The King's Punishment

Daniel froze in place, it was like his tongue was caught in his throat, and he looked at Lazarus with widened brows. “Oh, my wolf! Why did I hiss?” He asked himself rhetorically.
He didn't plan to come out clean, but Lazarus already knew who hissed, and the look on his face was a threatening one.

Lazarus arched his brows, he wanted to send the person that hissed to his hungry wolf's cage, but he couldn't bring himself to send Daniel. He wasn't sure if he was the person who would cure his curse, nor did he know if he was ready to be cured, but nonetheless, he felt a strange connection to Daniel, and he didn't want to punish him.

The other men presented in the training room looked at the frightened Daniel, and then their eyes fell on Lazarus's blazing gaze. Some felt pity for him, while those who saw him as a competitor were overjoyed, thinking the king would get rid of him.

Frank was downcasted, he wanted to help Daniel, but there was nothing he could do since the king's eye was already on Daniel. At that moment, he secretly wished that Lord Xender was around. Although Xender loves having fun, and jokes about everything, if he was around, he would think of this as a joke, and he would mock the king for listening to his citizens lament, and he'll probably praise Daniel for being brave enough to insult the king in his presence.

Justin felt happy, ‘My vengeance is here!’ he squealed in excitement.

Daniel knew if he didn't come out clean, the king might punish him and the other men, so he took three steps forward and bowed at Lazarus.

“Your Majesty, I swear I didn't mean to disrespect you; an annoying thought dropped in my head, and I hissed at it. I didn't know you were going to think of it as a disrespectful act. I am sorry,” Daniel apologized with a fake remorseful voice and bowed. He wasn't remorseful; he was happy that the king was annoyed. But he was also scared for his life, that's why he sounded so remorseful.

Lazarus furrowed his brow, not convinced by Daniel's explanation, “So the thought came to your mind when I finished talking, right?” He asked with a grimace on his face, Daniel kept his head down, his eyes scanning the floor.

“Humm…..” Lazarus hummed softly as he thought of something mischievous. “What was the thought that dropped in your head? If it is genuine, I might think of reducing your punishment,” he proposed, hiding his excitement under the facade of a strict voice. He had always wondered about what was going on in Daniel's head, and whenever he tried to get into his mind, it was impossible, so this felt like the perfect opportunity for him.

“Huh??” Daniel was shocked at the king's demand, and he didn't know what to lie about. He looked to Lord Israel for assistance, thinking the kind Lord would come to his rescue, but Israel barely paid him any attention, he was enjoying the ongoing barter. When Daniel realized that Israel wouldn't help him, he turned to look at Frank. Frank was caught unaware, but he didn't know what to say or how to advise Daniel, he felt tongue-tied.

“Are you going to keep your king waiting?” Lazarus’ husky voice growled at Daniel after patiently waiting for him.

“Of course not, Your Majesty,” Daniel stuttered, and for once since he began his mission, he regretted one of his actions.

“Then don't keep me waiting,” Lazarus deadpanned.

“Hey Henry, I don't mean to sound like a gossiper, but get your ass right here now. You're missing out on a lot of fun!” Israel reached Henry telepathically, and he arrived within a second.

Henry pushed the training door open, with a look of ‘what am I missing?’ on his face. On sensing the tense atmosphere between Lazarus and Israel he squinted his eyes. He didn't like Lazarus, neither did he hate him, he just didn't like the fact that a womanizer like him was their leader. According to his statistics, Israel was learning to become a womanizer from Lazarus.

The guards bowed at Henry, Astro also bowed in respect, but he paid no attention to them and walked to Israel's side.

“What is going on?” Henry asked Israel.

“Keep watching,” Israel responded, his eyes fixed between Daniel and Lazarus.

Henry wasn't happy that Israel paid him no attention because he was his center of attention. He faced the ongoing barter, a bored expression on his face.

“I…. The idea that dropped in my head was how great the king was,” Daniel stammered, his eyes shifting around anxiously.

“What? You don't think I am great, right? You hissed because you don't think I am great?” Lazarus asked with raised brows, looking offended.

Daniel immediately shook his head, “No no, I think you are great, I was just overwhelmed.”

Lazarus kept quiet for a while, he stared so hard at Daniel that he wished the ground could open up and swallow him.

“Justin, lead him to my room, and make sure he arranges it and gets my bathtub ready,” Lazarus said, as a million cunning ideas dropped in his head.

Everyone looked shocked at Daniel's punishment, to them it wasn't a punishment but a rare privilege. Justin reluctantly nodded in agreement, while Daniel looked like he had just sucked on a sour lemon, his head was on fire.

“Your Majesty, you must have forgotten that I am your guard, not a maid. If you want your room to be arranged, it's fine, I can inform the maids, I saw them relaxing in the maid's quarter,” Daniel blurted out as politely as he could, unfortunately for him, his words didn't sit well with Lazarus, he considered it a bruise on his ego.

“I asked you to do something, and you dare decline, are you ready to die?” Lazarus asked with an angry tone, his eyes lingering on Daniel's facial expression.

Daniel wanted to tell the king that he had a right to his own opinions and choices, but the look on his face made him think twice before responding. “Your Majesty, I mean no disrespect, but I am your guard, not your maid,” he said with a calm voice.

Lazarus twisted his face, a melancholic smile settling on his face, but before he could say the bitter word in his mouth, Israel intervened.

“Daniel, I understand that you're new in this kingdom, but here, no one disobeys the King. If he asks you to wet his bed, you must obey at once,” Israel said with a mischievous gleam in his eyes, and everyone turned to face him with widened brows, wondering what he meant by a man wetting the king's bed.

Lazarus cleared his throat to gain the men's attention, and with a disappointed look on his face, Daniel followed Justin to the king's room. Frank gave him a supportive smile, but it did nothing to calm the turmoil in his heart.