The King's Hand

"Speak nothing but the truth," Amidamaru said between clenched teeth. He sheathed his sword and approached an open window. He stared out into the quiet forest and waited for Faust to explain himself.

The doctor sighed before starting. He reached for the nearest chair and beckoned his wife to seat beside him. This was going to take a while...

"I came from a long line of medicine men who have been serving the Kouku royal family for ages. I was tasked by Prince Hideki to find a cure for a growing tumor in his father's stomach. The solution was really simple but gruesome. Cut open the king's belly, take the lump out then stitch back the flesh together. It would be an agonizing and bloody procedure and naturally, the queen did not approve of it. At that time, I was in the process of making a concoction that can numb the body and slow down your heart beat."

Amidamaru scoffed, "You mean a poison that could paralyze someone."

"No, no, definitely not that. It was intended for medicinal purposes in order to save lives. You see, when someone cuts you, you tend to flee or fight back. It's just human nature. My premise was that it could be easier to perform an excruciatingly painful procedure on a person who would not react negatively. It would be a revolutionary breakthrough in the field of medicine if I were successful. However, everything was still theoretical and my formula was not perfect. The king died of course, having received no drastic treatment but I managed to pique the interest of the newly crowned king. Hideki was more open to such innovation. He wanted me to continue my research. He was willing to grant whatever resources that I need without asking for anything in return. Unfortunately, he cannot provide me with the main ingredient that was missing from my concoction - the Kouri butterbur. He gave me sufficient funding instead so that I could leave the kingdom and go to another land that's a trading partner of Kouri. It was there that I met my lovely Eliza."

Faust gazed at his wife who smiled back at him. He could still remember the first time he saw her. She was radiating with beauty and tenderness. He instantly fell for her.

"She was the personal assistant of Kasai's most affluent trader, Mikihisa who was closing business deals for his family."

Amidamaru heard that story long ago. King Mikihisa's family was involved in exporting butterbur and other products to foreign lands. That was also the reason why it was easy for him to establish a good relationship with Kouri's King Lycan even though he just became a part of the Asakura clan.

"I eventually married my Eliza and I continued to be Mikihisa's close friend even though he was already appointed the new king of Kasai. We often saw each other during his foreign trips. It was him who helped me settle down with my love."

Eliza closed her eyes and reminisced their first few months as husband and wife. She longed to go back to that time when everything had been peaceful.

"Then my financial woes began." Faust continued. "My funds from Kouku were almost depleted. I was running out of coins to buy food much less butterbur. My experiments were failing and our neighbors were complaining about the stench of dead rats. I am still deeply ashamed up to this day of having experimented on innocent creatures. They did not wake up after they drank my medicine. I was at the lowest point of my life when King Mikihisa offered me a job at the palace to tutor his twins. I would get a room of my own to continue my research. I would be provided with free Kouri butterbur and Eliza would serve as a kitchen assistant at the palace. Nobody would ever find out about where I came from. The king assured me that. It was convenient yet dangerous. I accepted because I knew I was this close to finding the perfect formula. There was one condition though… The king requested that I become a secret emissary between him and King Hideki Kyouyama."

The white-haired warrior was taken aback. He did not know that King Mihisa had entangled himself with some serious law-breaking activities before.

"It had something to do with a century old mystery that I cannot divulge to you even if you strangle me, Amidamaru. Let me tell you this though… Both kings wanted to terminate the peace treaty."

"By starting a war?" the Kasai warrior shot him an incredulous look.

"No, by ending the hatred brought about by the stringent terms of the treaty. The two kings haven't personally met. It was too risky. We would all come to the place you now call the dukedom of Mont St. Michel. I would meet with the Kouku king in secret then pass on their messages to one another. It went on for years until that day when the young Prince Hao overheard us arguing in the throne room."

Faust sighed. He should have done better in giving the king advise seven years ago...