Second Arc (His Art of War) - 106. Reinheart Family's Breakfast II

In the dining hall, King Gervis and Ophelia were already sitting in their chairs, waiting for Ilex. Even though they already knew that Ilex was drinking all night, they didn't expect him to get drunk like this.

King Gervis sighed.
"He's really late." After this, he had a meeting with Chancellor Vello to discuss Asteria's financial developments, which was followed by another meeting with the finance minister. After that, a pile of documents was waiting at his desk. But no matter how busy King Gervis was, he still wanted to spend his breakfast with his children.

"Maybe he's too drunk to wake up," said Ophelia. Since her separation with Angel, she had decided to follow his advice to improve her relationship with King Gervis and Ilex, as well as spend more time socializing with other noblewomen. Slowly her sadness began to disappear and she began to accept her new life. She only had one request, she asked to move her room to Angel's old room.

King Gervis turned to Ophelia.
"Do you know why he acted like that?" After Angel left, King Gervis ordered Ilex to stay at the castle to help the city wall's repairment and handle castle affairs since he was too busy taking care of Asteria's finances. Besides, King Gervis did this because he was still worried about Ilex's wounds and prevented him from acting recklessly, since one of the agreement's contents was, if someone tried to kill Angel then he/she would be beheaded even if it was a royal family member.

"I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with a woman? I heard, he often met a woman in another kingdom secretly, but I don't know who she is," answered Ophelia.

"A woman from another kingdom?" King Gervis frowned. He knew Ilex had liked Rose once and met her at Zephyrus. Unfortunately Rose gave him the cold shoulder. After that, Ilex only played with women by inviting different women to dance at every party. But even so, Ilex kept his reputation and never slept with any of them.
"How do you know that?" asked King Gervis again.

"Some noblewomen said it at the tea party two days ago. But it seems like he kept it a secret because that woman came from the commoner," said Ophelia again.

"Then it is better to keep it a secret until he marries a good noble lady. If he still likes her, he can make her a concubine," said King Gervis. Actually, he didn't agree if a king or a future king had two wives because usually it only created more trouble. But instead of letting Ilex end up like his brother who lost his wife outside the castle, he didn't mind giving his permission.

The knocking sounds were heard. Two servants entered and bowed.
"Your Majesty, Prince Ilex did not answer us. It looks like he is still sleeping."

King Gervis sighed once again. This was the first time, Ilex got so drunk that he couldn't wake up for breakfast.
"Fine. Today we'll have our breakfast without him." King Gervis waved a small bell before him, then some servants brought a small cart filled with good looking dishes. Soon a well-made food dish began to be placed before them one by one.

As King Gervis and Ophelia grabbed their cutlery, a knocking sound came and Ilex rushed in.
"Forgive me for my lateness, father," said Ilex, bowing.

King Gervis and Ophelia looked to Ilex. His shirt was messy and so was his hair, his blazer was unbuttoned and from his face, they could tell Ilex didn't even wash his face. This was intolerable, but because they thought Ilex had just broken his heart they didn't say anything.
"Tidy up your uniform and sit down," said King Gervis.

Ilex answered him with a slight nod, tidied up his uniform quickly and took a seat. The smell of alcohol wafted across King Gervis and Ophelia's noses.
"Ilex, what happened?" said King Gervis worriedly.

"I ..." Ilex's words stopped. He couldn't possibly say this to his father and Ophelia but saying he had no problem was also impossible. He gave them a reassuring smile.
"It's just a personal matter. You don't need to worry about me. I feel better now," said Ilex.

Ophelia looked at Ilex in worry.
"Brother, if you need someone to talk to. You can talk to me," said Ophelia sincerely. She knew that as a royal family, as a prince, Ilex could not tell this to anyone to maintain his reputation let alone show his tears. Besides, Ophelia also just felt the same sadness due to a broken heart just like him, of course, she understood how Ilex felt.

"Does this mean that the rumours about you and that commoner woman are true?" asked King Gervis straight to the point.

Ilex fell silent. He already knew about the rumours but he didn't say anything on purpose. Even if the rumours weren't true, it was useful if one day he needed some reason to cover his tracks to meet Ivetta.

The knocking sounds interrupted their conversation. A servant opened the door.
"Your Majesty is eating, you can report it later," said the servant.

"Let me see the king. I'm sure he wants to hear my report," said the guard in Asterian uniform.

"Let him in," said King Gervis. Although he didn't like his time with his family being interrupted, he knew the guard couldn't possibly bother him without a reason.

The guard walked into the room and bowed.
"Your Majesty, I just got the news that Euphorion has conquered Draconis and Zephyrus," said the guard in a trembling voice. This was the first time he had heard a king who could do that in such a short time.

King Gervis and Ophelia couldn't hide their shock. Meanwhile, Ilex's expression did not change because he had known this news since last night.
"Where did you get that news?" asked King Gervis in disbelief.

"From General Gaia, Your Majesty," answered the guard.

King Gervis was silent because he knew that as a General, Gaia could not possibly lie. Besides, he got nothing out of lying about this anyway. Meanwhile, Ilex clenched his hands holding back his anger. But only briefly, suddenly an idea crossed his head.
'Wait a minute. If that illegitimate child has conquered Zephyrus, doesn't that mean that my enemy and Ivetta are the same? ' A smirk appeared on Ilex's lips.
'Then ... I have to contact my beloved lover again and make a new plan.'