Chapter 62 A chain of deceit
“Thank you, young man. I owe you a lot for saving her life. That other medicine man spent so much time trying to heal her, but he never had any positive news. I spent a lot of the clan’s resources getting him to even try, and spent even more to keep my daughter’s existence and location a secret while he treated her.”
“But you did what he could not do,” King said.
““Earlier, I failed to recognize your goodwill and offended you, and offended you. I hope that sir will not take offense at my mistakes.” Now that her body was rapidly recovering, she actually got up and knelt on the ground, her expression filled with regret for acting so rudely toward Vandal earlier.
“Oh, it’s okay. It’s nothing.” Vandal heaved a sigh of internal relief, glad that it had all worked out in the end.
“It is not wrong to be on guard. Stand up. I am just a youth, not even a fully fledged adult yet,” Vandal said with a smile.
“So... now you will fulfill your end of the deal, right?” Vandal asked.
“Well...”
Right at that moment, the man called King also knelt on the ground, surprising Vandal. Furthermore, he had an ashamed and apologetic expression on his face.
Vandal felt that something was amiss, so he asked seriously, “King, what are you doing?”
“I... I lied to you about one matter,” King said.
“What is that?” Vandal asked.
“...I have lost the means to open the boundary,” King said as he bowed his head.
“Father, what are you saying?” Seraphyne exclaimed.
“Part of the treasures I used to pay the medicine man was the key to opening the barrier,” King said in a low, soft tone.
Vandal’s expression changed. Taking deep breaths was all he could do to stop himself from punching the short man into a coma for stringing him along. Lying was something he could not stomach.
“You lied to me?” Vandal said, his aura changing sharply, his fists clenched.
“So how will my friends and I be able to leave this place?”
Seraphyne, noticing the tension about to escalate, quickly stepped in.
“Please calm down. I know my father did an extremely stupid thing, but please allow me to rectify this mistake and find a way around it.” Seraphyne rubbed her chin thoughtfully, trying hard to come up with a solution.
“That man has never left the boundary since he arrived, right?” Seraphyne asked her father.
“No, he did not. He was chased by this sir, and only he came back, so I can only assume he is dead,” King said.
“Well, since he has never left the boundary before, Great Sir, would you be willing to search the place my father offered him for accommodation while he was treating me?”
“Stop calling me Great Sir. My name is Vandal,” Vandal said in a calmer tone. This lady had a good head on her shoulders because he had already come very close to knocking her father’s head off his shoulders.
“Okay. My name is Sera, though you already know that. Anyway, let’s go. I know my way around this place too, and to some extent even better than my father,” Seraphyne said.
“Sera, you cannot follow us. Remember, your existence is a secret,” King said.
“Well, I am fine now, am I not? So why keep hiding me? Just tell them I am your daughter,” Seraphyne said.
“I... I cannot. If I do... they might remove me as their king because you are tall. They would expect me to choose someone from their clan if I had any interest in having a child,” King said.
“Who cares about that now? You need to help Vandal,” Seraphyne said stubbornly. She was literally trying to give her father a way out for tricking Vandal. Not everyone would be this helpful or calm after being deceived.
King paused for what felt like an hour before Seraphyne finally began losing her patience. At the same time, Vandal’s foot tapping became increasingly chaotic as he too was running out of patience and was close to using force to get what he came for.
“Dad! Don’t be an arsehole. What would have happened if I eventually died?” Seraphyne said angrily.
That statement finally seemed to hit King with its full implication. He flinched before replying.
“...Okay then.” King nodded. Then he said to Vandal, “Vandal, please follow me.”
After saying those words, King proceeded toward the depths of the palace but took a different path that led to a beautiful wooden house guarded by two short guards. Upon seeing their king approach, they lowered their weapons. King walked forward and acknowledged them while Vandal and Seraphyne followed behind him.
Just as they approached Kennedy’s personal quarters, another woman stopped them, much to the surprise of King, Vandal, and Seraphyne.
“Please state your business. I am the great doctor’s apprentice,” the woman said proudly as she looked down on them and did not even show the king proper respect.
“Do you not know you stand before the king?” King asked with a mildly annoyed expression.
“King or not, you need the great doctor, so you must follow what he says or else... you know,” the woman said knowingly.
This caused the king to suddenly burst into laughter. He laughed so hard he nearly bent over. So the medicine man had a human apprentice in his personal quarters, and she knew about the private arrangement he had with the man. This only made him feel even more relieved that Vandal had gotten rid of the medicine man.
“I am Seraphyne, the secret you seem to be hinting at to my father. As you can see, I am well and seek to search his quarters now. Step aside,” Sera said irritably.
“It would seem that you think me a fool and have decided to insult my intelligence,” the woman sneered.
During their pillow talk, Kennedy had assured her many times that he was the one truly in charge. He deliberately kept Seraphyne sick so he could continue exploiting the king and enjoying the luxurious treatment he received there.