Law of Space and Time

Chapter 29: Master Donson

Sarus Royal Palace.

King Cameron and Count Friar wore serious expressions as they watched the divination master before them, who was seated on the ground. The divination master looked to be even older than Master Piro, and he was chanting a strange incantation, while the crystal ball before him was giving off a peculiar purple glow.

All of the curtains in the entire palace had been drawn, thereby giving the eerie purple glow an even more unsettling appearance, particularly when the light shone up the divination master's face, casting a series of terrifying shadows. If a bystander were present to see his ghastly, shadowy face, they would most likely faint on the spot from horror. King Cameron looked on with a grim expression, while Count Friar seemed to be accustomed to this already. In fact, he looked downright bored. There were quite a few occasions where he was struck by a wave of sleepiness, and he would've already yawned out loud multiple times had he not been in the presence of the king.

After the incantation was completed, the purple light in the crystal ball finally faded, and only then did the divination master slowly open his eyes.

"Master Donson, has your divination yielded any results on my journey to lead my troops against the Skycourt Kingdom's invasion?" King Cameron asked in an eager voice. If Master Piro were to see that this scam artist was being referred to by the king with the same "master" title as he was, he would most likely be so infuriated that he'd begin bleeding out of all of his orifices!

"It was a good omen! I saw a good omen, Your Majesty!" Master Donson wanted to burst out laughing, but he choked on his own saliva, which caused him to fly into a fit of uncontrollable coughing that sent tears streaming down his face. King Cameron hurriedly made his way over to Master Donson before patting him on the back, and only then did his coughing fit slowly subside. Meanwhile, Count Friar remained completely still on the spot, looking as if he had seen and heard absolutely nothing.

"Through my divination just now, I saw a fantastic omen, one of extraordinary rarity and brilliance!" Master Donson rose to his feet with difficulty with the help of King Cameron.

King Cameron was ecstatic to hear this, and he hurriedly asked, "Does that mean the victory of our troops is assured for this war?"

There was an overjoyed expression on Master Donson's face as well, and he replied, "Not only that, but I received a premonition from the heavens, telling me that this entire continent, from the southernmost tip of the Terarody Mountain Ranges to its northernmost point, will fall under the rule of the Cameron Family! All those with the bloodline of the Cameron Family flowing through their veins will be the rulers of this continent!"

The ambition that had already laid dormant in King Cameron's heart for over 20 years was instantly reignited upon hearing what Master Donson had to say. In contrast, Count Friar remained completely unmoved. In his eyes, the divination master could say anything he wanted, so nothing that he said was to be taken seriously.

King Cameron was about to ask for more details, but Count Friar tucked Master Donson under his arm, then picked up the crystal ball with his other hand, before escorting the divination master out of the palace.

Master Donson still had more that he wanted to say, and he was looking back at King Cameron even as he was being dragged away, but Count Friar didn't give him a chance to say anything further as he strode out of the palace before handing Master Donson over to a servant outside.

"Take good care of Master Donson," Count Friar instructed in a cold voice.

The two servants nodded in response before taking Master Donson away.

"I get that you don't believe in divination, but do you have to be so rude to Master Donson?" King Cameron asked as he glared at Count Friar.

"I've been rude to him for several decades already, what difference does it even make at this point?" Count Friar asked with a resigned expression.

A reminiscent look appeared in King Cameron's eyes as he thought back to the past. Back in the day, whenever he was about to go into battle, he and Friar would seek out this divination master by the name of Donson to predict how the battle would go. Over the years, this became a habit. After becoming king, Cameron brought Donson, who made a living out of telling fortunes on the street, into the palace. Now that he was on the eve of setting off for another battle, he suddenly recalled this divination master.

However, in contrast with seeing the divination master, he was far more elated to be seeing Count Friar again after so many years.

"How many years has it been since we last saw each other?" King Cameron asked with a wry smile.

"I believe the last time we met was during Her Highness's birthday party," Count Friar replied.

A displeased look appeared on King Cameron's face. "Why are you always so reluctant to meet people? That birthday party was six or seven years ago!"

Count Friar lowered his head and remained silent.

King Cameron didn't voice his displeasure any further at the sight of Count Friar's repentant display. There were some things that had stood between them for many years, but they had never talked openly about them.

"I'm going to the front lines again," King Cameron said as he looked at Count Friar with a smile. "You're not going to get away this time! I need you to come with me."

"Of course. It is my duty to stand by your side during times of war and unrest," Count Friar replied in a calm voice.

"At least you're still someone I can count on," King Cameron sighed. "It seems none of the people around me are trustworthy anymore."

Count Friar didn't know how to console King Cameron, nor did he want to offer any words of consolation, so he continued to remain silent.

King Cameron was also aware that this old friend of his was a man of few words, so he quickly changed the subject. "What do you think of this invasion from the Skycourt Kingdom?"

"It's very suspicious that the Skycourt Kingdom has suddenly launched an invasion right before Her Highness suffered an assassination attempt from Prince Lazaar's child," Count Friar said with a contemplative expression. "Your Majesty, are you of the opinion that there's a traitor in the royal court working with the Skycourt Kingdom?"

"To tell you the truth, that was the first thought that occurred to me as soon as I received news about the invasion from the Skycourt Kingdom. After that, I discussed the issue with Master Piro, and he also cautioned me to be careful of the officials in the royal court," King Cameron said as he massaged his own temples. "Who do you think is most likely to be the traitor, if one does exist, and what is their objective?"

Before Count Friar had a chance to reply, King Cameron continued, "Do you think it's Jenkins? But that doesn't make sense. He was the one who poisoned Lazaar's son, so what is he doing defecting to the Skycourt Kingdom now? Wouldn't it be much more beneficial for him to have waited until I took care of Lazaar?"

"Prince Lazaar's son was poisoned by Governor Jenkins?" Count Friar was very surprised to hear this.

"After conducting an investigation into a list of potential magic ingredients, we discovered that an ingredient known as the liver juice of the Scarlet Dragon was sourced from the black market, and after changing hands a few times, it ended up in the possession of Jenkins," King Cameron replied with tightly furrowed brows.

Count Friar nodded in response. "No wonder they say that Lazaar's son looked as if he had gone insane, it all makes sense if he was under the influence of a magic potion brewed using the liver juice of a Scarlet Dragon. Anyone who comes into contact with the substance will have the nerves in their body stimulated to be over 10 times as excited as usual. However, all of the evidence may be pointing toward Governor Jenkins right now, but perhaps everything is not as simple as it seems, Your Majesty."

"What are you saying? How could it not be Jenkins? Throughout these past few years, he's been constantly thinking about how he can drag Lazaar down into the mud," King Cameron said with a cold expression. "I don't know who it is that's working with the Skycourt Kingdom, but I'm certain that Jenkins was the one who poisoned Lazaar's son. If anyone else had been found to be the culprit, I would perhaps be a little suspicious, but I have no suspicions at all about Jenkin being the perpetrator."

Count Friar didn't say anything further upon hearing this.

"Normally, Jenkins has always targeted Lazaar, but he hasn't done anything out of line, but this time, he's wilfully placed my daughter's life at risk! He's gone too far, and he must be punished for his transgressions!" King Cameron said in a cold voice.

"In that case, it really doesn't make any sense why the Skycourt Kingdom would suddenly invade at a time like this. Could it be that Lazaar defected to the Skycourt Kingdom in order to save himself?" Count Friar asked.

"I considered that as well, but the timeline doesn't match up. Even if he sent out news to the Skycourt Kingdom on the very same day he was put into confinement, the message would take several days to arrive. However, the Skycourt Kingdom's troops have already entered Burmen. Are you telling me that he knew in advance that his son was going to be targeted by Jenkins, but he still allowed it to happen? Surely Lazaar isn't that deranged!" King Cameron analyzed. "Most importantly, he has no motive for killing my daughter, so it doesn't make sense from a logical perspective."

Count Friar was also at a complete loss upon hearing this. "What did Master Piro have to say about this?"

"Master Piro was also unable to figure out an answer," King Cameron sighed.

"In that case, it looks like we have to take extra care in this battle. Not only do we have to look out for the Skycourt Kingdom's troops, we also have to watch our own backs so we don't get backstabbed by our own," Count Friar said.

Looking at Count Friar's grim expression, an amused look suddenly appeared on King Cameron's face. "Master Piro doesn't know what the outcome of this battle is going to be, but Master Donson does!"

A wry smile appeared on Count Friar's face upon hearing this. Thinking back over the years, Master Donson's predictions had mostly proven to be false, so he was only really being kept around to humor the king.