Abe the Wizard

King Absolem was sad. Yes, he was very sad. He was an ambitious king, and the state he ruled was at the same geographic location as the duchy of Carmel. Originally, since all three of the neighboring duchies were pretty strong themselves, his only chance for expansion was to target the duchy of Carmel.

If Abel hadn’t gotten all the wizards inside Harry Castle, he would’ve sent his own army very early on. He had two head knight commanders and an intermediate wizard at his disposal. When the duchy of Carmel went out of control, he could’ve intervened in the area by force, claiming that it was under the name of “maintaining stability over the region.” Abel changed all that, though. Not only were both of his head commander knights injured, but his Wizard was also now a prisoner at the Liante City Wizard Union branch.

Without a Wizard’s support, the duchy of Thunder would have no way of defending against harassment from the neighboring states. It was just the power of one man, yes, but without him, the duchy of Thunder was just a weak state that anyone could bully.

With that as context, King Absolem sought opportunities in the banquet that Abel was holding. He had all the time he needed to think about the kind of attitude he should be taking. Of course, it’d be terrible for him to act bold and arrogant in front of Abel, but his pride simply couldn’t allow him to lower himself over what happened. His only shot, so it appeared, was to appeal to Abel by offering something that both duchies would be happy with.

From a long-term perspective, the duchy of Thunder had to try to remain friendly towards the duchy of Carmel. The Kingdom of St. Ellis would try to protect the duchy of Thunder in case a forced invasion happens. Still, from King Absolem’s perspective, if Abel really wanted to threaten his power, there would only be so much that the Kingdom of St. Ellis would be able to do.

With that in mind, King Absolem couldn’t help but sigh at the young man in front of him. It was important to have aspirations, but humbleness was more important at this point.

Abel started with a bow, “Welcome, King Absolem.”

Abel didn’t really have any personal grudge against King Absolem. The duchy of Carmel had always been on bad terms with the duchy of Thunder, so it’d be weird if the latter didn’t try to do something when things started to sour. As he saw it, honestly, the only thing worth being angry about was what they did to Head Commander Hoover the other day. He did manage to resolve that, but if he came a little later, there would be no doubt that Head Commander Hoover would be in a very bad place right now.

King Absolem returned a bow, “Your Honor, I’ve come here on behalf of the goodwill of our state. I hope this exchange will bring everlasting friendship to the people that we represent.”

Abel replied calmly, “So do I, King Absolem, so do I.”

“Yes, well, if you’ll allow me to be straight, King Abel, I wish to bring back Wizard Malory with a nobleman’s treaty.”

King Absolem knew that there wasn’t enough time. There were many guests at this banquet, so he had to make this conversation go faster. The deal he offered was like paying ransom for a hostage. This way, he could ensure that Wizard Malory would be safe under captivity.

Abel smiled as he shook his head, “I think you’re mistaken, King Absolem. I’m not the one who’s holding the person with that title.”

“It seems that I have to reveal my ace card already,” King Absolem shook his head, “King Abel if you’re willing to accept this offer, I’ll exchange Neking City for a promise from you to show mercy to Wizard Malory.”

Gold was meaningless to someone like Abel. With that in mind, the only thing that the duchy of Thunder could offer was land. Neking City was a city with the same size as Harvest City. It shared its border with the duchy of Carmel, and the size of its landmass was enough to be granted to at least ten crested knights. For just one intermediate wizard, Abel surely got a bargain this time.

Abel smiled and nodded, “Yes, I’ll negotiate with the Liante City wizards once they’ve arrived. And if you would just excuse me for a bit…”

Abel turned to Burbridge, “Is grandfather Brook here yet?”

Burbridge replied with a bow, “Pardon me, your Majesty, but I think some time will be needed to wait for him.”

Abel then reached his hands out to King Absolem, “For the eternal friendship between our states.”

King Absolem fist-bumped with Abel, “Yes, for the eternal friendship between our states, our people, and between us.”

Once the two kings finished their declaration for peace, the expressions on their faces started to relax a lot more. King Absolem did pay a huge price for getting Wizard Malory back, but it was all worth it if he could guarantee his state’s safety.

Next, it was time for Abel to meet with the king of the duchy of Laka and the king of the duchy of Koror. He was very polite to them, and such humbleness was not very often seen before. In all of the previous banquets, the king was supposed to make an appearance only at the final moment. When the four families heard that Abel was not doing that, they were all very moved by his decision to lower himself in front of his guests.

When the local noblemen arrived, that’s when the banquet really started to get noisy. Almost all of the families brought their most beautiful maidens here. They were all about the same age as Abel. Three of them were even from the royal families of the neighboring duchies.

Now, Abel was a very, very, very attractive man in the eyes of these ladies. He was powerful, rich, young, articulate, and humble. He was the king, and all of them wanted a piece of him, but they didn’t have the power to speak to a king at their own will. To Abel, he was just not interested in them. He already had Loraine, and his previous life already taught him to stay loyal to one partner.

Bartoli’s voice came over, “Chesterton, the prime minister of the Kingdom of St. Pierrt has come!”

Abel was slightly surprised to hear that name. In the Kingdom of St. Pierrt, the prime minister was supposed to be more powerful than the king himself. The most he expected was a prince, not the one with the highest authority in the whole state.

Abel welcomed with a wide grin, “Thank you so much for coming here, Duke Chesterton!”

Duke Chesterton responded with a deep bow, “Grandmaster Abel! The duchy of Carmel will only get more prosperous under your rule.”

Abel thanked him for the kind words, “The Kingdom of St. Pierrt has always been good to me. I hope I can bring this gratitude of mine to all of the duchy of Carmel.”

Prince Derek was not very pleased to see Duke Chesterton here. On occasions like this, every kingdom was supposed to send representatives of the same class. Since the Kingdom of St. Ellis sent him, a prince, to come here to this banquet, it’d be only right for the Kingdom of St. Pierrt to send a prince of their own. What Duke Chesterton was doing here was nothing short of causing drama.

When Prince Derek thought about how Duke Chesterton managed to come here safely, he couldn’t help but look over towards a specific direction. Yes, where the teleportation circle was located. If Duke Chesterton wanted to get here without bringing any guards, he could come here by accessing the teleportation circle from his own palace.

“His Majesty of the Kingdom of St. Anwall, Emperor Aldous has arrived!”

Bartoli’s voice had everyone shocked this time. Duke Chesterton might be the one with real power in his state, but title was much more important at places like this. Also, Emperor Aldous was truly deserving of his title. He could even have “the great” in front of his title, and no one would argue.