Bael let out a chuckle and waved his hand across his face. "I was talking about my real eyes."

As he did so, his figure changed.

His white hair turned black, his eyes became oceanic blue, and his attire turned entirely black from blue and white.

Witnessing the changes, everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief, and their jaws fell open.

"What the hell?" Selva muttered with a dumbfounded face.

On the other hand, Melvin stared into his eyes and whispered, "Those eyes..."

He raised his hand and placed it onto the left side of his face as he spoke, "You really have the princess’s eyes."

Rion smiled. "You do not have to tell me. I obviously have my mother’s eyes. Those who need to know it are you all."

All five chief commanders looked at Melvin, and he nodded.

Seeing that David commented, puzzled, "How is this possible? Don’t we already know that the former king and the princess had died while climbing the cursed mountains?"

Others also had the same question, so everyone turned their heads towards the only person who could answer them.

Rion glanced at them with an easy smile and said, "The place that you call cursed mountains, we know it as the red and black mountains."

Walton furrowed his brows. "A name doesn’t change anything. No matter what you call it, it’s deadly natural stays the same."

"I know," Rion nodded and gave them the answer that they had been waiting for, "Mother and grandfather had come to those mountains, but they didn’t die there or not in the way you think they did."

"What?" Confused voices resounded throughout the tent, and Melvin asked, "What do you mean, Prince Bael?"

Hearing Melvin call him prince, the chief commanders glared at him as if telling him that he was being too naive, and much to their surprise, he ignored all of them.

"Lord Melvin, I am pretty sure you are aware that the duke has something that no human should ever have," Rion responded, and caused most of them to frown.

Melvin nodded, "I believe the same, my prince."

"How do you think the duke obtained that thing?"

Melvin thought about it and spoke after a minute of heavy silence, "I lack the knowledge to come up with a suitable answer."

Others watched the two ignore everyone; the chief commanders leaned forward on the table, and the commanders’ expressions turned hard.

Rion’s gaze drifted by all of them, and he asked, "What do you think makes Leonara different than the other kingdoms?"

Before anyone could, Eldon answered with an uncertain tone, "The royal bloodline...?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Everyone knew that the gods had blessed the royal bloodline to be the best rulers, but as not everyone was worthy of it, it was rare for it to take effect.

Those who managed to awaken the blessing were named the king of the era.

"Indeed. The royal bloodline makes us the perfect rulers, but why did you not think that the gods can bless others too?"

"What are you trying to say...?" Selva asked with an utterly confused expression.

Rion looked at him and explained, "We aren’t blessed by the gods; we have the gods’ blood running through our veins, and this blood allows us to be the perfect ruler."

Walton frowned. "What does that have to do with anything that we had asked you?"

"The man who had founded the Leonara Kingdom was from the red and black mountains, and he had left a prophecy for the next generations of the royal family."

Hearing that, the pieces finally fell into place, and Melvin mumbled, "Do not tell me..."

Rion glanced at everyone’s face and said, "Yes, it’s just as you think. Mother and grandfather had gone there to get the item mentioned in the prophecy, but failed to do so because Mother hadn’t awakened her blessing."

"They then struck a marriage deal with the Sovereign of the red and black forest, and by her own will, she married the sovereign, and during a war that none of you remember, the former king lost his life."

With each word he spoke, the confusion thickened further, and Selva asked, "A war that we don’t remember? " Is that even possible?"

"It is," Rion nodded. "With enough wealth and power, you can change everything, yet to be happy, you must find a good stop."

"Why did you not show up before the war?" Banson, a chief commander, asked with a dead serious expression.

Rion placed his palms together and said, "I had problems to deal with."

For the next few minutes, murmurs resounded within the strategy tent as the commanders and chief commanders argued whether Rion was indeed Laerain Leonara’s son, thus a prince, or if all of it was just lies made for personal agendas.

They continued to chatter among themselves, but the answer never came to them.

Rion obviously wasn’t aware of the life Lara had lived as the princess, so he couldn’t talk about it to make it easier for them to believe him.

’This is why I wanted to wait to reveal my true identity because with enough loyal people it would’ve been easier to prove that I am indeed the prince and son of my mother, whom everyone believes to be dead,’ Rion remarked inwardly.

Time continued to pass, and they occasionally took glances at him.

After about half an hour, Melvin stood up from his chair and placed a fist on his chestplate. "No matter what others think, I wholeheartedly believe that you are the prince."

’Finally!’ Rion gave him a faint smile and responded with a hand on his heart, "I am extremely thankful to you, Lord Melvin."

Melvin smiled and left the tent with David following behind him.

One by one, the chief commanders and the commanders left the tent, though none except Melvin and Selva acknowledged Rion’s claim to be the prince.

Once everyone left, Rion leaned back, and a united shout blasted his ears, "Why didn’t you tell us?!"