IGIWS: FIRST DRAFT: Chapter 242

Eamon looked back at Quinus, "Are you telling me that, Lady Rya is a... Healer?... Like the ones in the history books?"

"Yes... She's a legendary healer who can heal anyone regardless of their wounds. Even diseases and curses," Quinus answered.

"That's impossible... There hasn't been one in over centuries!" Eamon stated.

"You know I'm sitting across from you... Right?" Rya said.

"Oh... Um... My apologies, Lady Rya..." Eamon said.

"It's ok, I can understand your shock. Not many people would believe someone when they say they're a healer... Especially when it's a dark elf who can heal," Rya said.

"You're too modest, Rya," Quinus said as he took her hand and kissed it.

Rya blushed a little while Hilda frowned a little. Terenthiel was silent for long enough as he decided to finally say something.

"Of course those sub-human dwarves would fall her the likes of you... You must have tricked everyone into believing that your a healer... The only ones that can perform the miracle of healing are the Divine Three!... As long as you are free of sin and to surrender yourself to their divine grace, they will bestow upon you the power to heal," Terenthiel said.

"Oh nice!... So you're saying that I'm a god?... Hehe!... Thanks you for ego boost. Of all the people I never expected you to be the one who would say I'm a god," Rya said as she smiled at the prince.

"What!? Are you crazy? You're nothing like a god!" Terenthiel yelled as the veins in his forehead began to pop.

"But you said, 'As long as you are free of sin and submit yourself to their divine grace, they will bestow upon you the power to heal'. Which means if I'm a god then I can heal, right?... Well lucky for you I'm a benevolent goddess when those who confess to their sins are forgiven... And I'm merciful if the sinner is truly remorseful... But don't let my good looks fool you. Because I can be just as cruel as any evil god out there. Hahaha!... So which is it, Prince Terenthiel? Do I deserve forgiveness or do I need to punish you?" Rya asked with a shit eating grin

Terenthiel was completely stunned that his words were twisted so easily. This witch has the gall to mock the Divine Ones! And the nerve to make fun of him and twist his words. Terenthiel is going to teach this Dark Elf a lesson about respecting her betters. And when he stood up and grabbed the hilt of his sword all the Royal Knights got up and unsheathed their swords as they glared at Terenthiel.

"Hold! What's the meaning of this!?" Duval yelled at General Douglas who ignored the Prime Minister.

"Prince Terenthiel... I advise you to leave or sit back down..." General Douglas said in a cold tone.

"I will not be ordered around by the likes of a common soldier... You are only a knight! I am the fifth son of the High King of the Holy Alliance of the Divine Three!" Terenthiel declared.

"I'm more than a mere soldier... I was a Royal Knight of the Meredydd Family. I am the General of the Royal Knights of the Kingdom of Fiafyr. And we will put you down even if it means our deaths," General Douglas said.

Duval stumbled to grab his gavel but once he did he started banging away furiously. 

"Douglas!... Your Highness!... Stop this nonsense immediately! This is the Chamber of Major Lords! Not a battle area!" Duval yelled as he stood up and tried to calm down the situation.

"Then why did he have the nerve to insult the Crown Prince and his Fiancee in front of everyone!?" Johan asked as he stood up and stared down the arrogant prince.

"Enough!... I want ORDER DAMMIT!" Duval yelled as the banging continued, "General Douglas, call off your knights. And you Prince Terenthiel, sit down this instance! You're hurting our chance to marry the Princess to the Prince! Destroying the peace treaty!" Duval barked at the Foreign Prince.

"But-"

"NOW!!!" Duval roared, cutting the General off.

Douglas signaled for his knights to lower their weapons. While Terenthiel sat back down in his seat, glaring daggers at everyone.

Rya had a amused look on her face when Eamon decided to test her claims of being a healer.

"Miss Rya, if you're a healer... Prove it," Eamon said with a worried looked.

"Hmm?... Okay... But no one here has a terrible wound that will make you 'ooh and ah' at the healing process," Rya said.

"Well it can be anything... I would be reassured if I knew your capabilities as a healer..." Eamon said.

Rya tilted her head as she looked at the Baron. She smirked when a idea came to her.

"Alright... I'll give you a demonstration... Can you please stand up, Baron Eamon?" Rya asked.

Eamon's eyebrows raised when Rya called him out by name. Then he stood up from his chair and tried to look dignified. 

Rya's azure eyes scanned him up and down and her gaze seemed to focus on his lower half which made the Baron nervous.

'Well that doesn't look comfortable?... I wonder what he did to his right knee to have that many red particles floating around there?' Rya thought.

Rya looked up at Eamon who had a little sweat coming off his brow. Rya smiled kindly as she stood up from her chair.

"How long have you had that knee injury?" Rya asked.

Eamon was stunned that she knew. He's never told anyone about the time he fought a monster, called the Raging Quad Horn, that was terrorizing his land. It was about seven years ago. The beast had charged him and his men. His horse was trampled and his right knee was smashed by the beasts front leg. He was lucky enough that he survived. But no matter how many potions you drank the damage to his knee was too great. It healed improperly and it gave him constant pain that he hid in front of others.

"How did you know?"

"I have sharp eyes... Now! Stand still and don't move... This might feel a bit weird," Rya said with a smirk.

Rya raised her right hand and closed her eyes. She channel her mana through her hands and sent it towards Eamon who was nervous.

"Wait a min-"

"Relax... And don't move," Rya said.

When the invisible aura came into contact with Eamon, he felt a warm sensation on his knee. It tickled at first and then he felt a popping sensation and the pain disappeared. He couldn't believe it and he looked at the Dark Elf in disbelief.

The whole room had quieted down and everyone was watching in silence as Rya opened her eyes and lowered her hand.

"There!... You're right as rain, Lord Eamon," Rya said with a smile as she sat back down.

Eamon just stared at her in disbelief. She healed a wound that the doctors said he'd never walk right again and would need a wheelchair in decade or so.

"Y-You truly are a healer?..." Eamon muttered.

Quinus chimed in, "Yes, Lord Eamon... If it wasn't for her healing then the Ironside army would have lost two thirds of their army. She healed all the wounded, even those who lost their limbs. They regain four fifths of their forces after only two hours... That's why the citizens of Ironside see her as their Saintess... If she were expelled by the Major Lords of Fiafyr, than I fear that the Galfrei Domain will leave the kingdom."

Eamon felt a pit in his stomach when the Crown Prince said that. If the Galfrei Domain were to leave the Kingdom then it would create a major schism between the Major and Minor nobles due to losing access to the purple slag. He wouldn't be able to grow his crops without that fertilizer. He would be at Duval's mercy and that could make or break him. The writing was on the wall, Duval was losing his grip and his wish to not have war of any kind was no longer possible.

Eamon had to make a choice that he knew that wasn't easy. On one side he could stay with Duval and hope he starts getting things back on track. On another side there was Alaric who had the backing of most of the Minor Nobles could cause a civil war within the kingdom at a drop of a hat. The Duke was extremely cunning and seemed to know things before Duval did, but he feared what his rule would be if he pulled it off. And the last side was the Crown Prince, who always seemed advanced for his years when he was growing up and the rumors about him having a Demi-God mana vein seems to be true with how powerful he is. What made Eamon worried about him was his kindhearted nature and his lack of support within the nobility, but it seems he was wrong about his kindheartedness as he showed how ferocious he could be when those who are his friends are hurt or threatened. It made the Baron see the Prince in a different light. Quinus was stronger than everyone, he has a healer he's trying to marry, he also seems to be gaining the confidence to lead, while gaining the support of the people of the Kingdom. His chrisma seems to be better than Duval's, who is more reserved than the Prince. And then there was the Prince's dark elf fiancee. Her beauty was out of this world, she smart as hell, and she's a healer. The Prince has become more powerful than anyone who he's seen before. If there was one thing that concerned Eamon, it was the Dark Elf's intentions. She says she's in love with the Prince, but this could be a ruse to take over the kingdom after the Prince dies of old age. And since she's a elf it would be harder for her to producer an heir. If there isn't a true next heir to the throne than who is going to tell her that she can't rule. The whole situation was giving him a headache and he needed to talk to the other nobles about the situation. But that will have to wait as everyone was looking at him.

"I thank you for healing me, milady, I owe you a great debt," Eamon said as he slowly sat back down and he started rubbing his right knee. He had an uneasy look written on his face as he weighed his options and after what seemed like a minute Duval cleared his throat to get the Baron's attention.

"Lord Eamon, kill the deal," Duval order, hoping Eamon wasn't changing sides.

"Huh?... Oh... I... I have a lot on my mind," Eamon said as his eyes went from the Crown Prince and his Dark Elf then to the Prime Minister.

"Lord Eamon?... Why are you hesitating?..." Duval asked, feeling like the Baron might switch sides.

"It's nothing... It's just... I might have turned down this deal if you didn't force my people to buy inflated goods that shouldn't be that expensive because of tariffs... Lord Nathaniel... If you promise to deliver on your side then I will accept the lady's deal. But the first time you go back on your word or try to take advantage of my domain then the deal is off..." Eamon declared.

"Eamon! Call it off!" Duval shouted.

"No, Duval... We need to make sure the South doesn't go through a food shortage... A-And I wish to recast my vote on the emergency session—"

"NO! NO, YOU CAN'T! IF YOU DON'T THEN—"

"WHAT!... I'm doing Prime Minister is what's best for the kingdom. And I wish for the records to show that I vote present for the Expulsion of the Dark Elf, so all other Major Lords know that I'm still a loyal subject... And I think it would be wise to not expel the Dark Elf until we know her true intentions before doing something that my hurt the kingdom... And until that happens, we should find a way to test her loyalty before acting..."

Duval banged the gavel one more time out of frustration and yelled, "This Emergency Session will go on recess and will resume after an hour!... Eamon!... Thaddeus!... You two will meet with me in my office... Now!"

Terenthiel looked at Duval as if he was disappointed and shook his head in disgust and whispered to Zane, "If this is what Fiafyrian Nobles are then maybe we shouldn't marry Hilda and we should attack now before your Kingdom falls to the north..."

Zane had a similar expression as he glared at the Prime Minister, "Maybe we shouldn't have gone through him and should have talked directly to the King... The Prophet won't be pleased."

Off to the other end of the table was Alaric and a shell shocked William. Alaric always prayed to see the day when Duval's allies begin to turn on him. He thought he would savor is day like no other, but it was bittersweet. It wasn't his skillful maneuvering that brought the House of Lords to the breaking point, but his nephew and that whore of a dark elf that stole the glory of bringing the House of Lords to ruin. His nephew was the one the Major Lords were slowly starting to side with. It wouldn't take long before Quinus and his whore took full control. And even though he was on the verge of losing, there was still hope. He couldn't believe he was thinking this but he needed to make sure Duval made the pact with the Holy Alliance. It would force the marriage of a woman that his nephew didn't want and it would bring chaos to the royal family. And he knew he could exploit the chaos. He needed to find a way to make the pact with the Holy Alliance happen and it was already in trouble with this dark elf messing things up.

"What is the plan?" William asked, not seeing the way the House of Lords was heading.

"We have to help him..." Alaric muttered under his breath. 

"W-What!?"

"Sheath your tongue, William... It's not safe to whisper here... Just play along with what I do next..."

"Y-Yes, milord..."

Duval was gathering his things in a hurry with his aids and was ready to storm out the chamber when all of a sudden the doors open to a gentleman with a ponytail and a pin that had the official seal of the King.

Duval face became even more annoyed to who it was, "Lord Brice... I don't have time to deal with his antics..." He muttered as the Head of the King's council had arrived back in the capital city of Tairal from Lomar after talking to the King.

"Well... About time you opened the chamber... Did I miss anything?" Lord Brice said with a smirk as he hear all the yelling from Duval. Brice was stuck in the lobby until the session went on recess and he had a letter from the King he needed to deliver to all the Major Lords.