Once they finished discussing the important topic, Henry delved into the miscellaneous one.
As for the decisions made, Henry and Maximus agreed to approve Dr. Dolittle as a qualified expert in medicine for both humans and animals.
If ever he wants it, the man would be provided with a nigh-unlimited budget to aid in his research for medicinal purposes. Their marriage was also approved and personally signed by Maximus. The venue would be the church and everything would be paid by the Kingdom's treasury.
The next matter was the animal friends. They would be sheltered by Dr. Dolittle's large clinic that will also be provided by the royal treasury. There they will live and thrive.
Henry even introduced another coin-making concept. An animal zoo, of course minus the parts of animal abuse and whatnot. The zoo can be managed by both Dr. Dolittle and Henry himself since they're technically the only people in this Kingdom who can communicate with animals.
Maximus reeled in happiness at the possibility of having another money-making attraction in the Kingdom.
The next topic is the bandits. When Henry provided his take on it and his suspicion over Timothy, Maximus frowned when he mentioned how he had given the paper to Timothy earlier.
"That's reckless, you just handed out evidence, you shouldn't have given it to him."
Henry simply shrugged, "Wouldn't matter anyway, there's no name on the paper and Timothy seemed smart enough to change the handwriting so it wouldn't be traced back to him. When I interviewed the bandit, he only mentioned a cloaked person who handed him half of the 500 gold coins along with the paper and said he would be paid in full once the job is done. And as you can see, they wouldn't receive the other half of that 500."
"…Are you sure you want to get involved in this? You've practically already won at this point, no one aside from them argues your right to the throne. If you get involved, it would just get bloodier than it already is."
Henry stood with crossed arms, a complicated but resolute look on his face, "Whether I participate or not wouldn't change the bloody outcome. Better to finish it early than let the bloodshed pile up and drown the Kingdom whole. Besides, I'm done playing passive with them, I've already given them countless chances to change their ways because of our blood relation but not anymore, not when I already lost a dear friend because of it…"
Seeing the lost and melancholic look on Henry's eyes, Maximus finally nodded his head in understanding and said, "Fine, but you'd better tell your mother about this yourself. Trust me, she wouldn't like it one bit and I'll be the first one to bear the brunt of her wrath."
The King of Lioncrest, one of the most powerful men in the entire continent just shuddered at the thought of his own wife.
Henry's chest puffed out in confidence, "I'll handle it. I know mom's weaknesses. Just put glitter on my eyes, quiver my lips, and let nature take its course."
Maximus scoffed, "Do you really think that'll still work? You're no longer a little boy, Henry. She wouldn't bat an eye at it."
"Am I smelling a bet here?" Henry pretended to sniff the air and said.
"You cheeky brat. Alright, 50 says she would hold her ground against it."
"Make it a hundred and she wouldn't blame you for being an accomplice." Henry raised his head high with a smirk.
"Now now, hold on a second there. We agreed you'll be the one to convince her so she wouldn't blame me. Then what's even the point of all this?"
"No, the deal was about how I'll be the one to talk to her about it and have her agree, I didn't hear anything about not letting her know you agreed to it first."
"Why you!" Maximus's face twitched several times before relaxing after realizing that there's no point in arguing. Besides, 100 gold coins could barely even be called pocket change to him.
The entire betting thing is not about the money, but a matter of pride. Some wouldn't get it.
"Fine fine. Take my money and go." Maximus threw his hands up in the air after rolling his eyes.
Henry held back a chuckle and diverged into another topic, "By the way. You didn't mention that I was supposed to be engaged to someone. King Frederic's daughter from the Corona Kingdom."
Hearing that, Maximus froze on the spot before looking away with a guilt-ridden face, "He must've told you about why it didn't happen then?"
"His daughter went missing. Not even Master Elias could find her location." Henry nodded his head. He gained a thoughtful look on his face for a brief moment before continuing, "But she's alive though."
Those words prompted Maximus to raise his head in confusion and surprise, "Henry what are you talking about? It's been around 16 years since she went missing. It's either she's dead or she's already on the other side of the continent."
"Not exactly true. When Ariel and I got separated shortly after we left Temacia, we came across a tall abandoned tower hidden in the middle of the mountains, only accessible through a single cave entrance. Call it a hunch but I sensed a person inside with a unique signature."
"It bears the same signature as the strand of hair that King Frederick handed to me when I talked to him," Henry spoke facts this time. Unlike King Frederick whom he couldn't trust to keep his emotions in check and resist the temptation to flip the entire continent upside down just to get a glimpse of his missing daughter, his father is different.
There was a sudden bloom on Maximus's face as he quickly stood from his leather chair and said in a hurried tone, "Then let's go and take her back!"
Only for Henry to shake his head in denial, "We need to bide our time and plan everything ahead. Even if we take her back right now, things wouldn't be what you think they'll be. Trust me, alright? Let's focus on the matters of my brothers for now and I'll take her back safe and sound myself. She'll reunite with King Frederick soon, just don't tell what I just told you for now."
Maximus's nerves finally calmed and he sat back down on the chair, pouring yet another glass of whiskey and downing it in one go, "…Alright, I trust you, son."
Henry nodded his head and sighed in relief, "Speaking of my brothers, that's where the man I brought back with me will do his part. He's a masterclass thief. Give him the layout and time and he can steal anything on the continent."
Maximus nodded his head in understanding, "Do you trust him?"
"We'll see."
———
"I can't believe this is happening…" The man in the topic—Flynn Rider sat on a wooden stool, surrounded by tens of knights with overbearing auras and shiny fancy armors.
This is the Royal Barracks and the people around him are the elite of the elite in the world of knighthood. And here he sat in the middle of them, one of the knight's sworn enemies, a thief.
And not just any thief but the kind that stole from a royal family.
"Hey boyah!" There was a sudden shiver up his spine as soon as he heard a feminine shout from behind him, followed by a large hand slapping against his shoulder.
Turning around slightly, he came face to face with a female knight with an unusually large build, a long warhammer resting upon her shoulders.
'I thought Knights could only use swords?' Was what caught Flynn's attention.
"C-Can I help you?" Flynn tried to stay calm, but his voice betrayed him and he accidentally stuttered, appearing pathetic to the woman in front of him.
Or as if the creature could even be referred to as a woman.
The woman grinned and leaned forward, taking a short sniff of Flynn, "You smell like you don't belong here, boyah." Which made the thief shudder in fear even more.
"Y-Yeah, you're right. T-The Crown Prince himself assigned someone to bring me here, he must want me to do something important for him." Flynn awkwardly posed, a forced smile plastered on his face as he tried to establish his importance so he wouldn't face further suspicion.
At least that's what he thought at first until the creature asked a glaring question.
The lady knight leaned forward, her nose almost touching his, and said with a pointy tone, "And what do you do for the Crown Prince himself to deem you worthy for whatever job he wants you to do, hmm?"
In an instant, the gears in Flynn's mind started pumping as it tried to come up with a valid answer. By the end, he came up with only a single one.
With a fake confident tone, he crossed his arms and smirked while staring directly at the lady's eyes, "And who are you to question His Highness's decision? Are you telling me that your decision-making is better than his?"
At this point, a crowd of onlookers has gathered around them, some are just passerby knights who came to rest or share a drink with a friend.
Facing such a question that doubts her loyalty to the Kingdom's future King along with the stares of her peers, the monstrous woman knight found herself speechless and gritting her teeth.
She quickly unsheathed a small dagger from her waist and pointed its tip near Flynn's chin, "You think I'm dumb, don't you?"
Flynn casually raised his hands, "You're the one who said that, not me." The response gained a bunch of snickers and laughs from the other knights around them, much to the woman's furious glare.
"You!" Just as she was about to push the hilt of the dagger forward, shutting Flynn up for good, there was a sudden shout from behind her.
"Isabella! What do you think you're doing?" Entering through the front doors is Liam, with his signature sword strapped to his waist and a knight's armor but with a dark sheen and a golden face of a lion on the chest.
"That armor…" Everyone's gaze sharpened and murmurs spread quickly.
Instantly, everyone straightened their postures while facing Liam and gave him a solid knight salute.
"Grand Master Liam!"
That's right. The former Knight Captain in front of them was just recently promoted shortly after doing all the tasks that Henry asked him to.
With the Crown Prince's recommendation, and deed of bringing the Kingdom's beloved Crown Prince back, no one doubted promoting the knight to the highest order.
Even though something like this should be grand and celebrated throughout the Kingdom, the matter of their Crown Prince coming back was grander, so Liam was promoted without extravagance.
"G-Grand Master!?" Isabella immediately tried to hide the dagger from behind her, though it was already too late as Flynn, coincidentally snatched it from her hands and dangled it in front of everybody.
"Almost stabbed me with this pointy dagger." He smirked, much to Isabella's furious glare.
Liam crossed his arms and spoke, "This man here is the Crown Prince's esteemed guest. I was instructed to put him in my care so if something ever happens to him, do you know what it means, Isabella?"
Isabella stiffly nodded her head as she then stared down at the ground, too afraid to meet Liam's eyes, not only because his feat and strength are greater than hers but also because of his new rank.
Behind her, Flynn was reeling in the satisfaction of having a knight of Isabella's status understand the weight of her actions because of him. This is a first for him considering he spent half of his life being a thief and chased by knights.
Now that the entire place has quieted down, Liam shifted his attention to Flynn and spoke, "Prince Henry is seeking your presence, you must come with me at once."
Flynn stopped playing with the dagger and playfully handed it back to Isabella before giving her a wink, "Here's your dagger back, Sir."
The both of them left amidst the snickers of the knights while the monstrous knight lady grits her teeth.