Palace Banquet
Murray looked down at the duke's daughter, whom the king wanted to make his crown princess even though they were engaged.
Her eyes were beautiful, long and narrow with slightly upturned corners. The pearl earrings she wore swayed gently as the girl stared at her intently.
She was beautiful, a beauty unlike Luya's, but that wasn't the reason the king intended to make her the crown princess. It was her status, her strength, and her ranking at Samuel Academy that caught the king's eye.
After all, it's clear that Mullie couldn't even get into Samuel's Academy, which means his magical talent is average.
Murray's lips were a little pale as he smiled at Tiffany, "Duke's daughter."
Tiffany seemed to only then realize what was happening and stood up to bow to Mullie.
"Your Highness."
Mullie raised an eyebrow. "What's the Duke's daughter doing here?"
"I'm a little tired and don't want to stay in the banquet hall, so I'll sit here for a while."
The two chatted, while in a small, unlit room in the palace not far from them, a man stood by the window, from which he could clearly see Tiffany and Murray's actions.
He looked coldly at Tiffany and the other woman, sneered, and then, as if sensing something, turned and walked into the shadows.
Meanwhile, chaos erupted in the banquet hall as dozens of men in black appeared out of nowhere, attacking people indiscriminately. The few knights in the banquet hall were protecting the king and queens.
The nobles who knew magic fled outside because they couldn't use magic to protect themselves due to the barrier, and those who knew swordsmanship were unable to attack them because they couldn't bring their weapons inside the palace. The guards, for some reason, hadn't appeared yet.
The palace was clearly protected by a barrier, yet those men in black could still use magic, and the king's face turned ashen with rage.
The leader of the men in black conjured a magic ball in his palm and threw it toward the Fifth Prince, Li Xiu. Princess Ferrang, who had been watching her child's movements closely, widened her eyes in horror. The magic ball stopped in mid-air just half a meter away from Li Xiu, and the men in black were stunned.
"Bang!" The magic ball exploded, and a figure appeared in the white smoke.
As the white mist dissipated, everyone could finally see the man's appearance: blood-red eyes and a handsome face.
It was Hicks Winley.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that it was Hicks. The man in black who had attacked the Fifth Prince knew Hicks's identity and that he was no ordinary man. He immediately gave the order to all the men in black, "Go!"
The other men in black vanished instantly, while the one standing in front of Hicks, though saying he was leaving, quickly bypassed Hicks, reached out and slapped Rishu, turning into a wisp of smoke and disappearing. Rishu was sent flying to the ground, spitting out blood and fainting.
"Lixiu!" Princess Ferrang rushed over in a hurry.
Hicks didn't stop them because he knew that the man in black's attack was not enough to kill Rishu, even though he knew that those people's target was Rishu, and their goal was to kill Rishu.
But his purpose in coming here today was to make contact with the men in black, and he wanted to cooperate with them. He felt that if he was stopped, it would affect his cooperation with them, and Rixiu's safety was none of his concern.
"Lixiu! Lixiu! Someone come quick!" Princess Ferrang shouted, grabbing Lixiu's sleeve. Only then did the guards rush over. Two guards carried the Fifth Prince in through the gate on a stretcher and took him to a doctor for treatment, with Princess Ferrang following beside them.
Emperor Eilat's face darkened: "What are you all standing there for? Take the Fifth Prince away for treatment!" His chest heaved, clearly furious. A group of people moved freely in the palace, even injuring his son before leaving—what was this if not provocation!
And the fact that they could use magic in the palace made Emperor Eilat suddenly look at Hicks and grit his teeth as he said, word by word, "Hicks."
Hicks yawned and said lazily, "Is there anything I can do for Your Majesty?"
"Why were they able to use magic in the palace? Wasn't the barrier your responsibility? Why did you coldly watch the Fifth Prince get injured by the thieves when he was right behind you!"
The emperor already had a problem with the Demon Tower, and now dozens of people were coming and going freely in the palace without catching a single one of them. Hicks's attitude was also so lazy, which made him feel that the imperial power had been challenged. He coldly questioned, "Or is it that you were in cahoots with those people?"
"Is Your Majesty doubting me?" Hicks's face turned cold upon hearing Emperor Eilat's words.
The atmosphere instantly became tense, and the Second Prince, Wei Lai, knelt down.
“Father, the Tower Master would never collude with those people.”
How could he miss such an opportunity to win over the Demon Tower Master?
Emperor Eilat glared at Hicks, ignoring Vele's words, "What's with the barrier? Why doesn't it work on them!"
“They must have tampered with the barrier,” Hicks said calmly.
"And who made the black magic stone inside that magic tower?!"
As the emperor continued to question him, Hicks' tone turned cold. "Your Majesty the Emperor of the Inolier Empire, the Demon Tower is not the territory of the Inolier Empire, and I am not your subject!"
Originally, the Magic Tower did not belong to any country. It was only because the Magic Tower was very close to the Inolier Empire and the previous emperors had a good relationship with the tower masters that the subsequent generations of Magic Tower masters were selected by students who came to the Magic Tower from the Samuel Academy. The Magic Tower masters even participated in some important meetings of the Empire.
Most of the students at Samuel Academy were from the Inolier Empire, so the current Emperor of Eilat subconsciously regarded the Magic Tower as his own place, and the Tower Master was just someone who managed the Magic Tower on his behalf.
But the Magic Tower has never been Inoliel's territory, and Hicks is not a toy to be manipulated. Emperor Eilat is truly out of his mind.
Upon hearing Hicks's words, Emperor Eilat finally realized what was happening, but he opened his mouth and couldn't say anything.
Seeing his expression, Hicks snorted coldly and then disappeared from the spot.
The scene was silent. The nobles looked at each other, not knowing what to do. After all, the king and the tower master had argued, and the tower master and the king had even broken off relations.
The king frowned and slammed his fist on the table, glaring at the commander of the Royal Knights. "Why did it take you so long to arrive!"
"Are they all dead?!"
The knight commander stepped forward. "Your Majesty, it's because someone set up a barrier here just now, preventing us from entering. We were only able to get in just now. Your Majesty, this is my fault. Please leave the investigation of the men in black to me."
Emperor Eilat calmed down a bit, nodded without saying a word, and seemed to be lost in thought.
With this incident, the Crown Prince's birthday banquet could not continue, and Emperor Eilat announced its end.
Tiff and Murray were informed by their servants that they had just learned what had happened at the palace banquet.
Tiffany returned to the Duke's mansion. She leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes to rest when a man in black, wearing a cloak, appeared out of nowhere.
"Master." The woman in black knelt on one knee and clasped her hands in greeting. If anyone who had attended the palace banquet was here, they would recognize her as the leader of the men in black who had caused trouble at the banquet just now.
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