"As of the moment, His Majesty is not accepting any audience requests.""Until when this will last?"
"I humbly apologize to you, Sir n.o.ble, but we were also not informed of the specifics."
"Can you put in a good word for me? I have important business to discuss with His Majesty."
"As I am only a castle guard, I am not permitted to raise any solicitations directly to the Emperor himself."
The n.o.ble clicked his tongue to openly show his frustration. The guard did not mind the petty act, since he"s used to the mannerisms of the ent.i.tled aristocrats.
"How useless of you. Why are you even loitering near the castle, you peasant."
"If I"m not within the vicinity of the castle, why would I be called a castle guard? This n.o.ble is out of his freaking mind.", the sentry strongly desired to voice out a retort, settling to sigh internally at the insignificant remarks.
"In the first place, why can"t they put in a good word themselves? They are the n.o.bles, not us."
The sentries a.s.signed at the Seraphiel Castle deserve to be praised for their utter tolerance to the Blue Bloods who insist on getting their way out of the system. They are able to maintain their professionalism in spite of their unnecessary service as punching bags of the n.o.bles.
The guard handled the boorishness of the n.o.ble with maximum sufferance. He ought to conduct himself properly because they are in the outermost perimeter of the castle. Some commoners could see their interaction.
"Cattle feed like you should not be talking to me."
Resisting from rolling his eyes, the poor sentinel merely bowed his head to the retreating aristocrat.
Viscount Bondre Suma, a n.o.ble with inexplicable aspirations, huffed on his way back to his carriage, stomping his round feet on the stone pavement.
**********************************************
"Zelel, what might be your purpose for coming here? You weren"t required to come."- Jibrail inquired to the Prime Minister who was rarely seen in the area.
Currently, they were in the training field built exclusively for the Knights of the Round. The place was simply a meadow, though the gra.s.ses are constantly trimmed to an inch length. What makes the field exceptional is the presence of the invisible dome encasing it. The dome shields the alfresco from the destructive drill sessions of the knights. This simplicity is adequate for the personages who like to train without obstructions.
"I have a message from His Majesty. Where are the others?"
"Running late, obviously."
"We should wait for their arrival then."
"Alright. In that case, do you want to spar with me to buy time?"- Jibrail touched the handle of his sword, that was sheathed in the scabbard hanging on his waist.
Duke Claudas stepped back, itching to escape the interest of his battle-hungry comrade.
"Why are you picking on me, Sir Jibrail?"
"It is fun to beat up a herbivore."
Zelel"s eyebrows instantly furrowed when he heard that statement. He cringed at the eccentric concept that he was a target of at present.
"Bullying the weak doesn"t make you strong."
"But you are not weak, right?"- Jibrail tilted his head to the side, clearly confused about the minister"s perception.
"Well, compared to you, I am.", with that reply, Zelel dropped his shoulders, unusually exhausted of the short conversation.
"Is that so?"
Jibrail Sagramore is the stern loyal dog of the Emperor who relishes the battleground. The paramount knight order is composed of individuals who are nonconformists, so an oddball such as Jibrail immaculately belongs to the group.
The sound of footsteps made the duo turn their heads towards the source. It was Count Gaderel Lanval who decided to quicken his pace to meet his companions. He first gave a salute to Jibrail before greeting both men.
"A pleasurable dier to the two Lords. How are you faring so far?"
"Lanval, what took you so long? Anyway, I"m bored. Let"s have a match."
Gaderel"s reaction mirrored the one Zelel had earlier.
"Once we begin a match, he"ll be insatiable. A dier won"t be enough to quell his excitement.", the Count kept his complaints to himself, seeing that Jibrail isn"t one to empathize.
"Sure, Lord Sagramore. When the free time comes."- Unfortunately for him, he cannot deny the request of his superior. Gaderel simply cried in his conscience.
Count Lanval faced Zelel who was watching him with pitiful eyes. It clicked to him that the burden of entertaining Jibrail was evaded by this man.
"You seem to be having fun, Lord Zelel."
"I am, you saved me after all.", Duke Claudas tapped the shoulder of the knight, aware of the trouble he pa.s.sed onto him.
Gaderel observed the demeanour of the men in front of him, sorrow welling up in his chest.
"It is pleasing to see that the both of you are cheerful. On the other hand, I am still quite peeved about what happened last Nasha."
"Last Nasha? What h- Okay?"
Zelel had almost forgotten that there are five Rounds who were not privy of the chaotic meeting that took place inside the audience room.
"I hope that Lord Sarakiel will find his peace. I will pay my respects to him after this gathering.", the Count gazed far off the distance, a.s.similating with the melancholy of death.
Unintentionally, Jibrail let out a contagious snicker, pulling in the minister who was trying to prevent his facial muscles from smiling.
"Y-you know, Lanval. You see-- pffft."
The two were mortified when tears started to race down from Gaderel"s cheeks.
"Why in the world are you crying, Sir Gaderel?!"
"I am presently witnessing Sir Sarakiel"s apparition working hard to train. His soul must"ve been longing to visit the field."
Zelel blinked, a few times, before finally allowing his laughter to resonate. Coincidentally, Jibrail was now on his knees, clutching his hurting stomach from giggling too much.
"I did not take you two to be so heartless!"- Count Lanval shouted, feeling disappointed on how his colleagues were acting.
Concurrently, the knights, who are already in the middle of their workout in the field, caught on the bustle by the entrance. Thus, they each made their way towards it.
"Gaderel, you"re here."
The Count quickly wiped his tears and gave Israfel a bow.
"Lord Morholt, I apologize for showing such a nasty appearance."
"I don"t mind. And the two of you, what is happening?"
Consequent to sounding the Marquis, Duke Claudas instantly stopped from his jovial ceremony. He hurriedly straightened his back when he noticed that some knights were looking at their impoliteness.
"How embarra.s.sing!"
Jibrail did cease in his merriment too. However, he glared at the man who just killed their enthusiasm.
"Shut up, delinquent."
"Who are you calling delinquent, you hoodlum."
Sparks flew in between the condescending stares of the delinquent and hoodlum. Their nonessential rivalry ignited another useless confrontation.
"Are the barbarians outside of the border or in front of me?", Zelel thought as he diverted his gaze to a more peaceful scenery.
"What is with the commotion?", Sarakiel, who was concentrating on improving his magic enhancements, was behind in the a.s.sembly. Thus, he did not understand why it was astir.
"The ghost spoke!", Gaderel hollered again, astonishedly afraid.
Israfel and Jibrail simultaneously shifted their scrutinies to the racket maker and spoke in unison.
"Ghost?"
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister deliberated that it was unethical of them to not notify Gaderel that he was being ridiculous, considering that they were the one hiding information.
"Sir Gaderel, that is Lord Sarakiel Helian in the flesh.", Duke Claudas briefed Count Lanval with least revealing explanation.
"What do you me-?"
Interrupting his talk was the cacophonous advent of Countess Lauviah Lukan, Leliel Geraint, Rehael Lamorak, and Barol Peniel Cador who were unfashionably tardy. These knights overheard the discussion, turning to look at Sarakiel to confirm for themselves. Zelel sensed the uneasiness rising in the atmosphere, so he began his announcement.
"The four of you, welcome. I will expound on this in one go and won"t entertain additional queries. Basically, it was a false alarm. There was no Demon n.o.bles. It was just a general of one army legion."
"They are certainly hiding something."
As expected, Lauviah was unconvinced of the explanation which was straight to the point. The countess angrily stormed the huddle.
"How could that be the case?! The agent saw the Demon n.o.ble engraving its seal on the island! You"re ly-"
"It was a false alarm.", Mikhail, the final person to join the circle, repeated Zelel"s words.
It wasn"t that convincing of a logic, but it"d be troublesome if their excuses did not match up. The knights who"re aware of the real reason recognized their manoeuvre and decided to play along.
"It was good that we were mistaken. It might have been too dangerous for the three of us. Luckily, it was a demon who slipped out of our radar from the previous north subjugation. It was a high ranking one that is why it was able to open a legion gate."
Khamael followed suit with an alibi of his. Predicating from their past encounters, demons other than the n.o.bles are not capable of conjuring gates. Nevertheless, it would be a reasonable justification. They can simply say that it was because they haven"t seen a minor demon do it, meaning that there is no guarantee that they couldn"t.
Regrettably, Countess Lukan"s dubieties did not falter in the slightest. She became enraged that they were concealing things from her.
"You are hiding the truth. Tell me right now!"
Once the echoes of her bellow subsided, stillness took over.
"How arrogant of you to holler in our presence, woman."- Israfel broke the silence shortly while glaring at the furious Countess.
"You dare call me arro-?!"
"Countess Lauviah Lukan, apologize this instant! You were in the wrong!", Baron Peniel duly intruded Lauviah"s delirium, fearful of the backlash of such impertinence.
There is a strict unspoken hierarchy within the Knights of the Round Table. The higher the seat, the greater the respect that is bound to be given, disregarding the t.i.tle of n.o.bility. Aristocrats of the Seraphiel Empire have to lower their heads in the company of the Rounds.
For this incident, the 11th seated Lauviah displayed her total disrespect in the sight of all their superiors. Even so, her fury impeded the Countess from thinking rationally.
"How audacious! Keeping things from me? From me?! I was the crowned princess! I will not forgive this!"- She was full of misguided illusions, a pity of a n.o.blewoman.
"Lauviah Lukan"
When the knights harkened the voice of their commander, their perturbation heightened. It is a different matter if it was towards the Emperor, but if the anger of Mikhail was directed at them, they can solely hope to leave with their saneness intact.
Upon locking eyes with Mikhail, Lauviah started to tremble in panic for the reason that his stare was unforgiving.
"As far as I"m cognizant, you are not the Empress."
A slap in the face, that is how Mikhail"s words appeared to Lauviah. Her ego suffered a blow and she took the statement as an insult.
"If that b*tch did not come out of nowhere, I would have been the Empress!"
Whenever an issue with the Empress arises, she would always find a fault to the unknowing lady. Furthermore, she felt ent.i.tled to be the sole woman who grasps all the affairs that the Emperor involves himself in. This demerit of hers was evident to her fellow knights, who are now contemplating if it was really the right thing to turn a blind eye on it. Although they all had their own opinions about the Empress, they still respected her position. The knights also know where to draw the line in asking for information. Lauviah excluded herself in both of these matters. She didn"t want to back down.
"You are hiding facts from us! What kind of camaraderie is this?!"
"You mean, from you?", Haniel spoke up, albeit she usually leaves the talking to her comrades.
"That is not my intention!"
"Do not use the other knights as your scapegoat. Apologize right this instant."
"But-"
"Apologize!"
Lauviah was stunned when Haniel reprimanded her loudly. Withal, she remained stubborn and refused to budge. She shut her mouth tightly and glowered at the people who were "antagonizing" her.
"If I don"t deserve to know anything, then no one does!"
Mikhail has had enough of the squabble that should not have transpired if it wasn"t for Lauviah trying to victimize herself.
"Zelel, I will visit the Emperor personally. I"ll be on my way."
"Yes, my Lord. The Emperor is in his study, as of the moment."
Zelel bowed towards Mikhail who begun to walk away from the group. He lifted his head when the resonation of the footsteps desisted. Their commander stood in the middle of the corridor as he had one last warning to share.
There are only two people in the Empire who have seen the Empress; it is the Emperor and Mikhail Percival. Mikhail felt that he, at the least, needed to defend the innocent Empress. The Emperor partakes by keeping the activities of the Empress in secrecy.
"I have not given my approval for your inclusion in the Rounds, Lauviah Lukan. If stealing that seat was not enough and you aim for the Empress" throne next, I will be the first one to slaughter you and your dear household."