The Kingmaker System
Chapter 159 - 158. Royal Summon (3)

Chapter 159: 158. Royal Summon (3)

Her Majesty, the Queen Katherine Issilus Jen Marismus entered the parlor dressed in a regal blue gown with her hair braided back and posture as perfect as that of a soldier going for a war.

I kneeled in her presence and she walked over and stood in front of me.

"I, Baron Ocean Ryujin am honored to greet the Moon and the Mother of the great kingdom of Sestia." I spoke in a reverent tone.

"It’s a pleasure to finally meet the Baron who has been a talk of the social and political world." She replied before she gestured for me to stand.

I saw as she stretched her hand to me and I gingerly held her pale, small hand before gently touching it to my forehead instead of kissing her knuckles as the normal etiquette.

I noted the surprise in her features as I did that but, she didn’t point it out right away. She asked me to take a seat and then ordered her lady-in-waiting to brew us some tea.

"I was expecting you to turn down the Royal Summon." She said.

"I wouldn’t dare refuse such a great honor, Your Majesty." I quickly responded.

The Golden Serpent aka Queen sat in front of me with the teacup in her pristine and flawless, long fingers while her sharp green eyes were fixed on me.

We had greeted each other and taken our seats for the tea but I still hadn’t revealed my face which might just be the thing that was going through her mind along with the other things.

"I suppose this is the first time that we meet in person, isn’t it?" She spoke up.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"You don’t often visit any Imperial celebrations or any meetings."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I wouldn’t have been surprised if you would have sent a letter saying that you couldn’t visit." She smiled making me quickly bring my hands up.

"I couldn’t ever dare to refuse an order from you, Your Majesty. I’m only but a simple subject under your wing, if it weren’t for my troublesome health issues I would have attended every celebration and meeting." I spoke.

Her sharp gaze ran up and down my form before I saw the notification pop up.

[Shield of Invulnerability has been activated.]

I pretended to feel uncomfortable and breathless as I leaned ahead placing my hand over my chest as I breathed heavily. I wheezed showing pain through my body language making her feel satisfied as her power was working on me.

I saw a smile slowly creep up on her face as she saw me struggling, sadly enough, she had no idea that her acts were as clear as daylight for me.

The notification of the shield being disabled popped up and I slowly regained composure breathing heavily as I slowly lifted my head.

"Pa-Pardon the rudeness, Your Majesty. I-It seems like I suddenly had a fit... I’m sorry, that you had to see that shameful act..."

Her smile would make anyone feel as if she was an angel descended on earth to deliver people from pain as she leaned close to me.

"It isn’t shameful, Baron. I... am at conflict watching you like this, let me call a physician for you if you still feel pain."

"No, no, Your Majesty. I feel better now, thank you for the kind gesture."

She raised the teacup to her lips and I noticed the evil glint in her eyes. She kept her gaze on me as if thinking, she was a predator eyeing her prey.

"I don’t remember having a Baron in Sestia named Ryujin," She spoke up making me hum.

"I would be surprised if you heard of them, Your Majesty."

"Pardon?"

"I mean, my family since the past generations had been moving places and it is I who had finally decided to settle down,"

"Were your ancestors nomads?"

"No, Your Majesty. My roots have always been Sestia." I announced making her tilt her head slightly.

Ryujin family name that I adopted when fabricating Ocean’s existence had no origins in this world so while I officially brought Ocean to reality I also had to fabricate the roots of his family name. Thus, I ended up creating a sensational story which would have no evidence and would also sound like the truth.

"My ancestor was a knight serving under His Majesty Rudolph the First," I announced noting the subtle pause in her movements before I continued.

"My ancestor admired him so much that after His Majesty passed away he couldn’t bring himself to live here. So, he decided to take his family and move to another place, eventually, our family took over the status as a merchant and adopted another name so, the Ryujin family name was almost forgotten.

"Years later, my grandmother who was from Sestia told us about our roots. One might find it strange, but my ancestor had been handing down this heirloom which he got from His Majesty despite leaving this country, he cherished the memories of his birthplace."

I had taken a lot of consideration into making this story, there was no way to prove its authenticity but unlike those stories that had a written record people usually were more intrigued by the story that was orally told.

"I didn’t understand its importance until my Grandmother told me the story of our family’s history and so, after learning of my roots I came back to Sestia and decided to stay here until my last breath serving under the name that belonged to my ancestors."

"I had no idea that you had direct roots in a family who had a history with the First King," Katherine said and I nodded.

"I wouldn’t have known either if it weren’t for my Grandmother."

"Who may she be?"

"She belonged to the small noble family from Sestia, her maiden family was Rayburn," I said.

"Rayburn..." Katherine repeated the name before she smiled.

She would definitely look into it later, but since my alleged ancestor was one of the thousands of knights it would be like looking for a needle in the haystack.

"I heard that His Majesty bestowed upon you the task of finding the building of Magic Gate that would connect Mordino with Sestia." She changed the topic.

"Yes, Your Majesty." I answered in a low, polite voice.

"I’m afraid, it must be quite taxing for you." She said.

"It isn’t as hard, Your Majesty. If it is the word of His Majesty then as a loyal subject I should even lay my life for the kingdom." I replied making her narrow her eyes a little bit before she smiled.

"Is that so? I’m glad the future of our kingdom is in such responsible hands."

"I’m honored to hear such words of praise from the highly esteemed Moon of our kingdom." I spoke making her golden eyebrows twitch.

"Why don’t you have some tea?"

"I wish I could but," I brushed my fingers gently over my mask.

"I heard that you were uncomfortable in showing your face, is that true?" She asked.

"It’s better to not show my face, Your Majesty. It’s not a sight that anyone would want to see." I replied pouring somberness into my tone.

"What happened to your face?" She asked.

"There... was an explosion in the mine that I bought..."

"The magic stone mine?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yes," I answered, "I was inspecting it in the early days after I had bought it from Duke Aurelius but on that day something was amiss and suddenly there was an explosion in the mine. Quite a few of my men died and I was left with..."

I released a deep sigh slumping my shoulders stealing a glance at her as her eyes seemed to be brimming with curiosity.

"I’m so sorry to hear about it," She said in a concerned tone.

"But, is it so bad that you can’t even show your face at the Imperial celebrations?" She asked and I hesitantly placed my hand over the other and slowly peeled the glove letting her have a glimpse of the dark and leathery scars that covered my hand.

She gasped loudly and covered her mouth as the blood drained for her face, I quickly pulled the glove back on.

"I hope Your Majesty understands now," I spoke in a low voice.

"Tha-That’s... really a heartbreaking sight." She managed to hold herself back before she went quiet for a moment watching me.

I didn’t say anything either as I waited for her thoughts to settle. She had taken quite a bold route considering it was our first time meeting like this. Still, it was fun to see her reactions to the things I prepared especially for her.

"The doctors who examined me said that my wounds were beyond hope so, I have to live with these scars for the rest of my life." I spoke up after a while of the extended silence.

"And... since I cannot marry in such a state and ruin a poor woman’s life so, I had decided to devote my life to the kingdom. I would do everything in my power so that no one would suffer." I announced pouring all of my emotions into my voice.

[Defender of Divine Glory applauds at your acting skills.]

[Goddess of Wisdom and Giver of Gifts share popcorn as they watch you fool the Queen.]

"It’s... admirable to see how you are so selfless, Baron Ocean Ryujin." She smiled making me chuckle.

"I’m just glad that my useless self can be of help to someone." I said placing my hand over my chest.

"I am happy that His Majesty has a man like you to do his work."

"It’s an honor to receive such praise from you, Your Majesty."

With the amount of sweetness I was pouring into this conversation, I was starting to feel sick myself.

"I was wondering what kind of person you were before meeting you, but you exceed my expectations, Baron." She said as she seemed to visibly relax.

"Yes?"

"I hope to see you again," she added with a smile with the hint of a subtle smirk.

"I wish so too, Your Majesty." I replied in a polite tone.

I bowed to her before taking my leave as she dismissed me but this time she didn’t reach her hand out to me. I was sure she would have it disinfected and bleached after I was gone.

I stepped out of the parlor and found William waiting outside along with the Queen Lady-in-waiting, Countess Mariott Belvet, I knew both of them since I had two of my people planted right in this place.

I walked away from the parlor and couldn’t help but look at the garden, it was well-maintained and also good for a stroll. Besides, I knew the King would call on me if I lingered around so, I decided to take my chances.

"Would it be all right if I took a stroll in the garden?" I asked William as he was walking me back to my carriage.

"Erm... Well, it’s Her Majesty’s garden..."

"Only for a couple of minutes, I will just look around and then come back quickly." I pleaded making him look slightly hesitant before he agreed making me smile, though he couldn’t see it.

"Thank you, Mr William, I’ll be back soon." I said as I quickly made my way towards the garden.

The large trees and the lush green grass surrounded me as I walked down the stone-cobbled pathway. The cool air carried the scent of the flowers that were still growing despite the winter approaching.

I inhaled deeply as I kept walking leisurely looking at the well-trimmed grass and the bushes before I heard the high-pitched sound shouting.