Chapter 282: 282 [Mist of Nothingness]
Yalefu, Royal Palace.
When the carriage bearing the Franzel family crest once again entered this place, Reiger had once again visited this chalk-white castle.
However, this visit to the royal palace was different; Reiger could distinctly feel that the atmosphere here had undergone a significant change compared to last time.
Last time, because it was an award ceremony, Reiger saw many nobles here, dressed in splendor as they hurried to the audience room, chatting merrily, creating a festive atmosphere.
But this time, the royal palace seemed to have turned into a heavily guarded fortress. Everywhere, fully armed knights could be seen running back and forth in groups, their movements hasty and their presence intimidating, visibly filling the entire space with tension.
"It seems this has given quite a shock to the royal family."
Reiger watched all this indifferently, and his comments carried a sense of detachment, making it clear to anyone that he was keeping himself out of the matter.
On the contrary, Liz appeared somewhat timid, very much like a guilty thief, which made Reiger quite helpless.
This little princess, surely she’s too bad at hiding, right?
Her guilty appearance practically screamed to everyone that she was the instigator behind everything.
"Liz," Reiger suddenly patted Liz on the shoulder, said, "Relax a bit, you look like this, even if there was nothing wrong, you would be suspected of something."
"Wuu..." Liz also knew her flaw was significant, and said dejectedly, "Sorry, I didn’t mean to."
"I know." Reiger massaged Liz’s shoulders, while feeling the girl’s unexpectedly tense shoulders, he continued, "Don’t think too much, just clear your mind, pretend you’re just coming home. After all, this is your home, isn’t it? No need to be so nervous."
"Okay, okay," Liz, her shoulders pressed a few times by Reiger, seemed to relax a bit, said embarrassedly, "I’ll do my best."
"That’s good." Reiger smiled slightly, released Liz’s shoulders, and said, "Then, let’s go in."
Liz nodded repeatedly, following behind Reiger, they headed towards the front.
Their destination was the King’s Room.
According to Yuri’s account, only King Hemulinp, being the king, knew how to access the kingdom’s treasury; all others didn’t even know where the treasury was located.
Even Yuri herself, although claiming to have entered the treasury once, had no idea of its location.
"I really was led by the king to a place, but by the time I regained my senses, the door of the treasury was already before my eyes," she explained in such a mystical fashion.
Thanks to this, Reiger’s interest in the so-called treasury grew even more, eager to see what exactly was contained within it.
As for the location of the King’s Room, Reiger, having been here once before, had already memorized it.
Thus, even if Yuri hadn’t come this time, Reiger knew the way.
After navigating several twists and turns, Reiger arrived at the King’s Room, standing in front of its grand doors.
"Reiger Brillhaut, the Sword Saint, requests an audience!"
Just like the previous time, a civil officer stood by the door of the King’s Room. Upon seeing Reiger, he immediately called out loudly to the inside, causing two knights to slowly push open the grand doors.
"Then, then I’ll wait here for my master to come out,"
Liz knew she, as an attendant, could proceed no further, possibly feeling relieved or something, hurriedly spoke to Reiger.
"Alright," Reiger nodded, said, "Wait for me to come out."
After saying that, Reiger entered the King’s Room alone.
The King’s Room was the same as last time, no changes, but the civil officers and knights previously standing on either side had all disappeared, leaving only King Hemulinp alone, seated on the throne, seemingly reviewing a document.
Of course, Reiger knew that King Hemulinp wouldn’t be the only one here.
He casually glanced at the position behind King Hemulinp, then proceeded to approach the throne.
"Your Majesty," said Reiger, greeting lightly, his demeanor as unfluctuating as still water.
"You’ve come?"
King Hemulinp also looked up from the document in his hands, giving Reiger the same benevolent smile as when they first met.
He then closed the document, set it aside, and began to speak.
"I owe you an apology," King Hemulinp started straightforwardly, addressing Reiger, "My son has treated your family members in an inappropriate manner. This occurred due to my lack of oversight; I hope you, Lord Brillhaut, can forgive this oversight."
Saying so, King Hemulinp actually bowed to Reiger, making a sincere apology.
This indeed surprised Reiger.
A king, bowing to apologize to someone?
This... was indeed interesting.
Reiger’s eyes briefly sparkled, yet his tone remained as placid as ever.
"You’re too kind, Your Majesty," Reiger responded, "It’s not your fault. It was merely the personal conduct of the third prince; you need not apologize to me."
"No, I have said, it was due to my lack of oversight," King Hemulinp shook his head, explained, "I was too indulgent with him, resulting in his audacity to do anything. I had thought that even if he were bold, he should have known better, but who could have foreseen he’d brazenly attack the family of a Sword Saint... that really is..."
King Hemulinp sighed softly.
Reiger said nothing, just quietly watching, indicating his silence.
Seeing Reiger like this, a thoughtful glint flashed in King Hemulinp’s eyes.
But he quickly recovered.
"As for the attack, if it must be said, it was his own fault for not heeding my confinement order and sneaking out of the palace. It served as a profound lesson for him," King Hemulinp stated, "I hope Lord Brillhaut can turn a blind eye and let this matter rest."
The underlying meaning of King Hemulinp’s words was simple, telling Reiger that Solok had suffered enough and perhaps it was no longer necessary to hold his actions against him?
"Of course," Reiger replied calmly, "Since I’ve come here, it means I no longer intend to pursue the matter further."
As to how much truth and how much falsehood was in those words, only Reiger himself knew.
At least, King Hemulinp couldn’t discern it.
He just gazed deeply at Reiger and said one phrase.
"That’s good," King Hemulinp said. "As compensation, I will take you to the Kingdom’s treasured vault, where you can choose one artifact."
"In our kingdom, very few have this opportunity, not even the royal offspring get to enter, only those who have made significant contributions and performed great services to the Kingdom are granted permission to enter and pick an artifact."
"For example, the Marquis you know, Franzel, gained entry after becoming a strategic-level magician, taking the Marquis position, and becoming the chief court magician."
"Also, the Border Guardian Sword Saint, who is currently defending the border, earned high honors for his service in protecting our land and was allowed to enter the vault once."
"Another strategic-level magician from our country, and the Sword Saint of the Bolelei family, who is also the Commander of the Kingdom Knight Corps, had access to the vault once."
"Apart from them, in the entire Kingdom, no more than five people have had access to the vault."
As King Hemulinp spoke of this, his tone was filled with an enticing feel.
"If Lord Brillhaut is willing to serve the Kingdom, it’s not impossible for him to enter again in the future."
That statement was clearly indicative of ulterior motives.
"Is that so?" Reiger, pretending not to understand, subtly smiled, "If so, I must indeed experience it for myself."
"Let’s go then," King Hemulinp said, seemingly without any deeper meaning, "I’ll take you there right now."
With that statement, King Hemulinp stood up from his throne, picked up the sword leaning to one side, and step by step, approached Reiger.
"Thud!"
Suddenly, King Hemulinp struck the floor with his sword, causing a resounding echo.
At that moment, the floor split open.
Indeed.
Under King Hemulinp’s strike, the floor split apart like a mechanism suddenly activated.
In an instant, both Reiger and King Hemulinp dropped down, completely losing their balance.
"...!"
Reiger’s eyes sharpened, just about to react, when King Hemulinp’s voice reached his ears.
"Do not resist, follow me."
King Hemulinp then spread his hands in front of Reiger, indicating he was also completely relaxing, not making any resistance.
Gazing at King Hemulinp like this, Reiger remained silent, and abandoned any attempt at action, allowing himself to fall.
The process didn’t last long.
When Reiger and King Hemulinp fell to a certain position, a vapor-like mist rose, enveloping them both.
At this moment, Reiger and King Hemulinp stopped falling, as if floating in water, suspending in the mist.
Before long, Reiger felt he was moving.
"What is this...?"
Reiger looked around, showing a surprised expression.
The surrounding area was all steam-like fog, making it impossible to see what was around or in which direction they were moving.
Reiger tried to use "See Through the World," only to discover that the fog actually hindered the senses and blocked exploration.
Thanks to this, Reiger couldn’t see through the mist, and didn’t even know in which direction he was moving, only passively drifting, like a leaf floating with the current, losing its freedom.
"This is a type of magical substance known as ’Mist of Nothingness,’ very demanding in its formation conditions," King Hemulinp’s voice once again entered Reiger’s ears.
"It will lead us to the vault; don’t resist, just quietly wait a while."
Hearing this, Reiger didn’t nod nor did he speak, merely waiting silently.