Chapter 72: Eating With The Enemy
The carriage sped up and passed the village square and they finally arrived at the castle. The head guard came down first and he bowed as he entered the castle. He was going to inform the king of their arrival and he told Floid that Maryleen would guide them into the castle. Maryleen was a little annoyed that Trevor left her alone with the duke and duchess! She wasn't the sort of person who shows hospitality! She would rather be in her office working on her inventions! But the king demanded that she come as well and so she didn't have a choice. She told the duke to please follow her.
The four of them walked into the castle and Maryleen tried her best to explain a lot about the artifact they passed along the way.
"That is a spear that the former king received when he participated in the kingdom wars. It has been on display for more than fifty years. That over there is the magic staff that the Priestess once used in the subjugation of the demon king. She received a new staff after she came back to the kingdom and she was kind enough to allow us to put her former staff on display,"
Maryleen was very knowledgeable about everything in the castle and Floid was actually a little impressed by her. She didn't live in this castle and she was also very busy with her headmistress duties but she was smart enough to know about all these things? She was brilliant.
"Can you move out of the way?"
Maryleen suddenly said this to a man that was standing in their path. He was looking at a painting on the wall with a bored face and once Maryleen spoke he turned to them. Floid narrowed his eyes as he saw the man's empty eyes. Who is this? He doesn't look like one of the servants.
Immediately the man turned around Alucard's hands tightened from beside Floid and he silently put his hand behind him and fingered a knife! The man looked at Alucard and Alucard started right back. The tension in the room grew as the two of them stared like that, but Maryleen suddenly broke the tension when she told the man to move again! He was standing in the way! The man hummed and finally looked away from Alucard.
Alucard didn't drop his guard for a second. He knew who this was. But what is he doing here? What is a Virtue doing in the demon world?
"Nothing but a pest. I suppose I've spent too much time here anyway,"
The man started to walk past them and Floid met his eyes before he could walk past. The man had golden hair and red eyes and once he met Floid's eyes he let out a small chuckle while speaking in a small voice so that only Floid could hear him.
"Every one of you demons are the same. Even the king himself is a conniving bastard. But don't worry, I'll come for you soon enough,"
Floid narrowed his eyes in annoyance as he heard this.
The man chuckled at the annoyed look. This man was the same one that saw the former demon Queen and called her a rat in that alleyway before. And he finally realised that all demons reacted the same when you insult them. They all become angry like fucking animals. He didn't say anything else to Floid as he just walked away.
Floid kept his eyes on the man till he disappeared down the hallway. Once the man was gone, Alucard relaxed again while releasing the knife. Floid noticed what Alucard did and he wondered why Alucard reacted like that. Is this man so dangerous that he would even make Alucard tense? Just who is that?
Floid didn't know what it was, but he felt a serious amount of power coming from that man. Even his [True Sight] couldn't see all the power coming from the man, but Floid could tell that man was extremely strong! Floid narrowed his eyes as he spoke to Alucard.
"You know that man. Is he going to be a problem?"
Floid didn't like it when he had an element he didn't account for in his plans. If this man is here then he may become a problem for their invasion. But Alucard immediately shook his head.
"It doesn't seem like he is interested in this situation. He is not the sort of person to stick his nose into things that are not his business,"
Floid wanted to know exactly how Alucard knew so much about that man, but he couldn't ask right now since Maryleen was here. Floid decided he would ask him when they were done with this mission.
"Seriously, what sort of servants are they keeping in the castle nowadays? Is this how they treat guests? He just walked away without even a greeting,"
Maryleen was the one that said this. She was very pissed as she glared at the spot where the man left from. She thought he was just a servant and she decided that she would tell the head guard about this. She didn't have the right to fire a servant but she will make sure that idiot was fired!
Floid scoffed. Maryleen had no idea just how easily that man could've killed her. That man wouldn't even need to lift a finger to kill her! Floid just nodded along to tell Maryleen that he was agreeing with her. He didn't need to break character right now. They were in the middle of something important. Floid decided that he would deal with that man once they were done with this mission. He was sure he would meet that man again.
Maryleen led them over to the king's meeting room and Floid saw that the king was already sitting down at the head of a long table. The king was just as huge as Travy said he would be. In fact, he was bigger. Much bigger. Floid didn't know how this man was still alive. Isn't it unhealthy to be this large? Maybe he is using some sort of magic to keep his heart beating?
Floid removed the thought from his head. He didn't need to think about all that. He smiled and entered the room. The king immediately smiled in happiness once he saw Floid. Rosavellt saw the king grin at her too and she forced herself to smile back naturally.
The king was too large to stand up and greet them so he just shook Floid while sitting
"It's a pleasure to welcome you to Aquinas, Duke Winchester! I've been hoping for you to arrive for a long time! Please have a seat!"
The king pointed towards another seat at his side but Floid ignored that seat and he moved to a seat at the other end of the table so he was facing the king. The king was a little surprised that the duke would seat there. It is custom that only the highest-ranking person in the room was allowed to seat at the head of the table in meetings like this and the duke was supposed to seat at the side! But the king ignored it. He didn't care where the duke sat. As long as he brings food for them then it is okay for him to seat anywhere he wants! Rosavellt and Alucard stood behind Floid since they were already here. They didn't need to keep acting anymore. They already made it into the king's dining room and now there is no way he can escape.
Maryleen and Trevor were standing at the side and they were also shocked at the series of events. They thought that the king would get angry because of the seating arrangement but it was obvious that the king cared more about his food than his honor. The two of them stayed silent since it was not their place to talk in a meeting like this.
"Duke Winchester. I hope that your journey was eventful. I already ordered all of my outposts to allow your ships to come freely into the port, so I'm sure that the supplies will be here in a few moments, right?"
Floid smiled at the king as Rosavellt dropped a cup of tea in front of him. Floid nodded to the king as he picked up the cup.
"Yes, I appreciate you giving the ships free passage. Don't worry about a thing. I've brought the full force of my army to your doorstep. I'll make sure that this is an unforgettable day for your kingdom,"
The king smiled as well! He thought that Floid was talking about the supplies so he was very happy!