Raised in Dungeon

Chapter 144 Before Inauguration

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The second throne room was the second-largest room after the Ballroom. It eclipsed even the main throne room in size. The walls, fashioned from impeccably painted concrete, were adorned with gleaming gold carvings that accentuated the unique patterns etched into the walls. The well-crafted granite floor boasted intricate patterns, yet they were lost in the overall splendor of the room. Directly leading to the king's throne, a luxuriant red carpet stretched from the entrance, creating a grand walkway to the seat of power.

During official events at the palace, the king can be seated in the throne room, meeting guests from outside the castle. In contrast to the primary throne room, the second throne room serves as a space for internal royal affairs, accommodating a large number of people. Notably, unlike the main throne room. The king's throne is not the only seat on the elevated platform. Positioned at the center and the highest point, the king's throne is surrounded by ten seats arranged in a semicircle on the stairs below. Each seat is designated for the council, with five located on the platform's left and right sides of the platform.

The current king was not present in the room because he was ill; he replaced the king's position to sit there was Queen Regina, as the empress. While the other five queens make a line in far front of the knight line.

As for the princes, they stood beside the red carpet with their respective knights beside them. Their mother's rulership determines the order of the princes. From the second queen's child to the third queen on the left, then the fourth queen to the sixth queen on the right.

Because it was a very important official event, there were also a lot of people there. Despite the incident that happened yesterday, the heads of each noble family were forbidden to go home because of this event. Reynold was even forced to return to the capital because of this. The nobles at that time wore their official uniforms, long furry robes, and furry hats. They lined up on the right side of the room.

Then on the left side of the room were the knights. Most of whom were from the 12 Milites. Each captain stood at the front of the line, followed by a line of their members at the back.

The room was already filled with all the important characters. Before Eldritch entered, they were chatting about the Noctem Dolls attack and its connection to today's inauguration.

As for the princes,

"He suddenly left home, and no one blamed him, then suddenly returned and immediately became king. How annoying; the world really revolves around Eldritch,"

"Mathilda... don't speak so loudly in this room," Alicia admonished her sister.

Mathilda Eulalia Wildenhall, the sixth prince. She is sarcastic and has a face that people think is scary because she is always sullen.

"Ah! Hear me! Was I the only one who originally thought that Leofric would be the king? Because of brother Eldritch's absence for so many years, I thought father would die first and Leofric would be made king right away," Elizabeth said excitedly.

"Don't mention dead people's names here; aaah, I really hate this family," Margaret responded.

"BAHAHA, why Leofric? Isn't Harald the eldest brother after Eldritch? He should be the king if that's the case!" Leonard shouted.

"Hey... can you guys please not offend me? I can't become the king. It's very troublesome," Harald replied.

"Well, as you can see, brother Harald's reaction is like that, not someone who would become king," Elizabeth retorted.

"How sad... why one of the eldest brothers has no confidence and ambition, a bad example for the family," Mathilda said with a disgusted face.

"Well, naturally, I'm used to scorn, so if you keep talking, trust me, it won't affect me."

The only one who found the whole conversation strange was Francis. To Francis, his brothers were extraordinary people and also strange people.

They easily talked about Leofric's death without any emotion at all, as if his death was no big deal at all. And no one looks worried about their father's condition; maybe only Francis does.

When he was about to talk about it with Richard, Richard replied to him.

"Stop talking to me! Its not strange at all! Leofric was just lame and arrogant. He didn't choose his personal knight; no wonder he died."

Interrupting their conversation, the 8th prince, Gerard, hugged Francis and Richard with both hands.

"Hahahaha... Don't you think It's funny? the one who calls himself the strongest is the first to die than his other brothers."

"Let me go! Don't touch me!"

"Oh Francis, you've decided on your knight," Richard said, looking at the figure of the man behind Francis.

"I-yeah, do I need to introduce you? He is-"

"Aaah no need! Introductions like that would be long! Did you forget that knights are forbidden to speak at official events while the prince is chatting?!"

After much thought, Francis took Sabine's advice on choosing his own knight. Sabine had suggested that Francis pick a person who was both loyal to him and brave enough to sacrifice themselves for him. After weighing his options, Francis finally settled on one person he believed fit the criteria: a warrior who had retired from dungeon exploration and held the rank of palladium. This warrior was part of the 2nd Milite division, which was responsible for guarding the royal prison. He was the same person whom Francis had fooled during his visit to the prison. The warrior had been swept up in the excitement of Francis' "adventure game" and as a result, had become Francis's favorite. He had even expressed a desire to become Francis's knight.

"I see..." Francis said with a disappointed face.

"Del pel... a knight is a person who will always protect you, but it seems like you chose the weak one, very disappointing," said the twins, Edward.

"Eala... you're weak too, and your knight is weak too, so it's a duo of the weakest people huh? Hahaha." Continued the twin, Edmund.

Behind Francis, his knight closed his eyes, unable to bear the scorn given by the princes,

'Prince Francis, forgive me.' Thought the knight.

Francis then replied, "I have chosen the best! He might one day be better than the other knights!"

As Francis said that, the other knights looked at him,

'Prince! That's enough! Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm no better than the others!'

Then suddenly, the 9th prince, Rowland, patted his hand. He was just doing an ordinary clap, but that one clap echoed throughout the room, making everyone look straight at him. He stole everyone's attention with just one clap.

"Alright everyone, I think that's enough chatting. It's been a while since we got together, so it's okay to talk a lot once in a while, but right now is not the right time. Look..." Rowland pointed towards the door.

"The main character has arrived."

Everyone in the room reflexively looked at the large door behind him.

And just as he said, the door slowly opened.

"Alicia, do you think if Eldritch becomes king, something will change?" asked Harald.

"Hmm... To be honest, I can't guess brother Eldritch's thoughts at all. I don't know what he's been doing these five years or his goals. I only know that he's gained a lof of power since the last time I saw him. We never expected he would come with five adfeqtus reliqua."

"How strong was he now?"

Alicia's pupil shape turned into stars; she activated her blessing, watching the silhouette walk in.

"He's currently holding back her aura, but I know if we put all our mana together and add in all the people in this room, we still can't match half of his mana."

"aha-ha-ha," responded Harald, half surprised; he was the one who stayed with Eldritch the longest and knew how strong she was. And his sister might now be able to develop further.

In his mind, he actually still had his own conclusions on what would happen in the future,

'After this inauguration, Eldritch becomes king and must attend the council meetings. That would probably ruin the plans that mother had built with the council. To solve this, perhaps the queen will marry off Eldritch to Felicia or someone else she has prepared. That way, mother could still have control over the kingdom by creating a puppet queen for Eldritch. With the recommendation of two to four queens, brother Eldritch, who had no interest in her, probably wouldn't try to evade.'

In the middle of his thoughts, the royal guard shouted the name of the person who had entered.

"The crown prince, Eldritch Odelina Wildenhall! Together with his future empress, Nam Jihye! Enter the chamber!"

The announcement that echoed in the grand chamber was a complete shock to everyone present. Alicia was the first to express her confusion by uttering,

"Huh? Did I just mishear?" All shared her bewilderment in attendance, as they too, thought they had misheard the announcement.

However, their doubts were quickly dissolved as Eldritch made his grand entrance with a stunning black-haired girl by his side. It was clear to everyone that this was no mistake but the unveiling of the future empress. The murmurs grew louder as people whispered,

"The future empress?" All eyes were fixed on the woman beside Eldritch as they tried to decipher what kind of woman that could take the cold-hearted Eldritch would become.