And with every mouthful, the System alerted him to a new substance. That encouraged him to keep on eating. All the while, Musa stood aside in tears, scared of what might befall him afterward.

He was so disoriented that, in his confusion, he was yet to notice that the prince was still unharmed by the meat he was eating. In his alarm, he failed to see that the prince's body would have reacted from the first bite.

As for Armad, he couldn't care less about that as he ate and ended up eating everything without leaving as little as a morsel. He even made sure that nothing remained in the pot, not even the dregs.

When he was done, he stood up and stretched himself before turning around and removing the cultivation screen that had kept Musa from reaching him.

"Cook the way you are used to," he told Musa while placing a hand on his shoulder. "But you can increase the amount you usually cook."

He said this with a smile that was meant to calm the man's terror, but all it did was to make him more alarmed. With that, Armad turned away and left him.

Musa was all the more confused as to the whereabouts of the food eaten by the prince. And his instructions about increasing the amount didn't help matters. Knowing who his prince was, he didn't voice out his feelings but instead bowed his head respectfully as he walked away.

Armad was almost out of the kitchen when he stopped and turned around again.

"How much is your salary?" He asked.

"Six hundred and fifty Ayrids per month," Musa replied.

"It shall be increased to two thousand and fifty Ayrids from today," said Armad. "And henceforth, my food will be prepared, dished out, and served by you alone. Hope I need not tell you the amount to be served." He smiled at him again.

Despite it being a more dazzling smile than the one before it, Musa didn't feel in any way comforted by it. The only question that kept echoing in his mind was if truly this was the prince he knew.

Armad was by then almost to his chambers, but he heard footsteps behind him. When he looked back, he saw Musa panting behind him. He had run all the way to catch up with him.

"Your Highness," he said. "The food we saw just now." He said instead of the 'food you ate just now,' which he meant but couldn't say out loud. "It is for your soldiers, your Highness," he went on. "I don't know what to tell them when they come for it later."

Armad blinked. He had a regiment of a hundred captains under him, and each of them had twenty men under their control. Calculate all of them, and you have about two thousand men in his entire battalion. And the captains had their barracks in the palace.

It was by his explicit orders that the captains be fed dinner from his private kitchen every evening after their routine tour of the city. This stood even on days when they were off duty, all because of the trusty relationship he had with them.

It had been the case for one good year since he first came here, and he knew that nothing could stop them from coming for their food tonight.

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They were sure to meet Musa, who couldn't tell them it was the prince when they came. But keeping quiet would also make him the likely suspect, which would earn him a jail sentence.

So, he had no option but to remind the prince who may find them both a solution.

Armad turned this over in his mind. He had also thought of it even as he ate. He knew that the food he was eating wasn't cooked to be wasted just like that. That it was meant for someone.

But now that he had eaten it all, those it was meant for would surely come looking for it.

What would Musa tell them then, and what would they say when they find out that there was no food despite every sign showing that it was cooked?

The staff on duty today knew that food was cooked already, just that it wasn't served when he sent them away.

He took a deep breath and said, "The men aren't coming for their food today. But you can go on with the one you started now. When it is done, send the slaves to take it home to every staff on duty today."

With that, Armad turned around and left. His decision was already made on how to take care of this problem.

Back in the room, he changed into a simple robe, which was what he usually wore for a tour. Next, he went to the stable where he ordered his horse to be saddled. Two heralds took the lead, another two brought the rear while the fifth held the reins.

Armad guided his horse in a leisurely trot. He rode with all his kingly manner. The manner was worthy of a Wilberforce king ruling the First Lower World.

The horse trotted on until he came outside the palace.

The palace itself was made up of three separate parts. The main palace was where the prince, his kitchen staff, and his solicitor lived. Then there was an adjoining section made up of story houses. These were the soldiers' quarters. On the left were other comfortable houses, which were mostly empty except for some slaves who took care of them.

It was the guest quarters, but Armad had selected some elderly people who had worked for the palace before him. He gave it to them as a token of their services coupled with the fact that most of them didn't have any place to live, and the palace had never done anything of worth for them.

This was why, during his first months as the king, Prince Armad gifted those buildings to them for free. Not even a new king would have the right to take it away from them.

Five of his captains saw him as soon as he reached those groups of houses. They ran towards him and bowed. A second and larger group of captains saw him also and moved towards him. All of them were residents of the palace, and now, they all knelt respectfully before him.

None of them was able to look him in the eye because they all felt responsible for the challenge he faced from the King's Legion. They felt that it was because of them he fought and killed the King's Legion captain.

In all the length of their service for him, they had never greeted him in such a manner. Over time, they had become friends with him.

But today, they looked somber, and bitterness laced with pity pricked at their conscience. They wanted revenge but couldn't do anything about it at the moment for fear of escalating the situation.

Armad couldn't hold his laughter at the sight before him.

"Hhhhhhh!" He laughed. "So now, the fear of the King's Legion making you all serious?" He teased good-naturedly.

They all looked at him open-mouthed. Wasn't he bothered with the situation, or was he merely pulling their legs? They wondered. Or was he pretending that everything was alright to make them feel relaxed?

Seeing the warmth and calmness on his face made them somewhat more relaxed. They felt that this leader of theirs truly cherished them and that it was obvious he could do anything for them.

They considered themselves lucky because only a few subjects could boast of such a superior.

Armad shrugged and said, "What happened has already happened. What we need to do now is to face what may happen in the future." He paused before he added: "We may probably be under attack by either our neighbors or the jungle men from the Southeast in the next ten days. I am not sure about the days, but just have it in mind that one of them will likely attack.

"I have a feeling that it will be the jungle men because our little drama with the King's Legion would surely go around. And I believe that the jungle men will be the first to react. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the members of the King's Legion makes a detour and delivers the message to them.

"You and I know how they operate and why they do that. It is all to incapacitate us. My brother Ikenga doesn't want me to be king." He paused a little. "So, are we going to let them continue harassing us?"