Chapter 269

Chapter Fifty-Six The Farce Ends…?

As her words fell, the entrance of the hall became noisy once again.

Clank, clank…

The sound of countless armors rubbing against each other echoed from afar and gradually approached, their footsteps steady and in unison. I turned back with a puzzled look.

Where my gaze landed, the crowd that had not yet run out of the venue began to retreat orderly. Men hastily shielded their companions behind them; noble ladies hugged their children tightly. At this moment, they all wore expressions of confusion, occasionally glancing around nervously, looking at the few places still engaged in combat. They searched for a hiding spot but found themselves surrounded by people on both sides, so they could only go with the flow, looking utterly lost.

Clank, clank.

The sound of armor drew closer, and soon after, I heard the deep voice of the old knight coming from the corridor outside the exit.

“Move aside! Stand to the side!”

With the fall of his words, the crowd suddenly dispersed like a flood, making way for the silver-armored guards who marched through the main door of the inner hall, parting the crowd as smoothly as a dragon swimming through water. Roughly estimating, there were at least fifty or sixty of them, with likely even more outside the hall.

“Soldiers, obey your orders! Quickly cooperate with the Sword of Canri! Eliminate any remaining assassins—”

The old knight raised his right arm high and then swiftly brought it down.

“Not one shall be left.”

Clang, clang, clang—

At his command, the soldiers on either wing immediately spread out, drawing their swords from their waists, and charged towards the directions where the fighting was ongoing. The old knight continued moving forward, leading the remaining dozen or so men over in a hurry.

Iron boots stepped on the red carpet, trampling spilled wine, splashing tiny droplets.

…It seemed like it was about to end.

It appeared Victoria had anticipated everything and had made thorough preparations. And just a while ago, the formidable Duke of Cantley, who had been so fierce… well, if everything had gone according to his plan, perhaps it would indeed have been an unexpected and fierce action.

But now, standing alone before the proud queen, his body slightly bent due to pain in his right arm, his gray hair somewhat disheveled, strands hanging over his forehead, and his subordinates lying dead beside him, he looked rather desolate.

Regardless, his conspiracy had crumbled before Victoria.

“Lexus Sir! Haha, sorry sorry, I seem to have gotten a bit of a stomachache, it seems I took longer than expected. How about it? Did I keep you waiting?”

The old knight’s loud laughter and sarcastic words arrived first. Duke Lexus turned his head at the sound, his eyes cold and piercing, his lips tightly pressed together as he pondered something.

The silver-armored guards swept past me, a gentle breeze brushing against my thighs, bringing a refreshing sensation.

…Oh!

My dress!

Suddenly remembering that my dress was still torn, my face flushed again. Seeing no one paying attention, I quickly covered my right thigh with both hands, shuffling over to a position very close to Victoria. I pulled up a chair that had fallen sideways, sat down, and pulled a nearby clean tablecloth to cover my thigh.

I felt a little more secure.

Then I suddenly remembered Sophia… Where was she?

Those assassins seemed to have hurt no one; Sophia should be fine, right?

While fiddling with the napkin covering my legs, trying to wrap it around my legs and bottom, I lifted my neck and scanned the venue, searching for the familiar figure of the girl.

At the same time, I heard Victoria speaking: “Duke Lexus, you lost this time because you still saw me as the little girl I used to be, believing I was alone.”

“But unbeknownst to you, the situation has changed drastically. You underestimated me. Six days ago, I received intelligence that approximately thirteen thousand iron-clad guards had left Vlask Fortress and would soon arrive at the capital. By then, I already knew what you intended to do… From both the situation and the circumstances, your timing was ripe, and all that remained was to eliminate me, the sole legitimate heir to the throne.”

“I think those iron-clad guards have been waiting outside the city for quite some time, haven’t they? It’s a pity, though; they can’t enter just yet. I know who your informant is. Viscount Leonard, the northern miner Harrison… These two had previously told

I, mentioned that a large shipment of pig iron would be brought into the city tonight, and claimed that I would give half of it to you as a birthday gift… Do you wonder where they are now?”

“Haha! Lord Lex, why don’t you speak? Did you also eat something bad? Your complexion doesn’t look good.” The old knight took over Victoria’s words, his laughter sounding very cheerful, “Were you surprised? Didn’t expect to see my old face at the banquet, did you? Speaking of which, I should thank your precious grandson for this. Without his matter, I might not have come here. You just made Queen陛下 accompany you in playing that boring guessing game, and she gave you face. Now it’s Lord Lex’s turn. Why don’t you guess, how many soldiers are guarding the city walls tonight? Ten thousand or twenty thousand?”

“…Why, you don’t want to guess? Then let me guess. I bet… you must be feeling terrible, right?”

Tear—

A large piece of white napkin was torn off and tied around my waist, then I slowly stood up, looking down—it reached just below my knees, so no more wardrobe malfunctions.

Though it looked a bit ugly…

The noisy commotion gradually died down, and the battle in the banquet hall had ended. Reckt had somehow left Victoria’s side and walked far away, directing the Canri Sword and the city guards to clear out the dead assassins, carrying one bloody, limbless corpse after another out of the hall.

“I apologize for disturbing everyone, things will soon be settled…”

“I believe tonight will still be an enjoyable night…”

Then he continued soothing and comforting the panicked guests.

After a while, the long-silent Duke finally spoke, “So, dear Queen陛下, now that things have come to this… I have lost once, but what will you do with me?”

“Now that I am in your hands, you can do whatever you wish with me—blink once and I won’t deserve to lead the Clive family… Beheading? Or hanging? I know you’re eager to deal with me immediately. But as you said, there are thirteen thousand soldiers waiting outside the city, and this number will soon rise… At this point, whoever strikes first will be starting a war. Queen陛下, what will you do next?”

“Will you publicly execute me and start a war with the Clive family, dragging all of Esterbelle into the quagmire of war… or will you seek help from the Holy Church? I know the second army of the Knights is stationed in the Raberry Great Canyon, perhaps you have a way to contact them? On the condition that they have the strength to spare and take care of this side.”

“What do you think? Should we negotiate, or take direct action… you must consider carefully.”

I frowned, looking at the Duke’s slightly squinted eyes.

This old man…

Even at this stage, he remains so detestable.

But as he said, the situation seems grim… There are thirteen thousand armored guards outside the city.

If they are all wearing armor from the Central Workshop and using weapons from the same place… I know how powerful our own weapons are. Even if there were two thousand guards, defending would be difficult.

If they bring large siege equipment…

This could pose a greater threat to the royal city than even the Terrorbeast.

“You don’t need to worry about this anymore.”

Victoria said calmly, then turned to the old knight and gestured him to move.

“Throw him in the dungeon.”

“Haha!”

The old knight chuckled lightly, signaling a few guards to step forward and escort the silent Duke away.

I felt worried and unconsciously walked towards Victoria, reaching out to pat her back, but at that moment I heard the Duke who had just walked away make a sound like a snort.

I instinctively turned my head, just in time to see his wrinkled profile, along with the strange smile on his face that was slowly retracting.

A very uncomfortable smile.

Something was off…

“Peyelo—!”

A clear and pleasant female voice called me from afar.

Following the sound, I saw Sophia standing among the crowd, looking at me. The fear on her pretty almond-shaped face seemed to have yet to fade, and her eyes still showed a trace of trembling.

She’s fine…

I took a step towards her.