Kian sat on a leather chair next to a coffee table in his room. In silence, he read the report Ezrel had just given him while sipping tea. He savoured the aroma lingering on his tongue. A malicious glint reflected in his ruby-red eyes as he learned about Albimbert’s thoughts on his little gift.
༽◺_◿༼
A month ago, in the heart of the Bazahian Kingdom, a tall but pale-skinned man stood in the middle of a crowd. His shoulder-length, wavy, salt-and-pepper hair was bound into a man bun. In contrast to the other men, expensive, gold-adorned clothes surrounded his bony body.
“Your Majesty, the sky reflects your mood today. What gives us the honour of your presence?”
He smiled as his jewelry reflected the sun with each movement he made. “It felt like a good day to spend time with my trusted subjects.”
“What an honour!” a man clapped with a big smile plastered on his face.
“It will be interesting to see what kind of prey His Majesty shoots down today.”
“Only the biggest and most ferocious of them!”
As Albimbert’s entourage continued with their praises, the king rolled his eyes. He was only too familiar with the sweet talks. It only brought back unwanted memories of his shameful past. It reminded him of the countless arses he kissed to reach his current position.
“Bring me my horse, bow and arrows,” Albimbert ordered as the butlers quickly did as ordered.
In a similar fashion, everyone else ordered their servants to do the same thing. The hunt was spent in the same fashion. The nobles under the king’s faction kept whispering flattering words hoping to gain his favour.
In the afternoon, the king walked out of his bath. Naked, he was only skin and bones. His lack of muscles made him appear frail and sickly. Three maids quietly dried and clothed him. He appeared larger and bigger because of his cleverly tailored clothes.
Walking into his bedroom, Albimbert was startled by the presence of another man. “Never do this again,” he reproached.
The uninvited guest smiled as he played with one of the many little trinkets decorating the room. “I’m sure you’ll find the heart to forgive me.”
“What happened?” the king asked as he served himself a glass of strong alcohol.
“Someone sent a little gift to you. Let me finish!” the cheeky demon quickly added, but still in vain.
“I don’t have time for this, Azeth. Get out.”
“You’ll regret it if you don’t see it,” he said more seriously. “It’s from an old acquaintance of yours.”
Albimbert raised an eyebrow. Previously, he worked as a merchant. As a result, there were a large number of acquaintances. Some of those numbers included enemies as well.
“It’s on your desk,” Azeth answered.
The king quickly localized the wooden box on his desk. It was a decent-sized container. At first glance, it appeared more like a gift than a ticking bomb. Still, it didn’t lower his guard. With his hands on the lid, the king hesitated.
“I could open-”
“Silence,” Albimbert ordered coldly. “You forget your place.”
Although the both of them were friends, Albimbert’s attitude showed otherwise. It all started with appearances in the eyes of the public. But slowly, this act transpired deep into their relationship until barely anything was left.
“My apologies...”
Putting his attention back on the wooden box, the king slowly and carefully opened the lid. His nervousness calmed down a little at the sight of the content. The king pulled out a burlap sack and put it on his desk. He cast a protective spell around himself before reaching into the bag.
Meanwhile, Azeth sat anxiously on a corner sofa chair. He was part curious and part worried. It was his intention to open the package for his friend, but his gesture wasn't appreciated.
The king flinched when he touched something hairy. Quickly, he grabbed the furry thing and pulled it out. Dull red-brownish eyes stared back at him. Startled, Serik Albimbert let go of the head with a trail of swear. With a loud thud, it rolled on the table.
Azeth internally smiled. This must be karma. “Who is it?”
“Who cares,” Albimbert answered with disgust as he grabbed a clean cloth to wipe his hands. “This is disgusting.”
Azeth hummed as he examined the severed head. “At least we know who it is from.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Who? I’ll kill that bastard.”
“I doubt you’re capable of that,” Azeth smirked as a vein was about to pop on Albimbert’s forehead.
“What?”
Azeth rolled the stuffed head back to his friend. “Look at the forehead. Doesn’t it look familiar?”
Serik looked at it and immediately recognized the crest burned on the skin. “Is it confirmed? Isn’t this the rest of the resistance?”
“There has been plenty of rumours about the Morganite Saint and the Lords that always stayed loyal to him showed some recent activities.”
“The Morganite Saint?” the king repeated dubiously.
“What does this have to do with him?”
“Only one man possessed the eye colour similar to the morganite gem.”
“It can’t be a coincidence?”
“No, it can’t.”
“Then, what are you waiting for?” Albimbert rebuked. “Find them and kill them! I can’t believe it took a damn stuffed head on my desk for you to tell me this.”
Azeth bit his lips. “I can’t. The mad dog is with them. We failed to kill him once. It’ll be even harder with his master back.”
“This,” the king pointed at the head with circular motions. “Can’t spread. It stays between us. I’ll find an excuse to secure our borders and gather soldiers.”
“As you wish,” the other demon answered as he got on one knee.
༽◺_◿༼
With a hurry in his steps, a knight in a silver full-plate armour walked through the streets of the city of Bamunz. As it was midday, the roads were filled with citizens going through their day. There was only one objective for the knight despite all the distractions. It was urgent news that he needed to deliver to their Lady, Lælia Drusus. An urgent message coming from the recently conquered territories arrived. Ever since their Lady welcomed the group of travellers, the atmosphere tensed up. Several whispers of rebellion ignited the pent-up frustration of Bamunz residents, especially those who had families outside the city's walls.
"Halt! State your purpose," another knight dressed similarly as he asked with authority.
He stopped to regain his breath before presenting himself and the post he occupies. "I have an urgent message for the Lady!"
The knight guarding the entrance took a step forward to examine the scroll with a wax seal on top. Both of them weren't high-ranking knights, but they knew the basics of nobility.
"You may enter. The butler here will show you the way."
The knight saluted his comrade before following the servant. It was his first time beyond the castle’s gates. He couldn’t help but stare around at his surroundings and the servants filling up the space. Invading glances from the maids surrounded him as he followed a few steps behind the butler. There was no doubt his armour was not as well made or polished as the Lady's personal guards, but they all served the same master. The knight couldn’t understand the maids’ disdain.
Quietly, a maid approached the butler. “Don’t you think it’ll be a good idea to clean him up a little before he meets her Ladyship?”
The butler watched the fidgeting night from the corner of his eyes. “He has urgent news to tell her. He is presentable enough.”
The maid nodded before stepping back as the duo walked down the hallway. Soon enough, the butler stopped in front of a set of large wooden doors.
“Enter.”
The butler opened the door for the knight and stepped aside. The latter took off his helmet and straightened up his stance before entering the room. He stopped a few feet in front of the owner of the castle’s desk. He presented himself before handing her the scroll he came to deliver. She accepted it and analyzed the crest on the wax seal before opening and reading it.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Lælia Drusus asked after receiving a report from her men. “Is this verified information?”
“Yes, my Lady,” the knight confirmed. “Entries to Narakzir's west and south borders are either tightly secured or forbidden.”
“How long has this been implemented?”
“Approximatively two weeks ago.”
Lady Drusus sighed as she realized it more or less coincided with the disappearance of the Lord of Ginargzar. It seemed like her king wasn’t as idle as he made it seem.
“Anything else?”
“Imperial guards have been deployed everywhere searching for the Morganite Saint while also plundering and attacking the residents. It’s chaos outside ma’am,” he added as his voice wavered.
The Lady frowned before nodding. “I understand. Thank you for your hard work. If that’s all, you can go.”
The knight saluted her before closing the door behind him. He sighed in relief and quickly left the building to regain his post at the city’s gate.
Back aside inside the castle, Lælia Drusus read through the letter a second time before tossing it on her desk.
“You heard,” she said as Kian came into her study from a side door.
In a confident gesture, he crossed his legs as he sat down on one of the two couches. “I did,” Kian answered with a smirk. In fact, he was aware of this almost a week ago. “That coward acted faster than I thought. He must have been terrified.”
She swallowed her thoughts and kept her lips sealed on the subject. She would have appreciated being informed about his plans before only receiving news of the consequences of his actions. But there was no way she wanted that man’s anger to be aimed at her.
“Then, should we delay it?” she asked softly to not ruffle the wrong feathers.
“Delay?” he repeated as his eyes glinted dangerously as he leaned back on the couch.
She swallowed nervously ready to flee and beg for forgiveness.
“Why not,” Kian’s answer snapped her out of it. “I felt there were a few details about the plan that I wished to change. Plus, it’ll make our dear king stew in his own anxiety.”
She took a second to compose herself. She never expected him to agree with her idea to delay the coup d’état.
“Let’s report it by a year,” Kian added with a shrug. “If this is all, I’ll be in my quarters. Ask Ezrel if you need anything. He will also give you documents about our plans.”
Kian stood up and straightened his clothes. The Lady of the territory quickly opened the door for him.
“Have a good day, Your Majesty.”