--Silence--

.

The hall remained so quiet, that if one should've dropped a pin..... even those at the far back would've heard it.

Everyone's mind blanked out for a split second, as what they had heard was too had to believe.

But from his Majesty's reaction..... it seems to be true.

.

"What?

The brat is still alive?"

"How come?

Didn't you tell me that you had personally seen him on death's door before?"

"Don't look at me like that bro.... I really did see him looking lifeless, so I truly don't know how he survived."

"_"

The people were stunned by what they were hearing.

The brat was alive and well.

And on top of that, he had also built a stable empire for himself too.

This was too unbelievable.

As they heard Duke Winchester narrate several tales about how Landon turned the barren lands and made it fertile..... to how he came up with all these ideas, they couldn't help but wonder whether it was the same person or not.

Of course, Duke Winchester had told them the stories that came from all those crewmen and knights who had previously visited Baymard.

The tales had become famous tales in Carona.... so of course he had heard of them during his visit to Carona.

.

At this point, the nobles had all gathered around Winchester, as if they were listening to a bedtime story.

In fact, they had even forgotten about Alec who was before them.

But of course Alec didn't mind, as he too was too immersed in Landon's achievements.

Good Gracious!

Was that fellow pretending to be weak all along?

Did he persevere here in the Capital, because he had plans?

From the tales, it was clear that the most valuable thing wasn't the goods..... but Landon himself.

With these sorts of ideas and inventions, one could even acclaim him to be a rare genius!!

.

Alec's body vibrated slightly from extreme anger..... as he clenched the handles of his seat.

Very good!!

What a little schemer that son of his was.

Did he plan everything from the start and play him like a drum?

So was he pretending to be stupid so as to fly under his radar?

Because if so... then it worked!

One should know that Landon being an illegitimate son, he was entitled to study only sword practice... as things like war tactics and so on, were strictly forbidden to him.

They wanted to turn him into a puppet for Eli.

So subjects that required him to think, was definitely not an option for him.

Hence he had only been allowed to learn the ways of the sword.

.

At that time, he didn't even need to follow up on that son of his..... news had quickly spread out of how bad Landon was at fighting.

Heck!

Even the teachers had confirmed the matter to Alec... so he had been utterly disappointed with Landon.

Because a good pawn opportunity had been wasted just like that.

Now hearing these tales, even in a hundred years from now... most people would call him a fool.

His name would go down in history as a jester.

Because no matter how one looked at it, he who had publicly denounced this son.... was now getting the shorter end of the stick.

The more he thought about it, the more his blood began to boil.

If he had known that the brat was a genius, why the hell would he chase him away?

He would've imprisoned him and forced him to create all these goods for Arcadina in hiding.

Of course he would've stolen the credit for all the inventions and killed Landon before handing the throne over to Eli.

As sometimes, sacrifices were essential for the greater good.

But sadly, this son of his was way trickier to deal with than he thought..... and now, he would be seen as Arcadina's most foolish ruler ever.

.

"Where is retired sword master Roshi?

Come out now!!" Alec bellowed in anger.

And soon, the crowd immediately gave way.... as a shivering man walked forward as if he were going to attend his own funeral.

Once in front of Alec, he literally lied down and begged for his life.

"Oh great one, great sovereign..... great ruler of Arcadina, I am here."

Looking at the frightened man, who was constantly stroking his ego.... Alec calmed down a tad bit.

"Hmpp!!

At least you know your place!

Now tell me, how come you as a teacher never noticed how smart my son was?

Such a brilliant child, why didn't you tell me that he was so amazing?

"_"

.

Everyone almost puked out blood from listening to Alec's pretentious words.

When have you ever acknowledged the child as yours?

Weren't you the same person who criticized the child's mother, and even said that for all you know that child could be anybodys?

You called her a whore for her entire stay here.... and now, you're acting as if youare innocent?

Looking at their king's pitiful and caring act towards Landon, they almost wanted to clap at his performance.

Even the royals were taken aback as well.

Weren't you the same person who slapped your son one day because he accidentally bumped into you?

Bravo, your majesty!

.

Alec was completely oblivious to everyone's inner thoughts.... as he did this so that news could reach Baymard, that he had a change of heart towards Landon.

He had to get Baymard under his command no matter what!!

He had inwardly noted to send his spies to access the overall power of Baymard.

He wanted to know how many knights they had at hand right now, and how many they were hiding away from the public's eyes.

Even though he truly doubted that Landon would ever have more men than he did..... he still needed to know a rough estimation of Baymard's forces, so that he could send out the proper amount of knights for the task.

In this way, if this son of his proved stubborn, then he would have no choice but to use the hard way.

After all, he had a hundred percent chance in coming out victorious in the end.... as there was no way that a newly established empire would take down Arcadina.

No matter how he looked at it, it was only a matter of time before Baymard belonged to him.

And by then, he would kidnap Landon and keep him alive in a secret dungeon.

After all, with a mind like that..... the real treasure was the boy.