Chapter 42
With each day that passed, the king felt his restlessness grow.
The people he had hired hadn't even fixed the situation at all. That woman, Ubol, had wrapped many cloths around the tree. The cloths were supposedly rubbed with powder in a special ritual but he couldn't help but doubt it would deter the tree's abnormal behaviour. The soldiers even began to give offerings to the tree with small bowls of rice or fruit and there would be no sign of it the next day.
Ritthirong didn't believe in superstitions. It couldn't be a ghost. It had to be just some wizard jinxing the tree for their own amusement.
Which meant he was vulnerable.
He licked his thumb before he flipped the page. The majority of the book was in Sanskrit and was harder to process than he had anticipated. How Pranee found enjoyment in reading for hours only perplexed him.
"Your majesty?" Charunee's voice called out to him but his eyes stayed focus on the pages.
"Yes?"
"Master wizard Ubol came to collect payment for the regular maintenance." Her voice wavered as she spoke.
He sighed. "Just give her what she needs."
"She requested to have an audience with you this time."
"What does she want?"
"I'll say when I have a private audience with you."
The new voice made the king raise his head. Ubol stood there with an intense stare and her chest was rising and falling rapidly as she took deep breaths.
"Charunee, you are dismissed."
The servant made a quiet exit and slide the door closed behind her. Ubol watched the servant as she left and the moment the door closed, she whipped her head towards Ritthirong.
"What did you do to my tower?"
"You're the best wizard in the country, right? I'm sure you can figure it out."
"Just because I'm the best wizard in the country doesn't mean I can undo whatever hex you put on my tower."
He closed the book and placed it on his lap. "Oh, right. I forgot even the best wizards can't undo the best inventions made under the royal family. Silly me."
She slammed her hands on his desk. "All of my research is in there. Ten years of my studies and mastery of the craft."
He leaned back in his seat. "Your research in that tower is required to aid the efforts of the kingdom from the threats of the opposing party trying to overthrow me. I don't see why this is an issue."
"I am a citizen of this country am I not? You can't just take away my livelihood like I'm some illegal foreigner."
Her eyes glared at him and she still seemed breathless with anger. His own eyes narrowed at her but his facial expression was as stiff as ever.
"You don't act like it when you come to visit the palace. Look at you. You dare stand above your king while he sits below you."
An agitated sound gargled from her throat as she reluctantly got onto her knees and pressed her hands and forehead to the ground.
"My deepest apologies your majesty." She spat the words out through gritted teeth.
He stood up from his seat and walked around his desk. He leaned back against the desk and crossed his arms as looked down on her. "And what exactly are you apologizing for?"
"My... rude and unacceptable behaviour."
"Yes, you were very rude. You haven't told me, it seemed like you locked yourself in a tower for ten years and only focused on the art of magic."
Her nails scratched the floor and Ritthirong could see Ubol's body get even tenser.
"Yes, how silly of me. It's not like that is required of wizards that want to have a mastery in magic."
Her words were heavily laced with sarcasm and the king couldn't help but take notice.
"If you're so good at magic, you should be able to handle teaching an idiot like your king, hm?"
"Your majesty is not an idiot no matter what choices he makes."
"Then you will start teaching me the basics starting tomorrow. I would like to specialize in anything that will give me a major tactical advantage over my siblings."
"I don't think that–"
"If you comply, you will get back your tower and all your research."
An aggressive cough came from Ubol before she spoke. "It would be an honour to teach the king how to utilize Isla's sacred powder."
"Wonderful. You may stay in the palace while you teach me so you don't have to worry about where to stay. Now, you are dismissed."
Ubol stiffly raised her head and was about to leave through the door before Ritthirong stopped her.
"Oh, by the way. If you fail to comply with anything, don't expect me to be so forgiving. That is all."
She slid the door closed loudly behind her and he could feel the anger radiating off of her through the door. He chuckled to himself and his thoughts delved back into his plans. He was sure there was no way for anything to fail. The next time he saw his siblings, he was certain that he would have the upper hand.
He couldn't wait for the day he becomes an only child.