The heavy golden doors finally closed. The terrified step-siblings, the angry Queen Isolde, and Prince Kaelen were all gone.
Only four people remained in the Grand Bedchamber: The King, Crown Prince Caspian, the new First Queen Vivienne, and Princess Seraphina, who was still standing silently in the dark corner.
The King was practically glowing with renewed youth and absolute pride. He walked up to Caspian, placing both hands on his son's shoulders.
"Tell me the absolute truth, Caspian," the King demanded, his voice low and intense. "Do you really have the man who brewed this miraculous potion working under you?"
"Yes, Father," Caspian nodded confidently. "He is entirely on our side"
The King threw his head back and let out a massive, booming laugh of pure, unrestrained joy.
"Hahaha! Excellent! My brilliant son, you have done something completely impossible!" the King cheered. "Finally! We no longer need to rely on that arrogant bitch, Elara Valmont!"
As the King spoke Elara's name, his face twisted with dark, bitter hatred.
'That stuck-up bitch actually dared to reject my marriage proposal years ago,' the King thought furiously to himself.'When I tried to use my royal authority to pressure her, she completely cut off the Kingdom's high-grade potion supply! The Valmont Family has dominated our markets for far too long!'
The King smiled greedily at Caspian"You have solved our Kingdom's greatest weakness, Caspian! With this man's potions, we can cut off the Valmont Family entirely. We will make unbelievable profits and build an invincible army!"
Caspian smiled, but he knew he had to drop the risky news.
"There is one small detail, Father," Caspian said smoothly, stepping back. "To secure his absolute loyalty, I used a special tactic. I have officially fixed Seraphina's marriage with him. I wanted to ask for your blessing"
The room instantly went dead silent.
The King's greedy smile completely shattered. His face turned bright red with sudden anger.
"Are you out of your mind?!" the King roared.
"You know exactly who Seraphina is supposed to marry! She is politically betrothed to the Crown Prince of the Ironblood Empire! Our kingdom and their empire are exact equals in military power! That marriage was supposed to keep the peace between two superpowers! If we break that treaty, it could plunge both kingdoms into a devastating, bloody war!"
The King paused, his eyes narrowing as he thought about Caspian's words. "Wait... you called this man 'Zero'. Just Zero? Does he not have a noble surname? Are you telling me you traded a Royal Princess to a filthy, low-born commoner?!"
The King raised his hand, fully prepared to slap Caspian across the face for making such a reckless, dangerous decision.
"Father, wait!" Caspian interrupted loudly, not stepping back. He pointed directly at the empty golden vial on the bed.
"Do you remember what you just drank?!"
Caspian argued fiercely. "You were dying! The Ironblood Empire's best healers could not do absolutely anything for you! Zero cured your incurable disease in five seconds!"
Caspian stepped closer to the King, his eyes burning with dark ambition.
"So what if breaking the treaty angers the Ironclad Empire? We have Zero! With his miraculous potions, our kingdom won't just be 'equal' to them anymore. We will completely surpass them!" Caspian manipulated smoothly. "If we tie him to the royal family through Seraphina, his absolute power becomes our power. If the Ironblood Empire attacks us, it becomes his problem to solve!"
The King slowly lowered his hand, his furious expression shifting as Caspian's greedy logic started to make perfect sense.
Seeing the King hesitate, Lady Vivienne quickly stepped forward to support her son. Even though Vivienne was Seraphina's biological mother, she did not care about her daughter at all. She only cared about Caspian's rise to power.
Nervous and quiet Her face hardened into a look of cold, calculating ruthlessness. Now that she was the First Queen, she was ready to play the cruel game of politics, even against her own flesh and blood.
"My King, please listen to our genius son," Vivienne said, gently wrapping her arms around the King's muscular bicep. She didn't even look at Seraphina in the corner.
"A political alliance with the Ironclad Empire only keeps us in a stalemate. But controlling the greatest Alchemist in the world? That gives you supreme power. Even as her biological mother, I say giving up a useless, weak daughter like Seraphina is an incredibly cheap price to pay for absolute global domination"
In the corner of the room, Princess Seraphina heard every single word.
She had been numb and depressed, staring blankly at the floor.
A look of pure, shattering despair washed over her face. Her beautiful eyes filled with thick tears, but she bit her lip so hard it bled, refusing to make a sound.
The pain in her chest was unbearable. Her own brother had sold her to a terrifying monster. Her very own biological mother had just called her a "useless, weak daughter." And now, she watched as her own father the King slowly nodded his head in agreement.
"You make a valid point, Caspian," the King finally muttered, his eyes gleaming with dark greed as he looked at his own daughter like she was nothing but a piece of meat to be traded. "If this 'Zero' can truly provide us with endless potions and make us stronger than the Ironblood Empire... then the girl is his"
The King paced back and forth across his luxurious bedroom, his mind buzzing with greedy plans. He rubbed his hands together, already calculating how much wealth this new Alchemist would bring to the royal family.
"So, my son," the King said eagerly, turning to Caspian. "Where exactly is this 'Zero' hiding right now? I want to send my absolute best royal guards to escort him here immediately"
Highly confident and proud of his master plan.
Caspian's confident smile slightly twitched. He cleared his throat, trying to sound completely unbothered.
"Well, Father... right now, he is staying at the Valmont Family estate," Caspian admitted smoothly. "Matriarch Elara Valmont personally took him with her"
The room went completely still.
Greedy, excited, and victorious.
His face turned completely pale with shock, and then instantly flushed dark red with explosive anger. The veins on his forehead popped out.
"What did you just say?!" the King roared, grabbing Caspian by the collar of his expensive coat. "Are you out of your mind?! Elara Valmont took him?! How can you stand there and say he is on our side if that arrogant woman has already brought him into her inner circle?!"
The King shoved Caspian backward, pacing frantically.
"Do you have any idea what you have done?!" the King shouted in pure panic. "If Elara Valmont gets her claws into him, she will monopolize his potions! She will absorb him into the Valmont Family, and we will lose everything!"
Caspian quickly fixed his collar, trying to maintain his control over the situation.
"Father, calm down!" Caspian argued forcefully. "Zero is not some weak, pathetic commoner that Elara can just control. He does not listen to anyone! He does whatever he wants"
Caspian lowered his voice, speaking with absolute seriousness.
"Zero is terrifyingly powerful. He easily possesses S-Rank potential maybe even higher. That is exactly why he is capable of creating such impossible, god-like serums,"
Caspian explained. "He is only using the Valmont estate as a temporary hotel. No one can tame a monster like him. He is a free agent"
Standing nearby, Lady Vivienne listened to this argument.
Cold, calculating, and arrogant as the new First Queen.
A deep flash of hidden terror appeared in her eyes. She quickly hid her panic behind a fake smile, but inside, her heart was pounding wildly.
'We have to bring this Zero under our complete control immediately,' Vivienne thought frantically to herself, biting her inner cheek.'If Caspian loses this Alchemist to Elara Valmont, the King will throw us out like trash! I cannot go back to being a lowly 3rd Mistress! If I lose my title as First Queen, that arrogant bitch Isolde will make my life an absolute living hell! I would rather die!'
The King stopped pacing. He took a deep breath, his massive chest rising and falling as he processed Caspian's words.
"An S-Rank potential warrior who brews miracle potions..." the King muttered, his eyes narrowing with pure greed and determination. "If what you say is true, then this is a massive deal. We absolutely cannot let the Valmont Family keep him"
The King turned to his Royal Guards standing by the door.
"Prepare a Royal Decree immediately!" the King commanded with absolute authority.
"Send my personal golden carriage to the Valmont Estate. Inform Lord Zero that the King of Oakhaven has personally invited him to the Royal Palace for a Grand Evening Banquet!"
The King then turned around and pointed directly at Princess Seraphina, who was still silently crying in the dark corner.
"And you," the King ordered his daughter, showing zero mercy. "Wash your face, put on your most expensive, revealing dress, and prepare yourself. Tonight, at the banquet, you will be officially presented to Lord Zero. We are going to lock this marriage down tonight before Elara Valmont can steal him from us!"