Chapter 79 [The Palace Fire]
In the distance lies the majestic royal city, with a tall drawbridge spanning the wide moat, allowing people to travel between the city and the outside world.
As the sun set, the iron chains slowly raised the drawbridge, completely sealing off the royal city like an impregnable fortress.
Unless one can soar freely through the skies like Sylas, one can only stand at a distance like Mela and Yuriel, waiting for Sylas to bring back a message.
Silas flew around the royal city, occasionally landing to check the condition of the walls. Finally, it landed back on Mela's shoulder, preened a few ruffled feathers with its beak, and then complained:
"No, Mela, I just went around and found that there isn't even a crack on any of the bricks."
In other words, they couldn't even use the cracks to create a small hole that would allow them to sneak into the city.
"I understand." Mela hadn't had high hopes for the plan to begin with, so after hearing Silas's words, she wasn't particularly disappointed.
Come to think of it, this is the royal city. If it were really that easy to find a way in, wouldn't the Nurengel family, who live in the palace, be worried sick every night?
“Perhaps we can try to get in through the moat,” Mela quickly came up with another idea.
“But I can’t swim,” Yuriel said shyly.
She had lived in the mountains since she was a child and had never even been down into a river, let alone followed Mela into the moat to search for any possible underground entrance.
It's likely that he would have struggled to get out of the water as soon as he entered, and would have needed Mela to rescue him.
"It's alright, I'll go into the river alone to scout things out first. We might not even find the underground entrance," Mela comforted Yuriel.
If they can't find it, they'll have to think of other ways.
If they find it, Yuriel can stay outside the city to provide support at any time.
"At least there's one advantage to this: we won't be wiped out in one fell swoop," Mela said with a wry smile.
Yuri immediately revealed an indescribable expression.
In short, we should wait until it gets dark before we can take any action.
Mela didn't rush to approach the moat, but instead found some food with Yuriel to fill their stomachs.
They dared not light a fire, fearing that the smoke would alert the guards on the city wall that something was amiss.
So when night fell and it was pitch black all around, fortunately the witch's senses were more acute than those of ordinary people, so Mela was not unable to move forward in the dark.
But before she could act, she suddenly caught a whiff of something unusual in the passing wind.
"I think I smell something burning."
However, this aura was only faintly present in the wind, making Mela unsure of its nature.
Upon hearing this, Yuriel also sniffed, and said hesitantly, "...It seems a little bit?"
"How about we let Silas fly up and check the situation first?"
Mela thought for a moment, then tossed Silas over, "Silas, I'll leave it to you."
“No problem,” Silas replied confidently.
It flapped its wings and flew higher and higher until it finally saw the faint glow of fire rising from within the royal city.
Silas tried to see where the fire started, but before long the fire had spread and become a disaster, even Mela and Yuriel, who were standing on the ground, could see the towering flames.
"What... what's going on?" Mela and Yuriel exchanged a glance, both of them completely baffled.
*
Erica hadn't been this disheveled in a long time.
The last time was more than a decade ago, also in the royal city, when she was being chased by a group of people and fled in a panic.
Unexpectedly, a scene from many years ago has strangely overlapped with the current situation, as if time has reversed.
Erica silently twitched the corners of her mouth, expertly dropping the candles on the wall to the ground, igniting flames that hindered the guards behind her who were trying to capture her.
At this moment, she was even somewhat relieved, because Nurenger IX's extravagant habits meant that as soon as it got dark, the maids would light one candle after another, making the magnificent palace as bright as day even at night.
Otherwise, Erica really wouldn't have been able to delay until now.
Rewind to a few hours earlier, Elijah received a message from Fursen and jumped up from her chair in delight.
The messenger sent by Fursen ahead of time told Elia that Seviri had been found three days ago! At this moment, Fursen was leading him on his way back to the royal city, and they should be able to return to the palace safely before sunset.
However, when Foussen actually brought Severi to the palace gates, the sun had not yet officially begun to set in the west.
At this moment, Antonio, who had also received news from Elia, rushed over and met with Celdo in the corridor. Finally, he stood happily beside Elia, joining her in eagerly awaiting the return of Severi.
"Mother!"
Upon seeing Elia behind the door from afar, Severi couldn't help but run up and rush into Elia's arms as she bent down, nuzzling her neck affectionately.
Elia also missed Seviri very much. Her worries over the past few days finally turned into a long sigh. "Little Ril from Mother's side is finally back. Next time, you mustn't run out of the palace like that again, understand?"
“Yes, yes, little Rilke, your Uncle Antonio and I were terribly worried after learning of your sudden disappearance. It’s so dangerous outside. As our most esteemed Crown Prince, what would we and your mother do if something happened to you?” Keldo quickly chimed in.
But after he finished speaking, Elia's expression, which had softened because of Severi, turned grim again, and she rebuked him mercilessly: "If you can't speak properly, then shut your mouth!"
Listen to what Keldo just said; every sentence or two was clearly meant to stab Elia in the back.
Since news of Nurenger IX's serious illness broke, ministers have been urging Elijah to immediately appoint Siviri as the new crown prince, just in case.
It's really true. King Nurenger IX only has two children, and he clearly doesn't like his eldest son, Lex, even failing to put in the effort to find him after he went missing. Logically, shouldn't he have been eager to make Sevier the new crown prince?
However, Nurlenkoll IX refused, citing Seviri's young age, and declined to immediately appoint him as the new crown prince, insisting that he wait until Seviri was at least ten years old.
The ministers thought about it and agreed that appointing an infant who had just experienced the baptism of newborn as the crown prince was indeed risky. What if he died before he grew up? In this day and age, even a prince could not guarantee that he would grow up smoothly.
Gradually, no ministers brought up the topic in front of Nurenger IX anymore.
But things are different now. Severi is already six years old, and generally speaking, he won't die young again. Besides, his body is not as weak as that of Duke Dusser, the brother of Nurenger IX. On the contrary, Elijah has raised him to be as strong as a calf. When he runs around the palace, he can cause chaos everywhere.
Furthermore, with King Nurenger IX having been ill for so long and seemingly on the verge of collapse, this is the perfect opportunity to make Siviri the crown prince. Even if Nurenger IX ultimately survives, these ministers haven't done anything wrong, have they?
If it were in the past, Elia would have been overjoyed to finally make Sevier the crown prince, her beautiful face naturally beaming with happiness.
But when Elia heard the ministers' suggestion, her expression turned particularly gloomy. Her Seviri was currently out of town. What if the news of him being made crown prince got out and attracted even more attention?
Could they have deliberately captured her child just to blackmail her?
Despite a multitude of thoughts swirling in her mind, Elijah had to remain calm. If she refused, the ministers would likely become suspicious of the reasons behind it all. Then, the truth about Sevier's disappearance might be exposed.
Therefore, with the encouragement of her ministers, Elijah ultimately made Civiri the new crown prince.
However, Elia did not expect that just because she had made Siviri the new crown prince, Lex would jump out and have the news that he was still alive spread.
Now, Severi's status as crown prince suddenly became illegitimate, and even if Nurenger IX really passed away, it would not be Severi's turn to inherit the throne.
Damn Lex! Why didn't he actually die in the Dark Forest?
Elijah was so angry that she smashed a lot more things.
Even now that Sevier is back, Elia still can't control her anger when she hears Keldo mention the crown prince.
"Actually, Your Majesty need not be angry at Knight Commander Keldo's words. I believe that as long as Your Majesty is willing, Prince Severi will definitely become a true Crown Prince in the future." Foussen showed a kind smile and took the initiative to speak well of Keldo.
“What do you mean?” Elijah straightened up and met Fursen’s gaze.
Of course she wanted Severi to become the true Crown Prince, but according to the damned law, the eldest son had absolute right of succession, and Severi could never surpass Lex to gain the recognition of the ministers and nobles.
“That’s true, but if Prince Lex killed his father, even if he has absolute right of succession, he still can’t inherit the throne, right?” Fursen said, feigning distress.
Upon hearing this, Elijah opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
She immediately understood what Fursen meant.
But although Durren was seriously ill, she wasn't without hope of survival. She had entrusted her life to Erica; with a witch skilled in herbs around, Durren would surely not die.
"Your Majesty," Füssen said, still smiling, his smile carrying a hint of affection.
He was nearly ten years older than Elia, so he could be considered her elder.
“One cannot be too greedy. Between His Majesty the King and Prince Severi, you must choose the more important one. Otherwise, if you lose this opportunity, you will never be able to control Prince Lex as easily as before.”
After all, Lex is already an adult, isn't he?
Compared to the still young Siviri, Lex, as an adult and a former crown prince who had satisfied everyone, could be said to be the only choice between the two, except for the Jude family behind Elijah and perhaps Nurengel IX, to let Siviri take the throne.
“But…” Elijah was stunned. She was just greedy. On one side was her beloved husband, and on the other was her cherished child. How could she possibly choose?
"Well, women are always so soft-hearted."
Seeing this, Fursen sighed and looked at Antonio and Cairdo beside him, "But I believe you two will make a smarter choice, won't you?"
“Elijah, you may live without a husband, but the Jude family can never lose a king,” Antonio said, exchanging a glance with Celdo.
Clearly, they had already made their decision.
"How could you be so heartless? Hasn't Duren been good enough to the Jude family all these years?!" Elijah was furious.
Without Nurengor IX's tacit approval, how could Elia have dismissed Fernanki at will, or appointed Keldo as the Knight Commander at will?
"Because we have finally climbed to our current position, we must not stand by and watch ourselves fall to the dust."
Antonio smiled, but there was no warmth in his eyes for his cousin Elijah. After all, Elijah had never given them a kind look before, and instead, her two cousins had to fawn over and coax her.
“Even if you refuse, it won’t make a difference, Elia. You, as queen, should have stepped down long ago. Your two uncles will do their best to help Severi become a qualified king,” Keldo interjected.
"By now, the people we placed have probably succeeded."
Meanwhile, in Nurenger IX's room, Erica, dressed exactly like the other maids, broke a window and escaped first.
"Guards, seize her! She's someone Prince Lex sent to assassinate His Majesty the King!"
The man sent by Keldor to deal with Nurengel IX never expected that a woman would escape. He immediately rushed out into the corridor and pinned the blame on Erica and Lex.
The guard, who was completely bewildered by the news, was stunned for a moment, his scalp tingling from the shocking information. Then he came to his senses, grabbed his spear, and tried to catch up with Erica.
Night had already fallen, and the palace was illuminated by bright candlelight, making it seem as if the sun had never set. No matter where Erica fled, she could not hide from the light.
However, as she walked, the candlelight rolled to the ground, igniting the magnificent carpets and precious velvet fabrics, spreading into a raging fire that burned all the way to various parts of the palace, forcing the guards to slow their pursuit.
Amidst the screams of the panicked maids, they had to put out the fire first.
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