RGS Volume 5 Part 11

As he deliberately averted his awkward eyes, someone came running towards them from the direction of the quarters Abel had come from, calling out loudly to the Commander of the Royal Guards.

“Ah! Sir Tom! It really is Sir Tom!”

The Commander of the Royal Guards immediately grimaced, but the other person didn’t notice and was busy greeting him in a cheerful voice.

“Sir Tom, thank you so much! Thanks to Sir Tom, everything went smoothly. It’s really all thanks to you, Sir Tom.”

With each mention of the name Tom, Tom’s face twisted further. However, the servant, genuinely delighted, failed to notice and burst into laughter.

“Oh, you see, the food Sir Tom gave me was exactly what the Marquis’ guest was looking for! Whew, I was worried that ill-tempered guest would cause another scene, but thanks to our knight, Sir Tom, I was saved. Haha! So, if it’s not too much trouble, could you give me some more of that food… Huh! Why, why are you suddenly doing this?”

The servant, who had been shouting excitedly, suddenly blinked in surprise. However, the Commander of the Royal Guards, who firmly grabbed the servant’s arm, only responded with a stern voice, unlike his usual tone they had never heard before.

“You mean the dried meat I gave you is what really that guest was looking for?”

“Yes. Th-that’s right. What’s wrong?”

The servant had a worried expression, thinking that he had made a mistake, but the Commander of the Royal Guards remained silent and simply let go of his arm.

“No. There’s nothing wrong. It’s just that the dried meat is very hard to come by. Tell the guest that if they need more, they’ll have to pay a hefty price.”

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

Initially, the King’s Heart’s plan was simple. As Truyde had said before, they would bring the emperor to the table where they could see and feed him food laced with drugs. The problem was how to arrange such a situation.

For six years, the emperor had been waging war in the barbarian lands, likely making it impossible for him to control the fierce nature of the dragon. This would be an excuse they could make. No king had ever gone without a Regas, so the fact that he had been alone for six years was an issue anyone could criticize.

However, the situation had changed. The emperor possessed more power than they had thought and was not addicted to the black potion. With the inability to control him, this plan seemed difficult to execute. Though they had managed to get him to drink the potion once by using the queen as bait, there was no guarantee of success the next time, right?

Thus, everyone in the King’s Heart hoped for one thing as they watched Karas. That the black potion he drank in full would be fatal. After all, the emperor had no immediate justification to kill all the King’s Heart members. As long as he had no reason to openly confront them, the passage of time would be in favor of the King’s Heart.

The palace was their territory, and they could find any reason to make the emperor sit at their table. However, their complicated thoughts were suddenly wiped blank. Because of Karas’ unexpected remark.

‘Is it my turn to give a gift now?’

What gift?

But before anyone could react to the mention of the word ‘gift’, Karas uttered another complaint.

“I’m hungry.”

The words, almost muttered under his breath, were clearly heard by the members of the King’s Heart, filled with wariness. Their nerves that had been on edge due to the mention of a ‘gift’ melted away like softened wax. While no one else could find the words to speak, Truyde was the first to respond.

“Your Majesty, shall we move to another seat to eat?”

However, Karas couldn’t answer immediately. Seizing the opportunity when Karas looked away, the queen dug her nails into the back of his hand. Her nails dragged down and tear into his flesh. Red blood quickly dripped down, but Karas, seemingly unfazed by the pain, simply turned his expressionless face. As her son looked at her again, the queen’s eyes gleamed.

“You’re going to die. Just like your father, you’ll soon be dead. You monster.”

This time, her voice was not a whisper. The metallic sound reached the ears of everyone watching from the doorway, making them all frown. The strange thing was Karas, the target of her curse. Despite her words, which would offend anyone, he twisted his lips into a sneer.

“Not enough.”

No one fully understood the voice that flowed out monotonously. However, the queen, who was looking at Karas as if he were prey, was different. She stopped clawing at the back of Karas’ hand. Amidst the faint smell of blood that filled the space between them, Karas repeated slowly.

“That’s not enough.”

Karas tore open his shirt, revealing his bare chest. He grabbed the queen’s hand and placed it firmly on his chest. He deliberately pressed her hand down. Right over his heart.

“You have to do more, Mother.”

As he uttered the title, Karas’ eyes changed suddenly as if to revive her deep memories. For a brief moment, only the queen, who stood facing him, could see his eyes turn sharp like blades. Simultaneously, an indescribable chill that pierced to the bones engulfed the queen. The queen gasped for breath and screamed.

“Ah! Th-Those eyes.”

In an instant, Karas’ gray eyes returned to normal, but she pointed at them with her finger.

“Look! A, a monster! He’s finally turned into a monster! Hurry, hurry, kill him! Ha, hah, hurry up and kill him now!”

She screamed wildly, stepping back frantically, and tripped over her skirt, falling to the ground. Even in that state, she struggled to back away, covering her eyes with her arms while continuing to scream for them to kill him. The King’s Heart, watching her, couldn’t hide their distress.

Especially Truyde, whose expression turned cold as the card he thought he could use a few more times collapsed too easily. He glared at the priest reproachfully, and the priest, with a pale face, hurriedly approached the queen and pulled her away.

Once the screaming queen was gone, a silence settled over the room as if a storm just had passed. Karas stood there staring at the floor, his chest half exposed and with a few drops of blood still dripping from the back of his hand. As everyone wondered what thoughts were running through his mind, they heard the same sound again.

“I’m hungry.”

Unlike before, this time his voice sounded absent minded as if he were reading a book. Truyde immediately realized that the poison of the black potion was spreading inside him.

Just as expected.

“Your Majesty, shall we move to another place for your meal…?”

“Serve it here.”

Though his voice had lost half its strength, its calmness made it difficult. The King’s Heart exchanged glances before Marquis Yan stepped forward as their representative.

“Your Majesty, however, a banquet has already been prepared for you elsewhere.”

“So?”

Karas only turned his head slightly towards the King’s Heart. His gray eyes, clouded as if drunk, glanced around at them.

“You are the ones who gave me this place.”

“……”

“I will eat here.”

Though his tone seemed like that of a child throwing a tantrum, the King’s Heart quickly changed their expressions as if on guard. Karas tilted his head and added.

“You all as well.”

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

Kin, having finally found an inn in the rain, asked for food for his horse and lay down on the bed to catch some sleep. The farther he got from the capital, the lighter the rain became, but his clothes were already as heavy as lead, increasing his fatigue. However, he had to set out as soon as the sun rose. The unexpected change of plans made him anxious, and though he closed his eyes, his mind was complicated.

Originally, he was supposed to head to the capital. To help the war profiteer as Karas had ordered, he needed to go to the capital, hide under him, and observe the palace affairs. However, his direction changed due to what the Commander of the Royal Guards said, who had chased him. However, his initial reason for chasing after him was pointless.

‘Sir Kin! Wait a moment. Tom? That doesn’t make any sense!’

He thought about ignoring and leaving him, but feeling that the man would chase him to the end, he responded immediately. He draw his sword with a swish. The Commander of the Royal Guards, not expecting Kin to draw his sword right away, halted in surprise and frustration.

‘Sir Kin, what’s so wrong with Garasu… Ugh! How could you actually swing your sword at me?!’

The Commander of the Royal Guards, whose collar was slightly cut, shouted in shock, but Kin snorted and turned around. He didn’t forget to issue a warning, just in case.

‘If I send a letter addressed to Tom and you don’t receive it, I will follow you to hell and execute you.’

Then, as expected, a rebuttal filled with injustice echoed.

‘If that’s the case, I’ll rather spread the war profiteer’s fragrance oil throughout the country, so Sir Kin can stay here…’

‘Fragrance oil?’

When Kin, surprised, interrupted him, the Commander of the Royal Guards answered, grumbling.

‘Yes, fragrance oil. The oil that the war profiteer was able to monopolize from the occupied territories and make money from.’

‘What are you talking about? The war profiteer currently cooperating with us amassed his wealth from the salt mines.’

‘What? But His Majesty ordered us to help the war profiteer and spread the fragrance oil so that everyone could have it. He said it should be done as soon as possible. So, I naturally thought the war profiteer had the fragrance oil.’

‘No. The fragrance oil belongs to another war profiteer.’

Only then did Kin realize that the emperor’s command differed from the original plan.

To spread the fragrance oil.

Even if the war profiteer with the fragrance oil wasn’t the one cooperating with them, he would follow any order, considering he’d gained his wealth thanks to Karas.

The problem was, why did it suddenly have to be fragrance oil?

As he drifted off to sleep, the question lingered in his mind, but the emperor’s sudden orders had given him new tasks to attend to, pushing the question into the back of his mind. If he needed to spread the fragrance oil quickly, he’d have to move swiftly.

He thought he could figure out the reason later. However, he felt sorry for Abel, knowing that it would take some time to complete this task and return to the palace. He would probably be waiting for news about His Majesty. He decided he would have to ask someone else for help.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

The sight of the table set in the bedroom might have been laughable to an outsider. However, none of those present who were sitting were laughing. All the servants who were supposed to serve them, even including Ashler, had been dismissed, leaving only the King’s Heart and the emperor in the room.

The atmosphere in the room was tense, reminiscent of the time twelve years ago when it had been soaked in blood, and no one had dared to enter. The only person feeling uneasy in this situation was the war profiteer, who had become entangled with the King’s Heart. Since earlier, he had been fidgeting with his hands and darting his eyes around nervously, clearly showing his uneasy appearance.

Meanwhile, the other members of the King’s Heart watched Karas intently, as if observing him.

How effective would the potion be?

What on earth could he possibly be thinking by pulling such a stunt?

Moreover, they were curious about the gift he hadn’t yet mentioned.

Though he had ordered a meal because he was hungry, he showed no reaction to the steaming, appetizing food placed before him. Only after the fragrant smell filled the large room did Karas finally lift his gaze. His gray eyes looked even more vacant than before. His speech had also slowed.

“Are you curious?”

As if he knew why they were observing him, Karas asked. Norhox responded with a smile.

“Your Majesty, what do you mean? It would be best if you started with your meal first.”

When Norhox offered the food, Karas only moved his eyes to look at it. The food, which smelled delicious, undoubtedly contained more of the black potion. The King’s Heart members all silently urged him with their eyes.

Eat it quickly.

Smirk.

Karas’s lips curled into a smile once again. This time, he maintained the smile for quite a while as he spoke to the King’s Heart.

“I really like your gifts. So, I’d want to keep receiving them.”

Want to receive them?

Those who didn’t understand the meaning exchanged glances.

Surely, he wasn’t saying he would bow his head and continue drinking the black potion?

However, Karas’ next words defied their expectations. It was unexpectedly good news.

“I will continue having dinner here. With all of you.”