King Eudon sat on his throne in the Scarlet Stone Castle main hall and waited anxiously. It has been three hours since Rose left the castle, he has sent some guards to pick her up but they have not returned yet, he has also sent a 'magic messager' to General Ferand but there still no reply.

A guard came to him to report and bowed.
"Your Majesty, Prince Ilex has requested to meet you."

"Let him in."

"Yes, Your Majesty." he replied, then he gave him a quick bow and opened the door for Ilex.

Ilex entered the main hall, approached him and bowed.
"Forgive me to bother you, Your Majesty. May I know about Slyhelm Town condition?"

"We still haven't gotten any news from there. I hope you can wait patiently." answered King Eudon.

"I'm fine with that, but ..." Ilex paused for a moment, he looks worried and hesitant about to say something.

King Eudon noticed his worried expression.
"Is there any problem?"

Ilex bowed again as a sign of apology from the words he was about to say.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty. I hope that what I'm about to say does not offend you. Actually I'm not alone when I came here, but I was escorted by the royal elite troops. When I arrived I found out that Zephyrus was being hit by a revolt. Therefore I didn't dare to bring them into the capital so that there is no misunderstanding by assuming that Asteria took advantage of this revolt and left them at Slyhelm Town. "

"General Ferand said that the rebels at Slyhelm Town were trained like the military, is this all the work of his troops? But if it was true why did he admit that his troops were there?"
"What are you trying to say to me?" said King Eudon while looking at him suspiciously.

Ilex bent his head with a worried expression.
"I am worried about my troops condition, they are my responsibility. But I can't order them to do anything because this is Zephyrus internal problem, I cannot interfere without your permission."

"What does it mean that he wants to ask permission from me to interfere in this revolt?"
"Tell me what do you mean clearly. " King Eudon asked for clear explanation from him.

Ilex raised his head again to look at King Eudon.
"If you allow me, I willing to help to settle the revolt at Slyhelm Town. But, I hope you can reconsider my request earlier."

King Eudon looked at him irritably.
"Hmph! So he tried to use this incident as a bargain with me?"
"Forgive me, Prince Ilex, I cannot accept your help." he said with emphatic tone.

Ilex sighed in disappointment.
"It's fine, I understand. I hope I can get good news from you soon. I can't stay here too long." He had just bowed and was about to leave the main hall, suddenly a guard came to report in a rush.
"Your Majesty, the princess is in the rebels hands ."

King Eudon's eyes widened in surprise and instantly got up from his throne.
"Are you sure?!"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Now, General Ferand is trying to negotiate with them. He cannot attack as long as the princess is in their hands." the guard replied while bent his head down.

King Eudon threw himself to sit back on the throne, and thought hard, his worried expression was clearly visible on his face.
"Rose in their hands ... This is really bad. What should I do?"

Ilex returned his gaze to King Eudon.
"Your Majesty, please let me help you. I'm sure my request is not comparable with the life of the sole heir of this Kingdom." he said in a convincing tone.

King Eudon glanced at Ilex and thought for a moment.
"Right now I don't have much choice, using the elite Asterian troops that are already in the town to attack from within is the best way."
"Leave us." he ordered to the guards in the room.

The entire guards quickly bowed and came out of the main hall.

After the door closed, King Eudon returned to speak.
"I wonder what poison you really want?"

"I heard the Heart Family has a very strong secret poison." Ilex answered directly to the point.

King Eudon was surprised to hear that, since only a few people knew about this secret poison but he tried to stay calm.
"Where did you hear about that? We never had that kind of poison."

Ilex bent down his head once again before he started to speak.
"Forgive my impudence, Your Majesty. I have known about this poison for a long time and I also know that this poison was not allowed by the previous king for the peace of Andromeda Continent. But we really need that poison."

King Eudon looked at him with a sharp look.
"Prince Ilex, are you trying to say I lied to you?"

Ilex bowed his head.
"I don't dare, Your Majesty. I'm just trying to say that I understand your difficulties, so I hope you also understand our difficulties. We also do not want this war, but as peace alliance leaders, Asteria must not fall for the sake of Andromeda Continent's peace. We want to resolve this problem quickly before the war spreads to other kingdoms. "he said again trying to convince him.

King Eudon sighed and returned deep in thought.
"He is right, if there is a kingdom that wants to start a war they will surely attack Asteria first and destroy the alliance before attacking other kingdoms. Now my position in Zephyrus is difficult, if Asteria falls, with Zephyrus's current situation, we may be their next target."
"How can I know that you will keep your promise?" he asked.

"I will remain here until Princess Rose is saved. If something happens to her then you may cancel this agreement." Ilex replied.

King Eudon sighed in agreement since he had no other choice.
"Alright, fair enough."

"Thank you, I will immediately give my orders to my troops to make their move." then Ilex bowed and walked towards the exit.

When he walked out of the main hall, he passed the guard who had just reported about the princess. Ilex gave him a slight evil smirk as a signal that their plan was successful and he had to leave the castle to regroup with the others at Slyhelm Town. The guard nodded slowly in replied.

He walked towards the castle yard, then took out a 'signal fireworks' tube from inside his blazer pocket and fired it. A magic fireworks shot into the sky and formed the lion's head crest of Asteria, as a signal that his troops were allowed to attack.