Chapter 57: Chapter 057: Forest Banquet
The banquet progressed with an abundant selection of food on the table. This was largely because Richard had accepted Prince Gro’s invitation earlier that day and joined him for a half-day hunt, bringing back a variety of game.
While there weren’t many large wild beasts, there was no shortage of small animals, now presented as roasted pheasants, ducks, quail, rabbits, and wild goat meats on the table.
Prince Gro sat in the center of the tent, in full swing of conversation, enthusiastically waving his arms as he described something.
Richard sat on the side, cutting grilled, slightly charred stakes with his knife and fork into small cubes and then slowly chewing and swallowing them as he brought them to his mouth. Since there were no spices, just a bit of salt, the meat didn’t taste very good, even worse than that of domestic livestock. However, Richard continued to eat expressionlessly, occasionally nodding towards Gro to indicate he was listening.
Pandora sat next to Richard, finding the utensils more interesting than the food. She hadn’t touched the meat on her plate, instead amusing herself with the silver knife and fork with a faint glint in her eyes, resembling a dragon that had discovered treasure. After playing with them for a while, she brought the fork to her mouth and tentatively bit down on it.
To ensure hardness and reduce costs, silverware generally contains some copper and tin, but Pandora’s teeth were far beyond that of an ordinary girl. She bit down lightly, and immediately a clear indentation of her teeth appeared.
Another bite, another set of teeth marks.
Continuing to bite, a third set of marks…
After a while, Prince Gro’s topic reached its conclusion, summarizing, “In short, that’s what the entire Jade Kingdom looks like.”
Richard nodded, now understanding that the Jade Kingdom Gro spoke of was the nation where this forest was located.
According to Gro, the entire Jade Kingdom spanned an area nearly three times that of the Blue Lion Kingdom, with a population more than double, nearing three million people – considered a mid-sized kingdom. It might lag slightly behind the likes of Pulan Kingdom or Yasi Kingdom, but it wasn’t too weak either.
Having heard this, Richard then asked, “Are there no wizards in the Jade Kingdom?”
“Wizards?” Gro paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, “There should be very few, if any, they’re mostly just passing through. Some say that this island is too barren, lacking the magic materials wizard need. As a result, wizards generally live on the mainland. Those with the talent to become wizards are also periodically taken away by special ships to study on the mainland.”
“The mainland?” Richard murmured to himself, nodding. He had some vague knowledge of geography. As it stood, the Blue Lion Kingdom, Jade Kingdom, Pusi Kingdom, Yasi Kingdom, and others actually all resided on a giant sea island known as Smans Island. Though it could be the largest sea island in the world, it was still an island, not a continent.
The true continent lay across a vast stretch of sea, reachable only by ship. However, the ocean was infested with sea monsters, sirens, pirates, and was occasionally subject to powerful storms – a moment’s carelessness could result in both shipwreck and loss of life. Thus, the exchanges between Smans Island and the mainland were infrequent, existing in a semi-closed state, with only a handful of daring captains engaging in trade.
At this moment, Gro suddenly looked over with gleaming eyes, full of expectation, and asked, “Um, Lord Richard the Wizard, could you teach me magic, help me become a wizard?”
“Hmm? Why?” Richard looked at Gro and asked aloud, “Why do you want to become a wizard?”
Gro pursed his lips and took a deep breath before replying, “Because only by becoming a wizard can I survive.”
Next, Richard heard a story very similar to his own.
Prince Gro was indeed a prince of the Jade Kingdom, but he was not the only prince. In fact, Gro’s father—the previous king—had five sons, with Gro being the second, and 16 years old this year.
Above him was a 35-year-old elder brother. Below him were three younger brothers. The third and fourth brothers were one and two years younger than Gro, respectively, while the fifth was only three years old.
Gro’s eldest brother, who had been designated as the Crown Prince by Gro’s father, succeeded smoothly to the throne after their father’s death. Afterwards, Gro began to sense some changes and noticed that there seemed to be people who were against him in various ways. Moreover, only the youngest fifth brother had received a titled noble rank and territory, while he and the two other brothers had been waiting for three months without any grant, which naturally raised his concerns.
Gro’s worries were quite reasonable: he and the other two brothers had never been very close to their elder brother due to the age difference and had minimal communication. Now, the elder brother probably viewed them as threats and wanted to remove them all, hence the delay in granting them titles and lands, keeping them confined to the Royal Capital until he saw a ripe opportunity to act.
Reflecting on this, Gro felt tense. The reason he had gone hunting was to temporarily get away from the Royal Capital and lay low. But this was only a temporary guarantee of safety. In Gro’s view, perhaps only by becoming a powerful wizard could he make his elder brother wary enough not to act against him and ensure his own safety.
After listening to Gro’s account, Richard’s eyes flickered, and he said, “Actually, you don’t have to be so pessimistic.”
“In my opinion, your situation isn’t so dire,” Richard exhaled lightly, “If your elder brother really wanted to act against you, he probably would have done so already. After all, by delaying until now, you’ve become alert, and taking action against you now would certainly be more difficult than dealing with you at the beginning when you were unsuspecting.
Since your youngest brother has already been granted a fiefdom, you and the other two will sooner or later be granted one as well, though it might be in poorer locations. Delaying now is just about wearing down your patience; after a year or two, when the territories are decided, even if they are in worse locations, you will accept them because at that time, having any land will seem better than having none.”
“Is that so…” Gro murmured thoughtfully.
“To be honest, you shouldn’t have left the Royal Capital,” Richard continued, “In the Royal Capital, with your elder brother there, you are safest. Because if something were to happen to you, he would definitely be implicated. Therefore, he won’t act against you and will even prevent others from doing so.
But once you leave the Royal Capital, it’s a different story. If you die, it can be attributed to an accident. Especially while hunting in the forest, it’s easy to concoct excuses like being attacked by wild beasts, accidentally struck by stray arrows, or falling from a spooked horse.
Your elder brother doesn’t wish to kill you, but there are others who may not wish for you to live. For instance, the Great Nobles supporting your elder brother from behind, who as allies in his interests, would benefit from your death, at least they could carve a piece out of the lands meant for you.
Then there are enemies of your elder brother in secret, who by killing you could smear his reputation, shake his position, and thus achieve some goals. More extreme still are nearby hostile kingdoms that wish to start a war; killing or capturing you would be an excellent tactic.
In short, you are actually safer in the Royal Capital than you think. And now, in this forest, you are far more in danger than you realize.”