CHAPTER 515: CHAPTER 450: COMPETING FATHERS

Tsk... It seems we’ve been found out.

Although he wished he could delay a little longer, till the old king dropped dead after regaining his human form, the princess was obviously a little anxious. Leon had no choice but to abandon his plan to continue stalling for time and returned the old king’s iron-clad head to him.

"Father? Father?"

After calling twice and failing to wake the old king, the princess could only hold onto the old king’s iron head and hurried back toward the direction of the royal chambers.

Fortunately, the effect of [Slayer of Kings III]’s iron transformation required time to fully activate, and similarly, it needed time to revert back. This left her a window to perform a rescue.

By the time the princess hurriedly returned to the study and reattached the old king’s head, the old king’s body had not yet fully reverted from the iron transformation. Luckily, he hadn’t perished due to a head-body separation.

Phew... Just in time.

Watching the old king whose eyelids still fluttered slightly after reattaching his head, the princess, successful in rescuing her father, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then she turned her head back, her eyes glancing complexly at Leon.

Even though Leon had placed her in the mirror world, just like [Slayer of Kings III] could read part of her memories, the princess Veronica, turned into a doll, could see everything [Slayer of Kings III] experienced.

This time, had Leon not arrived in time, once the power of [Slayer of Kings III] spread, all members of the royal family, including the old king, would have been slaughtered, but...

His malice toward his own father was indeed quite considerable.

Previously he insisted on tying his father’s head to his waist, which could barely be justified as wanting to protect his father from harm by keeping him close. But had it not been for her urging just now, he would really have feigned ignorance until the abnormal power completely dissipated.

And her father and Leon had never even met before, the only possible reason for Leon’s great malice towards him could only be because of her matter. In other words, Leon likely did this to "eliminate obstacles" for her, with the root cause lying with herself...

It’s quite a headache...

...

"Leon..."

Noticing that Leon shifted his gaze away, avoiding eye contact after perceiving her stare, the princess Veronica couldn’t help but instruct helplessly:

"My father indeed has many... shortcomings, but ultimately he is my father, and he used to treat me well, so no matter what happens in the end, I still hope he can be okay... Can you?"

"Mm-hmm."

Nodding in agreement, Leon, realizing he couldn’t kill the old king, answered with some insincerity:

"An abnormal incident breaking out in the palace already counts as a failure of the local branch. If the king were to die as well, our director would definitely go mad, so I also hope your father can be okay."

"..."

I seriously doubt you...

Hearing this response, one-tenth genuine and ninety-nine parts insincere, the princess couldn’t help but shake her head speechlessly and decided to skip this topic entirely, instead asking worriedly:

"Leon, shouldn’t you be in a meeting right now? How’s things going over at the parliament? Also, what about Joshua?"

Joshua... While you’re over here playing the father game, he’s probably over there playing the mother game, but he shouldn’t be in any danger, right?

"Joshua should be fine, you’ll see him soon enough. As for the parliament..."

After answering Joshua’s question, with the armed coup basically a success, Leon, in a good mood, smiled and confidently promised:

"Rest assured, I have things in parliament under control, guaranteed no problems!"

"That’s good."

Unaware that Leon’s "under control" meant detaining the dissenting members, and thinking he merely advanced a few proposals according to the original plan, smoothly and steadily.

Upon hearing that "everything’s normal" in parliament, Princess Veronica couldn’t help but exhale deeply. With the worry lifted from her heart, she couldn’t help but grasp Leon’s hand, and said with some guilt:

"Leon, you’ve really had a rough time these days. I... I’m sorry, I’ve talked to you about so many different things, asked about both the parliament and Joshua, but haven’t asked if you were hurt.

Even until now, I haven’t thanked you properly for saving me once again... Leon, do you... do you think I’m being overly selfish?"

"No."

Shaking his head, Leon patted the back of her hand and replied earnestly:

"You and I are not the same, you have too many responsibilities and things to handle. At times like this, first making sure of the situation is the right thing to do, and it’s what you should do.

Besides, whether I’m hurt, you can see clearly, there’s no need to ask further, and thanks aren’t necessary. Whether you say these things or not makes no difference to me."

"..."

Alright then...

After listening to Leon’s answer, Princess Veronica couldn’t help but bite her lip, then sighed helplessly in her heart.

I thought you would say something like "between us, there’s no need for thanks." or "it’s okay, people always care last about those close to them," but it turned out to be such an answer...

...

"Mmm..."

Just as the princess, unwilling, grasped Leon’s hand in return, preparing to say something more, the iron-transformed palace finally returned to normal, and the iron covering the old king completely faded away, causing him to open his eyes, slightly confused.

"I... where am I?"

"Father..."

Seeing the old king’s entire body huddled on the wheelchair, even his once straight spine now drooped, appearing old and helpless, Princess Veronica called out once and then pressed her lips together, remaining silent.

When the old king came to his senses and moved his body a bit, his gaze suddenly sharpened, and he straightened up from the wheelchair, glaring at the princess as he questioned sharply:

"Why are you here? Where is Joshua? What are you planning to do?"

"..."

Oh my... I previously thought Joshua’s annoying demeanor came entirely from the queen, but it seems your father’s no innocent party either!

Listening to the ill-natured tone of the old king’s successive questions, Leon couldn’t help but click his tongue. Then, catching the princess before she could answer, he responded with a grim look:

"An abnormality just ran rampant; your head got chopped off. You were about to be finished off.

But it just so happened that I was about to... about to bring Joshua back to find someone, and when I discovered something was wrong, I resolved the rampant abnormality. Veronica reattached your head, so you didn’t die... Any other questions?"

"..."

An abnormality ran rampant... my head... so it wasn’t a dream?

After hearing Leon’s words, the old king, whose eyes were a bit unfocused, finally fully retrieved his pre-coma memories, recalling his conversation with the "iron princess."

"Veronica..."

Seeing the princess before him gazing at him with mixed emotions, her expression both disappointed and distant, the old king remained silent for a moment before averting his eyes and sighed lightly.

"I’m sorry, I’m not a good father."

Unsure whether he was affected by something that the iron princess said or if he was emotionally overwhelmed after being struck, the old king, usually cold-faced and even colder at heart, rarely showed a sign of fatherly love and remarked softy:

"In the past, I wronged you. If you don’t want to marry, then don’t. Once Joshua ascends to the throne, I will order him to treat you well."

"..."