When King Theron entered the chamber, he saw his weak-looking father lying on the bed. He had his eyes closed and only opened them when he heard the sound of the door opening.

“Greetings, Father.” He bowed to him.

“Theron…” the older man weakly called out his son’s name, as if he was longing to see him.

Knowing his father’s eyesight had already deteriorated to the point he could barely see, he went closer towards the bed.

His father’s weak voice reached his ears., “My son…Forgive your father.”

King Theron felt sharp pain in his chest.

The man he had always seen as the strongest pillar of this kingdom and the man he always looked up to was now so frail and weak. As a son, his heart ached as he sat at the edge of the bed and held his father’s hand.

The large hand that used to be so strong and firm now felt light and feeble, as if it didn’t even have an ounce of energy to hold a spoon. King Theron caressed it and softly spoke, “Father, you don’t need to ask for forgiveness. In fact, I apologize for not being the competent king that you hoped I would become.”

“You are… a great king…” the old man responded despite having difficulties breathing. “Never look down… on yourself… It was difficult for you…but, I am proud of you, my son…”

“Father…”

“Your wife…?”

King Theron slightly tightened his hold on the old man’s hand. “I know what you want to say, Father. Rest assured. I will fulfill the promise you have made that day. I will make that child the next king of this kingdom and will raise him as an Ivanov. I will honor my father’s words.”

“And… Esther?”

“Rest assured, Father.”

The older man smiled lightly, a hint of gratitude in his expression. ” I can… close my eyes… peacefully…”

After watching his father fall asleep, King Theron came out of his chamber with a solemn look. He found his wife talking to his mother in the drawing room.

He bowed towards his mother. “We shall take our leave now.”

Great Lady Theodora didn’t try to make him stay longer. She knew her son was going through a lot of troubles related to the aftereffects of the curse on the kingdom. Even though it’s been two months since then, the recovery of the Kingdom of Megaris was slow.

After saying farewell to his mother, King Theron merely looked at Esther and turned to leave. She understood the meaning of his gaze and left after excusing herself from her mother-in-law.

——

When they reached the side of the lake where their boats were docked, King Theron offered Esther his hand to assist her in getting into his boat. The onlookers were unaware of the situation of the royal family, and found nothing wrong with the King’s sweet behavior.

Since they saw that the Queen went with the King in his boat, her own servants stayed back and let their Queen go. They would return to the palace proper separately.

However, none of them guessed the uncomfortable atmosphere within the boat of the King. The husband and wife were sitting facing each other, but none of them were speaking a single word. There was silence for a long time, and only the sound of the boatman rowing the water could be heard.

King Theron was staring at the surface of the lake with an expressionless face, while Esther sat with her head lowered, her hands lightly gripping at her skirt.

Esther didn’t know what to feel. Sitting together with the husband she missed for so long, her heart felt indescribably warm, yet she also felt unfamiliar awkwardness in this situation. She felt nervous and hopeful and a little bittersweet about how things turned out this way between them.

As he had finally taken the initiative and asked her to come with him, she decided to start a conversation with him. “I heard there is still a scarcity of food in the kingdom.”

King Theron looked at her. His dark eyes met her gaze. She couldn’t read the emotions behind them. “Because of that curse, all the crops were destroyed, while those harvested and kept in storage rotted. What we had ordered from outside the kingdoms is still not enough.”

Esther pondered. “It’s also impossible to try to grow crops now. They won’t grow since it will be winter soon. Have you already thought of a solution?”

His gaze didn’t waver from her. “We will find a way.”

She nodded, feeling glad that they were finally talking. It was short and flat, but it was better than nothing. King Theron turned his gaze away from her and continued to look at the water of the lake.

When they reached the gazebo at the other side of the lake, King Theron helped Esther once again, offering her his hand as she stepped out of the boat. He even took her back to her residence in his carriage before heading towards the Grand Palace.

He said no sweet words. He didn’t even speak at all, but his actions were enough for her to know that he still cared for her. She could still feel the lingering warmth of his hand on her palm. They might not be close like before, but she knew there was hope to somehow turn things for the better.

Little did she know that once again difficulties were heading her husband’s way.

—–

After visiting his parents’ first thing in the morning, King Theron went to the Grand Palace to meet with the royal court. Although the day had barely started, one could see the traces of worry and exhaustion on his handsome face.

At the arrival of the King, all the ministers rose from their seats to greet him. Soon after, the royal court session started with the most difficult thing the kingdom was facing at the moment—the scarcity of the food.

“Your Majesty, this is the current status of this item on the agenda. At the current consumption, the supply of food we have imported from other kingdoms will not be enough to last us for this month. The royal treasury is nearly empty because we already bought food at a higher price than standard. Even if we have funds to buy more grain, no kingdom is willing to give as there is a limit to what they can give. They also need to keep food in preparation for winter and have to look after the needs of their own kingdoms.”

“Your Majesty, this is the reported number of people who starved to death in each of the territories. Although there was a decline in numbers because we opened the royal treasury, it will not be sustainable in the long run, especially since the supply of food is not enough.”

King Theron turned to another official. “Minister of Foreign Affairs, what happened to your visit to Griven?”

“To answer Your Majesty, the negotiations failed. The plague in the south also spread to the borders of Griven, and although the plague was resolved, the borders between the kingdoms were still closed and they refused to open it and accept open trade with Megaris. They were afraid that if they opened it, the refugees from Megaris would come flocking in and the plague would return.”

“What of the others?”

“None of the nearby kingdoms have accepted our request now.”

A heavy silence filled the throne hall.

One minister sighed. “It’s the entire kingdom we need to provide with food and not just a few families. What we need is to import food in massive amounts. I cannot think of another way.”

“People from all over the kingdom are gathering in the capital expecting their king to provide them something but…”

“Even the grains in our own residences and in the palace are in short supply. Maybe in a month or two, we would be like those people struggling to have a full meal.”

“What terrible timing. The lands are recovering, but autumn is ending soon and no crops will grow in winter soil. Though we are doing our best to make it possible, farmers can’t work with empty stomachs.”

“As of now, we are purely relying on the fish and other seafood caught from the rivers and the coastline territories, but the territory lords of those areas say the yield was less than expected. The population of fishes seemed to have been less than a third of its original number due to the drought. The whirlpools also destroyed their natural habitat and many fishermen returned with no catch for days now.”

“Alas! From the batch of supplies they delivered yesterday, they might be enough to feed the original residents of the capital for several weeks…but as for those refugees entering the Blackhelm as well as the towns and villages in the west and south…not enough…”

It was not like King Theron was not aware of those issues,  but it seemed impossible for the Kingdom of Megaris to solve this scarcity of food on its own. What he needed was enough food to feed millions of his subjects.

Just then, one minister opened his mouth, “Your Majesty… do you remember Marquis Edin of Hatha?” Hearing no response from the King, the minister continued, “I am yet to send the letter of rejection to the proposal the Marquis made.”

Some ministers remembered the proposal that was sent about a month ago. “Yes, Your Majesty. Hatha is in the central area of the continent and although it pales when compared with the wealth of Abetha, they are capable of sending food to us in bulk since they have been preparing supplies for years in their war against Abetha. If you marry the daughter of Marquis Edin, he promised to supply us grains until the end of winter as he is the Minister of Commerce of Hatha and has a pact with various merchants from the western side of the continent. He also put forth the condition that if we are even willing to supply him soldiers to help fend off Abetha, he would also give us a loan with low interest in order to augment the expenses taken from the royal treasury.”

With this, the entire court became more lively and started to sing the same tune. King Theron had no other option. Growing crops and trying to undo the effects of the curse on the land were beyond his means. It would be too late to merely starve, waiting for the next harvest.

King Theron knew that even within the royal palace, the supplies of food were starting to lack. Prior to this, the dining table of the royal family would have as many as ten courses in a single meal on an ordinary day. However, didn’t he have only three courses this morning, with the portion almost a half of the original? Even the servants were starting to voice out how their families outside the palace were starving, and soon it would reach his own family.

‘My family!’

Just like everyone, the Ivanov Family would starve. His son, who was not even a year old yet, and his wife, who needed the most care at this moment.

He could not let his people starve. He could not let his family starve.

“Send the Marquis a message that the King of Megaris accepts his proposal.”

With this, the sadness and worry on everyone’s faces disappeared, and they praised the decision of their wise king.

King Theron watched the relief of the royal court without a single change in his expression. No one knew what he was feeling at this moment and no one could guess what was on his mind.

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