Armipotent

Revalor watched his two sons and daughter's reactions. He felt like he saw himself in his second son, Arbane. The shock and betrayal were clearly portrayed on his face. He imagined himself making the same expression as Arbane. His daughter, Alissa, had the same expression, but his first son, Virion, was surprisingly calm.

The former Elven King furrowed his brow as his gaze glued to the current Elven King. He felt there was something amiss with his first son, then he realized something, "Virion? You knew this a long time ago?" It was an absurd guess, but his guts told him that might be the case. However, he still hoped that his first son would answer him with no.

The Elven King turned his gaze to his father, who seemed to get older a few years. He gave a bitter smile and a saddened expression, "I don't know, but I have an inkling that mother had an affair with the emperor."

Revalor's jaw dropped as he stopped breathing at the same time. He held his breath as he could not believe what he had heard from his son. Not just his wife betrayed him, but his son also betrayed him. If Virion knew that his mother had an affair, Virion should tell him. He was the first person that must be informed, yet his first son kept it from him.

Arbane rose from the chair and lunged toward his older brother. He pinned the Elven King on the ground and started to punch his older brother. Despite the assault, Virion did not defend himself from the punches. He let his brother punch him. Meanwhile, Alissa could not stop crying.

"Enough!" Revalor was the first one to recover and pulled his second son away. The former king faced the current king with a firm gaze, "You have an inkling your mother has an affair, but why don't you tell me? Why don't you stop your mother? Why do you let this happen? Why? Why Virion?"

Virion wiped the blood on his lips and stood up, "I said that I have an inkling. It's just an inkling, and I decide not to investigate it further." He shook his head.

"Why? What can I do? Let's say that I find out this early, but what can I do? Do we rebel against His Majesty?" Virion expressed his helplessness, "Before we can do anything, I will die. You will die. Arbane will die. The Elders will die. Remember the oath, father!"

"What do you mean by the oath!?" Arbane yelled, pointing his finger to his older brother's face, "He broke the oath first. It will be canceled, and we are free from him!"

Virion merely gave a glance at his brother before looking at his father once more. His father understood the situation more than his foolish brother. The oath might not have been broken if his mother had approached the emperor first. If the emperor forced his way into his mother, it would break the oath. However, looking at the current situation, his mother was the one who approached the emperor first.

"You were a king once, father. You should understand my position more than anyone else. I would turn a blind eye even if I found out about the affair earlier. Even without the oath, there's nothing we can do. We can't win against His Majesty and his people. The native Gigante Forest, The Moonlight Tribe, and the three kingdoms. His Majesty has obtained their loyalty. There's only one result if we try to fight the empire, perish! The Elven Kingdom will perish and become history. What would you do if you were in my position, father?"

Arbane rushed toward his brother once more, holding the collar, and pushed his brother's back to the wall, "It's our mother! It's your mother! How can you let this happen!? Where's your pride as a king! You don't deserve to be a King if you can't protect your own mother, Brother!"

Virion locked Arbane's arm with one hand and punched Arbane in the belly. Arbane fell to his knees, then it was followed by a kick on the face, forcing Arbane to lie on the ground with his bloody nose. Then Virion grabbed Arbane's neck.

"Do you know I am shouldering thousands of mothers' lives? Thousands of our people's lives!" Virion's eyes turned red while he started to get wet, "Protect my mother? What have you done for our mother? If you did not do something silly just because of your fiancée, do you think your father would become a slave? What have you done to our family that made your parents proud of you!? Nothing, you are just a troublemaker!"

Virion was angry, angry not because his brother said he did not deserve to be a king but because his brother said he could not protect his mother. The fact that his mother had an affair and he could do nothing about it hurt him even more than anyone. Especially with his position as the king, a helpless king as he watched his family crumble.

Revalor motioned his hand toward his first son, telling him to take a seat, "Calm your mind, Arbane. Your brother is also in pain because he is helpless in this situation. There's no point in pointing your finger at anyone. What's done, is done."

Virion calmed down and returned to his chair, looking at his father, waiting for what his father wanted to talk about while Arbane remained on the floor.

"What are you going to do, Virion? Not just as my son, but as the king," Revalor tried to take a different perspective. Instead of focusing on his personal feelings, he wanted to know what his son would do. His son's actions would affect his decision regarding his relationship with the empire.

"Before that, I want to know the mother's situation first. I want to know what actually happened? Does mother tell you what happened?" Virion asked.

He had an inkling that his mother had an affair because she rarely spent his time in the kingdom. Even when they tried to migrate to this world, his mother mostly stayed in the capital. Once he followed, his mother sneaked out and headed toward the capital. That was when he had a strong feeling that his mother betrayed his father. However, he did not know how his mother ended up having an affair with the emperor.

Virion wanted to make a decision based on his mother's situation. He already thought the worst, but he wanted to know first what actually happened to his mother. Whether the emperor forced her or it was her own choice, he wanted to know.