Harem King's Collection: Turning Beastkins Into Desperate Wives!-Chapter 56: The Rightful King

"Talk?" Aster was taken aback by the sudden request, quickly growing worried he had angered his prince somehow. He did his best to remain calm, speaking to the royal lion cautiously.

"Did... Did I do something wrong?"

The lion raised his hand, shaking his head before he answered.

"Not at all... There are simply some things that have come to light that we need to discuss. Things that could change everything fate has in store for us."

The prince trailed off, pondering where he should start. Aster huddled a bit closer to Stahl in his uncertainty. She gently nudged against him, reassuring Aster that she was there for him. Prince Tyfin decided on a starting point, opting to let the boy choose for himself.

"Aster... Do you wish to know of your heritage? Do you wish to know of your past?" The prince spoke clearly, never taking his gaze from the human as he did so.

Aster let out a sharp gasp in surprise as he visibly flinched, never expecting that this was where the prince would take the conversation. His heritage?

The human had spent many years and sleepless nights wondering silently about his roots, and had to admit, not truly knowing where he had come from was definitely something that deeply troubled him as a child...

But that was something Aster had stopped allowing himself to dwell on. Falling into that despair and uncertainty only ever hindered him, making him feel even more isolated, and he had come too far to return to that, He was happy with that progress. He spoke to his prince quietly.

"I am well aware of my heritage, my prince. I am the son of General Jagón Venatus, the right hand of the king, and one of the greatest warriors this world has ever known. No other aspect of my origin is of any consequence to me... For none of it changes my duty to you.

"I know whatever human family I may have once had has long since perished... I know that allowing myself to dream otherwise is only torture... I know what I need to know, I know who I am. I am Aster Venatus, a member of the Elite King’s Guard in service of my prince. That is all that matters."

Not a single beast made a sound as they processed the boy’s point of view on the matter. They were all pretty well surprised at his answer. The prince spoke again.

"And if I told you your heritage very well may factor in to your service of me, would you still wish to not know?"

Aster looked away, thinking carefully before he made a confession to the beast.

"...I know what my shield is... I’ve known since it first manifested within me... I know it’s a legendary Peacekeeper’s bloodskill... The tale of the heroes who saved this land from the legendary beasts was my favorite as a child, so when the shield first appeared before me, I knew it was surely the same one used by the hero I so idolized... I was just too afraid of what that could mean to ever say it..."

Aster took a ragged breath, struggling to confess his doubt.

"I was afraid that was the only reason my father had kept me around... That he didn’t actually care about me at all, and only wanted to someday use my power for personal gain. That he was aware I possessed it before even I had known... I was afraid that I was just a tool, not his son, and that if I had expressed that fear, he would only confirm it...

"So I just pretended I didn’t know... Even after The Selection, when he had confirmed his love for me as a son... When I knew all of you were still hiding the truth from me, I feigned ignorance because it was easier... because I wasn’t supposed to know such things..." Aster was speaking in a low, unsteady voice.

"I’ve made peace with not knowing about things, even things about myself, and if I learn about my history now, I’m worried it will somehow change who I have become... If the Aster who was to be raised a human is given a story, will the Aster that was raised by beasts become less of who I am?"

His voice trembled as the human openly bared his deepest thoughts on the matter to his comrades.

"I am happy where I am for the first time in my life... I am happy to finally just be who I am at this moment with the allies I’ve found... To be of some use... To be with all of you... If I need to know something to protect you, then tell me...

"Yet, I do not wish to unnecessarily dwell on a past that I can not change, my prince, nor on a history I never knew... However, I surrendered my life to your hands before my trial had ever ended, so you may tell, or keep from me whatever you wish to. I trust your judgment with my life, my prince... I trust all four of you with my life."

As his voice faded off, the beasts only looked to the human with a new kind of view. It was Captain Rix that interrupted the silence, wading over to the human still hiding partially behind Stahl freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

"WELL SAID, PANTHER SON!" The heavy bovine gave a hefty slap on the human’s shoulders, making him have to take a splashing step forward to avoid falling over. Prince Tyfin didn’t expect an answer like that, but he respected it.

"There are things I may never be able to tell you in order to keep you alive, Aster, but there are some things I can... For now, at least. You should know that this may be the only chance you get to hear your story. With that said, would you still prefer I only tell you what is needed? Would you choose to really pass on this chance?"

The prince eyed the young man studiously. Aster took another step forward and spoke, confident in his decision.

"Tell me only what I need to know. If me knowing too much could bring risk to the ones I fight for, I would rather stay oblivious..."

He looked his prince directly in the eye as he spoke. Prince Tyfin accepted his resolve and decided to begin, looking around at his loyal crew.

"Unprecedented trouble hangs over us, my knights... That story that you liked so much, Aster, The one your shield is from? Those legendary beasts are rumored to be returning... And that shield may just be our only chance to hold it back... I can not be certain yet, but we have some evidence that may at least lead us to some answers as to how... Evidence left by the last human king to fall to my father’s crusade, King Calium Aureus."

The lion paused to make sure his knights had grasped the gravity of the situation, continuing after.

"While we know nothing for certain yet, I can’t fathom why the orcs would lie to us about this, more so considering that we would all be long dead if they felt we were their enemies. We still have no real news on the current state of our home, so we can only act on what information we can gather here ourselves for now."

Stahl spoke up then.

"Tomorrow is the full moon. If I have any opportunity to hear word of our home through my bloodskill, it will be sometime then. There’s really not much I can do as of now, however, as I still am too far from my family. So would you rather wait? The information we receive could be vital to our plan going forward."

The prince nodded at the she-wolf.

"I am counting on exactly that, Stahl, as we have three days to reach our decision... However, most of our methods for gathering information here rely solely on cooperating with the orcs. They want Aster present when we review the human king’s letter, and they are pretty firm on that requirement."

The human gave his prince a puzzled look then, questioning why his presence was specifically requested. Prince Tyfin stared at the boy a moment longer before telling the boy and the beasts why.

"Aster is the son of the last human king, Calium Aureus, the previous bearer of the shield. Aster is not only the last surviving son of man, he was born to be their rightful king."

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Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om