Chapter 186: Brothers

Upon hearing his brother’s greetings, Hobrick slowly raised his eyes and looked at the face in front of him that was similar to himself.

“Your Majesty, my status is low, please don’t say that…”

Hobrick’s mother was just an ordinary country girl, but she was very beautiful.

When the previous king traveled, the two fell in love and secretly married, which was why Hobrick was born.

However, the king, at that time, already had a queen. It was absolutely impossible to marry another one! The laws and customs of the Federation continent did not allow this. Neither could the king!

At that time, not many people knew about this matter.

The pope was one of them. When he received the news, he immediately rushed from the jurisdiction to the Heavenly City.

The pope used the abrogation of the throne as a threat to forbid the king and queen to divorce. That was how the scandal was suppressed.

This resulted in the country girl being the most pitiful in this incident. She waited day and night, but in the end, she did not receive a reply from her lover.

Two years after giving birth to Hobrick, the country girl passed away with regret.

Interestingly, the two brothers did not complain to each other.

They just maintained a subtle brotherhood that outsiders did not know about.

However, it was just correspondence by letters and the likes.

For the sake of his own rule, the king could not let his subjects know that he had a younger brother.

Hobrick, who was not interested in the throne and power, cooperated with the king. He never told anyone that he was the illegitimate son of the previous king.

“Have a seat. We haven’t seen each other for a long time. I heard that your academy is being rebuilt? How is it? Are you short of money…”

Compared to Hobrick’s street-like aura, the king’s every move displayed the demeanor of a royal.

“This time, my purpose isn’t to reminisce about the past but to talk about my student. He and Wind City…”

Hobrick rarely described things in such detail.

However, for Locke’s sake, the once-in-a-lifetime genius, he would not let go of a single detail.

The entire incident went on for more than half an hour.

Hobrick’s brother had been listening with a smile on his face.

“I’ve heard a little about this from Peter…”

Seeing that his brother did not express his opinion, Hobrick stood up and said, “Your Majesty, you also have secret agents. I believe that you should be clear about Locke’s potential. In the future, when faced with invading monsters, he’ll definitely help the continent tide over the difficulties…”

Hobrick did not finish his sentence. He was very clear that with his brother’s intelligence, he naturally knew that the following words were his plea for forgiveness of Locke.

However, the smile on the king’s face remained, but he was not in a hurry to express his opinion. Instead, he walked toward his throne.

After the king sat down, Hobrick went forward and knelt on one knee.

This was to urge the king to express his opinion.

Looking at his brother, the king was silent for a moment before saying, “No… I can’t do that.”

This sentence surprised Hobrick. For decades, he had never taken the initiative to ask his brother to do something for him. He had never even asked for money.

Was this kind of self-awareness not enough to ask for an easy pardon?

Hobrick raised his head and said, “I hope you change your mind about this matter… I firmly believe that Locke’s future will definitely bring prosperity and stability to the continent!”

There was already a hint of threat in his words.

The king, who knew what Hobrick meant, was not angry. Instead, he sighed softly. “Sigh… Hobrick, you’re a smart person, even… Even smarter than me…”

“But…” The emperor said, he gestured for all the guards to leave. After watching these people leave, he went forward and said in a low voice, “But you’ve never seen things from my point of view. Don’t forget that you’re also Father’s bloodline. Although you cannot return to your family, don’t forget that you’ll always be my younger brother!”

The two old men looked at each other. A few seconds later, Hobrick lowered his head and said, “I’ve overstepped my bounds. Please forgive me, Your Majesty…”

“I’ve long known about Locke’s potential. Ever since he took care of Frank family, I’ve already sent spies to watch him! This child has an ability that ordinary Beastmasters can’t imagine. It’s impossible to see through…”

As he spoke, the king helped his younger brother up from his knees and the two of them sat down on the steps.

At this moment, the two of them seemed to be standing on equal footing.

“Since His Majesty knows about Locke’s strength, shouldn’t the continent safeguard an outstanding Beastmaster?”

“Hehe… You..! Smart is smart, but the situation doesn’t warrant it. Think about it. If the Frederick family really wants to take care of Locke, even if I pardon him this time, what about the next time? Their family’s strength was already the strongest since the past generations.

“The more such a high and mighty figure is, the more he cannot tolerate others offending him! For the sake of his family’s reputation, he must think of all ways to investigate to the end! Don’t argue with me on this point, you don’t have what I understand…”

Although the king was already old, the aura on his body did not diminish in the slightest!

Hobrick nodded his head sincerely. In this aspect, he was indeed not as comprehensive as his elder brother.

“Your Majesty, what you mean is that even if the Frederick family gave the royal family face and let Locke off once, they would not let him off? But, we have to think of a way…”

The king patted his younger brother’s shoulder and said with a smile, “Hehehe… You’re too optimistic! I reckon that even if I personally wrote down a pardon order, the Frederick family might not give me face.”

“What?” This sentence surprised Hobrick greatly.

A duke dared to refuse to carry out the king’s decree?

This kind of thing had never appeared in the history of the continent!

Looking at his brother’s meaningful gaze, Hobrick’s heart beat wildly. He seemed to have sensed that something shocking had happened! Sweat began to appear on his forehead. He had never been so flustered before.

Even when Old Man White wanted to kill him, he was not this flustered! Hobrick opened his mouth tentatively. “They… Want to rebel?”

There was no sound to this sentence. It was completely conveyed by the shape of his mouth.

The emperor laughed. “Hahaha… Not yet. However, they are indeed gradually getting out of the control of the royal family…”

“Things have actually come to this point. If this continues, we’ll be in big trouble…” Hobrick said very implicitly. However, he had already anticipated the outbreak of war in the future and the displaced people.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let things develop to that point. Your nephew doesn’t have the ability to deal with the Frederick family! Before I die, we must subdue this family or… Destroy it!”

Hobrick was somewhat confused. “But Your Majesty, what does this have to do with Locke?”