The Fraud Heir to The Strongest Clan

Fresh off the bath, Dhein walked into dinner, his mind flying somewhere else. At the long table sat King and Queen Garvill, their three small sons, Fiorelle and Shina. The chair in the other end of the table was reserved for him.

"Please join us, Lord Theocheirós," the king said.

As he sat down, all gaze landed on him.

He looked at the queen, she seemed to have recovered from her arduous battle against the fallen god.

"First of all, thank you for saving my wife," King Garvill stated.

"She has no memory of the time during which she was bedridden. But she is healing now."

Surprised, Dhein stayed silent for a moment before he spoke, looking at Queen Margaret Garvill.

"Your Highness, you have been told that you were possessed by a fallen god, haven't you?"

She sighed.

"Yes, Lady Wixorn informed me about everything I needed to know after waking up but..."

She clutched her head.

"Something isn't quite right. I can't remember anything."

A human surviving a god possession was unheard-of. Perhaps, this was a natural aftermath.

"That is fine, Your Highness," Dhein stated.

"You've fought hard and well. What matters is you're cured now. Welcome back."

The queen smiled.

"Thank you, my lord."

Suddenly, one of their boys slammed his utensils on the ceramic plate and then leaped off of the chair.

"I'm done," he rudely said and then playfully ran off the table.

The second prince didn't even finish his meal, he wordlessly left the food.

The queen was visibly displeased by this, but didn't say anything.

After an awkward silence, the king spoke.

"Where were we... Oh! Princess Shina has an announcement to make."

The queen glanced at the king with a fake smile and then whispered.

"Your Highness..."

King Garvill looked back at her, reading her face. And then upon realization, he snapped back.

"Ah, sorry. We should enjoy our meals first, then we will have the serious talk."

With that, they ate in silence.

Dhein would liven up the mood, but he was in no good mood himself. Not after what he had just discovered.

The god was refusing to tell him how many more stars he had to collect before fully possessing his body. He had already killed an army of monsters, the invisible insect and the giant sphere demon. That had already been a lot of stars.

If the god manages to kill more, it will take Dhein closer and closer to being replaced in his own body.

He could only use the power of this god for a limited amount, but he didn't know what that amount was.

He also acknowledged the fact that someday, he will need to borrow his power again. What if the next kill was the last star he needed?

'I can't gamble that...'

Soon, they had all finished eating, but Dhein barely touched his food. Before they engaged in a serious conversation, they let the last prince leave the table and go to his chamber.

"So," the king started.

"Your Majesty, Princess Shina. You may make your announcement."

Shina nodded. As she took a deep breath, everyone quieted down and listened.

"Lord Dheinyrus and I have discovered that demons have infiltrated our empire."

Fiorelle gasped.

"So it is the demons after all," she mumbled to herself.

Shina continued.

"He has defeated several of them but one managed to escape. They plan to take me with them alive, and I heard one of them saying this has been their goal for a millennium. I am only twenty years old, so that doesn't make sense."

Dhein glanced at her, still amazed by the fact that she was one year older than him. No offense...

The queen spoke.

"You're right even with the assumption that their goal is not to obtain you specifically, but just any random Venilon."

They listened carefully as she continued.

"Our empire has existed for about ten millennia now, indeed. If they wanted to take someone with the imperial lineage, they should have done so long ago when we weren't as strong of an empire."

Dhein stared at her as she spoke, left speechless by her keen understanding and fast logic.

"That makes me think that they are really targeting no one else but you, Your Majesty," the queen stated.

"If they have been waiting a millennium for your birth, then there must be something special about you. Do you think or feel something is different sometimes, Princess Shina?"

Shina looked at her with a shocked and overwhelmed expression.

'I didn't even think about it that far...' she thought with a bit of shame.

She opened her mouth to speak.

"Not really, no."

The whole room fell silent, each person was left in their own thoughts.

Eventually, they all turned to Dhein.

"What do you think, Lord Theocheirós?" the queen asked.

After seeing how smart she was, Dhein couldn't help but feel pressured when she asked for his input.

He answered nevertheless.

"I believe the answer lies back home."

Their faces dropped.

"I want to investigate the corrupting forces in the Divinity Clan. Our members are not easily swayed by fear or lucrative bribery. Yet, they managed to infiltrate us. I find that hard to accept," he said with a serious expression.

"My guess is that we were never infiltrated. The betrayal has started from inside our clan in the first place."

"Therefore, that leads me to believe that the high ranking officials in the Divinity Clan knows something about why the demons are aiming for Shina's abduction."

The air hung thick with gloom and dread. They couldn't imagine standing against the strongest clan in the world.

Dhein gave them a firm look of determination.

"But don't worry. I will do everything within my power to resolve this."

Upon saying that, everyone was able to rest easy.

After the royal dinner, they were all led by the servants to their respective chambers.

As Dhein was about to open the huge, ebony door, he heard Fiorelle call out his name.

He turned around to face her.

"Fiorelle?"

She didn't respond. There was no particular expression on her face.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

The girl took a deep breath. Finally, she spoke.

"Thank you."

Dhein fell silent for a bit. He didn't know what she was talking about, so he waited for an elaboration. Fiorelle eventually continued.

"Dhein, I have found the purpose."