Chapter 451 - My Love
The king was beyond interested in his words. They didn't sound like lies, too, since Arthur has given enough details to prove otherwise. However, the king looked upset.
"You always know how to place a price tag on yourself when things fall, and I would have no option but to handle the aftermath."
"I am valuable," Arthur spread his palm upward. "And I have been nothing but kind to this kingdom. My only problem lies with the way nobles carry themselves, and I thought we agree that there is a problem there."
"Are you sure it is only that?" the king tapped on his desk as he looked down on his report. "Maybe it has something to do with what happened to you in Alva. You were humiliated by the nobility of that kingdom, and it seems you are bent on treating them the same."
"Maybe my actions are influenced by my impression of them, but am I in the wrong?" Arthur shrugged, and the king stared at him silently before sighing.
"The nobles are going to be upset for a while, but there is truly nothing that they can do. Therefore, we need to proceed to grant you a noble title so that they consider you less of an outsider."
"I would humbly decline. I am a safekeeper of these runes, and I have no intention of joining the nobility. I want to keep my social status as I work for this kingdom."
"You can't be a lord without a title," the king frowned and stopped tapping on the table. "Do not let your past determine your future. You are wiser than turning down what a noble title gives you."
"I am aware of its benefits, but I am also aware of how much it damages the public good. Call me bitter, your majesty, but I will never be a part of their group, not even with ten positions in the kingdom."
"You are... dangerous," the king truthfully said, not trying to sugarcoat it. "Your way of thinking is too novel for my kingdom, and I don't think that a social change is possible."
"I am but one man, your majesty," he reassured the king. "You won't see an uprooting of the nobility system just because of me."
"Maybe, but that would be unfortunate."
***
Despite his rage against their actions, it was not a mindless act. Arthur and Dia agreed that if they needed the nobles to listen, they would have to use their fear and greed.
There was no better bargaining chip than artifacts. Artifacts. Artifacts. Artifacts.
They had considered working separately before, as the king advised them. However, they indeed had no reason to do so. Arthur might be hated, but he wasn't useless. The nobles knew that too.
It was precisely that reason that they hated him. Arthur was considered a teenager who had a pie land in his lap in the form of artifacts.
Their speculations about his relation to the Ghost Runemaster were numerous, as some said that he was that man's son or relative. However, it made no sense that Arthur was enslaved before, but the theory still had its weight by adding some justifications.
Another one was that the Ghost Runemaster was none other than... the dwarf that Arthur kidnapped. It was the only companion Arthur had, which can be the runemaster himself, but that theory was also considered quite flawed.
The theories were numerous, but for the one that Arthur was the runemaster himself, it was quickly shot down by everyone. The reason was simple: Arthur was too young. It was estimated that the Seika was barely eighteen, nineteen if one was being cautious.
Runemasters were all old hags, King Solomon being the sole exception. However, even the king himself needed to study the profession to produce artifacts. The iron rule in the Schelera religion was that knowledge was power.
There was no way that Arthur assimilated this amount of knowledge that would upturn a kingdom as a slave. That was why the earlier theories were more reasonable, albeit having too many missing pieces. But, sometimes, the truth was the simplest among a thousand answers.
"So, they have no choice but to listen to you now," Dia smiled as she looked at him, her body leaning slightly forward. Arthur was in her room, which he teleported into to avoid suspicion.
"And they have no choice but to forge a good connection with you, the closest person to the Seika," Arthur nodded as he looked away.
There was a slight issue with visiting the princess in her room. She wore light clothes since she was alone, and a lot of her skin was showing. Despite being of some experience, albeit he was forced to it by a snake woman, Arthur retained some amount of unfamiliarity with these things.
"Are you sure that it's going to work this way? The amount of pressure on your promises to deliver will crush you if you fail. The king will not take your side when you fail to live up to your words because he is not your friend."
"I can leave the Freda kingdom anytime my plans go awry," Arthur assured. "I have alternative plans to realize my goals, but I believe that the king is my safest bet."
"Alternative plans that involve your friend, I assume," Dia stood up from her chair and walked toward him, wearing rosy garments that reached her knees and revealed her shoulders.
"A bit," he admitted as the kingdom squinted her eyes at him, standing beside his chair.
"Make sure to take me with you when the time comes."
"What about your goal to rule Alva?"
"Do you know why I want to rule Alva?"
"You said it was to change the kingdom for the better," Arthur said with slight doubt, and the princess spotted it.
"Your doubts are appropriate. My father used my mother, and her family abandoned her. The only follower she had and trusted was the one to kill her before he fled. His reasons were unknown, and I have no power to uncover them."
"You want the power to know why he killed your mother?"
"And to take revenge for her, from my father and her family."
"Are you willing to dedicate your life to this purpose? A cold and ill-forbidden ending awaits at the end, and it is not going to involve happiness."
"My love," she caressed his cheeks and said gently, filling his soul with birds wanting to break free. "I never thought that I could be happy until I met you. However, it is still uncertain that you will stay with me. If my happiness is out there, then it is here," she placed a hand on his chest.
She was leaning on the side of his chair, her legs touching his arm. Arthur closed his eyes as she ran her fingers along the lines of his face, using her thumb to wipe his lower eyelid.
"If you know that I can't stay, then why are you still on my side? Is it not better to leave now since we have yet to grow too attached?"
"The crueler of fates is never to experience love, even crueler than losing it," the princess said, and Arthur opened his eyes. Her eyes gleamed with tears. "I don't want to lose you, Arthur. I want you to stay with me."
"I want to be with you too," he said, touching her forearm. "I want to be here, at this moment, forever. However, what I want doesn't align with what I have to do. I can't afford to stay because everyone is waiting for me back at home."
"Can I not replace them?" she asked, closing her eyes. Teardrops rolled down her face on each side of her cheeks. "Am I the choice you didn't pick?"
"Can I replace your revenge?" Arthur asked, not shying away from her words. Then, he stood up from his spot and stood in front of her. "I love you, Dia. However,"
"However," she repeated as if expecting it.
"I can never choose to stay here. I have to go back, as much as it hurts. You are not the one I didn't pick, but my greatest regrets for not being able to be with you."
"I... understand," she said. "I still want to have you, as long as you are by my side. I don't know how it would feel after you are gone, but being with you gives my life meaning."
"I want to be with you too, as long as I can," he said and leaned in, kissing her. They kissed once and twice again, running their hands through each other's hair.
Arthur knew it would hurt more this way, but he still chose to do it. His body was glued to hers as they began to take their clothes off, crossing the only line that they never crossed.
It would be his greatest sorrow in the end. However, he will live on knowing that he can love and care about someone this deeply.. This moment might tear him apart later on, but he would treasure it just the same.