landbeastnovel #166 - Section 166
#166 - Section 166
Rhode stopped abruptly, hovering in the air above the castle, his eyes scanning the castle below.
Judging from its scale, this castle was clearly much larger than the Kingdom of Auston.
It was roughly equivalent to 1.5 times the area of the Kingdom of Auston combined.
Larger than an ordinary kingdom, but not yet reaching the level of a Marquisate.
It could be considered a powerful County situated between the two.
And the king of this kingdom was Elo's father.
Rhode gently descended, holding Elo.
"Let's go inside and take a look!"
Looking at the somewhat nervous Elo beside him, Rhode patted her shoulder and comforted her in a low voice.
"Mm!"
Elo's tense mood relaxed slightly, and she followed Rhode into the castle.
Crossing the drawbridge over the moat, they entered the kingdom's castle.
A bustling street came into view.
Although both were kingdoms, the Kingdom of Auston was clearly no match for the prosperity of the kingdom before them.
However, at this moment, the interior of the castle was filled with a depressing atmosphere.
The hurried pedestrians all wore expressions of solemnity, as if war was imminent.
Rhode grabbed a passerby at random, his eyes meeting theirs, flashing with an eerie light.
The passerby, who had been full of anger, suddenly became dull.
"What's happening here?"
"The neighboring Marquisate is about to launch a war against us, plundering our land. The king is calling on all civilians..."
The passerby's words made Rhode frown involuntarily.
According to this guy, a powerful Marquis next door had taken a fancy to the kingdom's land and launched a war directly without any reason or excuse.
This was a bit strange.
Wars were usually rare among nobles, because once a war broke out, the outcome, whether win or lose, would inevitably be a lose-lose situation.
This would give other countries around them an opportunity to take advantage of them.
Everyone was a noble, living and enjoying life, minding their own business.
Starting a war for no reason and fighting to the death, wasn't that just being bored?
Therefore, wars were rare among nobles, especially upper-class nobles above the rank of Count.
Even if there were disputes over interests or words, most of them would be settled by duels.
And wars between kingdoms were even rarer, occurring once every few decades.
Even if a national war was launched, it was basically just a formality.
But now, a Marquis was not only launching a war against a Count, but also a war of annihilation with no end in sight.
According to the consensus in the upper-class noble circles.
Unless someone was out of their mind, they probably wouldn't do something like this.
Rhode glanced around and suddenly saw a yellowed piece of parchment posted on the wall.
The parchment must have been around for a while, so the writing on it looked a bit blurry after being exposed to wind and rain.
"What's written on this?"
Rhode asked casually.
"The king's princess was cursed by an evil witch. When she turns twenty, she will prick her finger on a spindle and fall into an endless sleep, so His Majesty the King has ordered the destruction of all spindles in the country, and anyone who hides them will be severely punished."
A curse?
A spindle?
A trace of surprise flashed in Rhode's eyes, and he looked at Elo beside him.
He only knew that this woman was cursed by a witch, but he didn't know the specific content of the curse.
Pricked by a spindle, falling into a deep sleep.
Isn't that the story of Sleeping Beauty?
So, this Elo is Sleeping Beauty herself?
"Three fairies, a beautiful woman, and a princess of the kingdom, who can only go home at the age of twenty..."
I should have thought of it.
Rhode shook his head.
He wasn't worried about the witch's curse on Elo, because he had a way to lift the curse himself.
A deep exchange, and most of the curse would be purified directly.
As for the remaining curse, continuous purification for a month should be enough to clean it up.
"Let's go to the palace first and meet your father."
Rhode took Elo directly to the gate of the palace.
The guards at the gate stopped Rhode and asked for his identity.
"This is your king's daughter, Elo. I was entrusted to send her to the palace."
Rhode said calmly.
The powerful aura of trembling that was inadvertently emitted made the guards guarding the palace dare not neglect him.
They quickly sent someone to notify the king.
Rhode and Elo were also respectfully invited to the palace hall.
As soon as they arrived at the palace hall, Rhode saw a middle-aged man in noble attire with majesty between his eyebrows, waiting anxiously in the hall.
"Elo! My child!"
Seeing Elo walking in, the man's face showed an excited expression, and he quickly greeted her.
"Just like your mother."
Count Yalman said sincerely, but the affectionate tone made Elo feel a little uncomfortable.
She looked at Rhode beside her for help.
"You are?"
Count Yalman, whose eyes had been focused on his daughter, seemed to notice Rhode only now.
He looked at Rhode with scrutiny and doubt.
"Friends of Margaret and the others. They asked me to send the princess back to the kingdom."
Rhode's indifferent tone made Count Yalman frown slightly, and a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes.
Although this guy had safely returned his daughter, as a knight without noble status, he was so impolite in front of him, a Count.
It was really too rude.
If it weren't for the fact that he had brought Elo back, the crime of despising the king alone would be enough to punish him severely.
"So, you're a friend of Margaret's."
Count Yalman's tone gradually cooled, and his reprimanding voice carried a condescending arrogance.
"The Queen asked them to take care of Elo until she was twenty years old. Why did they send Elo back early?"
"You'll have to ask them about that. I'm only responsible for sending Elo back."
Rhode's tone was calm, and he didn't bother to say anything more to this arrogant idiot.
If it weren't for Elo's sake, how dare a mere Count bark in front of him?
No matter how loud he spoke, he could make this guy kneel with a humble attitude.
Now, destroying a kingdom was troublesome for him, although.
But, it was just a little troublesome.
"Knight, what's your name? Who do you serve?"
Seeing Rhode calling his daughter's name directly, Count Yalman's eyebrows were already knitted together.
Even if he had returned the princess, a knight without respect was a great taboo.
After all, a knight's duty was to be loyal to the nobles, and the primary point was loyalty and humility.
Rhode's image instantly reached a low point in Count Yalman's mind.
Therefore, when speaking, he couldn't help but use a commanding tone of reprimand.
"Rhode! Honorary Grand Knight of the Kingdom of Auston!"
Rhode narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced at Count Yalman, who seemed to be scolding his subordinates.
I gave you a little face, and you really took advantage of it?
Not to mention that he was now the honorary knight of the Kingdom of Auston, representing the entire Kingdom of Auston, second only to the king in status.
Even the quasi-king of the Kingdom of Auston wouldn't dare to show off in front of him.
Even if he was just an ordinary knight, he would only need to serve his own lord.
What was a king who had nothing to do with him doing here, putting on airs?
You really have some nerve.
"Count Yalman, do you seem to have a problem with me?"
Rhode's mouth raised slightly, but there was no trace of a smile on his face.
In an instant, a terrifying aura instantly enveloped the entire kingdom hall.
Swish swish swish!
In an instant, the surrounding palace guards, feeling the abnormality, had already drawn their weapons and approached Count Yalman.
Several of them even surrounded Rhode.
"War..."
"Too noisy."
Rhode glanced over, and the head of the palace guards, before he could finish his words, stopped abruptly, like a duck being strangled by the neck.
His eyes swept over the palace guards around him who were pointing their swords at him.
The smile on Rhode's face became even brighter.
"Pointing your swords at me, you should know what that means, right?"
Boom!
The voice fell.
A powerful aura was overwhelming, and the space within the entire kingdom hall was almost solidified.
Aura of Terror!
From Count Yalman to the palace guards, everyone's eyes revealed fear.
Under this powerful aura, even breathing had become a luxury.
Death!