Chapter 145: True Monarch

"Impossible! Our Blood Priest is not a bad person." Noel shook his head and refused to believe her words.

"If he really is the one who kidnapped you, why would he do something like that? We all know that he is a firm believer of Moon and never even told any lies to us, right?" Even Jessie became shocked inside and asked in a grave tone.

"Sister, do you still remember what Blood Priest told us about our parents?" Suddenly, Titus placed his hands on the chair for support and asked in a grave tone.

"He said that our parents died during a beast tide when I was five," Jessie responded with a confused look on her face.

"If so, why can't you recall our parents' faces? Even when you asked about it to Blood Priest, he always changed the topic." Titus said in a deep voice.

"What about me then?" Noel suddenly paused for a moment and continued with a sharp tone.

"I still have the memory of my parents, though."

Charles suddenly went near the wooden ladder-back hair, sat on it, and asked.

"How did your parents die?"

His question surprised everyone. Nobody thought that their Teacher would show interest in the sudden kidnapping case.

Meanwhile, Noel crossed his arm together and spoke in a solemn tone.

"They were died due to an unknown disease, Teacher. It happened four years ago."

"When did Blood Priest picked you up?" Charles raised his brows and further questioned him.

"Two weeks after their death. At that time, other villagers got scared of the unknown disease and thought that the disease might get transmitted to them through me. So, they threatened me to leave the village. If Blood Priest didn't come that time to rescue me, I would have long died by their hands."

"Don't you find anything odd about his arrival now?" This time, it was Rhea who asked the question.

"What's so odd about it?" Noel wore a blank look on his face and soon narrowed his eyes.

"Are you saying that Blood Priest was the cause of my parents' death?"

"It is possible, lad. Think about it. If it was before, I would have thought of his arrival as a coincidental one. But after hearing Rhea's earlier words, I'm inclining to believe that he might have some hidden motive." Charles said in a deep tone, causing the room to turn dead silent.

Nobody spoke a word for another five minutes and stood there with solemn expressions on their faces.

After glancing at the kids' faces for some time, Charles tapped the floor using the black cane and spoke.

"It doesn't matter if he is a good guy or a bad guy. What you have to do now is to think about your own future." Charles suddenly turned his gaze towards Ashley and asked.

"Who are you? Tell me more about you."

"I'm one of the Queen's personal maids, My Lord. I-" Suddenly, she froze for a moment and soon noticed that she unknowingly forgot what to say next.

At that moment, Charles suddenly stood up, nodded his head, and spoke.

"I believe you. From now onwards, you are responsible for cooking, cleaning, and washing clothes." He paused for a moment and soon turned his gaze towards Jessie and the other kids.

"You guys should utilize the free time and train your skills. We will be staying here in this town for more than six months, so don't waste this good opportunity."

Saying so, he turned around and started walking towards the nearby empty room.

Within a minute, he arrived in front of a wooden door, placed his hand on the handle, turned it to the left, and opened the door.

After that, he walked into the small empty room and then looked around.

'Hmm, the owner seems to have cleaned the rooms regularly. But why didn't he put a single cot in this room.' He grumbled as he took out a mat from his space ring and placed it on the floor. After that, he also took out a pillow, a quilt, and a bed seat from his ring and arranged them in order.

'I should take some rest before going to explore the Fire Elemental Plane.' He nodded inwardly, went near the wooden door, and locked the door from inside.

Then, he lay on the mat and started to take some rest.

...

In the Main Hall, Jessie and other kids also regained their calm and started to ponder with deep looks on their faces.

The truth about Blood Priest caused their faces to turn gloomier.

"What should we do now? Can we even trust our Teacher now?" Rhea asked with a frown on her face.

"I trust him completely, Rhea. If not for his help, I might not be still talking with you guys now." Jessie straightened her back and said in a firm tone.

"I too agree with my sister. Our Teacher doesn't need our help at all. In a sense, we are just a burden to him." Titus also nodded in agreement.

"That's why I'm feeling a little suspicious about him," Rhea said with a complicated look on her face.

At this moment, Ashley glanced at the other kids, then towards Rhea, and spoke in a low voice.

"Your Highness, it might be an opportunity for you to regain your honor. From your earlier words, I can tell that your Teacher seems to be a powerful mage. Why not make an agreement with him and ask him to help you ascend to the throne?"

"Ascend to the throne?" Jessie and Titus asked in a flabbergasted tone.

"Yes, young lady. Rhea Boneflare is a Second Princess and also a rightful heir of the Iron Kingdom. Before I tell you about other things, I will give you guys some explanation about Royal lineages and some of the rules to become a monarch. Our late King Edgar had three wives, one was the Queen, and the other two were consorts. And, he had a total of four daughters and three sons."

"Among these kids, there was one girl who shined in talent and caring. Her name was Mia and she was the first child of our Queen Anna. She was well-versed in swordsmanship, and fire magic. She was an exact copy of our King in many aspects, so every citizen, mostly the Subordinate Caste members, loved her most. At that time, everyone believed that she would become the next monarch of this Iron Kingdom."

"Unlike other kingdoms, to become a true Ruler of this Iron Kingdom, one needs to get the approval of four ancestral spirits. It was an ancient tradition. Three years ago, the first princess Mia went to complete some personal mission and unexpectedly met one of the ancestral spirits in the woods. Not only that, she even got approval from that spirit and started searching for other spirits. In six months, she gained the approval of other three spirits in secrecy and returned to the Castle as a True Monarch."

"But the two large nobles' factions opposed it firmly and did not acknowledge a girl as their ruler. Even the Royal faction got sided with those nobles and refused to listen to King's and Queen's words. Yes, they directly opposed the King's words! Not only them, but even the mages of Iron Kingdom also turned their back against their own King and did not respond to his call. This incident shook the whole kingdom." Ashley suddenly paused for a moment to take a deep breath.

"What happened next?" Noel sat on the ladder-back chair and asked in an excited tone.

Meanwhile, Ashley nodded her head and started talking with a solemn look on her face.

"Everyone soon realized that the Ruler Caste members' opposition was not due to a girl becoming a monarch, but due to King Edger's previous rules. If First Princess became their next monarch, they knew that she would also suppress them like her father and might give more freedom to the Subordinate caste members. So, they revolted directly and even invited a few Churches to be the middlemen."

"In the end, King and Queen were betrayed by their own subordinates. Two years ago, hundreds of masked figures entered the Royal Castle and started a massacre. Princess Mia, Our King Edger, and Queen Anna died on that night. As for the other two consorts' children, there was not even a single scratch appeared on their bodies at all."

"Why didn't they kill me?" Rhea suddenly interjected.

"That's because someone kidnapped you even before the assassination, Your Highness. I heard that Nobles and the Royal faction members even used some divinations to search for your location, but they found no clue at all." Ashley said with a solemn tone.

'Blood Priest... Did he save me? No, he might be ordered by someone else! Then, who is the real culprit behind my kidnapping?' He tilted her head in confusion.

'Fate!'

At that moment, a single word appeared in her mind, causing her to shudder all of a sudden.

'Could it be Teacher's words are true?' An absurd thought appeared in her mind!

Soon, she took a long breath to calm her mind and asked with a serious look on her face.

"This kingdom is already in the hands of Ruler caste members. Do you think they would let me live once they found out that I'm still alive?"