The Outlaws

Chapter 7: "Limit"

Watching the king come out of the hall, Jovie saw the worried look on his face as he talked to Babilo. They only stopped when they saw the appearance of the princess. Without looking at their mouths, Jovie also guessed that what they were talking about was Hochi's failed escape after the terrorist attack on the convoy escorting him to The Court of Highness was stirring, stirring. the whole world, prompting even the largest television station Violeska- Kimmik News to rush to Voidenorten to arrange an exclusive interview with the king today to interview the facts and some issues surrounding the case. He knew that other than Kimmik News, there was no television station in Violeska with enough reputation and potential to interview with members of the royal family, enough to know how powerful and famous that station was in Violeska. People who often watch TV always say: the news from Kimmik News is always more reliable than other stations. Most think that if that station ranks second, no station dares to compete for the unique position.

He guessed maybe they were going to meet the Kimmik News reporters, but it was just a bunch of employees under the head of that TV station, even though he had the greatest power in the world, King Algorik rarely had a chance to meet the head of Kimmik News- Kimmichel O. Dangeone.

The king saw the bouquet in Elvina's hand and asked:

“Where did this bouquet come from?”

"A gift from me to the princess, Your Majesty."- Jovie replied without hesitation.

Babilo suddenly laughed and said:

“Hey, Jovie, I think you should give something of royal value, a bouquet of wildflowers for a princess? Ridiculous."

The king looked at the bouquet, and suddenly a smile appeared on his wrinkled and puffy face:

"Silia flower, I remember that your mother used to like this flower very much."

Elvina then said a short sentence:

"Please don't mention your mother again, Your Majesty."

“How long are you going to keep that attitude towards me? Why can't I mention my first wife?"

Elvina was enraged upon hearing that, saying:

"My first wife?". Can you say that, Your Majesty? Mother did everything for this palace when she was in charge of the government, but when your mother and brother died, you responded to that by going one step further.

“I knew you would object to that. I know that when I was seriously ill, your mother also took care of the government for me. When your mother and brother were murdered, I was also very sad. But… The truth is that I still love you, Ravel, and your mother very much…”

Suddenly the king's throat constricted. He tried to hold back so as not to reveal his true feelings. The truth was that the regret and pain were gnawing at his heart. He looked at Elvina who was looking at him with eyes that seemed to be waiting for an answer.

When he kept his composure, he said:

“…But the right thing should come first. The truth is that your brother has passed away, and I need a son to succeed me in the future. So we decided to go one step further. I think your mother and brother in heaven would agree to that as well.”

“You’re lying. How can Mom and I accept such a thing?”

Babilo then interjected:

“Forgive me for a few words. But the succession of the crown prince to the throne is an unwritten rule in the royal family from time immemorial…”

"But in her will, the queen mentioned that the succession did not discriminate between boys and girls, saying that Princess Elvina was fully qualified to become the future Queen."- Kinsley said.

"But you should remember that the queen then only temporarily replaced the king to run the main court, not having the right to decide the successor, the king was the one who made the decision about who would take the throne."

Hearing that, Elvina turned to look at her father with indignant eyes and asked:

“I don't care who the successor is. I want to ask one thing: 'Why don't you investigate the cause of the death of my mother and brother? Is it possible that after remarriage, in your heart there is no longer their shadow?"

The king was silent for a long time without saying anything. Seeing this, Babilo spoke up:

“The cause of death of the late queen and crown prince remains a mystery, princess. Heard that the killer was not here, he infiltrated the palace at night and broke into the reading room, and killed the queen."

“I am a little confused about two things. One is that the palace is strictly guarded day and night, not even an insect can get in, I wonder how the killer could easily break in. The other is the palace is extremely large, with up to 1000 different rooms. If he is not a person in the palace, it is impossible to find a bookroom where the queen is present and acting so quickly and smoothly. Whether..."

"You mean the killer is one of us?" asked the king.

"There's a good chance it is, Your Majesty." Kinsley said loudly.

"That's too vague. From slaves, officials, and soldiers here, everyone loves and respects the queen because the queen always treats everyone well and fairly, no one intends to kill someone like the queen."

"We can’t be sure about it. In the palace, there was someone saw the queen as a barrier to their evil purposes precisely because of her 'excessive' concern and sought to remove the obstacle. For example, before the 'Great Adventure' plan started, didn't the queen intervene and try to prevent you from carrying it out?"

"You mean I might as well have murdered the queen over that petty disagreement?" Babilo asked Kinsley.

“That's just a theory, General Babilo. There's no need to be so serious?"- Jovie, Elvina and King Algorik turned to General Babilo

“Don't be so arrogant, Kinsley. Did you know that General Babilo would be offended by such unfounded suspicions?

“Forgive me, Your Majesty. I don't want to push it too far. Just because I'm so upset that this has so many twists and turns and we haven't been able to find the culprit for a long time, that makes me come up with many other theories. together.”

“It seems that he was too eager to make his mind unstable, and he made a mistake. If you say so, I can definitely put you on that list, Duke Kinsley.”

“You two, stop. Don't make me angry. Are you two trying to provoke pain in me?”

Babilo and Kinsley replied in unison, "My fault, Your Majesty."

"I have a question, Babilo: ‘Why didn't you tell me this before?’"

“Because it was a long time ago, I forgot. Indeed, the queen did not agree to let me carry out that plan, but that does not mean that I dare to mess with her."

“My mother and younger brother were killed two days before the plan was carried out. I think it can't be a coincidence. The king needs to consider and investigate this case carefully to get justice for my mother."

The king felt Elvina's earnestness as if begging him to find out the truth. He is still on a long journey to find the culprit who killed his wife, and he has some doubts and worries that are difficult to confess to his daughter. Not knowing how to answer, Elvina showed an attitude as if scorning his hesitation all this time:

“You know, you've really changed. My honorable and tolerant father of the past is dead. You just have a new love in your heart, there is no room for mother and sister anymore. If not, I would have done it a long time ago."

Then she ran away, dropped the bouquet on the ground, and cried. Jovie was about to run to comfort him but was stopped by Kinsley, his head crossed. Jovi immediately guessed what he meant: “She needs some quiet time. Don't disturb it now."

Jovie understood that, and turned to King Algorik with a puzzled, irritated look.

Suddenly, Babilo knelt and said to the king:

“You know that I wholeheartedly serve the country, wholeheartedly devote myself to the royal family. I also admire the queen's personality and way of running the government. I never had any thoughts of harming anyone. Your majesty understands me best, please be fair to find out and exonerate me."

Then King Algorik turned to Babilo and said:

“I want you to stand up. I also don't believe someone close to me like you can do that. The truth is that you also have many contributions to the development of our country, one of which is the 'Great Adventure' initiated by you, my family is also very indebted to you. Okay, I will not pursue this for the time being. When the big deal is over, I will investigate carefully. If you don't do anything wrong, there's nothing to fear, General."

"Your Majesty may no longer trust me completely after the security incident while escorting Hochi to The Court of Highness, but I still insist on proving my innocence." - Babilo said firmly.

“Dear Mr. Babilo, the truth will come to light. The killer will pay a heavy price for his work,” said Kinsley.

"Yes, I also hope that if Your Majesty catches him, that person will receive a proper sentence before the Royal Court."- Babilo answered with a leisurely attitude and then said to the king- "Time to meet the guests. Let's go, Your Majesty."

“Ah, the reporters are waiting for us. After the meeting with them, I also have to meet Agarad the businessman and his staff. Maybe they're eager to see me. Alright, let's go."

Algorik did not forget to text Jovie before leaving:

“You are Elvina's tutor, both she and I love you very much, treating you like family. Therefore, to advise and comfort her, I can only rely on you."

“Hmm…” – Jovie stammered – “Roger that.”

“But just remember one thing. You and Elvina should only keep a teacher-student relationship, don't go too far. I only have her as a girl, so right now I just need protection from a teacher by her side. You know what I mean?"

“Yes, I understand your majesty. I won’t exceed my limit. I swear I have Viole The Almighty as my witness."

"Good. So what's up with you later?"

Then the king proudly walked with Babilo. Babilo said goodbye to the Duke and cried out to his servant:

"Rioka, let's go."

Before leaving, Babilo deliberately nudged Jovie, then smirked, and also casually stepped on a bouquet on the ground. Jovie was furious but looked helplessly at the crushed flowers at her feet. Kinsley approached him and said:

“After finishing tutoring the princess, would you mind walking with me for a while? We haven't talked for a long time."

“Roger that, Duke Kinsley.”

“Then I will wait for you outside the mansion.”

…Jovie went inside, and Kinsley went the other way. A feeling of frustration and insecurity lingered in Jovie's mind, causing him to turn his head to look at the crushed flower as he walked. Suddenly he saw a strange thing: Babilo's servant, Rioka, was also looking at the flower for a few seconds, then bent down to pick up a flower and brought it to his nose to smell it. She only left when she noticed Jovie was looking at her. Jovie didn't know what the person's face was like because she wore an eagle mask and covered her body in white, looking like she had just stepped out of some carnival. He felt that when that person was dressed like that, he looked both mysterious and aristocratic, stimulating his curiosity. He was not surprised because he knew that in the palace Babilo was a person who paid great attention to dress, so he also wanted his servants to inherit that as well.

After finishing tutoring the princess, Jovie went out of the mansion and found Kinsley. He saw him looking at the royal garden. He approached and spoke up.

"Duke Kin..."

"There's no need to address me so formally in situations like this."

"I get it, Uncle Kinsley."

"So how's the princess?"

“Her psyche has not completely calmed down after the argument with her father. No matter how I comfort her, she won't stop crying and..."

"She's going to be carving words into the wall and punching a stuffed animal again?"

"Yes, that's exactly what happened. Luckily, she stopped as soon as her bird, Iya, flew back to the cage. She just has her as a friend all the time. Then it was time for teaching and it's almost over, so I'm not doing my job as usual.”

"It's been hard for me to endure her tantrums and the consequences of her bad temper.”- Kinsley said in focus- “No one can comfort her when she's angry. She still has the personality of a child. Any of these creatures in the galaxy carry a mental illness when they have feelings for someone they love, especially someone who has the same bloodline as them.”

Jovie listened attentively to every word from Kinsley with an extreme satisfied expression, he touched his chin with his hand, sobbing:

“You are very knowledgeable about human life. If what you say is true, then I think this is a matter of concern”- Jovie said.

“Her personality is similar to that of Queen Kate in her youth: difficult to tame, preferring to make a fight with those she hates, not to be understandable, considering herself as the center of the universe. Algorik was the one who changed her, since she became the king's queen, she became someone else. So it's only a matter of time before finding someone to fill the void in the princess’ withered heart”

“You have been with Queen Kate since she was young?”- Jovie asked.

“Yeah, before she became crowned queen.”

“Really? So can you tell me about younger Queen Kate's past?”

“Not now. Maybe I'll set aside a day to tell you. The purpose of calling you out today is to ask about the incident in escorting Hochi to The Court of Highness”

“That... Nothing special to say at all”- Jovie answered- “But if you want to know something, go forth.”

“OK. I want to ask about Hochi. How did he react when he saw his comrades come in the middle of the chaotic crowd to save him?”

"'Hmm, he wasn't happy, even when the government soldiers surrounded them, Hochi told his accomplices to leave and let him stay so no one would get caught.' That's what Babilo said back to his men.”- Jovie said.