Chapter 95
95. Spotted Crown (1)
“Phew. Too much to drink. ”
Again, again.
The sound of shoes echoing in the hallway.
In it, King Alicia smiled bitterly.
‘I just drank the same as usual. ’
Somehow my insides were a little awkward.
My heart was beating a little faster.
‘Maybe it’s just been too much lately. ’
As she walks down the hallway, she looks back on her most recent schedule.
It was a day of absolute and unequivocal fighting.
‘Spring rains flooded more heavily than I expected. Moreover, the trends across the Eastern Wasteland were not unusual. ’
Enemies of the realm lie everywhere.
There were still a lot of forces that wanted this side to collapse.
Among them, the Sultanate Across the Eastern Mountains and Across the Wasteland, ‘Ispahan’ was a traditional enemy relationship that had been fought twice in the past.
‘I don’t think I feel right. ’
Spies planted in Ispahan.
I remembered the intel they sent me.
It is said that the military has been actively increasing recently.
He said he was gathering troops, especially in the western region of those facing him.
It was different in size than simple military exercises.
“Invasion?” But that’s not it. There is a vast wilderness between us and you. If he was really trying to invade, he would have gathered his troops north of the border. And for what, exactly? ’
It was a question that troubled her for the past few months.
But the answer was still in the air.
It was even more so now that the spirits were rising.
‘Tsk. Let’s forget about it for a while. ’
You get a bitter smile.
Thinking about it now doesn’t solve anything.
It only adds up to useless fatigue.
So let’s be loyal to the present.
Let’s slow down the spirits and go back to the banquet hall.
With that in mind, the king entered the private lounge.
I leaned on the soft couch.
I drank cool water and took a breath.
However, the spirit did not subside.
I was still a little grouchy inside.
The heartbeat did not sink.
His breathing was also slightly shallower and faster than usual.
‘That’s weird.’
King Alicia frowns.
Your body knows you best.
Howling, she is the rightful prosecutor of the Swordmaster.
A little bit of liquor was enough to sink with managing the mana in the body.
But now it didn’t work out.
No, it was getting messy in front of me.
‘Something’s wrong. ’
Biceps, biceps.
Heart beating faster and faster.
I’m starting to sweat.
The king felt an ominous premonition coming down from the couch.
I took off my shoes and sat on the floor.
He straightened his lower back with both legs.
I started breathing.
I woke up my heart.
The mighty Manaheart moves on her call.
‘First of all, check every corner of your body. ’
She pushes Mana, full of Manahart, into all the blood vessels. Soon, the same Mana as the old woman began to run like a hurricane along her whole bloodstream.
At that moment, she had to grip her chest without me even knowing it.
Kuang!
“ ……! ”
The impact of a broken back.
Heartbreaking pain.
“Huge!”
King Alicia tasted the whitening sensation before her eyes.
I didn’t lose consciousness.
I put my hands on the ground in a hurry.
I raised myself up, biting my molars tightly.
“Poison? ’
I hope not.
However, the pain that started in the heart quickly spread throughout the body.
He was hitting every inch of his intestine with Mana’s flow in his veins.
It was clear what that meant.
“Poison.” How the hell? ’
Alicia sharpened her teeth.
Every food and beverage you eat is tested by servants.
Servants taste each food and drink.
And wait four days.
No acolyte should die or appear abnormal until four days have passed.
After all that time, food that has been kept cold for four days will be on the table.
‘It was the same today. ’
The food and drinks he ate at the banquet.
They all went through the same screening procedures as usual.
Of course, no acolyte had fallen or died in four days.
‘Then why? ’
Are you addicted?
I didn’t know.
But there was a guess.
It was a guess that there must have been a prank during the food inspection process.
‘For now… we need to call someone……. ’
I need help.
The poison is still spreading in real time.
The more you tried to suppress it with Mana, the more it expanded its scope like wildfire.
King Alicia squeezes his strength and shouts.
“Is there anyone out there?” ”
But the answer did not come back.
That was also very suspicious.
‘Damn it.’
Before entering the break room, I bit the acolytes to relax.
But I told you to wait outside the door.
But why is no one answering?
“Khh, khh…! ”
She stumbles over the wall and walks toward the door.
Every step of the way made my mind numb.
I came to my senses when I bit my lips.
Even after just a few steps, my mind blinks and turns on.
‘It’s too far. ’
It’s usually just a short jump away.
But now I only feel a little embarrassed.
The break room was too wide.
I’m moving with all my might, but the distance I have left is much farther than I have walked.
I was lost without even knowing it.
How did we get into this situation?
It was the moment she was about to fall into such despair.
Sweet.
Like a miracle, the door opens.
The most familiar person enters the break room.
“Ser Cherny? ”
The man you trust the most.
The Guard Commander who always stood by me.
A sorcerer who is also his swordsman on the other hand.
Lord Cherny’s expression brightens.
She struggles not to lose her dignity.
“Ser Cherny… you’re here… just in time. I’m glad you’re around when things are tough like this. Now, my hand. ”
You reach out to the commander of your guard.
He smiled, hoping to boost himself.
Of course Lord Cherny smiled at his master.
“Yes, I’m glad you’re with me in such a difficult time. ”
But he did not join hands with the king.
Instead, you grip the handle of your sword.
“Long live the Lord, who once was. ”
Lord Cherny’s eyes sparkle.
♣
“It seems the king’s reign has been compromised. ”
“…… Yes? ”
A word from Lloyd whispering nonstop.
Xaviel tilts his head.
“I don’t know what you mean. ”
At first, I thought Lloyd was making a bad joke.
But I realized the moment I met my eyes.
Lloyd was telling the truth.
“I’m serious. Quiet. Keep your voice down.”
“ ……. ”
“I’ll tell you why, and I’ll tell you the details later. Just come with me.”
“I understand.”
Xaviel nods.
Saying the king seems to be in danger.
If that’s true, now is not the time to make a comeback.
Reason, details later.
Let’s move now.
Don’t come too close.
Just a few steps away, naturally.
Lloyd instructs Xaviel with his eyes.
Xaviel, who was quick to notice, fell naturally from him.
And I asked with my eyes.
‘Where are we going? ’
‘Over there.’
Lloyd’s eyes point to one side of the banquet hall.
The King’s Rest Room was set up.
‘Obviously, I don’t see the king. If you left during the banquet, that’s the only place you’d be right now. ’
Kings are people.
Sometimes at banquets, sometimes drunk and sometimes tired.
At that moment, the resting area for the king was the resting room, designed to hide from others while exhaling or breathing.
‘Moreover, it is the place where the Iron Knights tried to assassinate the king. ’
Suddenly, I remembered the contents of the novel.
Two and a half years from now.
The first snowfall.
King Alicia is in danger of poisoning during the holiday feast.
Unleashes the maximum amount of managing power of a soddmasterdown Mana. Cut off the left arm by itself. Hard to save lives.
The fate of this kingdom is changing.
It was an incident that was near the Sea of the King.
‘But that’s today. Why? ”
I didn’t understand.
Why the case is more than two years ahead of schedule.
I made a reasonable guess, but I didn’t know what to expect.
No, the only thing I can think of.
‘Something’s changed. ’
Because the direction and story of the novel that was supposed to flow changed.
If so, Lloyd thought it might be him.
‘Let’s check first. ’
So it doesn’t look urgent.
mingled with the flow of people at the banquet hall.
Sometimes I grabbed the cup and took it elegantly.
I smiled as I passed by the acolyte.
So I left the banquet hall.
You have entered a long corridor.
Since then, I’ve been side-by-side with Xaviel.
I also walked a little faster.
The calculations in my head were even more pinging.
In fact, I was a little nervous.
‘Lord Cherny, if I may say so. ’
I remembered what I overheard earlier.
Says the banquet will continue until the moon falls.
It sounded ordinary, but it was a well-known line from the Knights of the Blood of Novels.
The password the assassins shared during the recent events in the Sea of Kings.
In other words, it was an ambassador who changed the history of the kingdom.
So Lloyd, of course, remembered the ambassador.
However, if the one who spit out that line is Lord Cherny, it was a problem.
‘If Sir Cherny really is an assassin, can we stop him? ’
Ser Bergado Cherni.
Royal Guard Commander.
A sovereign or better sovereign master.
The shock was that he could be an assassin.
No, I was worried we might be able to counteract the shock.
In fact, that’s why I had to move to save the king, but I was finished with my deep concern.
‘Rather, you might get played. ’
I hesitated.
So I thought for a few minutes.
Saving the king and neglecting the incident.
The gain and loss were thoroughly weighed between the two options.
And I came to a conclusion.
‘Even if you take a bit of a risk, it is much more beneficial to save the king. ’
In fact, there was no need to think deeply.
King Alicia now has complete confidence in himself. Moreover, there are even too many favors.
But what if she was in the same crisis today as in the novel?
What if you lose an arm at the end?
What if I end up a tyrant?
‘I’m the only one losing. ’
A king who truly trusts and cares about himself.
A king who will give you a bonnet and title whenever you want.
A king who adores his pillars so much.
It was literally a situation in which the most powerful man in the country, the king, became a patron.
But what if the backer gets poisoned and loses his arm?
What if he was brought down as a murderous tyrant?
‘I don’t want to imagine that. ’
Losing the best patrons can also be a target of self-interest.
He may be blamed, his family rich, his wealth and title confiscated, and even his neck fluttering with fire.
‘That’s why I can’t help it. ’
Even if Ser Cherny is the opponent.
Believe in Xaviel and hurry up before it’s too late.
Tabernacle!
Lloyd and Xaviel’s steps had recently changed closer to running.
It was strange.
I didn’t see anyone all the way through the long corridor.
The common servant, maid, and snore did not shine.
It was the same while circling the corner three times and going up and down the stairs.
“Something’s definitely fishy. ”
Xaviel’s voice calms down.
Lloyd suppressed his anxiety and asked.
“But are you going to be okay? ”
“Yes?”
“Sword, no horse. ”
“You’ll be fine. ”
Ka ‘ang!
As he answers, Xaviel swings his right hand.
His blade breaks the candlestick that was hanging on the hall wall.
The broken candlestick flashes from the air, reflecting the light.
Xaviel’s hand grabs the bottom of it.
Percussion!
“This will suffice. ”
Solved the problem of being unarmed while attending the banquet.
The next moment, the two of them circled the last corner in front of the break room.
And I saw a terrible sight.
The floor in front of the break room door was a sea of blood.
Six servants fell in the pool of blood.
Everyone was suffocated.
It was clear what that meant.
Kuang!
No one had to go first, the two of them kicked down the break room door at the same time.
You rush through the broken door fragments.
There were two inside.
Ser Cherny, who wields the sword.
A king who is struggling to stop the sword.
Xaviel, who saw it, responded first.
Skak!
Xaviel’s candlestick lowers the space with a cool blade. I swept through. The battle was fierce and invisible.
Ser Cherny’s sword moves against him.
Kakaka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-kan!
A candlestick and a sword clash.
A fierce flame is embroidered into the air.
There are tendons on Xaviel’s wrists.
Lord Cherny’s eyebrows distorted.
The eyes of two ferocious beasts intertwine.
In the meantime, Lloyd quickly passes through the battlefield.
I ran straight for the king.
“… Lloyd, Frontera? ”
“I’m sorry. You can shut up now. ”
“What… ugh? ”
Lloyd’s big hand closed the king’s mouth.
The king lies flat on the ground with no room to resist.
It was unimaginable and impossible to imagine.
But it was the king who was consumed by the poison.
Knowing that, Lloyd abandoned all his little manners and manners.
Instead, I focused only on the first aid I needed.
“I’ll take the poison off first. Relax. Relax. ”
Kieing!
Lloyd’s palm is in the king’s favor.
Three circles continued to rotate.
I started absorbing the king’s Mana.
“ ……! ”
King Alicia’s eyes widen in horror.