Genesis Code: The Genetic Awakening-Chapter 171: Private Council

Reaching the temple only took Jess and Crusher a little over half an hour. They needed to be careful, as they were still considered fugitives.

Soon, the king would have what he needed to put the corrupt nobles in their place.

***

"Interesting..."

King Gray muttered with a slight smile. Who would have thought reading a report could bring so much joy?

Caleb had done more than he anticipated. The king knew Caleb was powerful, but he didn’t realise to what extent.

"To force the proud Growians to retreat is something I didn’t see coming," he added. "This will push back whatever strategic operations they had planned."

The reports included the words Caleb spoke to the Growian forces. They would definitely think twice before trying anything in his kingdom. freёnovelkiss-com

Leaning back in his chair, he looked outside the window, appreciating the quiet morning. ’The only thing left to do is receive that journal and proceed with my plans.’

Along with these thoughts, his expression changed, adopting a serious one. ’It’s only a matter of time...’

A knock at his door pulled King Gray out of his thoughts, prompting him to look over.

"Father!"

The unmistakable voice of his baby girl brought a smile to his face. Opening the door and rushing inside was Celine, looking all excited.

"Is it true?" Celine asked excitedly, rushing towards her father’s desk and to his side. "I heard from the others that the lands seized by the Growians have been taken back."

"Mhmm," King Gray nodded, accepting his daughter’s hug. "But aren’t you supposed to be training right now?"

Celine was donned in training gear, taking swordsmanship lessons from her instructors. The princess was no longer helpless and could now do all the things she had been unable to do before.

"That can wait," Celine grumbled, making her way over to the chair opposite her father’s. "I heard Caleb was responsible for that."

The excited look and anticipation in her eyes told King Gray all that he needed to know. He couldn’t help but chuckle at his daughter’s antics.

"Yes, he will be returning soon." King Gray shook his head. "You-"

"Yeah...!"

Before King Gray could complete his statement, Celine cheered happily, grinning from ear to ear.

"This is all you wanted to know, isn’t it?" The king muttered with a knowing smile. "So predictable."

"Hmph. I should have met him already, but you decided to send him on a mission instead." The king found her daughter’s childish behaviour amusing.

This was something his baby girl couldn’t do before. Seeing it now brought him so much joy. He wouldn’t mind seeing her behave like this every day.

But the princess was a smart girl. She knew when and where to act with modesty and etiquette, or act like a pampered little girl.

"You should be returning to your lessons before your mother finds out." King Gray threatened with a smirk, seeing Celine’s expression abruptly change.

"Ah, Mom is going to kill me!" The princess quickly got up, rushed to her father’s side and placed a soft kiss on his cheek before running out, leaving a broadly smiling King Gray.

’Caleb Zane...’ The king thought to himself for the umpteenth time. ’I still don’t understand how, but I will always be grateful.’

Meanwhile, Royal Commander Lance received a message from one of his subordinates. Without even thinking about it, he knew what it was about.

The commander promptly made his way towards the king’s private space. This was what they’d been waiting for.

"Your Majesty, I have news." Commander Lance made his presence known and entered the office. "It’s here..."

"Excellent," King Gray muttered, sitting back in his chair. "We go at sundown."

***

Despite things seeming calm on the surface, King Gray didn’t want to take any chances with his Councilmen and officials.

This was a critical issue as some of them had ties with the nobles who might have been compromised.

He did, however, include his son, Osbourne, in his plans. As the future king of the kingdom, Osbourne had to be made aware of certain things and how to handle them.

Come night, three figures mysteriously disappeared from the castle walls, making their way to their now secret meetup point, the temple.

Arriving at the temple, they quickly found the priestess, who was engaged in prayer.

"Priestess Celistra, we’re here." King Gray came to stand behind the priestess, pulling his hood down.

The priestess didn’t immediately reply, still engaged in prayer. This would have been an offence, given who was behind her.

At the moment, however, King Gray wasn’t there as the king, but as an individual seeking the help of the priestess.

About a minute later, the priestess brought her prayers to a close, slowly getting to her feet and turning around to face her guest.

"I apologise for my actions, Your Majesty." Priestess Celistra gave a slight bow.

"No need to explain," King Gray calmly dismissed and got straight to business. "Is he here?"

"Not yet," the priestess shook her head. "But what you need is ready. Please, follow me."

Priestess Celistra turned around and made her way towards the far side of the altar, where a door led to the inner areas of the temple.

Leading the trio down the same path she did before, King Gray and Commander Lance walked with purpose while Osbourne looked around curiously.

It was late at night, and the temple was pretty much asleep. Moreover, the priestess had ordered everyone to stay indoors.

"We’re here." Priestess Celistra came to a stop, gesturing towards the path that led into the hidden chambers beneath the temple.

"Priestess Celistra, why don’t you join us?" The king turned to her and proposed. "There aren’t a lot of people I can trust right now. Having you on this little ’private council’ of ours would be invaluable."

"Your Majesty," the priestess smiled appreciatively. "But I-"

"Please, I insist." King Gray pressed. "I’m not asking as your king, but as a friend."

Priestess Celistra didn’t know what to say to that. While she had a good relationship with the king, it wasn’t particularly profound.

However, after introducing Caleb and everything that happened afterwards, things had changed with how the king treated her and the church.

"Okay..." The priestess agreed, bringing a smile to King Gray’s face.

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