Princess Eve, you are too honest. May I know who your father is? Tell me about your mother’s story. How did she die?" He was curious about how she ended up in Kingdom Averion.

Eve lowered her gaze while clenching her fists. She didn’t know why King Zaraki was asking her about her mother. There was no way he was concerned about her.

"My father is King Solomon. But he never knew my mother’s real identity. He thought she was just a servant. The queen of Averion murdered her because of jealousy."

King Zaraki fell silent at Eve’s revelation. Kingdom Averion wasted Esmeralda.

"I have a proposition with you, your Majesty."

King Zaraki lifted his eyebrow while rubbing his beard on his chin.

"What proposition?" he asked with intrigue.

"I want revenge. Let me conquer Kingdom Averion. I will lead your army to victory," she said with undying confidence.

The king burst into a peal of laughter.

"Hahaha! That was so unexpected. I thought you came here to assassinate me. Since your team failed, you redirected your revenge plan. Do you expect me to believe that you want to conquer Kingdom Averion? Is this your way of escaping from me, Princess Eve?"

He didn’t believe her. He thought she was lying.

However, Eve looked straight into his eyes.

"I won’t force you to believe me. What do you want from me? You can just kill me." Eve was not afraid of dying. She glanced at him defiantly.

King Zaraki shook his head as he approached her.

"I can’t kill you because I need you. Where is the jade necklace? I know you have it. Give it back to me!" He extended his hand in front of her.

Eve frowned deeply. The jade necklace was owned by her grandfather.

"No. I won’t give you the necklace unless you agree with my proposition. Give me your army... to conquer Kingdom Averion," she demanded.

"Fine. I will make a deal with you. I’ll provide you the army you need to attack Kingdom Averion. Now, give me the jade necklace," he finally gave in to her demand.

"I have one more condition. You have to convince your husband to serve me as his king. I heard he was a great warrior... a hero of Kingdom Averion. I need him to lead my troops and fight for me," King Zaraki added.

"I understand. I’ll talk to him. If this is the only way you will pardon his crime, then I will agree. Just don’t execute him." Eve wanted to ensure Alaric’s safety.

"Yes. I will let him live because I need a strong warrior like him."

Eve nodded. Then she picked up the jade necklace, showing it to King Zaraki. He examined it for a few seconds. His eyes lit up after confirming that the necklace was the key to the underground dungeon.

"There is something I need to know about you. Did you inherit the power of your mother?"

King Zaraki asked, watching her carefully. He had a doubt. He felt like Eve would never confess the truth about her ability unless he tested her.

"What power? I don’t know what you are talking about." Eve feigned ignorance. She remembered Alaric’s words. He told her to keep her power a secret.

King Zaraki just squinted his eyes. He could tell that Eve was hiding something from him.

’I have no choice but to see it myself.’

"You have to come with me. I’ll bring you to a place."

Eve sensed that King Zaraki was up to something. "I will go with you if and only if Gideon will join us. I can’t trust you completely. I feel like you will stab me in the back."

King Zaraki’s laughter bubbled up in his quarter. His grandniece was very honest and vocal.

"Fine. We can bring Gideon with us. Besides, his father will also join us. Since you are very fond of Gideon. Why don’t you just marry him as your second husband?" King Zaraki suddenly suggested. He thought he could use Gideon to make her side with them willingly.

"Second husband? Why would I do that? I already have a husband," Eve uttered in disbelief.

King Zaraki chuckled once again.

"Haha! You are too innocent, Eve. Here in my kingdom, the members of the royal family can marry more than once. I have three wives– one queen and two concubines. The prince and princesses can marry as much as they want. If you have feelings toward Gideon, you can marry him as your second husband," he explained.

Eve couldn’t believe that. The culture in Kingdom Averion was very different from Kingdom Zephyra because of King Zaraki’s rule.

In Kingdom Averion, the king should only marry one woman– the Queen. It would be a royal scandal if he fell in love with another woman. Her mother was treated as mistress because she was impregnated by the king. Her existence was hidden from his subjects. King Solomon couldn’t have a second wife... unless the Queen died.

"You can think it over. I think Gideon has romantic feelings for you."

Eve shook her head. "No. You are wrong. We are just friends."

King Zaraki clicked his tongue. "Tsk. Tsk. You are so naive and clueless, Eve. You can’t understand a man’s true feelings."

Eve just looked at him confusedly. She refused to believe him. For her, Gideon was her master and her good friend. He was supporting her because of their friendship.

"I won’t force you to believe me. You can ask him yourself. Go and find him. Tell him we have to go somewhere. I’ll talk to my generals and Chancellor Gustav first. Wait for me in the palace hall." King Zaraki finally dismissed Eve.

The king just watched Eve’s retreating back, reminiscing his conversation with Gideon.

[ FLASHBACK ]

King Zaraki and Chancellor Gustav were puzzled as to why Gideon was with Princess Eve. He even helped them enter the kingdom’s border. King Zaraki received this report from the guards stationed at the border.

King Zaraki suspected Gideon to be a traitor, so he summoned him together with his father, Chancellor Gustav.

"Why did you help the group who is trying to assassinate me? Do you also wish for me to die?" King Zaraki asked him in a stern, cold voice.

Chancellor Gustav looked at his son with complicated emotions. He didn’t know what was running in his son’s mind. Gideon had never been obedient to him. He always defied him, doing what he wanted. He even left Kingdom Zephyra to travel around and explore the world. He didn’t expect him to return to Kingdom Zephyra for no valid reason.

"Ever since I left Kingdom Zephyra, I became known as Black Hunter. I was hired to be Princess Eve’s guard and protector because I saved her once. About their assassination plan, I don’t have any idea about it." Gideon responded to the king’s query. His words were partly true. He never asked Alaric about their strategy relating to the King Zaraki’s assassination plan.

"They didn’t know that I’m Chancellor Gustav’s son. I hid my identity from them. Princess Eve only found out today," he added.

"Do you know about her mother, Princess Esmeralda? Is she telling the truth? Is Esmeralda already dead?" King Zaraki continued interrogating Gideon.

"Yes. She’s gone," he simply responded. He didn’t give many details about Esmeralda’s death as a sign of his respect for Eve.

"How did she die?" King Zaraki probed.

"I don’t know. You have to ask Princess Eve about it."

King Zaraki and Chancellor Gustav exchanged meaningful glances with one another. Then, the king asked Gideon another serious question.

"Gideon, I want to hear your stand on this matter. The rebel group headed by Alucard will try to reclaim the throne for Eve. What will you do if I want her dead?"

King Zaraki was still trying to figure out if he was a traitor or not. Whose side was he supporting?

Gideon’s expression darkened upon hearing his last words. "Don’t touch her. You have to go through me first before you can harm her." His voice was firm with a hint of warning.

King Zaraki and Chancellor Gustav didn’t expect Gideon to be so frank about this.

"Have you gone mad? Why do you want to protect her?" Chancellor Gustav broke his silence.

"Because I love her," Gideon responded without hesitation.

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