'H-how!? How could this be!?' Yvonne growled in her heart as she continued to stare at the man seated on the Throne before her.

The King did not avert his eyes from her as he leered into her eyes, just as she was leering into his.

Everyone around them could not decipher the meaning of the word the child had spoken nor could they grasp what was taking place right now.

Earl St. Claire's family had come forward to greet His Majesty but before the Earl could speak up, his daughter had snatched away the King's attention.

Rutherford frowned when he saw the King and his Vonna staring at each other.

He could not see the tears in her eyes due to his position which was right next to her and his tall stature was also a disadvantage in this situation.

Not to mention that they were in the King's presence and he could not just pick her up to hold her in his arms so that he might inquire what was wrong.

Despite his ignorance about her tears, the word she had uttered felt like a knife that pierced through his heart, making it hard for him to breathe.

The word was a foreign one but the pain he felt seemed too vivid, making him wonder what it could mean for his heart to react in this way.

However, he would not have any time to mull over the meaning of that word and his attention was diverted towards the King.

King Ophire had been silently staring at the little girl but the moment she had uttered that word, a flood of emotions engulfed his uneasy heart.

Rising from his Throne, he did not waste another second as he stormed forward which widened the eyes of the people present inside the Throne room.

'What is wrong with His Majesty?' The Royal Steward, the man who served the King every day and knew him all too well was the first to detect the abnormality in his Master's behavior.

There was agitation and confusion evident in the Ruler's eyes as he headed down the steps and towards the little girl.

If earlier their eyes had only widened, right now they were about to pop out of their sockets.

The reason for this change was the King who right before everyone's eyes began walking up to the child who even now did not avert her eyes or look down.

As the distance between them diminished with each step, the little girl had to look up, straining her neck in order to continue staring at the tall man's face.

Sensing her discomfort, as the King came to a halt before her, he did something which thoroughly shocked the rest present here.

Without a moment's hesitation, the Ruler of this land lowered himself into a kneeling position before the child whose tears had already streamed down her eyes.

Rutherford, Raylene, and Howard were bewildered at what was going on and could not react in time as they blinked while watching in a daze.

"Von?" The King's gentle voice was the only other sound heard in the silent Throne room.

Yvonne had been trying to make sense of what was taking place before her but everything vanished when she heard the name coming out of this man's mouth.

"Dada!" The little girl exclaimed with sorrow oozing out of her voice as she leaped towards the man.

King Ophire's uneasy heart felt joy washing over it when the little girl called out to him and even pounced into his arms.

While the rest watched with widened eyes, the King caught the little girl without letting her hurt herself due to her actions.

One tall and proud man kneeling on the ground while the other a petite little girl, clutching his blue and golden robes and sobbing uncontrollably was the sight before them.

Watching their Monarch kneeling before a little girl who was now crying in his arms was an unprecedented situation they had never expected to witness in this lifetime.

Therefore, it was understandable that they were left stunned by this strange turn of events.

However, the first to snap out of his daze was the father who had been watching his daughter in the arms of someone else, shedding tears as she clutched his robes as though they were her only way to save herself from drowning.

"Vonna? Tell Papa what is wrong?" He stepped closer to her with the intention of extracting her from the King's embrace.

Unfortunately, the Earl could not take another step forward when he felt his feet rooted to the ground.

The King who had been patting the little girl's back in an attempt to calm her had now turned his narrowed eyes towards the Earl.

The pressure on Rutherford was so high that he was unable to move an inch of his body but he could not understand the reason behind the King's actions.

His daughter was sobbing so it was his duty to comfort her which he had attempted only to be halted by the King's scary aura.

Without caring about the pain he was experiencing, he was worried that his daughter would be affected by the King's actions.

However, it appeared as though he was the only one on whom the King's aura was aimed as none of the others appeared to be affected.

With Rutherford unable to step forward, he could only watch while gritting his teeth at his lacking ability.

King Ophire glanced down at the child in his arms and rising to his feet, he began walking in a certain direction.

"Your Majesty!" Rutherford yelled when he saw the Ruler taking his daughter away but before he could take another step, the Steward blocked his path.

The anxious father glared at the Steward but the other man seemed unaffected as he continued to stand between himself and the King who was now at the end of the room.

"Stand down, Earl. I will bring her back soon." The King's icy voice echoed in the Throne room before his figure disappeared from their sight.

He had not used the entrance to the Throne room but a secret pathway which no one knew where it led.

The Steward sighed while shaking his head at the King's strange ways today then turned towards the Earl who was seething in anger at what had taken place.

He knew that appeasing this man was his top priority before he did anything that could harm his reputation and his family as well.

"Earl, His Majesty is a man of his words." He reminded the muscular man that he need not worry about the safety of his child while she was with the King.

Rutherford knew that the King would not harm his daughter but the strange sense of dread that had taken over him made him develop a fear of losing what he held precious to him.

On the other hand, Raylene had finally realized that the King had just taken away their daughter and Howard was stunned speechless after witnessing this entire incident.

Similarly, the few ministers who had come over and remained while the Earl was greeting the King had also watched everything from start to end and could not decipher the meaning behind the King's actions.

Even the sneaky black shadow knights could not make sense of what they had watched from the shadows as this was unlike anything the King had done in the past.

They watched the regal man behave however he pleased when he thought that no one was watching but they had never assumed that he would do so before everyone's eyes.

Disregarding the child's father and even using his aura to halt him in his steps, the King had vanished with the Earl's precious daughter.

Unable to make sense of anything, the Black shadow knights did what they saw fit in that situation.

'Master, there seems to be something odd with the King.' One of them reported to their Master who was away at this moment.

Far away from the Throne room, King Ophire's younger brother and the Master of the Black shadow guards, Prince Draco Roschester was busy entertaining a guest when he heard these words echoing in his mind.

Since every black shadow guard was of the highest caliber, they each had their own etcher, their fated beast.

Therefore, it was now easier for them to directly report matters to their Master after the Prince had obtained his own etcher, Astolfo, the snow wolf.

'Speak clearly.' Prince Draco commanded as worry bubbled up in his mind after hearing the vague words of his subordinates.

Using Astolfo and this shadow guard's etcher as their connection, the guard revealed everything he had seen just earlier which succeeded in bringing a frown on his face.

"Is everything alright?" The guest present inquired after noticing the dilemma that the Prince appeared to be in.

However, Prince Draco did not reveal anything as he rose from his seat.

"Looks like we cannot continue this right now. I shall visit you sometime soon." He apologized before walking out and heading in the direction where he knew he would find his elder brother.

'What exactly happened between them?' Draco wondered with a frown as the guest only watched him leaving in a haste.

The servants in this Palace knew what needed to be done and respectfully escorted the guest back to where he had come from after their Prince had hurried away.

'Looks like something interesting happened.' The guest surmised as he walked away from the Palace where the young Prince resided.