Chapter 118  

The plan to save Carlton was simple:

‘We’ll go inside the royal palace. We'll find Carlton. Then, we'll sneak him out!'

At first glance, the plan sounded easy, but there were many obstacles. First, he wasn't able to enter the royal palace; no one was allowed to enter without the explicit permission of the first prince. It wasn't just Luisen, the other Great Lords and nobles who had asked to visit under various pretexts were also refused. Originally, the castle was a place where people could freely come and go without specific summons, so there was a strong backlash against this new policy. However, the first prince didn't even pretend to listen to these complaints. For some unknown reason, the first prince was behaving in a rather closed-off manner.

The second obstacle was finding Carlton. Even after the Royal Knights combed through the place for days and days, they found no traces of the mercenary. Finding him would be a challenge if the mercenary was determined to remain hidden.

And finally, the most difficult part of this plan was to escape the royal castle safely. According to Ennis, it was more difficult to exit than to enter the castle. Even if they managed to find Carlton, it would not be easy to hide the man and bring him out…not when the security even rifled through the trash leaving the palace.

In addition, once they enter the fortress, Luisen might encounter crises like demon worshiper attacks.

However, Luisen was determined to save Carlton, so he had no choice but to solve these dilemmas one by one.

The first problem: to enter the castle, Luisen released a man sent a man into the capital and used him to secretly spread rumors.

‘Is the king truly alive? Is the first prince hiding that the king has already died?'

These rumors, as is usually the case, started with seeds of doubts and ended with even more doubts. There was no need for proof. It hadn't been long since the king had collapsed, and the Great Lords had already gathered in the capital. The prince's suspiciously closed-off behavior reinforced the rumor.

Of course, the story was quite controversial; it didn't spread quickly because people were worried they could be found in contempt of the royal family for slander. However, the rumors had spread enough to reach the Great Lords' ears. They reacted quickly to this trifling news because they were sensitive to palace affairs.

The Great Lords first tried to ascertain the truth behind these rumors. However, no matter how many people they sent, the royal family remained silent. They were also out of touch with their informants placed inside the palace so, even if they wanted to figure out the internal situation discreetly, they couldn't.

Just when Luisen felt frustrated and hopeless, the Eastern Great Lord called for a meeting between the other Great Lords.

***

At the reception room in the Eastern Great Lord's capital residence:

The rulers representing the four regions–east, west, north, and south–of the kingdom had gathered together. The last to arrive was Luisen.

Luisen was the youngest amongst them. So, even if they held the same position, the young lord still showed respect. If the Eastern Great Lord was old enough to be his grandfather, then the Western and Northern Great Lord could be his uncles.

"Ah, Duke Anies. I heard you went through a religious trial this time? If you're going to make trouble, do it moderately. How sad would your deceased father in heaven feel when he sees you?" "Your father was an impeccable and perfect man. Your mother was a great lady as well. If you had inherited even half of your parents' qualities, things wouldn't be in such a mess now."

The Western and Northern Great Lord took jabs at Luisen as they exchanged pleasantries. It was like this every time they met, so Luisen didn't like the other Great Lords very much. In the past, he would have kicked the chair and left the room without enduring their verbal jabs, but this time, the young lord remained patient.

Usually, the Eastern Great Lord would cut in and land the last blow, but he didn't this time. So, the atmosphere fizzled out before they immediately got to the point.

"You all heard the rumors right? What do you think of them?" Luisen asked.

"Well, wouldn't it just be some tall tales from the streets? I didn't think you had the leisure to think about such things, Duke Anies."

"Now, though, you must have answered my call because you all are concerned." The Eastern Great Lord inwardly sided with Luisen.

"That's right. Perhaps it's a groundless rumor, but it would be a little strange to just ignore it," The Northern Great Lord spoke with a discomfited expression. As a supporter of the first prince, he was uncomfortable with the way the prince mistreated the noble families from the North who had been wholeheartedly backing him.

Luisen glanced at the gathered Great Lords: the Northern Great Lord, who openly expressed his complaints, the Western Greatlord, whose grim expression did not match his carefree words, and the Eastern Great Lord, who originally did not like the royal family. Apparently, everyone harbored anxiety about the current situation.

Luisen decided to push his luck a little. "His Highness's safety is very important to us."

"Of course."

"Who doesn't know that?"

"But the problem is that we can't even ascertain the truth behind these rumors. Everyone came to the capital upon hearing the news of His Majesty's critical condition, but does anyone here truly have reliable information about His Majesty? It's frustrating for all of us; that's why we gathered here," Luisen pointed out.

The Western Great Lord kept his mouth shut at Luisen's criticism. He had responded to the Eastern Great Lord's summons, just as Luisen had said.

"Our current situation, where we have the duty to protect His Majesty's life and conduct his funeral, yet can't confirm his well-being…Is this not absurd? This encroaches upon our ducal prerogative and disregards our authority," Luisen continued.

"Isn't that too much of a wild interpretation of these events? I know you have your conflicts with the first prince, but–"

"Yes, if this only affected me, then I could perhaps wave this away as a personal grudge. However, seeing the prince neglect even the Northern Great Lord and the other Northern nobles… Frankly, I can't help but suspect there may be other motives."

"Other motives?" the Northern Great Lord asked with a very displeased look on his face.

"He's trying to weaken our ducal authority and treat us like ordinary nobles, isn't he? If not that, then how could he abandon the ducal house Anies, which has protected the South for longer than this country has existed, and promote a mere count to the position of the Southern Great Lord?" the Eastern Great Lord shouted angrily.

"Count? Are you talking about Count Doubless? Wasn't his family once a retainer of the Anies duchy?" The Western and Northern Great Lords had heard of him and the various rumors swirling around the count. However, hearing such from the Eastern Great Lord, this time, struck their hearts deeply.

"How could he change a Great Lord's position so willfully? Though the royal family has changed many times since the establishment of this kingdom, the Great Lords have retained their authority."

"If the first prince is truly trying to persecute us… We cannot let that happen."

he atmosphere seemed to have heated up a decent amount, so Luisen sneaked in a few inciting words, "Therefore, we must show our strength."

"Have you crafted any plans?"

"Come, let us go and fulfill our duties. We will pay our respects to His Majesty and guard his deathbed," Luisen said.

Although his words sounded reasonable, in reality, this was just a plan to forcefully storm into the palace. If Luisen were alone, entering the palace would be difficult. But, with all the Great Lords gathered, even the first prince wouldn't be able to stop them. Considering the personalities of these snake-like individuals, they would do everything in their power to seize the opportunity to enter the palace. While they drew attention, Luisen planned to go and find Carlton.

"Isn't it a good idea? If all four of us assert that we will fulfill our duties together, the first prince won't be able to ignore us. Public opinion will be on our side as well." The Eastern Great Lord cut in and supported Luisen's plan. As the oldest of the gathered nobles, and an experienced politician, his support and authority made the plan sound all the more plausible. They were sure to gain considerable advantages if they could just enter the royal palace in such a chaotic situation.

After short contemplation, the Western and Northern Great Lords also concluded in Luisen's favor. "Very well. Let us go."

***

What most people considered the main gate to the palace–the largest gate–remained firmly closed. Gatekeepers guarded the door.magic

It had been several days since the doors to the royal palace remained firmly shut. At first, there were always constant disturbances at the gate because minor and major nobles threw tantrums trying to enter the palace. However, the nobles now understood that nothing would grant them entry, so they didn't bother coming near.

As a result, the gatekeepers stood there with extremely bored expressions, gazing ahead. They watched people pass by and impatiently awaited their shift changes. There was no sign of tension in their loose grip on their spears and their slouching postures.

Suddenly, in the distance, they heard the sound of hooves approaching.

‘Again? Some back-country nobles?'

Sometimes aristocrats that had just arrived from the countryside were not yet aware that the palace had closed its doors and insisted on gaining an audience with the first prince. If the gatekeepers ignored them, the nobles would merely throw themselves on the lawn in a hissy fit. No big deal.

But, it wasn't the old carriage of some countryside aristocrat that was drawing closer. The carriages were so gigantic that they had to be drawn by four horses; their appearance was lavish and splendid. Each of the four carriages had a flag hung at its side.

When he saw the flag, the gatekeeper's mouth hung wide open. "T-The Great Lords… The Great Lords' carriages!"

Four Great Lords were barreling towards the gate.TL: Man, I wish I could sock a few nobles in their mouths this chapter!