Chapter 26:Black Smoke
When the queen's lady-in-waiting entered her chamber to inform her that the Minister of Foreign Affairs sought a private audience with her, Queen Niobe wasn't surprised. He must have heard of the news regarding the prolonged stay of the King of garis and had co to ask for her next orders.
Lord Darus bowed to the Queen, who was sitting regally in her chair.
"Your Majesty, according to our sources, the Third Princess's servant, Martha, has left the palace," the minister inford in a humble tone.
His words brightened up the Queen's eyes, and this piece of news improved her already good mood.
"You an, that witch is alone now?" the Queen asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Why, suddenly, good things are coming. It seems like that witch's fate is against her this ti." The Queen smiled in schadenfreude.
"I congratulate Your Majesty in advance. Even the gods are helping you succeed. The only thing that hinders your plans now is the presence of Sir Berolt. His n are strictly guarding that tower," Lord Darus added.
"Create sothing to keep him busy," the Queen ordered.
"As per your order, Your Majesty, but in the absence of Martha, I doubt the King would let Sir Berolt be away," the minister replied.
The queen agreed to it, "Then you need to invade the tower's security by all ans, and this ti I won't accept any excuse."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Even after the minister left, Queen Niobe had busied herself in making sure that her sches against that witch would proceed without a problem.
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At noon, the entire royal palace was busy as usual. With most of the delegates from other kingdoms gone, those working inside the palace had resud their normal chores. The guards and maids who happened to be nearby the Third Princess's tower heard so disturbing noises. This caught their attention, and soon, they saw thick black smoke coming out of one of the windows in the tower.
One of the guards imdiately left to inform Sir Berolt and the King. As minutes dragged on, the servants in the palace had gathered to see the black smoke, but no one dared to co close and inquire about the situation as fear enveloped them.
Soon, even the people outside of the palace saw it too. The tower was tall, and it was easy to see the thick black smoke under the clear, bright sky. The entire capital was gripped in horror as tales of the incident spread widely.
"The witch is up to sothing this ti."
"She must be practicing her black magic."
"Stay inside at ho and don't co out."
"Don't know who will die tonight."
The news of sothing unholy happening had spread everywhere, and soon, the streets went empty, and the capital beca a deserted land.
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Drayce and Arlan were riding their horses along the riverbank outside the walls of the royal palace. Drayce was scouting the area, wanting to take a look at the places around the Third Princess's tower so he could plan his entry without anyone noticing.
Just as they reached the backside of the palace, Drayce heard a disturbance and then saw thick black smoke behind the tall palace walls. Arlan followed his sight and was startled.
"What's going on there?" Arlan exclaid as he continued looking at the black smoke moving towards the sky. It didn't stop coming out from the window of the tower. "Did the tower catch fire? No… it seems sothing is burning?"
Drayce didn't seem to hear him and was focused on sothing as he eyed a particular window of the tower. A light smile was painted on his lips.
"What are you smiling about?" Arlan asked.
"I was wondering if what people say about the witch is true. They say when she does black magic, sothing like this tends to happen."
Drayce gave him a questioning look. "Sothing like this?"
"This black smoke and…."
"Who knows? Might be a witch who is hungry and trying to cook on her own," Drayce comnted as he signaled his friend by raising his hand to keep quiet.
It seed like Drayce heard sothing again, and this ti couldn't stop laughing a little.
"What?" Arlan asked, feeling all puzzled. "Did you hear sothing?"
Drayce nodded. "Quite unexpected."
"Tell ."
"Use your own ears."
"I am not gifted like you with a high sense of hearing."
"Then that's your fault," Drayce countered, not willing to tell him anything.
Arlan made a face at him, which he ignored. They continued to ride along the riverbank around the palace, and when they returned to the palace, as expected, everyone was whispering among themselves. Of course, Drayce could hear what they were talking about.
"Don't know what this witch is planning this ti."
"Should we leave the palace?"
"She must be practicing so black magic."
"Look at that smoke. It's not stopping even after a long ti. It looks like she is planning sothing dangerous."
Drayce could only smirk at them. "Idiots!"
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Not only the common people but also the royals within the palace were worried about what the witch was doing. News had traveled everywhere like a wildfire.
King Arn was aware his people were in a panic, but he knew the truth wasn't as scary as everyone thought. He called Sir Berolt, who had just returned after checking on Seren.
"Is she fine?" King Arn asked.
"Apologies, Your Majesty. We can't enter inside the tower because of Martha's magic," Sir Berolt inford him after bowing.
This worried the king. "Try to find a way to know about her condition. If you can't, I will have to enter the tower personally."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Sir Berold bowed again.
Sensing the worry of the king, Lord Eudes suggested, "Your Majesty, this happens every ti Martha leaves the palace. There must be nothing to worry about."
This worried the King even more. "Keep the security tight, and don't let any of the Queen's people close to the tower."
"We have already taken full asures, Your Majesty," Sir Berolt inford.
King Arn looked at Lord Eudes. "Minister Darus Count?"
Lord Eudes understood what King Arn ant and replied to his unspoken question, "He went to see Her Majesty, Queen Niobe. The visits are frequent these days…."
"They must be up to sothing again," Sir Berolt said coldly, his eyes showing how he was annoyed with this politics and how he wished to use his sword and finish everything at once.
"That's why you need to be more alert this ti," Lord Eudes said as he looked at Sir Berolt.
"This ti, I won't go easy on them," Sir Berolt hinted at his intentions. As a knight, it irked him every ti he had to let them go because the sches concerned the Queen and to keep the peace between the nobles; the King could never openly punish the Queen for her small dirty tricks.
After all, because of her identity, even if not the Queen, there were other people who would create troubles for her. All King Arn could do was to protect his daughter.
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