READ WEBNOVEL Chapter 299 Burden And Responsibilities Of A King
Chapter 299 Burden And Responsibilities Of A King
After Allen destroyed the teacup, he stared at the king as he decided to answer the king's question.
"Surely, you jest? I have no interest in marrying Alisceon."
"Alisceon is my disciple. I treat her as my little sister. Nothing more, nothing less."
Allen straightforwardly rejected the marriage offer that the king had given to him.
Unlike most, Allen didn't use the reason of "I have a lover or wife" in rejecting a hand in marriage. After all, polygamy was not only legal but also common in this world, even in his home world.
And for Allen, using such a response was tasteless in his opinion. After all, it was like saying that you have a lover but if you didn't, you would have married Alisceon. The difference was that it sounded as if the speaker was reluctant and not firm with his response.
Because of that, Allen used the "little sister" card instead. It was like saying that you love her, but only as a little sister, which was true in Allen's case.
When Alisceon heard of Allen's reply, he didn't know why but she felt disappointed even though she already expected it. But that feeling only lasted for a while as she was overjoyed that Allen thought of her as a little sister and not just a disciple.
Alisceon was already aware of Allen's intimate relationship with Iris and from what she had observed, Allen didn't want any lover in his life aside from Iris.
Although polygamy was legal in this world, it didn't mean that all men wanted a harem. There were those who wanted a harem but were too poor to take care of the financial needs of their wives. While some didn't want too much trouble in their lives so they didn't pursue the path of a harem.
Because of that, Alisceon didn't find Allen's personality as unusual as she had deemed him as the minority of men who were only loyal to one woman. Not to mention, she was contented that Allen loved her as a little sister, and Allen declared his love for her in front of her father.
Although Alisceon didn't have a good impression of his royal father, she also didn't have any bad impression of him. After all, she was well aware of how difficult it was to rule a kingdom and because of that, the king needed one of his children that were worthy to inherit the throne.
If the king didn't hold the battle for the throne event, it was likely that the first prince would ascended the throne but it was hard to say whether the first prince would be as competent as he was now. And if there wasn't any battle for the throne, Alisceon believed that her relationship with her royal siblings wouldn't be as distant as it was now.
But now that she had her big brother, Alisceon could care less about her royal siblings aside from the second prince who had treated her kindly before she met Allen.
At least, she now had two big brothers that took care of her. She wasn't as lonely as she was before.
Alisceon's satisfied and happy expression wasn't concealed from the king as the king had noticed that his daughter had finally become satisfied with her life.
The king had neglected his daughters and sons and he was aware of that. It was all for the sake of choosing the most suitable inheritor for the throne.
After all, if the king couldn't choose a suitable heir, the kingdom's future would be at risk especially when there were kingdoms that eyed the Gaia Kingdom's territories for their fertile lands.
It was a sacrifice the king was willing to take. It was the burden and responsibility that he had as the king of Gaia Kingdom. It was all for the sake of his subjects and the future generations of the kingdom.
When the king heard of the Supreme Mage's reply along with the satisfied expression of his daughter, he decided not to pursue the matter of marrying his daughter to the Supreme Mage. What mattered to him was that his daughter was satisfied with being the Supreme Mage's disciple as well as the Supreme Mage's little sister.
The least he could do as Alisceon's father was to respect her decisions and with that in mind, the king decided to reply to the Supreme Mage's answer.
"I see… Alisceon is lucky to have you as her teacher and big brother."
The king didn't pursue the matter of Alisceon's hand in marriage as he respected Alisceon's decision. He nodded and smiled warmly at Alisceon but in the eyes of Alisceon's jealous royal siblings, they thought of it as their father showing his favoritism towards Alisceon.
Of course, Allen noticed the gazes of Alisceon's royal siblings that were filled with ill-intent but he also noticed that Reid wasn't part of them. Instead, Allen noticed that Reid was genuinely happy for Alisceon which gave Allen a better impression of Reid.
As long as Reid showed more support for Alisceon as well as proved his love for her, then Allen would support him and recognize Reid as his brother-in-law. After all, he treated Alisceon as his little sister so her husband would be his brother-in-law.
Allen ignored the gazes of Alisceon's royal siblings but took note of those he had deemed as a threat to Alisceon. Afterward, Allen nodded at the king as he agreed with the king's comment.
Alisceon was indeed lucky to have a Supreme Brother like Allen. But that also went the same for Allen as he felt fortunate that he had a little sister like Alisceon who was not only talented but also cute and obedient.
Their relationship as brother and sister wasn't one-sided as they truly loved each other. Because of that, Allen vowed in his heart that he would do whatever he could to protect Alisceon. On the other hand, Alisceon was determined to prove that she was worthy of her big brother's love.
After the conversation between the king and the Supreme Mage that didn't end as the king had intended but still had a good outcome, the king spoke of the important matters that the Gaia Kingdom was currently facing.
Not only was the Monthly Royal Gathering to form connections with other nobles as well as show the progress of the candidates for the throne, but it was also an event where they would discuss the current affairs that concerned the kingdom.
It was also to increase the reputation of the camp of the princes and princesses who managed to solve or deal with the problem that concerned the kingdom.
Alisceon turned a deaf ear to the current affairs of the kingdom before since it didn't concern her as she was far from being powerful enough to compete for the throne. But now that her camp became stronger with the Supreme Mage's support, she didn't want to become an incompetent princess so she decided to show her full attention to the king.
She was determined to make her big brother proud of her achievements!
When the king noticed that the sons and daughters of his as well as the nobles in the room were paying attention to him, the king immediately spoke of the problem that the kingdom was facing.
After all, the people that attended the Monthly Royal Gathering were the backbone of the kingdom so they needed to know about the problems that the kingdom was facing as well as provide solutions to that problems.
"The Zeus Kingdom is harassing the borders of our territories while provoking a war with us. With both the Supreme Mage and Ultimate Knight in our kingdom, we can afford a war with the Zeus Kingdom but that would result in our kingdom being weakened, leading to the surrounding kingdoms taking advantage of that situation."
The king informed them of the current situation that the kingdom had against the Zeus Kingdom as well as the surrounding kingdoms. He sighed at the helplessness of their current problem.
The king wasn't afraid that they would lose a war against the Zeus Kingdom. After all, the Ultimate Knight alone was enough to defend the kingdom but with the appearance of the Supreme Mage in their kingdom, it was double assurance that their kingdom wouldn't be colonized by the Zeus Kingdom.
But all of them were aware that if a war broke out with the Zeus Kingdom, there would be economic and other losses for the kingdom which would weaken the kingdom.
Thus, the weakening of the Gaia Kingdom would lead to the surrounding kingdoms taking advantage of the situation so that they could deal with the Gaia Kingdom with lesser manpower but better results.
Even if the kingdom had the support of the Supreme Mage and Ultimate Knight, even the king wasn't optimistic about defending a siege from the surrounding kingdoms while they block the Gaia Kingdom's trading route.
So it was no wonder even the king felt helpless about the problems of the kingdom. Even if he had the solution to those problems, he decided to inquire about the opinions of the princes, princesses, and nobles in the royal ballroom.