Chapter 277: Secret Meeting of Kings
"Sorry I"m late. Thanks for waiting." Albert said to the three people who are already inside the secret meeting room.
The three people are King Henry, Empress Lynn, and her bodyguard, Claudia.
"First, is it really okay for me to be here?" Claudia asked. She"s worried because she"s not a royalty. She"s just Lynn"s aide.
"It"s better for you to be here. Lynn is a terrible without you by her side. Rather, if you"re not here, I will ask her to return and bring you back here." Albert said.
Lynn was not as terrible as Albert said. But when she took Claudia to be her aide, she became a much better leader which can"t be compared to before. Lynn trusted her, and the other kings also decided that Claudia is easier to talk than Lynn. That"s why Albert and the other kings also trust her. Of course Albert trust her because of his ability.
"I think it"s good that you"re here. That fake Harold"s reaction when he"s talking, it was as if he doesn"t care who you are. The real Harold would try to talk to you at all time. Even during a serious meeting. That"s just proofing that he"s a fake Harold. This one doesn"t even look at you." Henry said. He"s the oldest and the wisest among the four leaders.
"This fake Harold seems to know the content of our meeting two years ago. And he also knows the real Harold"s personality and acted really well. But the fact that he doesn"t focus on Claudia one bit is disturbing. This will be our main discussion now. But first, I want to introduce you to someone."
Albert tapped his ring and Sonia appears in front of him.
"Nice to meet you, king and empress, I"m Sonia. A ghost." Sonia introduced herself to the people inside.
In the pa.s.sage, Sonia thought that Albert bringing her would shock other people inside. That"s why she suggested to wait with Miguel until Albert called her.
"A ghost? I didn"t know that you"re a tamer, Albert." Henry asked.
"I"m not. Sonia doesn"t belong to anyone. She"s actually…"
Albert told the other three about who Sonia is and how she can be here without anyone taming her.
"So, we can communicate with each other as long as we have that ring?" Claudia asked.
"That"s right. But it"s not the ring. It"s the soil inside of the ring. I will give Old Man Henry one, and Lynn one."
As soon as Lynn received the ring, she threw the ring toward Claudia without hesitation.
"Claudia, take care of it for me."
"I understand."
This is a normal event with Lynn and Claudia. Albert has witnessed it a few times.
"You really trust Claudia that much, huh?" Albert asked.
"I am. With all my life."
Hearing Lynn"s answered proudly, Claudia has a happy expression on her face.
"Well, I guess that"s fine. Now, about Harold. Does anyone know anything regarding Arturo Kingdom?" Albert asked.
Everyone was silent. No one heard anything from that kingdom. Even the spies they put in Arturo never returned.
"…let"s think of it as the worst-case scenario. Arturo has been taken over by the cult. As for the real Harold, he"s either had been killed, or he"s being restrained. Somehow, they can get information from the restrained Harold." Albert said.
Claudie raises her hand. She has something to say.
"Um… everyone knows that King Harold has a thing for me, right? Though I don"t want to accept his feeling." Claudia said.
"Of course you shouldn"t! You must always be with me! Don"t ever go to his or anyone"s side!" Lynn shouted.
"I know, your majesty. Well, actually, he used to send me bunch of love letters and invitation to be his aide and wife. He started it about four years ago. He even asked me to be his fourteenth wife which of course, I refused. But he"s still sending his letters almost every month." Claudia said.
"Fourteenth wife? He already had thirteen of them? Well, I know someone who had a harem, but not that much. Still, depend on how he encounters other girls in the future, he might even surpa.s.s that number." Albert mumbled to himself while thinking of his friend.
"Actually, that was the first time he sent me a love letter. A few month ago, he asked me to be his twentieth wife." Claudia said.
"Reject him! I haven"t even married, and he"s married six times in four years!? Kill him! Burn him alive!" Lynn said angrily. Though it was a common sight for everyone here to see Lynn sulking.
"Lynn, first, he needs to be alive first for you to kill him or burn him alive. Anyway, Claudia, you"re telling me that he"s still sending you a letter until a few month ago and then he stopped?" Albert asked.
"Yes. The last letter was three months ago. But after this meeting with the fake him, I think he"s actually sending me a secret message. Especially since in his last letter, he said that he finally gave up on me even after saying that he won"t give up so many times. I even brought that letter with me. here."
Claudia put the letter on the table, and Albert read it.
"Hmm… I see. I don"t get any secret message from this letter. Maybe you will find it in the previous letters. Can you check on them?" Albert asked.
"I will once we return."
"Once you figure out the secret message, if there"s any, contact me Via Sonia. It might take a while for her to visit since she"s currently busy." Albert said.
As he said that, Sonia interjected.
"I will be busy in the next two months so during that period, it will take time until I arrive. But after that, I will come as soon as possible." Sonia said.
"Oh? Your study is almost done? That"s good." Albert said.
"Wait! A ghost studying? Is there a school for ghost?" Henry who has been quiet for a while asked.
"More like a ghost town. The ghost over there are more experienced than me. they can even lift heavy object. As for me, I can barely lift this letter." Sonia said as she pinched the paper in Albert"s hand and lifted it.
"I think this should be enough. I have a more important information to share. If we stay too long here, that fake Harold might be suspicious. I have something important to tell you. It"s about the friend I have. He"s the one who has a harem. He"s actually the man who told me about all of this."
Without hiding any secrets, Albert told everyone here about Roy. About his special ability, and the fact that he come from the future. Then he also told them about Javier and Monsters World.
He can"t afford to keep a secret if he wanted a cooperation. A cooperation between kingdoms will be difficult if one side keep too many important secrets. There are many things that should be keep as secret, but some things are better said to gain others" trust.
"Wait! You have twin children!? And your wife was fine after that!?" Henry asked.
"Yes. It was a risky move since that"s the first time anyone actually tried it. But Marie is strong and decided to have both babies. Don"t worry, Old man Henry. Once he"s spread the knowledge of the treatments, no one will suffer the same thing that your niece experienced." Albert said.
Harold"s niece had a pregnancy similar to Marie. She was pregnant with twin children. After giving birth to one, the other child died and she also died. That"s one thing that he regretted, and the reason why the development of medication in Varadis is much more advanced than in other countries. Most of Roy"s knowledges as a doctor are from books written by a Varaditian doctor in the future.
"If we have the chance, I want to meet him." Henry said.
"He"s a lazy man, but I will bring him no matter what in the world-wide tournament."
"Being lazy is fine. As long as they are smart. If they are smart and lazy, they will still try their best in working, especially to prevent them to work more. If they are stupid and lazy, there"s only doom in front of them. I think your friend is a smart and lazy man." Henry said.
"Yes, he is. I will make sure that he can meet you and Lynn at least once no matter what. We can have him come here right away, but I think it"s best if I bring him instead." Albert said.
He still keeps Roy"s portal as secret. Although he thinks it"s fine to tell those here, it"s best if Roy can show it to them.
"I want to see him too! Ask him if the future me is still a perfect beauty or even more perfect!" Lynn said.
"Your majesty, you have never been perfect. If you want to be perfect, you must do your duty yourself without involving me." Claudia said.
"Don"t worry! I know what you want! You also want to ask him about the future you, right? I will ask him as well."
Although the topic has changed, the mood turns brighter after Lynn acted as usual. She might not be as good as others in leading her country, but he"s best in brightening the mood like this.
"Ahaha. I will make sure that you can meet him. I guess that"s it. For now, be wary of anything that enters and leaves your country. Especially if it"s coming from Arturo. And never ever reveal anything we discussed here to anyone. The meeting is over. You can go back to your mansion." Albert said.
Then, Lynn and Claudia left the room as they still bickering about.
"I guess I need to work hard even in this old age, huh? I want to be a smart and lazy man. Albert, let"s save the world together." Henry said.
"Yeah. We will do it no matter what. It"s either we win or we die." Albert said.
"…isn"t it obvious? After all, if we lose, they will destroy the world and kill everyone." Henry said as he teases Albert for saying something obvious.
"…I think I get why I can get close to Roy easily. He has similar personality as yours."