CG Chapter 79: Buon Appetito
The guests were directed to a massive dining room that could accommodate all of them at its tables.
In the middle of each table lay different kinds of fruits, but these were only an addition to the main course: a plate of meats cooked in various ways, known as the Royal Ember Feast.
Smelling the aroma of the food, the guests felt joyous.
The Royal Ember Feast was a famous delicacy that the royal families presented to their guests at the end of each ceremony.
After they sat down, some of the guests, who appeared to be attending for the first time, ignored everything else and went straight for the Royal Feast.
Others, who seemed to be of a higher class and more familiar with the ceremony, were more casual about it.
While the guests were enjoying the food, Tom sat with Alfred at a separate table.
Looking at the dish, he was simply curious and nothing else. It wasn’t like the food was going to amaze him, but as he brought some of it near his mouth to taste, he smelled a subtle odor.
When he tasted the meat, his brow furrowed for a second but quickly returned to normal.
He looked at Alfred, who was about to take a bite of his own, and pressed on his legs.
Understanding his master, Alfred pretended to eat the meat while discreetly throwing the pieces into his right pocket.
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As the guests were eating, servants were roaming around.
At first, they seemed to be making sure that the guests were comfortable, but if you noticed their glances and how they left for another table after everyone ate, you would sense that something was suspicious.
A while passed, and sure enough, once the servants ensured that everyone had taken at least a single bite, gas started to spread in the room.
This gas alone wouldn’t do anything, but when mixed with the substance that the royal families had added to the meat, it would cause the guests to fall asleep instantly.
Some might wonder why the royal families didn’t simply use a gas that would have the same effect, but when you consider that many of the guests were knights and some even practiced poison-related skills, then all of their actions would make sense to you.
With this method, the seven families would get the results they wanted without causing much commotion.
Who would doubt that the same meal that thousands had eaten before them would be poisoned?
When Tom tasted the meat, he discovered something else, but he wasn’t going to bother with it now. On an unrelated note, he remembered the corpses of the knights under the statues.
Once the gas entered the room, the sound of heads falling one after the other started to echo.
Two of those heads that fell were none other than Tom and Alfred.
When he saw Tom’s head fall, Alfred didn’t think twice and followed suit.
With his eyes closed, Tom began to carefully think about what to do next. He didn’t want to escape before to not waste his position as an honorary bishop, but it seemed he was now forced to cause a big commotion.
Although he didn’t know how the royal families were going to discover his identity as the intruder once he slept, he didn’t want to test it; the methods given by the seven gods were out of his league.
Complete and utter silence filled the dining hall, and the servants seemed ready to carry the guests to a different place.
Just when their guard was at its lowest, Tom made his move.
He and Alfred ran toward the palace exit. The servants didn’t stand a single chance against the two knights.
Tom ran in front, and Alfred ran after him, protecting his back from any sudden attack.
Things seemed to be going well, but when they reached a crosspath, guards appeared from both sides. On the left, guards carrying shields closed off the path while advancing toward them. On the right, another group of guards with crossbows aimed at them.
But that wasn’t all. From the front, the princes with their personal guards approached.
Seeing Tom’s face, Alexander looked shocked before his expression changed to disappointment.
He shouted, “After everything I have done for you, you do this to me? I treated you like my friend. I wanted to help you reach the position of pope.”
The sadness in his voice seemed genuine.
“Just give up. There is no way that you can run away from here. Who knows, the gods might have mercy on you and let you go.”
Hearing his words, another prince started to laugh. “Alexander, why are you trying to lie to him? There is no point anymore. There is no way we will let him live. We will extract all the information we need before feeding him to the dogs.”
In an ironic twist of events, the prince currently speaking was the crown prince of Daybreak, Orion Morningstar.
In this desolate hour, where the princes expected him to give up and beg for forgiveness, all they heard was:
“Alfred, ignite the engine.”