As per King Armen’s invitation, Drayce and Arlan went to have dinner with him. When they left their chambers, the head of the royal servants guided their way towards the dining room.
The huge well-carved wooden door opened as they entered the luxurious dining hall, which every inch exuded the air of royalty.
On the long rectangular wooden dining table, various delicacies from Abetha were arranged on it. King Armen and Cian, who were waiting for their guests, stood up to welcome them. Drayce noticed that none of the other royal family members or high nobles were invited, and the meal would only be between the four of them.
“Welcome, King Drayce! Prince Arlan!”
“Thank you for inviting us, King Armen,” Drayce said as he sat in the chair exactly opposite to King Armen on the other end of the dining table. Arlan sat in the chair opposite to Cian as he offered him a smile, to which Cian signaled him to have a seat.
The servants started to serve the food, and King Armen spoke, “These are the different kinds of local delicacies from Abetha. I am not sure if the taste is to your liking, as I know that the central kingdoms have different preferences from those of the eastern kingdoms. Prince Arlan is already used to it as he often visits Abetha. I can only hope King Drayce would like it as well.”
“Looking forward to it,” Drayce replied nonchalantly.
The meal time passed nicely as they continued to talk about various things related to the continent.
“I heard, Thevailes have asked Megaris for a peace treaty,” said King Armen.
King Armen had understood everything by now—the real reason behind why the King of Megaris had come to Abetha and how he had already known about Thevailes’s intentions. Megaris could be considered the biggest threat to Thevailes’s wish to expand its territory with its powerful armies and equally powerful king. Drayce had guessed that to counter his kingdom, Thevailes would make a move against Hatha and Abetha. He had taken the opportunity not only to help preserve the sovereignty of Abetha but also to get his revenge on Marquis Godfrey Percy, who had committed heinous crimes against the innocent Megaris civilians who became victims of war.
Drayce nodded to what King Armen said. “It’s high time for them to learn to be content with what they have.
“I doubt Megaris will leave them much to be content with,” Arlan commented.
“They are reaping what they sowed,” Drayce replied casually.
“Seems like King Drayce’s arrival in Abetha was not any coincidence,” Cian commented as he looked at Drayce.
“I don’t believe in wandering around uselessly,” Drayce replied as he looked back at Cian.
“I believe it’s the truth, and King Drayce will refrain himself from wandering within the palace even,” Cian commented.
“Prince Cian can rest assured. I only go to places that concern me,” Drayce replied.
King Armen and Arlan could feel the temperature dropping around these two and didn’t know how to interfere with their ‘civil’ conversation veiled with threats. One was the King of Megaris, while the other was the Crown Prince of Abetha. No matter what, these two represented two powerful kingdoms; diplomacy was imperative.
Before Cian could say another word, King Armen interrupted his son, “It’s good that Megaris successfully defeated Thevailes. The war between them and us will then be reduced to skirmishes, and we will get enough time to make future preparations. Knowing their intentions, they would wage a proper campaign against Abetha once more.”
“Even Hatha is in trouble with Griven and Abetha by siding with them. Those two kingdoms will take time to recover from this defeat,” Arlan added.
“We are yet to receive their offer of a peace treaty with our kingdom, so until then, we will slowly nibble Hatha’s southern territory.”
Finally, the topic was diverted, and the two cold and stubborn young royals finally stopped before they could continue the argument coated with mockery.
King Armen and Arlan felt relieved as they continued their conversation regarding the war, the things that had happened, and the ones that could be done in the future to stop the war from affecting the economy of the entire continent.
“Knowing King Samer of Thevailes, I don’t think he would back down so easily,” Arlan commented.
Cian agreed, “The greed to take over the continent has blinded him.”
“Sadly, of all the things he could have inherited, it was the ambition of his late father,” King Armen sighed.
“We don’t have to worry about him, at least, for a good period of time,” Drayce informed.
Arlan chuckled, “The way you have thought of leeching them as compensation, it doesn’t look like a peace treaty but an opportunity to rob the rich.”
“Let the robbers get the taste of being robbed,” Drayce commented.
They finished the meal on a good note and were ready to leave, but King Armen stopped Drayce. “I would like to speak with King Drayce alone.”
Cian and Arlan understood it’s going to be an important and serious talk between the rulers of the two kingdoms, and their presence was not needed. The two crown princes excused themselves, leaving the two kings behind.
“This is not a good place to talk. I will lead the way to my study,” King Armen told him, and Drayce followed him out of the dining hall. Lord Eudes, who was outside along with the royal knights, followed them too.
Entering his study, King Armen sat in his chair and gestured his guest towards the opposite seat. “Please have a seat, King Drayce.”
Lord Eudes remained outside as his king had something important to discuss that even he was not aware of even though he was the King’s adviser.
“As I have said before, I and the entire Kingdom of Abetha are grateful towards King Drayce and Megaris for their contribution in rescuing our Crown Prince and Third Princess.”
Drayce could guess where the talk was heading to, and he had already predicted what it would be about. He sat silently, preferring to listen until? King Armen finished what he wanted to say.
