Chapter 151
“Back to the human kingdom.”
A dimly lit cell welcomed them after they had been teleported into an unfamiliar corridor that led to the set of cells where they had been locked up when the group of heroes first arrived in this world.
The smell of stale, dust, dried blood and urine hit Kalysto’s nose. And her headache increased when she sneezed. They had hit her head when they thought she was going to escape, when all she did was yell at Caranthir to leave, pretending she wasn’t alone in the rescue mission.
“Did they find who was helping her?” Milo asked, dressed in his best clothes as if he had dressed up to go on a date with his soul mate instead of simply kidnapping a group of people from another world.
“No, sir," replied one of the wizards. “But I found traces of space magic. And although it’s hard for me to find out how many people used the teleportation spell, I can say that it was used near the cabin and that at least two people used it recently.”
“It’s okay. She’ll tell us everything herself anyway," Milo assured. “As soon as you’re done with that one, take care of her. I hope to be able to interrogate her before the end of the day," he ordered as he stood between the cell Kalysto was in and Emanuel’s, where a group of mages were holding the hero’s head while whispering a spell that she didn’t hear, but from the way Emanuel had stopped fighting the warriors who were forcibly holding them, Kalysto began to doubt that his skill of ‘Mental Defense’ could counteract it.
“Yes, sir.”
“Sir, we are under attack! A whole army of monsters has invaded the royal family grounds and surrounded the palace! And a gigantic portal has appeared over the Marquis of Tehro’s mansion!” shouted a soldier as he ran down the corridor surrounded by cells. As soon as he stopped in front of the first wizard of the court, he placed his hands on his knees while trying to catch his breath after the marathon run he had to make throughout the castle while looking for the wizard. Just at that moment, the trumpets sounded, announcing the arrival of enemies, silencing the response of the surprised wizard.
“What?”
“We are under attack!” said the soldier, a bit confused by the slow reaction of the wizard.
“Guards! I want the heroes bent and ready to follow my orders and protect the palace! The rest of you, report to the captain of the knights! I’m going to fetch the queen and the duke of Lanish! Move!” A magic circle was drawn at the magician’s feet and Milo disappeared after giving the order.
The poor soldier who had just arrived let out a sigh, thinking of the long flight of stairs he had to run again to reach the place he had been assigned.
“I should have quit as soon as the rumors started that the king got sick with the plague," he muttered and turned around to carry out the order he had been given.
Two days earlier. Capital of the kingdom of Balsahty. Palace of the king. Audience hall.
Queen Tathiana was seated on the king’s throne.
The tip of her finger repeatedly tapped the arm of the royal chair as the tired voice of the Marquis of Allfel echoed throughout the room as the man presented a report on the current situation. Next to him, the trembling figure of the king’s secretary was already prostrate before the throne, as was the marquis.
“Are you telling me that despite all the efforts we have made, the royal seal still does not appear?”
“It seems so, Your Majesty," answered the marquis with his head bowed. Making the queen’s anger grow.
Taking possession of the crown had been easy. In fact, some of the aristocrats did not even know about the change inside the great palace.
And although Tathiana was dying to eliminate the man she had been forced to marry when she was but an innocent child and her father’s duchy was not as powerful as it is today, she chose a much more cunning way to resolve the situation.
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First, she spread the word that the king was ill and closed the palace so that no one not under her control could access it while she, her father, Milo and his people searched for the royal seal and eliminated all the king’s spies and servants.
All those whose loyalty could not be verified were put under mind control spells so that they could not betray her. Then she used the power of the temple, claiming that servants had been found infected with the plague for them to check the rest. And some priests, frightened by the idea of being infected, were the ones who spread the news that the king’s personal servants had been eliminated after discovering that they were infected.
This caused all the aristocracy to stay away from the king’s palace.
And the rest of the servants were isolated by the rest of the society, even after the temple assured that they were not infected.
Meanwhile, all attempts to discover where the royal seal was were in vain, even after torturing Medhas.
And while all the people of the capital feared the possibility of being infected by the black plague, news spread of the death of the saintess and of several cities that had been destroyed by the monsters or by the plague.
The next day, the queen issued a statement thanking the Duke of Lanish and his army for their help in saving the princess from a horde of monsters and bringing her safely to her parents. And to lessen the fear of the rumors that the Duke of Lanish would take advantage of the king’s illness to conquer the capital, half of his army was sent back, while the rest stayed as special guests of the queen who kept the appearances of a grateful mother for the rescue of her only daughter.
Two days later, the mansion of the Marquis of Tehro was set on fire, after the queen tortured him and his daughter for daring to attempt to assassinate the princess.
The funeral without bodies was held the next day, where the king was notable by his absence and Queen Tathiana and Princess Galythe attended to keep up appearances.
Which rekindled gossip about the true nature of the king’s illness.
But now, a day later, the queen was on her new throne, as she tried to find the royal seal, which was necessary to seal the independence agreement of the Duchy of Lanish.
However, despite her efforts, there was no trace of the seal.
“Are you telling me that the king’s secretary, who is supposed to guard the seal and who knows the king’s every move, has no idea where Medhas might have hidden it?” questioned the queen to the terrified man who had been kept in prison for the last few days.
“I... I’m very sorry, Your Majesty, but I..." he tried to apologize again. But the queen had already lost her patience, and with a wave of her hand, one of the nearby guards reached over and cut off the secretary’s head, his blood staining the floor with magenta.
“Now, marquis, I hope you are much more intelligent and offer me better results,” the cold voice of the queen spread throughout the room while the marquis imagined her as a giant snake about to attack its helpless prey.
“Your majesty, if you let me talk to him and if you allow me to cure him and improve his condition a little, it will be much easier for him to deign to tell the truth to an old friend .... or for me to negotiate with him the royal seal in exchange for improving his living conditions.”
“...Ha! Not even Medhas is stupid enough to think that I will let him live after he hands it over to me!” the queen scoffed.
“... But for a mistreated prisoner, the promise of freedom or the promise of no more pain, even when false, can keep the hope of living a little longer," commented the marquis in a silky voice.
But Tathiana was no a fool.
She distrusted each of the Marquis’ sweet words, knowing that he would try to help his old friend, but even so, she pretended to doubt and while he tried his best to finish convincing her, she decided to keep hiding her relationship with Milo and use him as a decoy so that the Marquis of Allfel would let his guard down and try to help the king escape, then she would be ready to eliminate them both.
“You have three days to convince him, or I will take matters into my own hands!” the queen sentenced. And the marquis left, grateful for her enormous mercy. “Tanya," she whispered, and her personal guard came out of hiding behind the throne.
“Yes, your highness.”
“Follow him without being noticed and find out what he is planning!”
“Of course, your highness," answered the maid and right hand of the queen, who had been trained as an assassin and warrior from an early age. And as a magician since ten years ago in order to protect the precious and only daughter of the Duke of Brincy. Although what everyone in the aristocracy saw, was a simple woman knight who was clumsy when it came to serving tea to the queen and her guests, while the queen was so magnanimous as to allow her to remain at her side.
Tathiana watched her disappear in silence, knowing that the young woman would bring her good results and knowing that even if she announced the sudden death of the king in the next few days and took control of the kingdom, she doubted that anyone would dare to protest.
Not when hundreds of people and several villages had been infected by the plague in the last month. Not when there was so much chaos in the kingdom. Even less when Medhas had so many enemies and a good part of the aristocracy belonged to the rebellion.
Besides, she had the heroes back and her daughter, Galythe, the only heir to the throne under her control.