Trash Prince and Ice Queen 10th Re - Life-Chapter 144: The Kingdom True Condition
After the girls left the room to go to the large indoor bathhouse, guided by several of Kresus’s wives who were assisting them, Ard, Geoffrey, Ainsley, Irwin, and Hardim spoke seriously with Kresus about their next move. According to Kresus, the atmosphere in the palace had been tense for fifty years. King Vogir refused to speak with anyone he deemed unimportant; he was still obsessed with finding Princess Grethia, his only daughter who had vanished, and continued to deploy his troops to attack the Dwarf kingdom so he could level it as quickly as possible.
The real problem here was that because King Vogir was in such a state of ruin, he only trusted his right-hand man, Idor, and constantly followed his advice. You could say that for the last fifty years, since the disappearance of Princess Grethia, Idor had been the one actually ruling the Tartagia kingdom with King Vogir as his puppet. Hearing about the state of the kingdom, Ard, Geoffrey, Ainsley, Irwin, and Hardim all glanced at one another; it turned out the situation in the Tartagia kingdom was far more dire than they had imagined.
"Hmm... this is much more complicated than I thought," Geoffrey muttered.
"True. We once investigated whether King Vogir was being drugged or given a potion so that he wasn’t himself, but it turns out he wasn’t. He is simply too consumed by grief over the loss of Princess Grethia, his only daughter, and holds a grudge against the dwarves, whom he believes tricked his daughter and then kidnapped her," Kresus replied.
"If that’s the case, it’s going to be difficult, especially with Idor right by his side whispering in his ear," Ard muttered while deep in thought.
"Hmm... quite a headache, isn’t it," Hardim muttered while stroking his hair.
"You’d better stay out of King Vogir’s sight for now, and that goes for Thorena too," Geoffrey said.
"Right, it’s best if we’re careful," Ainsley added, pushing up his glasses. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
"The only way forward is to investigate Idor and find out what actually happened 50 years ago, right?" Irwin said.
"That’s correct. I have a few suspicions about what transpired 50 years ago—specifically, Lesnar knows what happened. That’s why I asked him to come here with his family, for their own safety," Kresus said.
"Go ahead and explain, Lord Kresus, while we wait for Lesnar to arrive," Ard said.
Kresus took a deep breath, then began to recount what he knew. According to what Lesnar had told him, King Vogir seemed confused when Elmer left the throne room with Grethia, who was escorting Elmer to his lodgings. Once they stepped out, Idor began suggesting that Elmer’s peace offering was excellent and highly profitable for the kingdom.
He argued that if the Tartagia kingdom could seize control of the Grimgrath kingdom, they could return to the surface and colonize it; Idor explained the surface world to King Vogir in great detail. Lesnar, who was King Vogir’s personal bodyguard at the time, found it strange that Idor knew so much about the surface, considering they only knew of it through legends.
However, since Lesnar didn’t understand much about it himself, he didn’t pay it much mind at the time. King Vogir had no interest in the surface; he told Idor firmly that his mind was on Elmer. Besides proposing peace by bringing a Githiess egg, Elmer had also asked for Princess Grethia’s hand in marriage, and she seemed to love him in return.
Idor could say nothing and retreated in an orderly fashion without further argument. But about a week later, Idor suddenly returned to the palace. He reported that Elmer had taken Princess Grethia and the Githiess egg away from the Tartagia kingdom. Initially, King Vogir didn’t pay it much mind and ordered several people to investigate. It turned out that what Idor said was true, and this was what drove King Vogir into a rage.
He immediately sent an envoy to the Grimgrath kingdom to question King Murmic, and subsequently, he heard news that his envoy had been executed by King Murmic. This made him even more furious, and he was never the same person again.
"Wait a second—so the first person to report that Elmer and Grethia had disappeared along with the Githiess egg was Idor?" Ard asked.
"That’s how it was, according to Lesnar. He knows everything because he was always by the king’s side," Kresus said.
"Yep, it’s clear now. First, he tries to persuade King Vogir to go to the surface, then he brings news that Elmer and Grethia eloped with the Githiess egg. Add to that what Lesnar said about the rebellion 30 years ago because the king raised taxes—a move also suggested by Idor. Of course, everything points to Idor. I’m certain he’s the one behind the disappearance of Elmer, Grethia, and the Githiess egg," Geoffrey said.
"True. It’s almost a certainty. Idor is the villain here," Ainsley added, lost in thought.
"Hey... hey, but we don’t have any proof, and this is just my opinion. If Elmer and Grethia are being held by Idor, and we corner him without evidence, won’t that put both of them in danger?" Irwin asked.
"Exactly. That’s why we can’t act recklessly. I hope you all stay inside this house. Leave the investigation to me and Lesnar. Especially you, Hardim, and Princess Thorena—make sure Idor doesn’t see you," Kresus told Hardim.
"Yeah, I know. But it’s obvious; we already know who the bad guy is. We just need to find the evidence," Hardim replied while stroking his beard.
"Hmm... so this is what the Dragon God meant by tasking us to find the Githiess egg. He already knew the egg was missing. I get it now. It’s not just Elmer and Grethia who are in danger; that egg is in danger too—especially if my hunch is right and Idor is being controlled by Ophelia," Ard muttered.
"So you were sent here on a mission by the Dragon God from the legends?" Kresus asked, as he hadn’t yet heard the story regarding the Dragon God.
"The Dragon God isn’t a legend; he’s very much real," Ard answered.
Ard immediately recounted the task given to him by the Dragon God to Kresus. Naturally, Kresus listened intently; though his face suggested he was only half-convinced, he didn’t voice any doubt. Then Kresus paused to think and turned to Ard.
"But why only now? That incident happened fifty years ago," Kresus asked, deep in thought.
"Like I just told you, it’s because the egg is in danger now... and if Elmer and Grethia are connected to that egg, it’s obvious they are in danger too. We have to act fast to investigate Idor and find out who he really is. We are dealing with a goddess who looks kind on the outside but is cunning and cruel underneath," Ard said.
"Hmm, that makes sense. The dwarf and giant kingdoms have been in Le Rein Infernal for thousands of years, separated from the surface. If humans, elves, and demons from the surface are showing up here, it’s obvious that something big is about to happen," Hardim muttered.
"Plus, the ones who arrived are chosen heroes... oh, we giants also know the legends of the human heroes named Ashton and Esmeralda who sealed away the demon god Malekh. After hearing your story, I’m convinced the legends are real," Kresus added, glancing toward Ard.
"Regarding the heroes in the legends... don’t make too big a deal out of it. Right now, my name is Ard and Esmeralda is named Eva, so we aren’t the same people from 3,000 years ago," Ard said.
They all fell silent, each of them thinking about the next steps they had to take carefully and quickly. Not long after, one of Kresus’s wives entered the room along with Lesnar, his wife, and their two children—a boy and a girl who looked quite young, perhaps only about 10 and 8 years old.
"Ah... you’ve arrived, Lesnar. Welcome to my home," Kresus said, standing up to greet Lesnar.
"I’ve come, Lord Kresus. Thank you for letting my family stay here," Lesnar said.
"How are you, Mertha?" Kresus asked Lesnar’s wife.
"I am well, Lord Kresus, thank you for asking," Mertha replied.
"Hmm... it seems Lorth and Christa have grown quite a bit," Kresus said, his hands stroking the heads of the boy named Lorth and the little girl named Christa.
"That they have, Lord Kresus. So, what is the status of things?" Lesnar asked.
Kresus stood back up and asked his wife to escort Mertha and the two children to their room so they could rest. Afterward, Kresus invited Lesnar to sit beside him, and they began once again to discuss their next move and what actions they needed to take immediately. Lesnar recounted what he knew from his time serving at the palace and accompanying King Vogir before he was thrown to the front lines—and as it turned out, the one who had sent him to the front was also Idor.
"So that’s how it is," Ard muttered.
"Why were you thrown to the front lines?" Geoffrey asked.
"Because I know that Idor is actually a sorcerer. I caught him in the King’s study performing a ritual and, naturally, I confronted him. A few days later, I was assigned to the front lines. This happened about a month ago," Lesnar answered.
"Hmm... this is the first I’m hearing of this," Kresus said, deep in thought.
"That’s because I hadn’t told you yet—the real reason why I was cast off to the front lines," Lesnar added.
Kresus, Hardim, Ard, and the others stared at Lesnar. What Lesnar said brought a new development to their investigation: Idor was a sorcerer.
