The night is here.
The night breeze gently swept across the land, not only passing through the capital known as Yaleph but also drifting into the royal palace, completely unhindered by the Light of the Celestial Pillar.
Even though the strategic magic barrier known as the Light of the Celestial Pillar constantly shrouds the sky above the royal palace, it does not hinder harmless things from coming and going, such as daylight during the day or the cold wind at night.
Unless the King wielding the Sword of Authority activates the isolation effect of the Light of the Celestial Pillar to sever the palace from the outside, usual comings and goings won’t be obstructed.
This is why the palace usually still sees people coming and going, but the casting of magic is forbidden.
Tonight, just like any other night, the royal palace had people freely moving, aside from the anti-magic effect of the Light of the Celestial Pillar being in effect.
Therefore, when shadows silently slipped into the palace, not to ntion the gatekeepers and patrolling knights, even the Light of the Celestial Pillar showed no reaction.
The shadows drifted through like phantoms of the night, exuding none of the aura that living beings should have, making no sound with their movents, even more hidden than shadow knights practicing Shadow Strike Sword Skill.
But their ultimate target was neither the forbidden area of the palace nor the relatively deserted quarters, but rather the place where the King resides—the Throne Room.
Seated on his own throne, Hemulinp was deep in thought.
"What should I do to nd the relationship between both parties..."
Clearly, Hemulinp was contemplating about Reiger.
Even though he had been embarrassed by Reiger multiple tis, which didn’t sit well with him, as he himself said, a king must not be controlled by his emotions.
For the sake of the royal family and the kingdom, he decided to win over Reiger.
Even though Reiger showed signs of being unyielding and appeared disrespectful to the royal family, earnest effort can change that; if he couldn’t be an enemy, he had to find ways to win him over.
The ans of winning him over that Hemulinp could think of were nothing more than a few options.
"Either allow him to select treasures from the vault ahead of ti as an exception."
"Or send a princess to act as his attendant, or perhaps even two."
Since Liz’s identity was pretty much exposed to Reiger, Hemulinp naturally had to make up for that by sending another princess to him.
He believed, given Reiger’s regard for Liz, if he sent an alluring princess to serve as his attendant, or even to whisper into his ear, their relationship with the royal family should ease.
"But, who should I choose this ti?"
Hemulinp faced a dilemma.
Last ti, when selecting a princess to attend to Reiger, he already had difficulty in making a choice and finally settled on Liz.
Now, selecting again, he really had trouble finding a princess fit to serve Reiger.
Last ti Liz was chosen because she was outstanding, worthy of being an attendant.
What about this ti?
Within the royal family, which princess could be more excellent than Liz?
No one...
"It seems I really have to send two this ti."
Hemulinp was sowhat resigned.
If quality is lacking, quantity has to make up for it.
Even though those girls individually might not asure up to Liz, sending two, forming a pair of sisters, should have considerable added value, correct?
"Yes, let’s go with that."
Having made his decision, Hemulinp started selecting the two most beautiful from among his daughters.
Suddenly—
"Father."
A familiar voice drifted in from outside.
"Solok?"
Hemulinp snapped back to reality, frowning.
"Why is he not resting properly so late at night, coming here instead?"
With such thoughts flashing through his mind, Hemulinp didn’t hesitate to speak up.
"Co in."
With his permission, the large door slowly opened.
Outside, Solok, who had been away from the sleeping chambers for a while, walked in and approached the throne.
"What’s the matter, is your health alright?"
Hemulinp cast a casual glance at Solok, seemingly asking offhandedly.
"Of course." Solok smiled, speaking in a rarely gentle tone: "I’ve been able to get out of bed for a while now; it’s just that Father didn’t allow it."
"I dare not let you out so casually, who knows what might happen again?" Hemulinp spoke earnestly, "After this period of lesson, you should have co to recognize your mistakes, right?"
"Indeed." Solok’s smile grew even more gentle, "I’ve co to see how naive I was before, and I won’t make the sa mistakes again; I assure you, Father."
"I’m relieved to hear that." Hemulinp relaxed his expression, "So, tell , why co looking for so late?"
"There are so matters." Solok nodded, "Concerning Reiger Brillhaut."
Hemulinp imdiately sat up straight.
Now, whenever it concerned Reiger, Hemulinp would take it seriously.
"What’s about him?"
Hemulinp quickly inquired.
Seeing Hemulinp like this, Solok’s gaze turned cold before promptly returning to normal.
"Today, before you arrived, Father, he actually gave sothing."
Solok retrieved an item from his bosom.
It was a short sword.
"What is this?"
Hemulinp couldn’t help but shiver at the sight of the short sword.
Because that short sword emanated an incredibly cold aura, its entire body an ominous black, making anyone who looked at it feel uneasy.
"I don’t know." Solok shook his head, "He tossed this to without any explanation, and I noticed that the short sword seed to have a significant problem, so I brought it to Father to identify what could be wrong with it."
"Yes." Hemulinp continued to study the short sword, nodding after a while, "This short sword indeed looks suspicious, perhaps it’s a harmful object."
"Caution is a good thing. In fact, you should have brought it to to have a look long ago."
"Rom."
Hemulinp called out, causing a figure to erge from the darkness.
"Give it to , Your Highness." Rom said solemnly, "This thing looks very dangerous. You and His Majesty hold esteed positions; it’s best not to handle it carelessly."
Hearing such reprimanding remarks, Solok was not displeased but rather laughed.
"You’re right, Lord Rom. Then please keep it for ."
Solok handed the dagger to Rom.
Instinctively, Rom took it.
However, at the instant Rom received the dagger, an astonishing situation unfolded.
"Buzz!"
Suddenly, the cold power on the dagger surged violently like a snake and darted towards Rom.
"What...?!"
Rom’s face changed dramatically, and just as he was about to react, it was already too late.
The cold power had already seeped into his body through the hand holding the dagger.
Thanks to this, Rom discovered that he was unable to move.
Moreover, the cold power from the dagger continued to flood into Rom’s body, causing the veins across him to bulge prominently while the whites of his eyes gradually turned black.
"Aaaaaaaah...!"
Rom let out a painful scream, clutching his head, as if resisting sothing, and fell to the ground.
"Rom!"
This sudden change caused Hemulinp to stand up abruptly.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
At the sa ti, faint swishing sounds ca from beyond the door as shadows darted into the King’s chamber.
Looking closely, one could see that the ground outside was already littered with knights.
"Haha... Hahahaha...!"
Watching Rom writhing painfully on the floor and the horrified look on Hemulinp’s face, Solok finally stopped holding back and burst into a joyous yet maniacal laugh.
"I knew it, the one who would co to touch this relic must be you, Shadow Sword Saint Rom."
"You nuisance, with you watching in the dark, it was really difficult for to act."
"But now, it’s fine. Just like , you can embrace the transformation brought by this marvelous power, hahahaha!"
Solok’s exhilarating laughter made Hemulinp both astonished and furious.
"What are you doing...?!"
Hemulinp loudly questioned.
"Doing what?" Solok revealed a sinister smile, tilting his head while looking at Hemulinp, and said: "Of course, I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do, my father."
"I’ve had enough. Clearly, we are the true masters of this country, deserving to control everything, yet you restrict from doing this and that. It’s utterly unreasonable."
"Your tenure as King isn’t well conducted either; caving here, yielding there, claiming it’s for the kingdom, for the royal family. In reality, it’s just an excuse to cover your weakness."
"Under your leadership, this country has also beco twisted, lacking the deanor of a great nation."
Solok spread his arms wide, loudly proclaiming.
"Since you’re incapable, let be the King!"
"I will conquer everything!"
"I’ll kill all who defy !"
"I’ll harness the country’s power to the fullest, transforming it into my ideal backyard!"
"Retire here, coward!"
Solok’s rebellious and frenzied words made Hemulinp completely lose his composure.
"You bastard...!"
Imdiately, Hemulinp drew the Sword of Authority, ready to unleash the power of the Light of the Celestial Pillar to suppress Solok.
"Squelch!"
Blood suddenly splattered from Hemulinp’s body.
"Uh..."
Hemulinp’s movents ca to a halt.
"What... the..."
He dumbly, slowly lowered his head to look at his chest.
There, a hand had penetrated through his chest, piercing his entire body.
The perpetrator stood right behind Hemulinp.
It was a person cloaked in black.
"Sorry about that."
A frivolous voice ca from his mouth.
"From this mont, you no longer have a role here."
"Just like the Prince said, retire here."
"Only then can the great play truly unfold."
Amidst the mocking words, the other party withdrew his hand.
"So...lok..."
And with a sound of unwillingness, Hemulinp fell to the ground, deceased.
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