Chapter 86 [Chaos]
“Last night I was resting in my room when I suddenly heard a very faint noise coming from the hallway. Although I was probably mistaken, out of a tiny bit of worry—what if someone needed my help at that moment—I immediately put on my coat and got up.”
Laod recounted the events of the previous night to everyone in a calm and unhurried tone, as if he were the one who had almost lost his life, and someone else was the one who had.
Seeing his calm demeanor, some people actually suspected that this was a play he had directed and acted in himself.
However, Laod has witnesses.
That was the church guard who arrived just in time last night because of his call.
"...When I arrived with my men last night, the witch even tried to cast a spell on me. We watched helplessly as one of our brothers suddenly closed his eyes and collapsed."
Since more than one person witnessed this scene, even if Ficoler wanted to question whether the woman on the ground was actually a witch, he couldn't find any plausible excuse.
Fortunately, the only person present who would be implicated was Georudo, since he couldn't deny that he had no connection with the witch and had never ordered her to kill Laod.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, George was expelled from the church like a stray dog. The church guards carried him away from the church quickly.
"As for this witch, according to the Church's usual practice, in order to prevent her from escaping using methods we cannot guard against, she must be publicly burned at the stake," Laod said mercilessly.
As soon as he finished speaking, two church guards stepped forward, trying to pull Erica up from the ground and drag her outside.
"Wait a moment."
Lex suddenly spoke up.
“Oh? Your Highness Lex, do you have any other instructions?” Laod asked neither humbly nor arrogantly.
“I think that more important than dealing with this witch right now is for you to immediately elect a pope and continue the funeral. This whole commotion has already wasted most of the morning. Are you going to make everyone here go hungry until tonight?”
As he spoke, a hint of impatience crept into Lex's eyes.
Indeed, after all the captivating spectacle, the most important thing today is to hold the funeral of King Nurenger IX; everything else must take a backseat.
They didn't want to go hungry until nightfall.
If someone's stomach rumbles then, how unbecoming of a noble person it would be!
“Your Highness Lex is right. I think your church’s affairs can be left for later. His Majesty’s funeral is more important.”
One after another, nobles echoed their sentiments.
Erica's matter was temporarily put aside. The church guards, having received a signal, took her away and locked her up. As for who among the three of Laod should become pope, a stalemate inevitably ensued.
After all, each of the three had their own advantages and a certain number of supporters. Without George as a puppet, Fico and Andre naturally had to continue to compete for supremacy, making the situation extremely tense for a time.
Impatient Lex suggested, "Since we can't choose a real pope for the time being, let's choose an acting pope. Based on seniority and age, let Archbishop Ficoler be the acting pope."
“Your Highness Lex, even if you are a prince, it doesn’t mean you can interfere in our church’s affairs at will.” Andrei looked at Lex disapprovingly.
“I have no intention of interfering with the church. I am merely ordering you, in my capacity as Crown Prince, to proceed with the funeral immediately. If you have any other options, bring them out now. If not, do not waste any more time.” Lex returned his gaze expressionlessly.
However, his words prompted Keldo, who had been holding back for a long time, to jump out and say, "No! How can you, the murderer of your father, continue to assume the duties of the crown prince? His Highness Severi is the crown prince we recognize now."
“I will not repeat myself. I have nothing to do with my father’s death.” Lex looked coldly at Keldo. “As for your so-called approval, I would like to know if any of you have any doubts about my status as crown prince. You are welcome to stand up and confront me like Keldo Jude did.”
No one expected the situation to suddenly take such a dramatic turn, and it was time for these nobles to decide which side to take.
Lex's gaze swept across everyone's faces like the sharpest blade. Most of the nobles couldn't help but take a step back when they felt his gaze, but a small number of staunch supporters of Severi withstood the pressure and stood their ground without fear.
They were all people Eliya had painstakingly recruited over the years.
However, compared to the majority who retreated, this small group was not worth Lex's attention at all.
Seeing this, Keldo's face was so ugly it looked like it was about to drip water.
"Gentlemen!" he roared, "Do you really think that anyone other than Lex would dare to harm His Majesty the Great King?"
"His discord with His Majesty and his son has been common knowledge for many years, and his deliberate disappearance and departure from the palace years ago was all to hide in Furhorst Manor and plot this day! Most likely, even Fernando is his ally! Otherwise, why would the Marquis of Furhorst dare not come to His Majesty's funeral today?"
"Now, in front of His Majesty, do you intend to support a prince who murdered his father to sit on the throne?"
"this……"
The crowd began to look at each other in bewilderment. Even Lex had come, but Fernando had not attended the funeral, which was indeed unreasonable. But was the truth behind Lex's disappearance back then really as Keldo said, that Lex did it on purpose?
They still believed that Elijah was the one who did it.
“Keldo Jude, since you insist on distorting the truth, then Cherk, you tell them what really happened back then.” Lex listened to Keldo’s deliberately fabricated facts without even raising an eyebrow.
“Yes.” Chern stepped forward.
"On the night His Highness Severi was baptized, a grand banquet was held in the palace, but I did not see His Highness Lex at the banquet."
When I finally found His Highness's room out of concern, I discovered that all the guards and maids had been drugged, and His Highness had vanished without a trace.
I followed the trail on horseback all the way to the outskirts of the city and found the bandit pointing his knife at His Highness. The situation was extremely critical.
Fortunately, I arrived in time and successfully rescued His Highness. However, before I could bring His Highness back to the palace, Princess Elijah sent pursuers, driving us away from the capital.
“You’re talking nonsense! Why would I send pursuers to hunt you and Lex? I stayed at the banquet the whole night and didn’t leave at all,” Elijah chimed in.
She seemed to be furious at Cherk's words, her chest heaving.
Even though so many years have passed since the newborn baptism in Severi, many nobles still retain the memory of attending the banquet. They recalled carefully and it seemed that they did not see Elia leave.
“Your Majesty, with your two good brothers Antonio and Celdo by your side, why would you need to personally intervene in such a trivial matter?” Cherge said leisurely.
"You don't need to rush to refute me. Not everyone among the pursuers survived by sheer luck. It's quite a coincidence that Prince Lex has already found that person and should be on his way to the capital right now."
Chern was referring to Grinkel, of course.
As soon as news of Nurenger IX's death and the slander against Lex spread, Lex immediately sent a message to Grining, who was far away in the territory of Arland.
At his current pace of traveling day and night, he should be able to reach the capital smoothly in about a day.
Upon hearing this, Elijah's expression changed almost imperceptibly. She never expected that the idiot Keldo hadn't managed to eliminate everyone back then.
Keldo's eyelids twitched as well. A few had escaped back then, but so many years had passed. Who knew Lex would find them again? Even he hadn't been able to find any trace of those who had managed to escape!
If Keldo knew that Grind had actually approached Lex on his own initiative, he would probably be furious.
But it doesn't matter. Keldo's eyes hardened. As long as Lex is dead, even if Grind comes to the capital, it won't matter.
Today's funeral was a trap they deliberately set for Lex. If Lex hadn't come, with Fico's help, they would have taken this opportunity to secure the throne of Severi.
If Lex comes, wouldn't that be perfect? The royal city is their territory, so why would they worry about a mere Lex?
Even if Lex brings hundreds of followers to protect him, it will be useless. You should know that there are thousands of guards in the entire royal city, not to mention the knights under Keldor, who are five hundred fully armored knights who are enough to sweep away all obstacles.
Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from the air.
Before Cherge could make a move, Lex drew his sword and cleaved the arrow flying straight at him in two.
"Where did this arrow come from?" one of the nobles exclaimed in surprise.
Even faster than them were Antonio and Cairdo, who had planned ahead. They drew their swords first and shouted, "Attack!"
The arrow that had just struck was like a horn being blown, and the church was thrown into chaos.
There were guards who drew their longswords and rushed in, nobles who were frightened by the scene and scattered in all directions, and attendants who protected Lex in the center.
Amid the chaos, occasional cries of agony could be heard.
The blood that splattered from the dagger dripped onto the ground, staining the gleaming silver sword crimson.
A series of heavy footsteps approached, and the well-dressed knights arrived. Their arrival undoubtedly turned the tide of the already dire situation.
Meanwhile, Elia, who already knew about Antonio and Cairdo's plan, hurriedly retreated with Civili.
As she retreated, she kept her eyes glued to Lex, who was fighting the guards in the center of the chaos.
Nurenger IX has already died for the throne of Severi, and she must watch Lex die in this conspiracy so that her Severi will have no more worries.
However, the next second, Elijah let out a painful cry:
"No! Keldor!"
Without hesitation, Lex pulled out the sword that had pierced Keldo's heart, watching his body go limp like overcooked noodles.
As more and more bodies fell, the church gradually returned to calm, and the remaining people gradually surrounded Lex—not just the dozen or so followers he had brought with him at the beginning.
“Sare, isn’t that your attendant? How did he end up next to Prince Lex?”
As the noise subsided, a nobleman who had been hiding in a corner, clutching his head, looked up and saw a scene that left him dumbfounded.
However, Count Sarre, who should have been hiding beside him, slowly stood up and smiled: "Where are they my attendants? From the very beginning, they were people arranged by Prince Lex."
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