Chapter 95. Stained Crown (1)
“Whoa. Did you drink too much?”
again and again.
The sound of heels echoing throughout the hallway.
In the midst of that, King Alicia smiled bitterly.
‘I just drank the same as usual.’
For some reason, my stomach felt a little upset.
My heart also beat a little faster.
‘Maybe it’s because I’ve been overdoing it lately.’
Walking down the aisle, she reviewed her recent schedule.
It was a day of sure and obvious heavy duty.
‘The flood damage during the spring rainy season was greater than expected. Besides, the movement on the other side of the eastern wasteland was unusual.’
The kingdom’s enemies were everywhere.
Even now, there were many forces who wanted this side to collapse.
Among them, the Sultanate of ‘Isfahan’ across the wasteland beyond the eastern mountains was a traditional enemy relationship as it had fought two major wars in the past.
‘Somehow it feels strange.’
Spies planted in Isfahan.
The intelligence they had passed on came to mind.
He said that he was actively increasing his military spending in recent years.
In particular, it was said that they were concentrating troops in their western provinces facing this side.
The scale itself was different from simple military training.
‘Invasion? But that’s not it. There is a vast wilderness between us and them. If they were really going to invade, they would have concentrated their forces in the north, where the border is adjacent. Then for what?’
It was a question that had troubled her for the past few months.
But the answer was still elusive.
It was even more so now that the alcohol was rising.
‘Tsk. Let’s forget for a while.’
A bitter smile deepens.
It’s not something that can be solved by worrying about it now.
It only adds to unnecessary fatigue.
So let’s stick to the present for now.
Let’s cool off the alcohol and go back to the banquet hall.
Thinking so, the king entered the private resting room.
I leaned back on the soft sofa.
I drank cool water and caught my breath.
But somehow, the alcohol didn’t subside.
I was still a little upset.
My heart pounding didn’t even subside.
His breathing was also a little shallower and faster than usual.
‘It’s strange.’
King Alicia frowned.
You know your body best.
Even more so, she was a swordsman who had reached the level of a sword master.
A little bit of alcohol was enough to subside by controlling the mana in the body.
But now that didn’t go well.
No, on the contrary, his eyes were dizzy.
‘Something’s wrong.’
throbbing.
heart beating faster and faster.
Somehow, the sweat started to seep out.
Sensing an ominous feeling, the king got down from the sofa.
He took off his shoes and sat down on the floor.
I crossed my legs and kept my back straight.
I started to take a deep breath.
awakened the heart
The mighty Mana Heart moved at her call.
‘First of all, check every corner of the body.’
She poured the mana from her mana heart into all her veins. Soon, mana, like a raging wave, began to run like a gale along the veins of her whole body.
At that moment, she had to grab her chest without realizing it.
cooong!
“…!”
A shock that would break your back.
Heartbreaking pain.
“Big!”
King Alicia tasted the sensation of her eyes turning white.
I barely lost my mind.
I hurriedly touched the floor with both hands.
He bit his molars and raised himself up.
‘poison? no way.’
I hoped not.
However, the pain that started in the heart quickly spread throughout the body.
Riding the flow of mana in the veins, it was hitting every corner of the internal organs.
What that meant was clear.
‘It’s poison. How?’
Alicia gnashed her teeth.
All food and drink he consumes is inspected by attendants.
Each food and drink is tasted by attendants.
and wait four days
No attendant should die or show abnormal symptoms until at least four days have passed.
After going through all these processes, the food that has been stored at a low temperature for four days will be on your table.
‘It was the same today.’
The food and drink you ate at the banquet.
All of them went through the usual inspection procedures.
Of course, none of the attendants collapsed or died during the four days.
‘But why?’
is he addicted?
I couldn’t tell.
There were only guesses.
It was speculated that there must have been a trick in the process of inspecting the food.
‘for now…I need to call someone….’
Need help.
Even now, the poison was spreading in real time.
The more I tried to suppress it using mana, the more it spread like wildfire.
King Alicia shouted with all her might.
“outside…Who is missing!”
But no answer came back.
It was also very suspicious.
‘shit.’
Before entering the break room, I had to beat the attendants to rest comfortably.
Still, I told you to wait outside the door.
But why is no one answering?
“Ahhhhhhh…!”
She staggered toward the door, clutching the wall.
With every step I took, my mind wandered.
I had to bite my lip hard to come back to my senses.
Even as I took just a few steps, my mind flickered on and off.
‘too far.’
Usually, it is a distance that can be moved lightly with one leap.
But now it just felt far away.
The break room was too large.
I was moving with all my might, but the remaining distance was much longer than the distance I had walked.
A laugh came out without my knowledge.
How did you get into this situation?
It was the moment she was about to fall into such despair.
Click.
The door opened like a miracle.
The most familiar person came into the break room.
“Sir Cherny?”
The man you trust the most.
The guards commander who always stood by his side.
On the other hand, a sword master who is also his own swordsmanship teacher.
Alicia’s expression brightened at the sight of Sir Cherniy.
she said, trying not to lose her dignity.
“Lord Cherny just fine…You’re here. I’m glad you’re by my side in such a difficult moment like this. Now take my hand.”
He stretched out his hand toward the captain of his guard.
He smiled, hoping that he would cheer himself up.
Of course, Lord Czerny also smiled at his master.
“Yes, it is fortunate that I am by your side in such a difficult moment as this, Your Highness.”
But he did not hold the king’s outstretched hand.
Instead, he grabbed the handle of his sword.
“My former lord, sleep soundly.”
There was life in Lord Cherniy’s eyes.
♣
“It looks like His Highness is in danger.”
“…yes?”
Lloyd whispered a word out of nowhere.
Xaviel tilted her head.
“What do you mean by that?”
At first, I wondered if Lloyd was making a nasty joke.
But the moment our eyes met, I realized.
That Lloyd’s words were serious.
“Really. quietly. Lower your voice.”
“….”
“The reason and details will be told later. Follow me at once.”
“All right.”
Xaviel nodded.
Saying that the king seems to be in danger.
If that’s true, now wouldn’t be the time to be lazy.
The reason and the inside story will be explained later.
Let’s move for now.
Don’t come too close.
A few steps away, naturally.
Lloyd instructed Xaviel with his eyes.
Quick-witted Xaviel naturally fell away from him.
And he asked with his eyes.
‘Where are you going?’
‘there.’
Lloyd’s eyes pointed to one side of the banquet hall.
It was the side where the king’s lounge was prepared.
‘It’s obvious. I can’t see the king If you’re away during the banquet, that’s the only place you’ll be now.’
Kings are people too.
At banquets, there are times when you are drunk and there are times when you are exhausted.
At such moments, the resting room was a resting place only for the king to shake off his alcohol or not to show his disheveled appearance to others while taking a breather.
‘Besides, it’s also the place where the assassination of the king was attempted in Iron Blooded Knight.’
Suddenly, the contents of the novel came to mind.
Two and a half years from now.
the first snow day.
During the year-end banquet, King Alicia stops by the common room and is in danger of being poisoned.
Demonstrates the mana management ability worthy of a sword master to the limit. He cut off his left arm himself. barely survive
A major event that completely changes the fate of this kingdom.
It was an attempted assassination of the king.
‘But that’s today. why?’
I didn’t immediately understand.
Why was the case brought forward by more than two years?
I made some guesses, but I couldn’t really guess.
No, that’s the only thing I can guess.
‘Something has changed.’
This is probably because the direction and story of the novel, which should have flowed in the first place, has changed.
If so, Lloyd thought it might be him.
‘Let’s check first.’
don’t look rushed.
It blends naturally with the flow of people in the banquet hall.
Occasionally, he would pick up a glass and drink gracefully.
He smiled as he passed the attendant.
So I left the banquet hall.
I entered a long hallway.
From then on, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Xaviel.
I also walked a little faster.
The calculations in my head went back and forth even more.
In fact, I was a little anxious.
‘It must be Sir Cherny.’
I remembered something I heard by accident earlier.
The saying that the banquet will continue until the moon goes down.
Those words that sounded ordinary were quite famous lines in the novel Iron Blooded Knight.
A code shared by assassins during the attempted assassination of the king.
In other words, it could be said that he was an ambassador who changed the history of the kingdom.
So, of course, Lloyd also remembered that line.
However, the problem was that the person who spat that line earlier was, of course, Lord Cherny.
‘If Lord Czerny is really an assassin, can we stop it?’
Sir Bergado Cerny.
Commander of the Royal Guard.
A sword master more than a king.
It was shocking that he might be an assassin.
No, before the shock, I was worried about whether I would be able to stand up to it.
In fact, that’s why he had to move to save the king, but he was the one who had gone through deep consideration.
‘Rather, it could be reversed.’
Hesitated.
So I thought for a few minutes.
Saving the king and leaving the incident unattended.
The gains and losses between the two options were thoroughly weighed.
and concluded
‘Even if I take a bit of a risk, it’s much better to save the king.’
In fact, I didn’t even have to think deeply.
The current King, Alicia, has great confidence in herself. In addition, it is showing an excessive degree of favor.
But what if she is in the same crisis as in the novel today?
What if you lose one arm at the end?
What if you finally become a tyrant?
‘I’m the only one who loses a lot.’
A king who trusts and cherishes himself extremely.
A king who would give a fief and a title whenever he wanted.
A king who treats himself like that with all his heart.
Literally, it was a situation in which the king, the most powerful person in the country, became a sponsor.
But what if that benefactor gets poisoned and loses an arm?
What if he degenerates into a murderous tyrant?
‘I don’t even want to imagine that.’
Not only will you lose your best sponsor, but you may end up becoming a target for taking out your anger.
A misfortune may occur, in which the family is shattered, property and titles are confiscated, and even the throat is blown away due to a guilty crime.
‘That’s why I can’t help it.’
Even if Lord Cherny is the opponent, unconditionally.
Believe in Xaviel who is with you, and hurry up before it’s too late.
Tak tok tok!
Suddenly, Lloyd and Xaviel’s steps had changed to those of running.
But it was a strange thing.
I didn’t see anyone the whole time I ran down the long hallway.
The usual attendants, maids, and nose plucking were not visible.
It was the same while going around the corner three times and going up and down the stairs.
“There is definitely something fishy.”
Xaviel’s voice sank coldly.
Lloyd asked, suppressing his anxiety.
“But will you be okay?”
“yes?”
“Without the sword.”
“It will be fine.”
Caang!
Simultaneously with the answer, Xaviel swung his right hand.
The blade of his hand broke the candlestick hanging on the wall in the hallway.
The bent candlestick whirled in the air, reflecting the light.
Xaviel’s hand grabbed the lower part.
Percussion!
“This is quite enough.”
The problem of being unarmed while attending a banquet has been resolved.
The next moment, the two turned the last corner before the break room.
And I witnessed a gruesome sight.
The floor in front of the break room door was a sea of blood.
Six attendants lay in the pool of blood.
Everyone was out of breath.
What that meant was clear.
Quaang!
No matter who said it first, the two kicked the break room door at the same time.
He jumped through the cracks of the broken door.
There were two people inside.
Lord Czerny squeezing his sword.
The king struggling to block his sword.
Seeing that, Xaviel reacted first.
Snap!
The candlestick in Xaviel’s hand sliced through the space with cool sword energy. swept The unseen consecutive strikes poured down ferociously.
Lord Cherniy’s sword moved in opposition.
Kakakakakaka-Kang!
The candlestick and the sword collided in succession.
A bloody flame lit up the air.
Tendons sprouted from Xaviel’s wrists.
Lord Cherny’s brow twisted.
The eyes of the two ferocious beasts intertwined.
In the meantime, Lloyd quickly passed the battlefield.
He ran straight to the king.
“…Lloyd Frontera?”
“sorry. You should keep your mouth shut for now.”
“what…town?”
Lloyd’s large hand covered the king’s mouth.
The king gently laid it on the floor without a chance to resist.
Normally, it would be unimaginable and impossible.
However, he was a king whose whole body was engulfed by extreme poison.
Knowing that, Lloyd threw away all the trivial etiquette and etiquette.
Instead, I focused only on the first aid needed now.
“I’ll get rid of the poison. Relax. Relax.”
Kiyiying!
Lloyd’s palm touched the king’s stomach.
Three circles rotated at the limit speed.
He began to absorb the king’s mana.
“…!”
King Alicia’s eyes widened in astonishment.
