Chapter 103: Not Even Close


    King ke Bancroft massaged his temples as he slowly opened his eyes to the bright rays of the morning sun, and let out a long yawn as he got up from his luxurious bed.


    He snapped his fingers, and in an instant, two soft taps were hearding from behind the door. King ke rubbed his eyes as he said, "You cane in!"


    As soon as he spoke, the handle moved, and the door slowly opened, revealing two beautiful women dressed in maid clothes. They turned their gazes towards King ke Bancroft and bowed their heads in respect and the king waved his hands as he stepped out of his bed and stood up.


    King ke walked out of his bedroom, leaving behind the maids standing with their lowered heads and entered the bathroom. After he finished bathing, he then exited the bathroom and entered another room, where two men were waiting for him next to a beautifully crafted wooden chair. The King sat down on the chair and tilted his head upwards, closing his eyes, and one of the men began shaving his facial hair, while the other waited patiently.


    How much longer would he be able to continue this farce? King ke wondered to himself as the man shaved his facial hair.


    ke, who was born to a poor but kind woman named Brenda Bamsworth, was the product of her sexual encounter with the then King Hannibal Bancroft, who used to sleep around with women whom he found to be extremely beautiful.


    One day, while the King was passing through the city while in his carriage, heid eyes on Brenda, who worked as a low wage employee under the town tailor. King Hannibal, who was captivated by her beauty, ordered his guards to follow her and abduct her to the castle once night came, which they did.


    The King had his way with her, and after he finished doing his deed, he called the guards again and ordered them to drag Brenda out of his room and back to where they found her. She was found by her neighbours in the morning lying unconscious on the floor,pletely naked.


    Unbeknownst to the then King, he had made a huge mistake. One that he''ll live to regret in the future. He had caused Brenda to get pregnant.


    The news of the neighbours finding her unconscious and naked on the street began to spread, and with it came rumours. And although Brenda did her best to hide her pregnancy, with the news of her lying on the ground naked and unconscious spreading around the neighborhood like wildfire, it was enough for the people to make a decision aboutbeling her for what they thought she was, and her chances of getting married suddenly turned grim. However, Brenda persisted through the hard times because of her baby.


    Although she was living on a low wage ie, she was confident that she would still be able to provide her child with the best life that she could offer. But unfortunately, one of the King''s guards learned of her being pregnant after he got a glimpse of her walking out from a medicine shop, looking suspicious when they made eye contact.


    Curious about her reaction, the guard walked towards the medicine shop owner and asked why thedy who had slept with the King was acting all suspicious. After figuring out that thedy was buying medicine bottles that indicated that she was most probably pregnant, the guard ryed this information to the King, who was horrified learning that the woman whom he had sexual rtions with was now pregnant with his child.


    The King was afraid. He couldn''t raise the child as the Queen would absolutely be furious. The King, although powerful, did not haveplete control over the Queen, as their marriage was also a contractual agreement; a symbol of the close rtionship between the Kingdom of Argria and the Kingdom of Agustinia, ruled by King Issac Lingard, who was the father of Queen Isabelle. To betray the trust of the Queen meant betraying the trust of the alliance between the two countries, and to the King of Agustinia, trust was extremely important.


    And the King definitely couldn''t allow the child to grow up under the woman whom she slept with, as it would only result in future problems. Which meant that he had to take care of this issue as soon as possible, before anyone could find out.


    Brenda, who was extremely cautious about her surroundings after her meeting with the Royal Guard, had a premonition in her sleep that something bad was about to happen to her, and afraid of not being able to protect her baby, she rushed to her only real friend, Frieda, and told her everything.


    She then asked her for a favor. Brenda knew that Frieda''s father was an old war veteren, someone whose job was to tend to the wounded in the battlefield, as most people wouldn''t have time to fight and take care of their wounds at the same time. He was also experienced in doing operations on people as well, and so Brenda asked her to operate on her belly and take out the baby before the Royal Guards could find her.


    Although both Frieda and her father were absolutely against this idea, Brenda begged her father to operate on her, iming that she was already near the birthing period, and this was the only chance at saving her baby.


    After a long time and a lot of begging and screaming, Freida''s father relented, agreeing to operate and take out the baby.


    The operation was done inside Frieda''s small workshop at night, and miraculously, both the baby and Brenda survived the operation, which was a surprise for her father, who was expecting the result to be worse.


    After giving birth to her child, Brenda was adamant on going back to her home, even though Frieda told her not to. She ced her baby in Freida''s care, and left for her house, which was thest time Frieda saw her alive.


    Sheter learned that Brenda had been confronted by the Royal Guards who were trying to apprehend her for supposedly stealing from a merchant, but before they could do so, she had lit herself on fire and jumped off a cliff while burning to death, killing her instantly. The Royal Guards, who didn''t bother to look for her body, left for the pce, and Brenda''s baby was in the hands of Freida, who would raise him as her own son.


    "Your Majesty," King ke''s thoughts were interrupted by the words of the man who was shaving him. "My work is done."


    King ke nodded his head, got up from the chair and walked towards the giant mirror on the wall, rubbing his face as he stared at his reflection for a few seconds.


    "It''s good," He said after a while, and then he turned around and looked at the other man and said, "You cane now."


    The other man nodded his head, and grabbed something from the table, which was the clothes worn by the Royal Family, or more specifically the King himself.


    The King stretched out both of his hands as the other servant slowly began dressing him with care and caution. After he got dressed, he moved back to the bedroom, and found the two maids from before setting up his breakfast next to his bed.


    The maids, who saw the King enter the room, bowed their heads for a second time. The King simply waved his hands, motioning them to leave, and they immediately fled the room, leaving King ke all by himself.


    King ke then shifted his gaze towards his breakfast and let out a heavy sigh. His breakfast looked delicious and expensive. It was a breakfast that every person would love to have at least once in their life, and he could have it every single day. And yet, ke couldn''t feel anything while eating it. He couldn''t taste anything ever since he agreed to y the role of the son of Hannibal and Isabelle Bancroft. It made him sick to his stomach.


    Did I seed with my revenge? ke wondered as he ate his breakfast. The man who was responsible for his mother''s death was now being tortured under him. But was it enough?


    Corruption was never a pretty thing. ke knew that the King wasn''t solely responsible for his mother''s death. It was a decision that went through the hands of many people. Guards. Ministers. Councils. They could''ve interfered. Done something. Anything. But no one did. They all had a chance to do something to prevent it all; from the assault on his mother to her cruel death. But instead they turned their heads away and pretended as if nothing was at fault. Because it benefited them to stay quiet. That was why the current situation was so frustrating. For his revenge on the man whom he thought was the person who was solely responsible for his mother''s death, he had to join the side of the council of ministers. But what the naive ke didn''t realize then was the fact that most of these men were also part of the King''s council, and had knowledge about every action of the King. He realised that if these men wanted to control the King back then, they most probably could''ve.


    The King''s position was in jeopardy back then, and the failure of the alliance between Argria and Agustinia would''ve been all it took to kickstart the fall of the King''s power and to increase the grip on the influence of ministers. But instead they decided to sit back and do nothing. Because it benefited them.


    King Issac Lingard was clearly in failing health. He was said to be nearing his death, and with the King having no son to take his ce as king of Agustinia, he would most likely have to hand over the position to King Hannibal, who was the husband of his daughter. They''d engineered the downfall of Agustinia, because it benefited them.


    So, did I have my revenge? King ke asked himself again. He looked at his breakfast and stabbed his knife into the food, as he murmured to himself, "Not even close."