Chapter 106: Escalating The Juicy Drama

“Caedia, it is truly a pleasure to have you back safely,” Esmeralda said, her gaze firmly locked on Caedia.

However, she soon turned to Rael and scowled. “I suppose this is the one responsible for taking you hostage?”

There was a moment of silence, so Rael sent a subtle elbow to Caedia’s side to wake her up.

“Err… not exactly…” Caedia muttered as she straightened her back. “You see, while I was out collecting my fragment, he just so happened to offer me an escort back, and as you can see, I’ve returned weeks earlier than I should have.”

“Yes, I can see that.” Esmeralda nodded, resting a finger on her chin. “Your envoy sent word claiming you’d been kidnapped. Why exactly would they suggest something so vile?”

Rael’s brows twitched as he continued listening to this woman speak.

She wasn’t old by any means, likely in her mid-twenties. Still, her sheer fucking attitude made him want to stay far away.

And from Caedia’s fake smile, he figured she didn’t want to be near her either.

“Rael and I started off on the wrong foot,” Caedia explained. “I attacked him, and he defeated our entire army. However, he’s not evil, so he offered to bring me back at a price.”

“Price?” Victoria, the redhead, chimed in. “You didn’t offer him your body, did you?”

Before the angered Caedia could say anything, Rael cut her off. “I’m not interested in anyone’s body at the moment. What I am interested in, however, is how much money you’re willing to give me for bringing her back safely and ahead of schedule.”

“Ha!” Victoria covered her mouth, her eyes narrowing. “Now why should we pay you anything? We accept your service of escorting Empress Caedia back safely and therefore award you with the honor of having this chat with us.”

Yeah, I hate both of these bitches. Rael sighed. “I’m the king of a soon-to-be country. You could say I know how shit like this works. So we can do this two ways—though one of them isn’t going to be pretty.”

Victoria scoffed. “You’re not getting a penn—”

“5 million Trell,” Esmeralda stated, raising her hand to silence Victoria. “We are willing to offer you 5 million for your services. We will also let you stay in the city for as long as you want. Royalty is to be respected, even if it’s not from these lands.”

So she holds the most power out of the three empresses, Rael noted with a nod. “5 million is chump change. Even 50 million might not be enough to cut it.”

Esmeralda narrowed her eyes. “We’re not running a charity here. Army maintenance costs a lot, and we don’t give a quarter of our budget to just some random nobody. I can tolerate this nonsense once, and given the circumstances, I’ll increase the sum to 10 million Trell. This is the final offer, so make up your mind here and now.”

Caedia tugged at his sleeve, then proceeded to whisper in his ear. “She takes that tone with everyone she’s about to kill. After you leave the city, she’ll likely send a mercenary squad after you.”

“How lovely…” Rael chuckled and decided to put himself in a slightly more favorable position.

He took out the key fragment from his inventory and hid it from the slowly gathering crowd.

Instead, he looked at Esmeralda and Victoria with a smile.

“May I say a few words before I accept your offer?” Rael asked nicely.

And of course, after exchanging a few glances, both of the empresses nodded.

“Very well, say your piece. That’s a courtesy I’ll extend to a king. And since you were with Empress Caedia, I trust you’re not lying to me.”

“I never lie,” Rael replied with a hum and walked past the two empresses, arriving in the very middle of the masses.

Sure, a lot of people were gathered, but most were just here to gawk at all three empresses. After all, they were beauties.

But of course, Rael simply cleared his throat and spoke.

“Hello, fellow citizens of Halcyra. I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, however, I am a king back in my land, and I believe loyalty is the highest form of currency that triumphs even above money.”

No one seemed impressed with this start, however, Caedia seemed to know where he was going with this.

“R-Rael…” she called out, puzzling the empresses. “You don’t have to do this now. We have plenty of time, and all this would do is cause commotion. Worst-case scenario, we might even lose our lives.”

“Are you forgetting who we have with us?” Rael chuckled, pointing toward the Beast in the back lines, standing right beside the car with a bored look.

“If they go for us, they will go for him, and when that happens, he might be a little hungry—that’s all I’m going to say,” Rael finished, and then continued his speech.

“Anyways, people of Halcyra, I’ve got some drama for you today. Your empresses are lying to you and are planning a coup against each other. How dubious, right?”

That seemed to finally perk the people up as loud gasps resounded, followed by them beginning to murmur amongst each other.

However, he was more than aware of how this accusation would be received.

“Are you accusing us of treason?” Esmeralda asked, getting off her horse and slowly walking toward him. “If we needed to usurp power from one another, we’d do it through a vote.”

“Right.” Rael nodded with a smirk. “Tell me, is it a majority vote? Or do you only agree to something once all three of you empresses are in agreement?”

“It’s naturally a majority vote,” Victoria spoke up, and the moment she did, Esmeralda’s gaze hardened.

But so did Victoria’s, as she finally caught on to what he was trying to do.

Damn… Rael grinned even more as he stared at the empresses’ expressions, which were practically screaming, ‘don’t you fucking dare bring it up here!’

But, deep down, Rael loved drama.

…And money.

Therefore, instead of saying another word, he merely raised his hand in the air, showcasing an item that resembled a key.

Most people didn’t react at all, however, the officials—even the guards—seemed to know what it was.

And now, the only thing left was to stir the pot further.

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