Arthur, also know as the wise king has an interesting past

I could tell you the story of how he survived an assassination attempt and pay the assassins double to kill their employer, finding out the next day that his brother suffers an "accident"or how he had to battle 100 suitors to get the hand of the ice queen, or how all the amazing things he had to do to fix the crumbling state the empire was

Or how he had to battle 100 suitors to get the hand of the ice queen

Or how all the amazing things he had to do to fix the crumbling state the empire was

But instead I will tell you a story of when he was young and curious

It was at that time he was visiting the royal library and found the diary of his great-grandfather the mad king

And it was that diary that inspiring him to become a great king. He loved his ideas, experiences, adventures, opinion on how the world worked, and most of all, his friend the gladiator

The adventures they had, the problems they faced back to back, and the friendship that lasted until the mad king death

Arthur deeply admired both the gladiator and the mad kings history and wanted to try to follow his footsteps

So what did he do? He searched for the gladiator

Who wouldn't try to meet his idol? especially when he was rich and with connections, making it a lot easier to find

Well, it wasn't really that hard, since the gladiator still showed up at the coliseum from time to time(with an alias), so he was one of the first persons Arthur decided to check if it was him

And he got it right of course

So he went and paid him a visit. He read all the diaries again just in case and went to his store to offer him the same job his great grandfather offered him before

It was like a dream come true, not only meeting your idol but even having the chance to work with him

But it didn't work out. He completely refused, with the excuse he was already a tired all man

Arthur wasn't an idiot, he could tell he was in better condition than anyone else Arthur knew, but he just didn't want to bother with it

Still, even though his pride was seriously hurt, Arthur managed to keep a straight face, and managed to slip away without crying

No matter how smart he was, or how capable, anyone would be hurt if your idol would ignore you, or not live up to your standards

So what did Arthur decided to do? Show him he didn't need him to accomplish his objective

And after finding his own lifetime companion that would help him accomplish this over the years, he was happy with his accomplishments

It took him a while, but he finally managed to do what his great grandfather and the gladiator could never do

And Arthur took great pride in that

So he  got over that little part of him that felt wounded after the old man refusal

Or that was what he thought, until the championship at the coliseum

Seeing him fight against all kind of extremely powerful enemy after enemy, awoken his childhood memories, and why he looked after him.  His tactics, strength, movements and everything else he did, was a masterpiece

Even in the final fight against his own son, he could see that the only reason his son was able to put up a fight was simply because his son surpassed the gladiator in power

The way the old man moved, the tricks he used, taunts, feints, deceptions, skills and everything else was superior to his son

But in the end, the old gladiator couldn't keep up to his sons vitality, and end up losing after an amazing fight that left everyone with their mouths open and their eyes crying, not only because they didn't dare to blink, but because they knew they would never see something so amazing again in their life

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

And Arthur was a little excited for what came next. He may have lost the opportunity to be with his childhood idol, but maybe his son could accomplish what he never could

Sadly, it didn't work. He could see the gladiator respected his son as a warrior, but that was it, even with his mask and body armor on him, Arthur could fell the same air he felt when he met him all those years ago

An air of disappointment, like they weren't good enough

That reaction that haunted him for years, and when he thought he finally got over with, it actually turns out it was only hidden deep inside, and that may never go away in his life

Or it may have been like that, until he found out something he would never think would be possible, his youngest son getting along perfectly fine with the gladiator

But not just perfectly fine, he could tell they were good friends since he stuck him with his granddaughter and the cat he was using to spy on them

How was it possible? why him? why not me? where the thought Arthur was going over his head

You may think he was looking down on his son, but he would have the same thought no matter who it was. He may have understood if it was his other son, Paul since he was a great warrior like  the gladiator, but he couldn't understand what the gladiator liked about Julian that both he and Paul didn't have

To make matters worst,  the gladiator told stories about both the mad king and the prince to Lina to help her calm down, and you could tell by his tone, that he deeply respected both of them, making Arthur have a sense of defeat

His childhood idol deeply respected his son, a son that even though he loved him, he felt disappointed on how he turn out

All Arthur could do, was smile at the irony

Thinking back on all the things he saw through the cat's eyes, and all the things he knew his son managed to accomplish, that the gladiator was right in both accounts, he wasn't as good as he thought he was, and his soon was better than what everyone give him credit for

And hearing the stories the gladiator was telling Lina, he could also tell why he liked Julian more than him and Paul, and it wasn't because he was better than he thought, or because he had some amazing talent

It was simply because he had a good time when he was with them, something he should have realized by seen the diaries. Both Julian and the mad king were the kind of people you never knew what they were going to do next, and would always bring excitement to the old man life

Those two wouldn't follow the standard route and instead, they follow their own paths. You could see it by how they lived their lives

One decided to make his own country, and the other  found a recipe to make mana, and instead of sharing it to the world, he looked for the most profitable way to sell it

On the other hand, what did the famous wise king, know as the best king in the history of both Griffon and Dragon empire actually did? fix some problems and improve the performance of the broken machine known as Griffon empire

He only fixed the some problems and improved some others. He didn't change anything, not like the "mad" king, and probably not like his son Julian would do, if he ever got the chance to rule

He was so proud of what he accomplished, and part of him looked down on the mad king since he "accomplish" what he couldn't, and he looked down on his son because he didn't "meet his standards"

He never knew the prince called him the fool king, but if he had known, he would have completely agreed

That's why, after hearing the old gladiators tales, and seeing his sons was really a great person, he decided to hand over the throne to him, even if he didn't want it

Arthur was sure he was the best choice for the kingdom, and maybe, just maybe, a little revenge for getting what he never could