*Clap clap*

The king of Hosnein clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention in the room.

"Come now," he said. "What's with all this sudden animosity?"

"It's unacceptable to be confronted and insulted in this way," the king of Poutis complained.

"You were the first to be rude when you made a veiled threat to my niece," the king of Hosnein retorted. "As great friends, he felt the need to defend her when he thought you were threatening her."

"Your niece?" the king of Poutis looked surprised.

"Your kingdom's intelligence gathering seems to be a bit deficient, my old friend," the king of Hosnein smiled. "She's the bastard daughter of my elder brother."

Upon hearing this, the expression on the king of Poutis's face changed, and Sian could feel his animosity. It seems Illianna's father had also annoyed this guy.

Keeping an arrogant look, the king of Poutis raised his hand and signaled for his guards to lower their weapons.

"Fine, in consideration for you, I will ignore what just happened," he said.

"That's great," said the king of Hosnein. "So, what did you want to talk to my son about?"

"Son?" the king of Poutis frowned.

"Just ignore him," Sian said. "So, your majesty, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Youngster, even though you are someone impulsive and frivolous, your position as the disciple of the Sage makes you almost as exceptional as I am. Therefore, I will allow you to ignore formalities and address me by my name."

"What was your name again?" Sian asked.

"King Frederick Laousius von Poutis III," the king replied.

"Right, Frederick. What business do you have with me?" Sian asked.

"It's King Frederick," the king replied.

"Unnecessarily long," Sian commented. "What do you want from me?"

Despite being clearly displeased, King Frederick decided to ignore Sian's insolence and continued his speech with arrogance.

"As everyone knows, my lineage comes from one of the great warriors who fought alongside the seven combatants during the great calamity."

Although doubtful of this, Sian simply remained silent and continued listening.

"I am someone whose veins run with the blood of those who led humanity after the calamity. This makes me someone that people would kill to serve and idolize. Despite an entire kingdom being under my governance, few have the privilege and honor of receiving orders directly from me."

After a brief pause, the king continued, "Having come to this point, I believe you must already understand what I want."

Sian was speechless in his attempt to not respond rudely to the king's arrogance. However, this silence seemed to have been misinterpreted by the king, who had a displeased look.

"I am giving you the privilege of being one of the few to receive orders directly from me," the king said.

Containing his urge to rip the tongue out of King Frederick, Sian said dryly, "I'll have to decline that honor."

The king seemed surprised by Sian's refusal and tried to convince him otherwise.

"Even though serving me is already an honor, I know you're a greedy and frivolous person when it comes to women. In the central continent, my kingdom is the largest and most powerful. I'm sure I have enough money to pay for your services. Except for my women, you can sleep with anyone you want."

"I have to interject." The king of Hosnein intervened, with a carefree expression as he looked at King Frederick. "Don't you think it's too bold of you to try to steal my son from me in my face? I'm sure you know he's the guardian of my kingdom."

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"As far as I know, the decision is not up to you, is it, Franklin?" King Poutis said with an indifferent expression. "Furthermore, nothing is preventing him from being the guardian of both kingdoms. All we need to do is create an alliance. That would make us even stronger."

Given King Poutis's boldness in confronting Sian earlier, he probably didn't think Sian was someone he should worry about. With that said, it was clear that he believed Sian becoming the guardian of the kingdom was the same as Ayze becoming the guardian.

"An alliance, you say?" The King of Hosnein stroked his mustache. "We can talk about that later, if Sian becomes the guardian of your kingdom."

Sian didn't like the King of Poutis, but he knew this would be a good deal, and since his hotel was on Poutis's lands, this would bring benefits. As the guardian of Hosnein for three years, he barely did anything and yet enjoyed many benefits that came with the position.

"I accept," said Sian after a moment of silence. "But it will be the same as my agreement with Hosnein. I will not be part of war initiatives against other kingdoms and will only act when danger threatens the kingdom. As for my payment, I will make a list and send it to you later."

He intended to talk to Illianna later to decide what benefits he should demand from the king. As the king himself said, they were a great power and had many riches, so it wouldn't hurt to try to extort them and get as many benefits as possible.

"That was a wise decision on your part," said the king of Poutis, nodding in satisfaction.

"With that done, I suppose my presence is no longer necessary, right?" Sian stood up. "Well, I'm off."

"Don't be impatient," the king of Poutis gestured with his hand, indicating for Sian to sit down again.

Although he only wanted to get out of there, in that situation, Sian had no choice but to sit down.

With a satisfied expression, the king of Poutis continued, "When I received the message that the queen of Gauss would come, I thought this was a great opportunity."

Gesturing with his hand to Joan, who was sitting next to him, he said, "Although she is immoral and uneducated, I'm sure she fits your tastes."

"My tastes?" Sian asked.

"Due to your widely known involvement with Franklin's harem, I know you like women with a high social position who already have an owner," he said. "That's why I'm offering you the queen of Gauss."

Although Sian had already had his share of adventures with Joan, having her offered to him like an object made him irritated.

Joan, visibly uncomfortable with the situation, tried to argue with the king of Poutis, "Your majesty, I haven't heard anything about this."

"You're hearing it now," the king replied authoritatively. "Be a good woman and behave while we talk."

"But your majesty-"

"Enough!" the king raised his voice. "If you disrespect me again, I will let the wolves that surround you tear apart your tiny kingdom."

Sian, who had learned a lot about the kingdom of Poutis from Charlotte, knew that the wolves the king referred to were obviously the neighboring kingdoms surrounding Joan's kingdom. He also knew that the kingdom of Gauss was a vassal kingdom to Poutis.

Due to their economic development and frequent inventions, the kingdom of Gauss caught the attention of neighboring kingdoms. To avoid being swallowed up and disappearing from the map, Joan made an agreement with the kingdom of Poutis. In exchange for Poutis' protection, she would provide tribute.

The kingdom of Gauss was separated from Poutis by the kingdom of Eglia, which was the main one among those who wanted to dominate them. But thanks to Poutis, they were in check, unable to attack at the moment.

"I have a proposal," said Sian.

Although she couldn't be considered a close friend, Joan was someone Sian respected, so he decided to give her a little help.

"What do you have to say?" the king of Poutis asked.

With everyone's attention, Sian continued, "Instead of the Kingdom of Gauss remaining as a vassal kingdom, why not form a triple alliance? Even though it's a small kingdom and its army doesn't compare with Hosnein and Poutis, the innovations they are making are incomparable. They can be considered a power when it comes to magical tools, and neither of the two kingdoms can match them in this regard. I think that's enough to make them eligible to be part of the alliance."

"I refuse to accept this! It makes no sense!" The king of Poutis had a confused look. "Being my vassal kingdom, the inventions obviously belong to me."

"If Frederick doesn't want to, it's simple to solve," the king of Hosnein said, "they just need to declare independence and ally with my kingdom. What do you think of the idea?" He turned to Joan.

Faced with the question, Joan's face showed that she was in a difficult situation, but she didn't take long to respond.

"I would be honored to accept," she replied, "unfortunately, the distance between our kingdoms is a problem."

Joan's concerns were not unfounded. Being someone who lives by the law of the jungle, Sian knew that as soon as the surrounding kingdoms found out that Gauss had lost the protection of Poutis, many would want to take advantage of their technology and research on magical tools.

"No problem," the king of Hosnein said confidently. "I will send a messenger to neighboring kingdoms. And just to reassure you, my little Sian has a good heart. He will take care of anyone who dares to lay their hands on your kingdom."

Joan looked surprised at Sian, who was also incredulous.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked.

"Of course."

Although she asked Sian, it was the king of Hosnein who answered before continuing, "That's why he intervened when he saw a friend being oppressed. Besides, you're good friends, right?"

"I like to think we are," Joan said.

"Great, then I'll leave the terms of our alliance to you, young ones," said the king of Hosnein.

"Are you taking me for a fool?!" shouted the king of Poutis.

From his look, it was clear that he didn't like what was happening at all.