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Everard’s eyes glistened with tears when he saw that beautiful castle that held some wonderful memories.

Since Everard was slowing down a little, his guard turned his head to look at the King’s face. His heart sank when he saw the King’s teary eyes because he thought that the King was so tired to run that he was tearing up.

‘And I made the King run without even asking him if he wanted to rest!’ the guard cursed himself in his mind.

He then instantly asked the King, “Your Majesty? Would you like to rest for a while before you went inside the castle? I can find a guesthouse for you.”

Everard looked at the guard with knitted brows and scoffed. “What? No. We are already here. So, why would I want to waste my time resting?”

The guard immediately clarified why he asked that question, “But Your Majesty, your eyes look tired. They are watering. I thought that it might be because you haven’t slept a wink for the whole night.”

Everard cleared his throat and looked ahead at the castle in embarrassment. He sniffled and then replied in an awkward voice, “My eyes are watering because the air around here feels different. Don’t worry too much about it.”

The guard gave a nod and kept on running beside the King until they were too close to the castle.

.....

“Your Majesty,” the guard slowed down and asked, “Are you going to go through the main gates or are you going to jump the wall?”

Everard also slowed down and came to a stop by taking huge trees as cover. He then looked at the guard and answered while breathing heavily, “I think I should announce my presence at the gate. I am the King after all. I cannot be careless regarding such matters. I don’t think they would like it when they find out that I sneaked in.”

“I think you are right.” The guard then took off the bag that he was carrying on his back and asked the King, “Would you like me to find you a place to take a shower?”

Everard pursed his lips and shook his head. “I think I will do that in the castle.” He then held out his hand to grab the bag and carried it.

The guard wasn’t so sure about the King’s idea of taking a bath in the castle itself. However, it wasn’t his place to speak.

So, he bowed to the King and mentioned, “This is where I will leave you then. I will wait right here. So, please come and find me when your meeting is over. Then we shall head back to Xanmar.”

Everard didn’t want the poor guard to keep on standing under a tree in the winter. However, he was also unsure how his meeting with Alexander would go since he was basically giving a surprise visit to his old friend. The visit could as well turn into a disaster.

Thus, he thought for a while and then ordered his guard, “Wait here for about an hour. If I don’t come outside, then know that the meeting is going well. In that case, go and find some place to rest and eat. And meet me here at 7 PM sharp.”

The guard didn’t show it but he was very grateful for the consideration that the King was showing him. He bowed again and said, “I will do as you ordered, Your Majesty. And I wish you good luck with your meeting.”

“Thank you!” Everard smiled and then took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves before facing the castle and slowly making his way toward the main gate.

The closer he was getting to the gate, the clearer he could see the faces of the guards of the castle. All of their eyes were fixated on Everard because he was the first visitor of the day.

Unlike what he had expected though, they weren’t talking much about him. The guards were used to seeing random people approaching the gate since the citizens often did that in the hopes of meeting their King and expressing their sorrows and troubles in front of him.

Everard stopped in front of the huge metal gate and looked at the guard who was standing on the other side of the gate.

Before he could ask that guard to let him enter, the guard looked him in the eyes and ordered, “You should go back to your home, Sir. The King won’t be seeing any visitors today. He is very busy these days.”

“Ah!” Everard looked past that guard to see the familiar paths and gardens and said, “I didn’t come here to meet the King. I came here to meet the Crown Prince.”

The guard frowned as if that was the most absurd thing he had ever heard in his life. He sneered and then said, “Sir, the Crown Prince never sees any visitors. So, I think you should come back after a few days and meet the King. But only during visiting hours.”

Everard heaved a sigh. He knew that the guards wouldn’t just let anyone pass. Thus, he finally decided to reveal his identity.

He looked at that guard and introduced himself in a coherent manner, “I would like to introduce myself to you. I am Everard Crestfire, the ruling King of the Kingdom of Xanmar. And the Crown Prince is my dearest friend. So, I demand you to let me enter the castle and meet him.”

The guard kept on looking at Everard for quite some time. His expression was unchanging.

Everard frowned and repeated himself again. “Didn’t you hear me? I just said that I am the King of Xanmar. Now, move along, and let me enter.”

The guard, along with a few other guards, suddenly burst into loud laughter as though they had heard the funniest joke of all time. Some were tearing up, some were holding their stomach, and some were resting their palms on their knees while laughing in a boisterous manner.

Everard’s ears turned red with embarrassment because he had never felt this insulted in his life before. He clenched his jaw and mumbled, “Hey, I am not lying!”