I'm Trapped Inside a Prince as the Most Powerful Entity-Chapter 30: Sir karlos and others

Eric blinked. Worried faces seemed to swim in front of his eyes. His father, the King, was kneeling right there, holding Eric’s shoulders tightly. His father’s face had deep worry lines.

Eric finally spoke. He swallowed hard and looked into the King’s serious eyes. "I’m... I’m okay, Father," he was able to say. He tried to sound like he meant it.

"Just feeling... a bit tired, that’s all." His heart was still pounding fast from the fear he felt just moments ago when he almost died.

The King didn’t answer right away. He just kept looking at Eric with sharp eyes. Eric knew that look. It was the look his father got when he was thinking hard, figuring things out.

The King’s mind was racing. Just minutes ago, Eric – his own son – had moved super fast and was incredibly strong.

He had fought assassins, healed one who was about to die, and easily destroyed a destructive weapon like it was nothing. He had seemed... like a god, almost like nothing could hurt him.

And now? Now, Eric looked pale, weak, and confused. He looked... like the normal Eric who had just been very scared.

How? the King thought. A small feeling that something was wrong started inside him. How could he be like a god one minute and a weak boy the next? It didn’t make sense. Something felt strange, something he couldn’t figure out.

But the King was a ruler. He was good at hiding what he was thinking, especially when his family and the people of his court were around. He couldn’t let anyone see he suspected something was wrong now. Eric was his son, and he had just survived something terrible. That was the most important thing.

Pushing his questions deep inside, the King made his face look kinder and gave Eric a small nod to show he understood.

"I understand," the King said, his voice softer now. "Fighting like that... using so much power... must make you very tired. I think your magic power must be almost gone. That’s why you’re feeling like this." He stopped for a moment and squeezed Eric’s shoulder gently.

"You fought bravely today, Eric. Very bravely. You protected all of us. And more importantly... you showed what you can do. You showed everyone the strength you have."

The King stood up straight. He turned to face the guards and the few family members still there – the Queen and Eric’s older brothers, Revan and Leonard.

His voice sounded like a commander again, cutting through the quiet worry in the hall. "Take Prince Eric to his room," he ordered the guards nearby. "He needs rest."

Then he looked right at the Captain of the Royal Guard, a man with a serious face who had seen everything happen. The King’s voice became strong. "You will stand guard outside his room," he commanded.

"Put twice as many guards there as usual. Nobody – absolutely nobody – goes in or out unless I say so. Understand? Protect him... no matter what." he gave a quick salute. "Yes, Your Majesty!"

Eric looked into his father’s eyes one last time. He knew his father was trying to keep him safe. Eric turned and followed the guards. Two walked in front of him, two walked behind him, their hands near their swords.

They walked down the long stone hallway. The sound of their footsteps echoed until they went around a corner and were gone, leaving the King, Queen, and his brothers alone in the big, suddenly quiet hall.

The Queen, who still looked worried, took a step closer to the King. She put a gentle hand on his arm. Leonard, the middle brother, looked worried too, looking from his father to his mother. It was Revan, the oldest brother, who finally spoke.

He turned to face his father, a serious look on his face. "Father..." Revan began, his voice quiet, but easy to hear in the quiet room. "About Sir Karlos turning against us... what will you do now?"

The King stood silently for a long moment. He was still staring down the empty hallway where Eric had disappeared. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and cold. He didn’t look at Revan. He stared straight ahead, like he could see danger coming.

"Karlos turning traitor hurts our kingdom deeply," the King said slowly. Each word felt heavy.

"He was one of the people I trusted the most. If someone like him can turn against us, it makes everyone start to doubt each other." He finally turned and looked at Revan, then Leonard, then his wife.

"If we don’t act strongly and quickly, now... if we look weak or unsure after this attack and this betrayal... the people will start to stop believing in us. And a kingdom where the people don’t believe in their rulers... is already starting to fall apart."

Deep inside the royal palace, the throne room was quiet.

The King sat alone on his large throne. He sat up straight, his hands resting on the carved arms of the chair, his jaw tight.

He looked tired. He stared into the shadows, thinking hard about what happened today – the attack, what the assassin said, and the awful news that Karlos had betrayed them.

Behind him, the Queen and his two older sons, Revan and Leonard, stood quietly. They stayed watching with him, showing their support without words.

Suddenly, the big, fancy doors at the far end of the throne room opened with a creak. The sound was loud in the quiet room. Charles, the Commander of the Royal Guard, walked in. The King was waiting for him, waiting for news.

But as soon as the King saw Charles’s face, his own face became serious. He saw something on his commander’s face that he didn’t often see, something more than just being worried or in a hurry. He saw fear. Real fear.

"Charles," the King said. His voice was loud and demanding in the quiet room. "What is it? Tell me."

Charles reached the bottom of the steps leading up to the throne. He stopped and bowed low. Then he stood up straight and looked the King in the eyes. His own face looked serious and worried.

"Your Majesty... My Lord..." Charles began. His voice sounded stressed. "I... I bring bad news. Very bad news."

The King’s eyes narrowed. The worried feeling in his stomach got worse. He had expected bad news, but the fear in Charles’s eyes made him think something even worse had happened. "Speak, Commander. Now."

Charles paused for just a tiny moment, getting ready. Then he gave the bad news. His words were serious, like heavy stones dropping into the silent room.

"Sir Karlos... he is gone, Your Majesty. He... and the leaders of three other important families – House Tyrell, House Rowan, and House Vance... they didn’t just run away. They left the whole kingdom early this morning. They took their families, their own soldiers, and a lot of money. They are probably... going to the Roland Kingdom."

The words hit everyone in the room like a shock.

The King’s hands gripped the armrests of his throne very tightly.

Karlos... The name echoed in the King’s mind, filled with the bitterness of being betrayed.

He dared? He dared to leave his king, his kingdom, the promise he made? After everything I’ve given him? Lands, titles, trust... my trust! The King felt angry and couldn’t believe it at the same time.

How could he do such a terrible thing against his kingdom? While I’m still alive, while I still sit on this throne? To run like a coward... and to take others with him?

Slowly, the King stood up. He seemed to get taller, and his presence seemed to fill the room with dangerous power. He was incredibly angry inside, like a volcano ready to explode.

The Queen took a small step forward and made a worried sound, but Revan gave her a look to tell her to stay back. They knew how angry their father could get when someone truly made him mad. They waited, holding their breath.

Scene Change – That Same Night, A Long Way from the Main City

Miles and miles away from the palace, the world was different. A very cold wind blew hard across a huge, empty desert called the Sunken Sands.

Moonlight shone on the sand hills that went on forever, making it look like a lonely, silver sea. There were no trees, no towns, just the whispering wind and the cold stars above.

Across this empty land, a line of shapes moved slowly but surely. Several large, covered carriages bounced along the bumpy ground, pulled by strong horses. Next to them marched dozens of soldiers with weapons, holding their cloaks closed against the wind, their faces hidden in shadow.

These were not the King’s soldiers. Their flags, flapping in the wind, showed the special signs or symbols of the House of Karlos, and the three other noble families who had joined him in turning against the King: the flower symbol of House Tyrell, the tower symbol of House Rowan, and the checkered pattern symbol of House Vance.

Inside one of the biggest, most comfortable carriages, Sir Karlos sat bent over a map spread on a small folding table. A single lantern made a flickering yellow light on his face. He didn’t look sorry.

He looked focused, sure of himself, almost calm. His eyes followed the lines on the map that showed where they were going, towards the border of the nearby Roland Kingdom.

Suddenly, the carriage next to his moved closer. The window slid open, and the head of Lord Tyrell, the oldest of the other three nobles, looked out. He was an older man with gray hair and worried lines on his face.

"Karlos!" Lord Tyrell called out. He had to talk loudly to be heard over the wind and the creaking carriage wheels.

"Are you completely sure about this? Roland Kingdom... they are our rivals! Will they really accept us? Let us stay safely?" He sounded nervous, like he wasn’t sure about the risky chance they were taking.

Karlos leaned his own head out of his carriage window. The cold wind blew through his hair, but he didn’t pull back from the cold.

"Don’t worry so much, Tyrell," Karlos replied. His voice sounded sure of himself and was easy to hear over the noise. "We aren’t coming with nothing. We have something useful to bargain with. Lots of it." He gave a small smile that wasn’t friendly or funny.

"Secrets. Secrets about our dear King... his family... things the kingdom isn’t strong at. Information the leaders of Roland Kingdom will really want. They won’t turn us away when we offer them such valuable gifts."

Lord Tyrell still didn’t look sure. You could still see the fear on his face. But he knew they couldn’t turn back now. He gave a slow nod, like he wasn’t sure, and pulled his head back inside his carriage.

Another nobleman, Lord Rowan, who was sitting next to Tyrell, leaned towards the window. His quiet voice was full of worry.

"We’ve left everything behind, Karlos. Our homes, our titles, being loyal for many, many years, the land our families owned for hundreds of years. We’ve brought our wives, our children... All our money and important things are risked on this escape." He looked Karlos straight in the eye, looking desperate.

"We are all trusting you with our futures. Our very lives are in your hands now."

Karlos watched them for a moment. You couldn’t tell what he was thinking from his expression in the flickering lantern light inside his carriage. Then, a cold, sharp smile touched his lips. It wasn’t a nice smile; it was sharp, almost like a hunter.

"Then for all of you," Karlos said, his voice getting quiet, but sounding very serious about what would happen to all of them, "you better hope I’m right."

He pulled his head back inside and let the heavy curtain fall. This made his carriage dark and quiet again, where he could plan, leaving the others outside in the cold wind with their worries eating at them. The line of carriages kept moving slowly across the harsh desert, going towards a future they weren’t sure about.