The day after the king's return to the throne, at nine o'clock in the morning, in his bedchamber.
With a slight limp, Huggins straightened his clothes, knocked on the door, and said softly, "Your Majesty, I've arrived."
There was no response from behind the door.
He increased the force of his knocking and raised his voice even higher.
Still no response.
After apologizing, Huggins pushed open the door and looked into the vast King's bedroom.
There was no one there.
Huggins walked to the bed and saw that the bed was still neat and new, with no signs of having been used.
Turning our gaze to the corner of the room, a simple bed made of bedding was placed against the wall.
After leaving the room, Huggins summoned the maid on duty and asked, "Have you seen His Majesty?"
The latter pointed to the garden outside the window.
To Huggins' surprise, Cumberland was already sitting in the gazebo at the entrance to the Royal Gardens, intently watching what lay ahead.
Upon reaching the pavilion, Huggins followed Cumberland's gaze. Todd, shirtless, raised his longsword high and then swung it down forcefully, repeating this motion repeatedly, the sword's wind sharp and fierce.
"The way he uses his sword is somewhat reminiscent of the barbarian kingdoms of the north," Huggins remarked after watching for a while.
Cumberland snorted: "Instead of learning proper swordsmanship, you insist on practicing this barbaric technique!"
Huggins shut his mouth, giving a bitter smile. Of all the people, the one who reacted most strongly to the king's sudden departure half a year ago was the old knight Cumberland.
After Todd left, he immediately contacted all the officials, but Cumberland was determined to find the king as soon as possible.
During that time, the old man seemed to be possessed, riding his warhorse regardless of wind or rain, leaving the city at dawn and returning at sunset, not letting go of any possible intelligence, his footprints almost covering the entire Moon Creek Plain.
Even now, although the king has returned, for some reason, Cumberland's face still shows worry.
After rehearsing his daily training moves, Todd, carrying his longsword, walked smilingly toward the two onlookers.
He tossed his weapon to Huggins, then sat down at the stone table in the pavilion, gesturing for the others to sit down as well.
“The delegation from Saint Guard City will be visiting the palace tomorrow evening.” Todd took the damp cloth handed to him by a maid, wiped his face and neck, and asked Huggins, “How are the dinner arrangements going?”
Huggins nodded and said, "We have found twenty-two of the best chefs in Muxi City. Each of them has a signature dish that is famous throughout the country, which will guarantee that tomorrow night's dishes will be delicious and unique."
"In addition, I have informed the top-notch theater troupe 'Golden Lark' to cancel all their engagements and ensure they are in top form for tomorrow night's performance. Of course, Miss Barbara, the hottest star in Twilight City, will also be there on time."
Hearing this, Todd nodded in satisfaction: "Receiving the Holy Guard City delegation is the kingdom's first diplomatic activity, so it should be prepared in a more thorough manner."
While agreeing, Huggins took out a list from his pocket and handed it to the king: "Your Majesty, I have drafted a list of guests to attend tomorrow night. Please take a look."
While Todd was reviewing the list, Hudgens glanced at Cumberland, who was resting with his eyes closed and not saying a word, and whispered, "Your Majesty, there is someone I am unsure whether I should invite to the banquet. I hope you can make a decision."
Todd looked up from the paper and asked curiously, "Who?"
"Lady Mary."
"Why can't she come to the banquet tomorrow night..." At this point, Todd finally realized the problem.
Mary married into Silver Ring City from Saint Guard City when she was a young girl. Although the real reason was that the King of Silver Ring listened to slander and was forced to flee the Silver Ring Kingdom, she was still a princess of Saint Guard City. If Mary were to attend the reception of the Saint Guard City delegation by the Kingdom of Muxi this time, it would indeed be a rather awkward situation.
Out of the corner of his eye, Todd glanced at Cumberland beside him and noticed that the old knight was secretly observing his actions. Presumably, Cumberland wanted to see his attitude regarding Mary.
"Write her name down first, and I'll confirm it with her personally," Todd said to Huggins in a deep voice, tapping his fingers on the table.
Having confirmed all the details of the banquet, and seeing that the king had no further instructions, Huggins stood up and took his leave, entrusting his time alone to the old man and the young man, the king and his minister.
Seeing that there was no one else around, Todd, who could clearly sense Cumberland's resentment, was just about to soften his stance when Cumberland spoke first.
"I heard that Your Majesty was accompanied only by that woman named Rachel on this trip?"
Todd was taken aback, then nodded in agreement.
"Your Majesty should be well aware of Rachel's identity, shouldn't you?"
Although he had somewhat anticipated Cumberland's words, Todd still intended to defend Rachel: "I know she was once a member of the Elders' Legion of Conflict, but she has long since betrayed that organization. Now, she is loyal to the Kingdom, and loyal to me..."
Cumberland didn't seem to agree much with this statement: "Your Majesty, are you absolutely certain? Can you say that this woman isn't hiding some unspeakable secret?!"
Todd rubbed his temples and said dejectedly, "She saved my life! More than once!"
“So what?!” Cumberland glared, puffing out his beard. “In chess, to protect a valuable piece, the flagman often sacrifices some less important pieces, but that doesn’t mean that the valuable piece will necessarily be the king!”
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