Chapter 1
"This weather is so damn hot. God bless me, nothing will go wrong today."
It was a scorching July noon in the Kingdom of Theodore. In front of the gate of the gray brick prison, a man loosened his collar in the heat.
He was a young man with blue eyes and silver hair, only twenty-five years old. He was wearing a neatly ironed black military uniform. The crisp and close-fitting style and the delicate and exquisite patterns made him look tall and long-legged, and very handsome. No matter how you looked at it, he was a young man full of vigor and vitality. However, at this moment, Raymond's face was covered with a shadow of melancholy.
Last week, with the recommendation of his family, he passed the assessment and was successfully promoted to Captain of the Palace Guard. The Kingdom of Theodore attaches great importance to July, as it is the birthday month of the kingdom's patron goddess, the Goddess of the Four Seasons. The palace holds a month-long ceremony, making July's defense a top priority of the year.
Having passed the assessment to become Captain of the Guards, Raymond's abilities were certainly not to be underestimated. However, on the second day after he confidently assumed his position, a petty thief broke into the palace's central altar and stole offerings to the Goddess of the Four Seasons. The thief was quickly apprehended, and Raymond, as Captain of the Guards, bore unshirkable responsibility. He was severely reprimanded and nearly lost his newly acquired position. He was baffled, unable to understand why. The palace was heavily guarded at the time, and he later confirmed that it was impossible for anyone to sneak in during that time, yet this petty thief had managed to do so.
"Captain of the Guards, it's time." A guard wearing the same black military uniform, but with fewer patterns on the collar, walked up to him and saluted. Raymond nodded and said, "You can bring the person out now."
Today was the third day the thief had been imprisoned. This morning, Her Majesty the Queen personally ordered his execution. Raymond was appointed the executioner. He stepped out of the shadows of the corner into the bright sunlight, hoping that his mission would go smoothly. If he couldn't even execute a single prisoner, then his career as Captain of the Guards would be over.
It's just the execution of a petty thief. It shouldn't be so unlucky!
For some reason, Raymond always felt a lingering uneasiness in his heart.
The sound of metal turning echoed as the prison's iron gate swung open, revealing a young man emerging from the room. He was bound tightly with ropes, his feet alone free. His white long-sleeved shirt and brown trousers were dusty and covered in grime, bearing marks of whipping and other torture. They hadn't put him in shackles because there was no need. This daring thief possessed no power that could threaten them.
In this country blessed by God, it is really puzzling that an ordinary person without any extraordinary powers can sneak into the palace.
Seeing that the person had been brought out, Raymond turned around and walked in front, followed by two guards, and the prisoner was taken in the middle.
Before the prison gates lay a wide, cobblestoned road, flanked by high gray brick walls. Rows of houses stretched out before his eyes, and a tall spire rose above them. That tower was the largest church in the city, where Raymond was born and baptized. Having encountered such misfortune so soon after taking office, Raymond decided to pray at the temple after executing the prisoner.
"It's boring. It's really boring."
Just as Raymond was thinking about what to do next, a lazy voice suddenly came from behind him. He paused and looked back, "Who's talking?"
The two guards walking at the end looked surprised, and the two prison guards escorting the prisoners looked at the prisoner among them with helpless expressions.
Raymond turned his gaze to the prisoner. He had not looked closely at the face of the little thief just now. Now he looked again and found that the face of the prisoner who was about to be executed was not panicked, but rather had an expression of boredom.
Raymond frowned, "Were you the one talking just now?"
The prisoner looked up at him, his tone surprisingly arrogant, "What do you think?"
Raymond's frown deepened. The prisoner wasn't ugly or mean-looking. On the contrary, he had a stern face and very recognizable black eyes. He was looking at him carefully while accurately pronouncing his name, "Raymond Herbert."
Raymond felt the vague uneasiness in his heart finally come to an end. Yes, how could it be such a coincidence that a thief sneaked in the second day after he took office? Someone must have deliberately arranged for him to come in and mess up his job! Who, or which force, is targeting the Herbert family?
Suspecting that there were spies planted by the enemy, Raymond asked the others to step away. He wanted to question him alone, "As long as you tell me honestly who sent you, I can ask the higher authorities to postpone your death penalty." This was an order from the Queen herself. It was impossible to cancel it at once, but you could apply for a postponement. As long as the value provided by this person was sufficient, perhaps the Queen would change her mind.
Hearing this, the prisoner showed a look of surprise, then curled his lips slightly, his smile revealing a frosty coldness. In short, he didn't look like a thief who had sneaked into the palace to steal the sacrificial offerings. He said, "So you thought I was afraid of the death penalty?"
Raymond was puzzled. "Isn't it?"
In his opinion, this eccentric little thief had endured two days and two nights of torture, and now he spoke on his own initiative. Isn't it because he was facing the death penalty but couldn't get rescued?
Prisoner: "No, I just think it's boring. It's really boring."
Raymond frowned again, "What's boring?"
The prisoner looked up at the sky and said, "This game is so boring. If I had known it would have such a boring and cookie-cutter ending, I would not have played it."
Raymond looked at him in surprise, "What game?"
His question seemed to pique the other party's interest. The prisoner looked at him again, then suddenly closed his eyes and said, "Ten steps forward and then around the corner, there's a guillotine. You want to execute me there. Oh, I saw a bird defecating on the guillotine. You are so disrespectful, wanting me to die in such a filthy place."
The place of execution was not far ahead. There was indeed a guillotine there. When the time came, the guillotine's blade would fall down, separating the little thief's head from his body.
It was common knowledge that there was a guillotine in front of the prison, so it wasn't surprising that this unidentified prisoner could reveal it. What puzzled Raymond was how he knew a bird had defecated on it. No, the guillotine was placed in the open air, so it wasn't that strange that a bird might pass by and defecate there.
Seeing that the prisoner was only talking nonsense but not revealing any important information, and the time for execution was approaching, Raymond finally lost his patience and took the prisoner to the guillotine.
Since this month is the birthday of the god, the capital has to be cleaned up from top to bottom, and the guillotine is of course not spared. When they walked in front of the guillotine, the sharp guillotine blade that had been scrubbed clean was reflecting a snow-white light in the sunlight.
What dirt and bird droppings? It turns out that this prisoner is talking nonsense.
Raymond was somewhat disappointed. Even at this point, the prisoner still hadn't revealed any useful information. Either he was incredibly stubborn and would rather die than reveal the secrets of the person behind the scenes, or he was just a lucky thief who hadn't been discovered until he stole the offerings. In either case, there was no way he could get anything valuable from this prisoner.
Just as he was thinking this, with a loud bang, a pile of bird droppings fell from the sky and landed on the guillotine.
Raymond paused slightly, and suddenly remembered the way the prisoner spoke with his eyes closed. He didn't want to admit that the other party's posture and expression at that time were very similar to those high-ranking priests in the temple.
No way! This must be just a coincidence.
Which extraordinary person with the ability of foresight would run into the palace and steal the sacrifices?
While Raymond was thinking, the two prison guards had already pushed the prisoner onto the guillotine.
The prisoner's stern face was furrowed with brows. "Do you really want me to die in such a filthy place? But I suddenly don't want to die anymore."
The two prison guards did not have Raymond's patience. They reached out their hands to push him towards the guillotine. However, the prisoner seemed to have eyes on his back. As soon as they raised their hands, he took a step forward leisurely, and the two prison guards pushed into nothing.
The prisoner stood on the guillotine, glanced sideways at the tall spire in the distance, and muttered to himself under the scorching sun, "It will be easy to burn up in such a high temperature!"
What is he talking about?
Before anyone could understand, Raymond suddenly saw the prisoner's mouth slightly open, and he made an onomatopoeia sounding like an explosion, "Bang."
The next moment, an even more violent and deafening explosion suddenly erupted, startling everyone. Raymond suddenly looked towards the source of the sound and saw that the tall tower in the distance was on fire. Black smoke was billowing out from the top of the tower. His pupils dilated and he looked back at the prisoner in disbelief, "What did you do?"
The prisoner only raised the corners of his mouth slightly. Because his appearance was too stern, an ordinary smile looked like a mockery. Then he opened his mouth and uttered another explosive onomatopoeia.
Bang!
This time it was the houses around the tower. The aftermath of the explosion pushed up a higher heat wave. At the same time, there were screams and panic among the people. The flames were like man-eating beasts, rising higher and higher in the scorching sun. Raymond shouted: "Quick, send people to support the temple and rescue the people!" The prison guards hurried to the temple.
He himself drew his sword and pointed it at the prisoner, "Who are you?"
The two prison guards standing behind the prisoner also took a few steps back in vigilance and fear.
The prisoner just stared at them for a while, looking thoughtful, "This game seems to be getting more and more interesting." At the same time, the rope on his body snapped.
In front of them, the prisoner rubbed his wrists and shifted his gaze from them to the northeast, where the palace was located. "If that place also exploded, this game would be more interesting!"
Raymond's alarm bells rang in his heart. Seeing that he was about to make that mouth shape again, he immediately slashed at him with a knife, but missed.
Raymond was stunned. His sword skills were said to be superb by others, so how could he miss?
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