Mona turned away from the open window and hurriedly went towards the wooden door and opened it with a smooth motion. The one who was standing behind the door was a young girl wearing extravagant clothing; her beautiful sky-blue eyes had faint traces of innocence to them. She was the first Princess of the Alberta Kingdom, Princess Adriana Alberta.
"Oh, Princess Adriana. What brings you here?"
Mona inquired cocking her head curiously.
"Good day, Lady Mona, I was hoping you would join me for tea, if you don't mind."
Adriana answered with a dimpled smile. Seeing that Mona also showed a faint smile on her face before nodding softly. She didn't really have anything to do today, so she was a bit happy about the offer. Also, there were many things she wanted to ask Adriana, as though guessing what Mona was thinking about Adriana hurriedly clapped her hands together in an elegant manner.
"Okay, shall we go to the balcony on the top floor?"
Adriana said cheerfully, turning her body with a smooth motion, her long silver hair followed her movements and swayed gently behind her back. Thus, they both made their way towards the balcony on the upper floor of the royal palace.
***
Meanwhile, inside a meeting room, the King and Queen were discussing with a few of the kingdom's ministers, all high-ranking officials were present, the hall was completely silent to the point that a pin drop could easily be heard at every corner of the room. On top of a well-made wooden table, there was a small, rugged box which had blood stains on the corners.
It was delivered a few moments ago by a patrolling knight who was guarding the castle gates. The box had the official signature of the king of the Zestril Kingdom written in excellent penmanship.
Inside the box were the severed heads of the two envoys who were sent out to mediate the disputes between their respective Kingdoms, the captain of the envoy, Commander Ben, also known as Alberta's third strongest, and someone whom many of the higher officials had great expectations for, but now that expectation was nothing but a delusion as his severed head was now placed before them. His expression showed surprise and fear at the same time as he died.
The fact that these two heads were the only ones that came back most likely means the others were captured and are treated as prisoners, or they had already left this world by some unfortunate means.
The king gritted his teeth in anger. Even though he was trying to make peace, they threw mud on his kindness; he bit his lower lip as an act to calm the boiling rage slowly accumulating inside his heart. The Queen directed a worried gaze towards her husband, who seemed to be reaching his boiling point; no, he was obviously way past that.
Considering that the note left behind was signed with the king's official's signature means it was his doing.
"Tch, those detestable bastards!"
"Are they really that desperate to die so badly!!"
"As expected, the times have been so peaceful that those inferior kingdoms have forgotten their place."
Many angry voices sounded in the entire hall; each had the same opinion that they were being looked down upon. Even though they hadn't done anything within the last few centuries, they were still the strongest kingdom on this continent.
"I say we settle this now, let's eliminate those scums who don't know their place."
"I agree... that trash will regret their decision of making us an enemy."
"Fufufu…. Well, your majesty, what will it be? Are we really going to let our kingdom's reputations be smeared with mud?"
Adelio said, taking advantage of the atmosphere within the hall, a small grin formed on his lips as he voiced his opinion toward the king, who was sitting on his chair with an angry expression. He was obviously of the same opinion as everyone present. However, there was also hesitation present within his hazel eyes as he clenched his fist.
"Your majesty, this might be impudent of me to ask, but please allow me to destroy the ones who dared to shame us."
Matthew, a middle-aged man wearing knightly attire who was currently known as the strongest in the kingdom, suddenly said in a firm tone, his eyes carried a sharp glint as he made his suggestion.
"Oh my, so the ace of the kingdom is going to go out on his own, eh? How long has it been since you last used that powerful sword of yours?"
Adelio asked, seemingly amused by the turn of events. Matthew calmly ignored him as he kept his gaze towards the king, who hadn't said a word since the beginning of the discussion.
"Hmmm… Viscount Abel, can you send a message towards the neighbouring kingdoms, tell them that we are about to go to war, and not to interfere with the dispute between our kingdom and the Zestril Kingdom!"
The king declared in a loud tone. Many of the nobles and high officials were surprised when hearing the king's declaration of war. However, their surprise eventually became joy as their mouths turned up into a smile, thinking now, they are going to let the Zestril Kingdom regret looking down on them and underestimating them. This will also teach any other foolish kingdoms that would want to start a war with their country moving forward.
Viscount Able was a middle-aged man with neatly refined short blue hair. Despite his age, his handsome face was extremely youthful, as many could easily mistake him for a man in his mid-twenties. He was wearing extravagant-looking clothing, and he bowed his head courteously towards the king. It was his duty to manage all outside matters, so he agreed readily.
(That old fox must have some kind of ace up his sleeve if he has the confidence to suddenly declare war on one of the strongest kingdoms on this continent, but you were far too careless in your decision.)
The king thought as his face became completely deprived of any emotion, many of the nobles had figured these facts out. The fact that they had sent the heads of the two envoys was an obvious indication that they were declaring war, which is the reason why the king had made the sudden declaration of war without thinking. Of course, killing an envoy and sending their severed heads towards their respective kingdom was a national problem. If they wanted to go to war so badly, then he would most welcome it, as king, he would protect the reputation of his kingdom from anyone who wished to destroy the honour of their kingdom.
(Fufufu… Alister seems to have done a good job; now, the moment we have been waiting for is almost upon us. With the heroes' sudden appearance, some alterations had to be made; everything will soon fall into place)
He thought as a wide smile appeared on his face.
"Hm..."
Adelio suddenly felt a strong gaze on him and looked around the room. When his gaze met with Duke Henry, he hurriedly turned his head to the side.
(Hmmm… it seems he suspects me of something)
Adelio thought as he watched the duke.
"With this settled, get all our forces together and prepare for war!"
The king commanded,
"Yes, your majesty."
"Understood."
The nobles and high officials placed their hands on their chests as they bowed their heads in perfect unison. Soon, everyone exited the room, leaving only the King, Queen and the strongest knight, Matthew.
"Your majesty, what shall we do about this?"
Matthew asked, pointing towards the box which held the severed heads of both Ben and the other envoy. The king sighed as he said nonchalantly.
"It's a shame we can't bury the rest of their bodies, but we will make sure they receive a proper burial. Can you contact their families?"
"Yes, as you wish."
Matthew bowed courteously before leaving the hall. Now the ones that remained were the King and Queen, who were still seated side by side.
"…. dear."
The Queen muttered in a worried tone when seeing the complexion of her husband.
"No, I am fine, please do not worry, for we shall make that arrogant king regret his choice."
The king said confidently. The Queen nodded her head, though she was still somewhat dubious about his choice.
***
Inside a narrow hallway of the royal palace, a certain figure clad in a white suit of high quality could be seen making his way towards the left of the passageway interior. The warm light of the sun illuminated the hallway. Painting it in a beautiful orange colour.
"Well, well, Alister, I guess you do have your use after all. Now then, shall we watch as this kingdom falls apart?"
Adelio muttered as he held a small device for long-distance communication.
"Hmph, I don't remember agreeing to take orders from that lousy king, though."
An annoyed voice came back from the other side.
"Fufufu…. Put up with it for a while longer, the fun is about to start."
Adelio said.
"So, my thoughts were correct, you are a traitor."
A deep and angry voice sounded from the other side of the corridor. Adelio smiled as he looked at the person who had appeared before him. It was none other than Duke Henry. His bloodshot eyes were sharp as he glared at Adelio, who was standing calmly before him.
"Fufu… haven't anyone ever told you it's not polite to listen in on other people's conversations?"
He asked, tilting his head.
"Don't talk so casually when you're nothing but a traitor, wanting to destroy the scums who mock and look down on our kingdom, my ass, what are you really after?"
Henry asked as he fumed in anger. Seeing that his scheme had already been found out, Adelio decided to drop all pretence as his expression became ice cold as he said.
"What I want, huh, that's not something a dead man should know."
"Wha…"
Henry's body instinctively flinched when he felt the murderous pressure coming from Adelio's voice. Suddenly, alarm bells rang out. Following the bad premonition he was having, he quickly held out his hands.
"Tch, mother of wind binds my target, wind prison!"
A magic formation appeared beneath Adelio's feet and trapped him inside a barrier of dense wind.
"Hah, now I'll inform everyone of your traitorous plans."
Henry hurriedly turned his back to leave that place to find any high-ranking officials to inform, when suddenly.
Swish~
The prison of wind dispersed into the atmosphere, revealing the person who was trapped inside. Henry widened his eyes when he saw the appearance of Adelio, he had two long horns sticking out of the corners of his head, a long tail that resembled a bull's, and sharp claws that were sharp enough to penetrate steel.
"Why!! You… yo-you're a de-demon!!"
Henry exclaimed as his face lost all its colour, his body trembled by the ominous pressure coming from Adelio, who was glaring at him with his blood red eyes.
"St-Stay away, mother of wind slices my target, wind blade."
A magic circle appeared before his outstretched arms and shot two blasts of wind, which took the form of blades. However, with his claws, Adelio casually destroyed both the wind blades and once again dispersed them into the air.
Henry tried taking that chance to run away when…!
"Gah."
His heart was pierced through from behind by Adelio's claws. His once extravagant-looking clothes were now covered with blood. The light in Henry's eyes dimmed as he spat out a mouthful of blood, which painted the floor.
"Your time ends here. You should be glad, though, I'm sure you wouldn't want to be a part of what's in store for this Kingdom."
Adelio muttered.