The next day, Rory went to visit the king.

“Yo, Xavier! Still alive?”

He said after entering the throne room.

“Ah~.”

The king only responded with a groan while sitting on the throne.

“My head hurts.”

He said after a while.

“I feel like I’m going to die.”

“So you’re suffering from a hangover. I know the feeling.”

Rory laughed.

At that moment, Allen walked up to him and gave him something to drink.

“Here’s something to help you get rid of your headache, Your Majesty.”

“Ah….Thanks.”

Xavier took the cup and took a drink.

“Hmm….It has a strong taste. What’s in it?”

He asked.

“Dried Buffalo penis, owl lungs, pickled sheep eyeballs, and a dry fried canary.”

Allen answered.

“Blegh!”

After hearing the ingredients of what he just drank, Xavier started throwing up where he sat.

“Y-You bastard! Are you trying to kill me?!

He shouted before starting to vomit again.

“Your order was to find the fastest acting hungover cure, apparently this drink is considered the best cure in the kingdom.”

Allen answered.

“I always knew that you eyed the throne, but I never thought that you would resort to poisoning!”

Xavier shouted.

“I have no interest in the throne…..It’s a pain in ass really. Besides, I think you’re overreacting.”

Allen replied.

“Then how about you drink it?!”

“I would rather die.”

Allen answered immediately.

“I can have that arrange-Blegh?!”

The moment Xavier stood up, he started vomiting again.

“I heard that he got kicked out of his bedroom by his wife.”

Rory walked up to Allen and said.

“Yeah. Her Highness doesn’t like it when the king comes home drunk and smelling like other women.”

Allen said.

“One time she stabbed the king in the ear with a pen, when he stank of cheap perfume.”

“Sounds like a scary woman.”

Rory said.

“She is. Not even the king can defy her.”

Allen said.

“That’s not true!”

Xavier finally stood up after vomiting everything he had inside him.

“I wear the pants in the relationship. I’m the king after all.”

Rory was unconvinced by his proud words. He started to develop interest in the Queen.

“Does the queen favors any of the Princes more the others?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

Allen answered.

“Hmm…..”

Rory started pondering something.

“Xavier, I forgot to ask. How much do you know about the branch of the Sacred Church here in the kingdom?”

“Not much. Sacred Churches always keep information about themselves a secret from outsiders. I’m no different despite being king.”

Xavier answered.

“I see.”

‘I might need to pay the church a visit in the future, they might impact this country’s survival in the biggest way.’

Rory thought.

‘Well, they’ll probably come to me in the future, considering the fact that I’m wanted by the Sacred Army.’

“By the way, how’s Liam?”

He asked, changing the topic.

“He’s worse off than me. It’s his first time being drunk.”

Said Xavier.

“Seriously, how pathetic. He’s already 23 and he’s never been drunk before. I feel embarrassed as his father.”

After he said that, he resumed vomiting inside a bag Allen had given him.

“I think he’s the one who should be embarrassed with a father like this.”

Rory said.

“Well, I’m not one to talk.”

He started laughing.

“I’m going to check on the prince. Since I’m kinda responsible for his current suffering, I need to make amends.”

The king waved indicating that he understood, while keeping his face in the bag.

Rory then left the throne room and went to the part of the royal district where the second prince resided.

The second prince, Liam resided in the northern section of the royal district where he lived in a mansion on a hill. His mansion was around the same size as the third prince, Christi’s. It however was heavily guarded unlike Christi’s.

No, Christi’s was also heavily guarded, the only difference was that Christi’s guards weren’t in plain sight.

When Rory arrived at the gate, the guards as expected stopped him.

“This is the second prince and future king, his majesty Liam’s residence! You cannot enter without permission!”

The guards said.

“Hmm….This is wrong.”

Rory said while ignoring them.

“While broadcasting your ambition shows your drive to accomplish it, it can also come off as being arrogant and turn people off. Especially when the guards are this overbearing, while being ignorant of the events happening in the kingdom.”

He said.

“What are you babbling about?!”

The guards were angered by Rory’s words, which indicated that he’s looking down on them.

“You two don’t usually keep track of what’s going on in the kingdom do you? If you did, you would know who I am and what I signify to your master.”

He showed a cold smile.

“People like you will become a hindrance for my plans.”

He then walked towards them with the same smile on his face.

“H-Hey, what are you-”

Before they could finish, their entire world started spinning. They then heard something hit the ground, and felt pain assault their entire body.

That’s when they realized that they had been flung without being able to react.

“With guards like this, the prince is better off not having any guards at all.”

Rory said.

He then opened the gate and walked in. The guards could hear their coworkers experiencing similar fates as them. They even saw a few of them being thrown out of the yard and over the gate.

By the time Rory reached the mansion’s front door, there were piles of people groaning behind him.

He knocked on the door with a casual smile on his face. The door opened and to his surprise, the one who opened the door was the prince himself.

“……Ugh.”

The first thing the prince did was groan.

“Why did you open the door yourself? What about your servants?”

Rory asked.

“They heard about how you destroyed Christi’s mansion, plus they saw you destroy my guards. They’re too terrified that they’ll offend you in some way, to greet you.”

Liam said while gesturing Rory to come in. Rory walked inside and locked the door behind him.

The moment he entered, he saw several maids and butlers standing at the walls, all looking terrified while trying their best to keep a welcoming smile on their faces.

“Hey, I’m not a monster you know. I won’t just attack you for no reason.”

He said.

“It might be hard to believe that after what you’ve done in the last 24 hours.”

Liam said, while literally falling into his seat in the hall. He rubbed his head while taking a cup from one of his servants, and drinking what was inside.

“Bleh, bitter.”

He said after drinking it.

“Why do people drink if you have to go through stuff like this, the next day?”

He complained.

“It’s the buzz.”

Rory replied.

“That makes no sense.”

“The most fun things in life makes no sense.”

He said with a laugh.

“Anyway, I came here to tell you that I’ve decided to side with you in the race for the throne.”

He said.

Liam was so surprised that it was like he was cured from his hungover.

“What changed your mind?”

He asked.

“If I said that I believed that you were the best candidate to rule, would you believe me?”

Rory answered with a question.

“No.”

Liam shook his head.

“I don’t believe you have any interest in who leads the country. If you wanted to support me it’s because you have some ulterior motive that only by supporting me can you achieve it.”

“Your ability to judge character is as satisfactory as ever.”

Rory said with a nod.

“I do have an ulterior motive, which involves siding with one of the princes. From what I can tell you’re the one who I can get along with the best.”

“So that’s the reason you’re siding with me? Because we get along?”

“Is that a problem?”

Liam shook his head.

“My mother always said that it’s better to have a friend rather than a business partner in times like these.”

“I see. She’s a wise woman.”

Rory said.

“I however need to know your ulterior motives before I agree to work with you.”

Said Liam.

“I thought that you would be satisfied with me supporting you.”

“I am, but I can’t just take you in without knowing what you’re up to. That’s simply inviting a wolf into my home.”

Rory laughed when he heard that.

“A wolf huh? I think that’s an inadequate description of me.”

He said with a smile.

“But don’t worry, my goal is to save this country and purely that.”

“Save the country?”

“That’s right. But I can’t say anything more. Whether you believe me or not is your choice. I’m only willing to give you all a chance at survival, whether you take it or not isn’t my concern.”

Rory said with a shrug.

“…………”

Liam stayed silent for a while. He started pondering Rory’s words and tried to figure out if there were any lies in them. However, he wasn’t able to read someone like Rory and had to go off his instinct.

“I understand. Let’s work together to save this country.”

He stretched out his hand, and Rory took it and shook it.

“Let’s.”