<h4>Chapter 538: Overthrow the entire royalty</h4>
"Ian, what are you doing here?" Casaio asked in confusion, his gaze sharp. He immediately noticed the pce servant standing behind Ian, a servant he himself had dismissed moments before, indicating Ian had countermanded his order.
"Good morning, Your Highness," Ian started with a formal greeting. "I havee to talk to you about an important matter."
"Can we talkter? Right now, I have to head somewhere," Casaio stated, eager to leave. He took a step forward, but Ian moved subtly to block him.
"I will be apanying you to the werewolf academy. The Alpha King has ordered me to be a mediator and help you from now onward," Ian exined, dropping the unsettling news.
Casaio’s brows furrowed deeply. "What do you mean? I don’t need any council member’s help in this matter, Ian," he rified, his tone signaling his desire for Ian to leave.
"Your Highness, you are currently in a lesser rank than I," Ian suddenly stated, delivering the cold, calcted truth.
"What?" Casaio’s eyes instantly turned a dangerous red, the statement acting as a powerful trigger. "What did you say, Ian? Repeat it!"
"You heard me, Your Highness," Ian replied,pletely undaunted by the threat of the Alpha Prince’s rage. "Given the scandal that surrounds you and the decisions you have made, the power you once held has diminished. You must be forgetting that the Alpha King has to listen to the council, and under no circumstances shall he favor his children in matters of state."
"I know that much. But how is <i>my</i> rank lesser than yours?" Casaio affirmed, still frowning, struggling to process the insult. "You must know in front of whom you are standing before making such a remark." He was already troubled by how Idris had been treated, and Ian’s audacity was quickly pushing him over the edge.
Ian took out a formally sealed document, the royal decree, from the inside pocket of his zer and showed it to Casaio.
"Your father gave me this just this morning. Yesterday, a great deal transpired in the council after Idris was found to be bullied," Ian exined. "While you were upied with that domestic matter, the Alpha King was pushed to the edge by the council for keeping a former spy in this pce."
"Zilia is not—"
Ian didn’t let him finish, citing the political fallout. "Indeed, the matter died down for a short while, but it was triggered again after the sudden, massive outrage on social media. And let’s not forget about how the power of the people can overthrow the entire royalty in a single day." Ian made sure Casaio understood the seriousness of the popr unrest.
Ian’s words made Casaio chuckle, a humorless sound. He never thought a man younger than him would be threatening him, the Crown Prince, with such political authority.
"Fine. You can apany me," Casaio stated, his initial rage subdued by the reality of the decree. He fixed Ian with a stern, warning gaze. "But keep in mind that you are not allowed to speak unnecessarily or interfere without my expressmand."
"Of course, Your Highness," said Ian, bowing his head, thus giving a way to Casaio to go ahead.
~~~~~
Karmen looked down at his phone after finishing the conversation with his mother, catching up on messages he hadn’t checked since the day he arrived at the estate. While scrolling through them, he kept walking straight and ended up bumping into someone hard. The various items in thedy’s hands ttered loudly as they fell to the tiled floor, finally causing him to lift his gaze to meet hers.
"Oh my god! Did my porcin cups break?" Mona muttered in panic, instantly scrambling onto her knees to assess the damage after tearing open the cardboard box.
"I am so sorry," Karmen instantly apologized, pushing the phone into his pocket and kneeling to help her. As he picked up a cup still wrapped in tissue paper, he murmured, relieved, "Thankfully, this one is not broken."
"But these are!" Mona said sharply, ring at him as she held up two shattered pieces of delicate white porcin.
"I-I can buy them for you right away," Karmen said, a slight stutter betraying his embarrassment and surprise at her directness.
"I made them with my own hands!" Mona raised her voice sharply at him, tears of frustration welling up. "Do you even know how many days I spent making these? I wanted to give these as a souvenir to Carlos’ friends, but you ruined my present!"
With that, she snatched thest intact cup from him, ced it roughly into the box with the others, and stood up abruptly. "Idiot," she murmured under her breath, ring at him.
"What did you call me, Miss?" Karmen asked, instantly frowning at the insult.
"Get away!" Mona snapped, ready to brush past him. Karmen chuckled softly, his tongue pressing against the inside of his right cheek, a sign of amusement mixed with irritation. He quickly grabbed her arm, stopping her motion.
"You don’t call someone an idiot, Miss," Karmen said, his voice dropping slightly.
"Yes, I do, especially to those who are brainless enough to walk while staring at a phone!" Mona remarked, yanking her arm forcefully out of his grip and walking ahead quickly.
"Hey, you are crossing the line now," Karmen said, following closely after her.
Mona stopped and turned to face him, her eyes zing. "You did it first! You walked aimlessly, not looking who wasing from the front. How dare you even argue with me after you broke my things?"
"Aimlessly?" Karmen retorted, stepping closer. "And what did <i>you</i> do? You could have walked straight, but no, you didn’t use your eyes either!"
"Hey, why are you two arguing?" Carlos’s voice interrupted them as he approached, looking confused by the suddenmotion.
"This servant of yours is iming to be your friend, Carlos," Mona said dismissively, gesturing toward Karmen.
"I am not a servant! How could you be this—" Karmen began, instantly furious at the title.
"Mona, Karmen is my friend," Carlos corrected her immediately, stepping between them. "He is actually a Beta of Prince Gabriel. Please apologize to him."