Chapter 280: 280 Sword Saints’ Protest
The royal palace nowadays can be said to notice any slight stir immediately, thanks to the vigilance of people from all sides and factions.
All the nobles, whether willing or not, paid close attention to every move of the current royal palace, lest they be caught up in the repercussions of lacking sufficient intelligence.
Those noble sons who used to roam arrogantly outside are now confined to their homes by the major noble families, forbidden to go out and cause trouble at will. The knights under the noble families could only move cautiously and did not dare to act in ways that might arouse the suspicion of the royal family, casting a grave atmosphere over the entire capital.
In such circumstances, the protest jointly made to the royal family by Reiger and Yuri was incredibly conspicuous in the eyes of these trembling nobles.
"The joint protest by the Thunder Light Sword Saint and the Marquis of Franzel?"
"A Sword Saint and a strategic-level magician jointly protesting, even the royal family must treat this seriously, right?"
"Treat it seriously? Have you not heard what the protest is about?"
"I heard that Sword Saint Reiger Brillhaut sharply condemned Prince Hemulinp in the letter, expressing his immense anger toward the Prince’s clandestine kidnapping of his family member, and he demands that the royal family must provide an explanation."
"A relative of a Sword Saint, and that prince had the audacity to kidnap them?"
"If the royal family doesn’t handle this well, I fear a major incident will ensue."
Many nobles exchanged opinions with each other after learning this news.
In their eyes, Reiger’s action was very normal and justified.
Having one’s relatives kidnapped by a royal family member, especially done in secret without any legitimate reasons, was undoubtedly an unlawful act.
If it were just an ordinary person in this situation, that would be one thing, but Prince Solok had kidnapped a relative of a Sword Saint.
This was a serious matter.
At the least, no one believed that a Sword Saint of all people should swallow such an insult and remain silent.
Moreover, if you were to consider the bigger picture, whether there was some unspeakable purpose behind this, whether the royal family intended to do something indecent targeting the Sword Saint, those possibilities could be inferred from the incident.
Thus, when the joint protest was exposed, the nobles immediately realized the royal family was in trouble this time.
Confronted with the justified accusations of a Sword Saint, if they did not provide an explanation, it truly wouldn’t do.
Importantly, there were people ready to kick them while they were down.
"Lia."
In the study of the Duke of Codelion, having just returned from the royal palace and been interrogated by the King himself, Saint Nidor, upon receiving this news, spoke to Saint Charia who was beside him.
"Write a letter of agreement in my name, stating that as descendants of royal blood, we despise the actions of Prince Solok. Attacking the family of a Sword Saint is the gravest insult and disrespect to a Sword Saint. As a member of the royal family, instead of setting a good example for the people, he commits such misconduct, a crime indeed, for which the royal family should punish the perpetrator accordingly."
With the issuance of this letter of agreement, the situation could only go in one direction.
And that was to escalate even further.
The Codelion Family, lead of the Duke’s faction, took the lead in setting an example by openly supporting Sword Saint Reiger Brillhaut and publicly questioning the deeds of the royal family’s children. This was akin to adding fuel to an already serious situation, making the blaze burn even fiercer.
Especially when the nobles of the Duke’s faction followed suit in writing letters of protest, strongly demanding punishment for Prince Solok, this widely publicized incident immediately exploded, losing any semblance of balance.
Eventually, other Sword Saints also began sending letters to the royal palace.
"To attack a relative of a Sword Saint makes us feel chilled to the heart. We hope the kingdom will administer due punishment to the perpetrator of such a crime, otherwise we will be unable to rest easy."
This was a letter from the Border Guardian Sword Saint, stationed at the borders, whose content was just this one line, yet it made everyone aware of his stance.
"As a Sword Saint, such actions by the royal family truly make me feel perturbed. I hope the kingdom will administer due punishment to the perpetrator of such a crime."
This was a letter from the wandering Meteor Sword Saint, with content similar to the one before.
"We hope the kingdom will administer due punishment to the perpetrator of such a crime."
This was the letter from the Sword Saint of the Borlay family—concise and to the point, without any idle talk, straightforwardly demanding punishment for the chief culprit.
The real-name appeals of these three put the entire royal palace into a state of utter disarray.
Everyone knew that they were not supporting Reiger, nor were they supporting the Duke’s faction, but rather standing on their own ground, finding the incident unacceptable.
They were all Sword Saints, all on the same level as Reiger. If today somebody within the royal family could attack Reiger’s relative, then maybe tomorrow they could do the same to their relatives?
This was a development they absolutely could not sit by and watch.
Therefore, they took turns sending letters, and it was clear that these letters were sent back using magic because they were delivered to the royal palace the day after Reiger and Yuri had jointly sent out their protest.
These three were also nobles with titles, and each one was a member of a major noble family. Coupled with the title of Sword Saint, the royal palace simply could not ignore their opinions.
Reiger was surprised upon learning this news.
"I didn’t expect all these Sword Saints to get involved?"
Reiger had not anticipated this development.
That the Codelion Family would choose to kick someone when they’re down was predictable, so Reiger was not surprised.
But he truly had not expected these Sword Saints to voice their opinions at this juncture.
Yuri hadn’t foreseen it either.
However, she knew that it wasn’t because of Reiger.
"They’re not helping you, they’re helping themselves," said Yuri. "Like you, they are Sword Saints. If they don’t protest in this matter, who knows whether in the future someone might disregard their status and identity, and employ such despicable tactics against them?"
"To avoid that possibility, they must express their opinions, must strongly dissent, so that everyone sees their stance and the royal family sees it too."
"That way, they can suppress the audacious attitude of targeting a Sword Saint with impunity as much as possible and let everyone know that they’re not to be trifled with."
Reiger, of course, knew that these Sword Saints, having never met him and having no relations with him, wouldn’t be doing this for his sake.
However, thanks to them, his goal of demanding an explanation from the royal family, and making it difficult for them to refuse, was going to be easier to achieve.
Now, his issue had been escalated to nearly represent the intentions of all Sword Saints.
If the royal family still mishandles the situation, they won’t escape without serious damage.
And so it was.
King Hemulinp was staring at one letter after another in the royal court, feeling a tremendous headache.
Even Rom appeared behind King Hemulinp, addressing the king.
"Your Majesty, this matter is not to be taken lightly. We must quickly provide a response that satisfies the Sword Saints, otherwise it might escalate into nationwide chaos," said Rom.
A conflict between several Sword Saints and the royal family, if not resolved promptly, would undoubtedly lead to great turmoil.
If foreign actors took this chance to cause division between the royal family and the Sword Saints, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Not to mention, the Border Guardian Sword Saint is currently on the frontier battlefield, helping to defend the kingdom against foreign enemies; if he loses trust in the royal family and becomes dissatisfied with the kingdom, a crisis could erupt at any minute.
The Meteor Sword Saint has always been wandering in foreign lands, coming into contact with people from other countries; if someone took this opportunity to provoke him, rebellion is not out of the question.
There’s no need to mention the Borlay family. The Sword Saint Family holds a pivotal position within the kingdom, being the kingdom’s sharpest sword. For generations, Sword Saints have been born to protect and serve the nation. The Knight Order of the kingdom is also led by them; almost all knights in the country regard this family as idols and pillars of spiritual strength. If they were to take action, and the Knight Order were to follow, it would shake the very foundation of the land.
Add to that Reiger Brillhaut, an unprecedented 17-year-old Sword Saint—there’s no telling what the future holds if this matter isn’t handled correctly; the problem is indeed too significant.
This doesn’t even take into account Yuri, a strategic magician, and the One-eyed Sword Saint from the Codelion Family.
One stands with Reiger, and the other with Saint Nidor, both ready to support their side and protest against the royal family at any moment.
These individuals, each one honored with the continent’s highest accolades as Swordsmen and Magicians, could cause great harm to the kingdom if they started to make trouble.
King Hemulinp was well aware of the gravity of the situation.
But...
"Solok has already been severely injured, was on the brink of death, and is still in a coma. How am I to punish him?"
King Hemulinp was both pained and annoyed.
"Isn’t this asking me to finish off Solok?"
Ultimately, King Hemulinp still sided with Solok.
Not because he thought Solok was right, but because within the royal progeny, only he was the finest. If not supporting him, then who else could King Hemulinp support?
As for Solok’s brutal nature, though King Hemulinp found it displeasing, he didn’t see it as a big problem.
Being born into the royal family, King Hemulinp knew well that people like them are born high above the rest, able to do almost anything they wish. As such, it’s only natural for young royals to be arrogant, domineering, and unrestrained.
He was even more arrogant than Solok in his youth.
Yet after ascending to the throne, his personality matured with age, his perspective on things shifted, and ultimately, he became more composed, no longer the brash young man he used to be.
King Hemulinp felt Solok was very much like his younger self.
Such a person, once matured, would naturally not remain as he is now.
This was also why King Hemulinp had turned a blind eye to the misdeeds of his son up to this point.
He, after all, intended to keep supporting Solok.