Just when they were about to reach their final destination, Cleo's team was met with an unexpected hindrance that could jeopardize their entire grand plan.

A bunch of lazy buns stopped to take a rest right at the front of the secret entrance to the palace. The lazy guards enjoyed their luxurious break; resting their backs on the bench and gazing at the stars without a single hint of a chilling scheme unfolding behind their backs.

Cleo palmed her face in dejection. How could it happen?

Luther and Cleo knew those guards personally. They knew those idiots were indolent and it was the reason Luther personally placed them at the wall over the secret entrance so that Cleo could go in and out easily. "Who the heck changed them to patrol down here?" Luther murmured frustratedly.

They had no time to wait. They needed to be inside and kill both the retainer and chancellor before the meeting was over.

"Should we take them out?" Igüan spoke his mind ruthlessly since they were a bunch of enemies who were blocking the path in Igüan's eyes. However, Cleo and Luther weren't that heartless. "No. There are six of them. If we fail to incapacitate them in one go, they will shout and alert everyone." Cleo dismissed the idea.

They anxiously waited a few minutes but the guards seemed to have no intention of getting back on their duty. Without further ado, Luther decided to take it into his own hands. He took out a special whistle and blew it hard. The high-pitched sound from the whistle travelled across the street and reached into the ears of the resting birds sleeping on the tree; otherwise, it was inaudible to the ears of man. Frightened by the abrupt voice, the birds woke up shitting themselves, soiling the guards under it.

"Oh, Goddamit! How dare you shit to my face!?" A guard cursed while violently rubbing his face. Another one spitted out the shitiest taste which got into his mouth. With constant swearing and curses, the guards moved away from their human paradise.

"Why do you have such a strange thing?" Both Igüan and Cleo asked. They were weirded out by the fact that such an item existed. Luther embarrassedly explained that it was a regular whistle to call the carrier pigeons but he once blew it hard on a sleeping one and it scared the shit out of the poor bird. "It gave me an idea."

Despite its strangeness, Luther's plan successfully removed the lazy guards from their way.

When the sentry on the wall turned to the side and relaxed their stiff legs by walking along the wall, Cleo's team approached the garden fast and entered the palace wall. As soon as the stone wall which appeared to be immovable moved inward, a long dark narrow corridor welcomed them. It was a familiar sight for the residents but the whole thing was surreal for Igüan. The fact that he finally stepped foot into the grand palace which he had never dreamed of and the sturdy stone wall to be moveable.

"Unreal," gave the bewildered northerner a remark.

"Luminus!" Cleo chanted a spell and rays of light from her swords illuminated the corridor in white dazzling light.

Igüan advised her to light the torch instead since she needed to reserve her energy for the fight to come. Using the spell drains one's energy immensely, especially when it requires constant focus. "No, we can't. This is an enclosed passage. The smokes will choke us." Cleo explained. Luther told Igüan not to worry since she had done this a thousand times already.

As he followed Cleo's lead, Igüan heard the sound of woks and pans as if something delicious was being made on the other side. Luther explained that they were between the walls, the kitchen on their right, and the back garden on their left. "Judging by the hectic noise, they must be preparing a special dinner for the chancellor and retainer. We are not late." Luther continued.

The secret passage was a long corridor half a meter wide. It was embedded within the outer wall which faced the south garden and the inner wall which acted as the wall of the east wing where the kitchen and servants' quarter were placed. It spanned along the entire east wing until it reached the main castle where it went up a stair in a curve along the castle wall and opened to the queen's chamber.

When Cleo opened the door, they found the room to be different from the time they left. The golden yellow was painted over the purple colour of the house Adder as if they were destroying all the traces of Adder. The furniture used by Cleo's mother the late queen was moved out to be replaced with new ones. One of them was a stool with a purple comfort which was Cleo's favourite memory with her mother and it was no longer to be seen at its place. She remembered sitting on that stool while her mother combed her messy hair for her every morning before breakfast. It was a sweet old memory she had conserved over a decade. Two weeks she was away and it was gone.

Cleo bit her teeth and swallowed her anger. She meant to give it tenfold when she put the sword at the Duke's throat.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. It will still be somewhere in the castle. They won't throw it away just like that. I will find it for you after this." Luther comforted her by making a promise.

They attached their ears to the door and listened to the sound of footsteps in the hallway. The queen's chamber was on the second floor of the castle. The ground floor had the throne room, the audience room, and the banquet hall. The first floor was for the esteemed guests of the state. The second floor was for the seven ministers; their chambers and offices_ were Minister of Freemen, Minister of Serf, Minister of Coinage and Mining, Minister of Taxes and Revenues, Minister of Port and Commerce, Minister of War, and Minister of Crown. The Queen's chamber was on the third floor along with the royalties while the King and Council of lords were on the uppermost floor. Three towers were projecting from the east, west and south sides of the castle; the tower of Watcher, the Tower of Weather, tower of Whisper respectively. Foremost was where Cleo stayed.

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"So are we going down to the ground floor where the banquet hall is?" Igüan asked scratching his head. He was wondering how they would sneak down the stairs several floors before someone spotted them.

"No. The Duke hasn't arrived yet so I doubt they will use the banquet hall. The King's retainer is titled as the minister of the crown. They are beneath us."

The words from Cleo brought exciting smiles to Igüan. "Then, what are we waiting for? Let's get them."

Luther opened a gap at the door to check if the servants would be crawling all over the hallway. Apart from the light breeze coming across the hallway, the grey-white smoke from the lighted candles, and paints and brushes used to remodel the hallway, it was clear of people.

"Tch* they are painting gold everywhere. Don't they have no sense?" Cleo clicked her tongue, her frustration projected.

They approached the staircase at the east since it was closer. Two golden-cloaked guards were standing guard like two big statues. Another two were walking to and from along the hallway. The servants were busy conveying the trays of delicacies up and down the stairs like ants.

How much were they eating with just two of them, Cleo wondered.

"Four at this side. There must be at least another four at the west." Luther calculated the possibilities. "If we fight them out, the people inside the room will hear the ruckus outside and shut the door. Then, we won't be able to enter, your highness. It will be hard to take down those iron doors before the enemy reinforcements surround us."

"Then, what do you suggest?"

"Windows. When we were in the Queen's chamber, I heard music and laughter through the windows. They must have opened the windows."

And so, by Luther's suggestion, Cleo decided to get inside through the window. As soon as the window was opened, a gush of wind rushed inside as if it had been waiting for that for a long time. She put her head outside and looked down to check the window she had to enter. With the rays of light busting out through the certain windows from the floor below, she could see her destination. It was directly below her level. She checked the wall if she could scale it. Some parts were bulging out, enough to hold a grip, so it was doable. She cracked her fingers and warmed her stiff shoulders. Certainly, she was nervous even though she was determined. Repeated, she checked her routes and simulated it in her brain.

"I can do this. Yeah, I can do this. I can't back out now when I am already here." She cheered herself.

Without taking any more time, Cleo hanged herself by the window then she took a step on a bulge below while one hand went for a hold. Unfortunately, the step was slippery by the moss and she slipped before her hand got a strong hold. Instantly a vision of her falling to death came into her mind. Her heart sank. With the only hand holding onto the strong wooden frame of the window, she hanged onto her life. If she wasn't trying to assassinate someone stealthily, she would have already screamed for help. She tried to pull herself up. It was a lone fight.

An ominous thought came to her head. What if she fell? First, Luther and Igüan would fight till they were encircled completely and stabbed to death. Then, Ethan and Dovos would be arrested and publicly executed. The citizens of Midland would forever live in the lies of Mordu'.

Carrying heavy responsibility on her shoulders was hard for her. All the worries made her heavier.

At that moment, a warm hand grabbed the wrist of her holding hand. She looked up and saw Luther.

While waiting for Cleo's signal at the staircase, Luther sensed something went wrong when the wait became too long. He went up and found Cleo in a dangerous state.

"Idiot, what are you doing? You could have asked for help if it was too hard. You aren't alone." Luther scolded Cleo. It was the first time Cleo got a scolding from Luther. Although Luther was like an older brother to her, Luther had always addressed her properly.

After pulling her up, Luther made the blankets as a rope and tied it tightly on Cleo. He tied another end to a leg of the queen's bed. He also grabbed onto it tightly and guided Cleo while she stepped out of the window.

Unlike the first time, Cleo felt confident in her heart. Her shoulders also felt light and relaxed. She quickly stepped toward the lighted room like a spider on the hunt. She stopped by the window and checked inside to see if it was the right room.

As soon as she saw the round, double chins traitorous face of the chancellor laughing and eating greedily over the food, she confirmed it was the right room. She kicked the rocky castle wall hard and by the force of gravity she swang into the room, surprising the bastards inside.

"You traitorous bastard!! Your end has come, Hammes Hammock. You will pay for what you did to my father!" Cleo shouted.