Mated To The Cruel Prince-Chapter 839: King’s Duty

Each time Islinda thought she knew so much about Aldric, it turned out she knew nothing at all. Her mate was an enigma.

Aldric hadn’t been joking when he said he’d pack Straggler, the enormous Ka’er, in the backyard of the lords who had withheld lands belonging to the Night Court territory.

She had known Aldric long enough to understand that when he made such outrageous declarations, it was not a joke, he meant every word.

And for the umpteenth time, she felt a wave of gratitude that she was "with" Aldric, not against him. Her mate, after all, was a terror, and she shuddered to think what life would have been like had she fallen into the crosshairs of his cunning mind.

Not that he hadn’t tormented her life at the beginning. She had forgiven him and they’ve moved on. Kind of. Mate or not, planning revenge on Aldric has always backfired on her.

How does he come up with these plans? Islinda could never fully grasp the inner workings of Aldric’s brain. His strategies were as unorthodox as they were brilliant, and the combination was both awe-inspiring and terrifying.

It hit her every time she thought about it: Aldric could have made her life miserable beyond her worst nightmares, but he hadn’t. He had chosen her, cherished her, and protected her. In the end, eventually. What a great love story to tell their kids when they grew up. She couldn’t wait.

In some ways, Aldric was better than the queens. Islinda had an inkling that if Queen Maeve’s mind operated like Aldric’s, she would have been dead a long time ago.

In just one day, complaints about Aldric’s actions had already begun to flood into the royal court, and King Oberon was, unsurprisingly, the first to bear the brunt. Not that the king had anticipated the fallout and had come "better prepared" for the deluge of grievances.

Lord Morpheus was among the first to storm into the court, his face twisted with fury. "That animal you call a son drove a fucking Ka’er into my home, your majesty! He terrified my family, caused unimaginable damage to my estate!"

King Oberon, seated on his throne, didn’t even flinch. Instead, he looked up lazily, his voice dangerously calm. "Whose son did you call an animal, Lord Morpheus?"

Lord Morpheus blinked, startled by the icy tone. He opened his mouth to explain, but the words failed him for a moment. "Come on, your majesty," he stammered, "even you have to admit that what Aldric did was more animal than Fae for someone called a prince."

"Again," Oberon said, his gaze hardening, "whose son did you call an animal?"

The humor drained from Lord Morpheus’ face. He realized, perhaps too late, that the king was not joking. He shifted uneasily on his feet. "Your Majesty, Aldric drove a Ka’er—an actual Ka’er—into my home!"

"And you heard him, didn’t you?" Oberon replied, his voice laced with contempt. "There was no land available to settle the newly discovered Ka’er. He wouldn’t have had to bother you at all if you hadn’t acted like an animal in the first place by seizing that lands. You cannot beat a child and expect him not to cry, lord Morpheus. Or am I wrong?"

Lord Morpheus recoiled at the king’s words, his face turning an ugly shade of red. Realization dawned on him, the king was not on his side.

He glanced around the hall at the other lords and ministers, all of whom wore equally aggrieved expressions. Bolstered by their silent support, Morpheus pressed on, his voice growing more indignant.

"This is not what you promised us, your majesty!" Morpheus said, his voice rising. "You promised us those lands, and in return, we made you king. We worked for you—for Astaria! And now, you throw it all away for what? For that boy? After centuries of alliance, you’re betraying us for him?"

King Oberon allowed Morpheus to finish, the quiet fury in his expression never wavering. When the lord finally paused, Oberon rose from his throne, each step toward Morpheus deliberate, his face a mask of controlled rage.

"It’s amusing," Oberon began, a dark chuckle escaping his lips, "how you seem to know so much about what I promised you. But let me assure you, that was never what I promised you at all."

With that, Oberon turned his back on Lord Morpheus, walking slowly toward the center of the hall, his gaze sweeping over the gathered lords and ministers. He took his time, letting the tension in the room build before he addressed them all.

"I promised you peace!" Oberon’s voice boomed, his tone commanding. "I promised you safety when the Dark Fae tormented our lands and our kingdom. But I never promised you their lands. You took those yourselves, stole them like thieves in the night. You appropriated the property of creatures you’ve always deemed demon spawn. So, why accuse me of making a promise I never put on the table?"

He turned back to Morpheus, stepping close enough that the lord flinched. Oberon’s voice dropped to a chilling whisper. "And make no mistake, you didn’t make me King. None of you did."

The hall went silent as every head turned toward the king, their expressions full of shock and disbelief. The ministers had long believed that Oberon’s rule was bolstered by their support, that his authority was tied to their influence. But now, Oberon was shattering that illusion.

"I was already king," Oberon continued, his voice carrying authority. "You all fell in line because you recognized power when you saw it. I made Astaria from the ground up, and your fathers, your predecessors, saw fit to ally themselves with me. It was the only sensible thing to do, to align yourselves with thea winning side."

He turned his gaze back to the crowd, his eyes cold and unyielding. "So, don’t ever make the mistake of thinking I owe my throne to you. Not when so many of you are entirely useless to me."