Jack was amazed. Just the two guards at the main door were already almost as powerful as Duke Alfredo. The soldiers stationed within this castle must be the cream of the crop in the kingdom.
"The main door only opened during a royal event, or when receiving important dignitaries," Commander Quintus explained. He brought Jack to a smaller door at the side of the building.
When they were about to enter, a voice stopped them, "Halt!"
The two turned and saw a man in heavy armor approach, behind him was a squad of heavy-armored soldiers.
"Quintus, what are you doing here?" The man said.
"Claudius… I am here to visit the third prince. Is that a problem?" Commander Quintus replied.
"You are not, but he is," Claudius pointed at Jack.
Jack was surprised. What's the problem with this prick? He used Inspect on the man.
Claudius (Rare Elite Human, Lord Commander), level 66
HP: 760,000
Jack was surprised, again. This prick was as powerful as Duke Alfredo. He was even one level higher. He was originally going to say something, but now he decided to just be quiet and observe the situation first.
"He is a member of our kingdom faction, he is a viscount and a close friend to the third prince. Please show some respect," Commander Quintus uttered.
"A Viscount?" Claudius was surprised. "Hmph! It's your own fault for allowing him into our faction in the first place. Their kinds should have been chased away the seconds they appeared."
"Are you defying our King's order, Claudius? Do not let others misjudge. Otherwise, they will say you are rebelling."
"Hmph. It's just a matter of time for them. Once the crown prince Therribus assumed the throne. He will do what is right. As for you lackeys of the third prince, I'm rather amazed you can still trust an outworlder after what happened."
"You can't generalize all of them just because of the act of a few."
"Say whatever you want, their days are still numbered," Claudius turned to Jack and gave him a hostile stare. Jack returned it with a smile.
"The hell are you smiling for?" Claudius grunted.
"Our kinds are benevolent people who treat others' bad manners with kindness," Jack replied.
"Are you saying my manners are bad?!" Claudius thundered.
"You must have misunderstood me, o great knight! I simply meant that however others treat us, good or trashy, we will still smile at them with kindness," Jack replied, still smiling.
It was clear that Jack was simply making fun of him, but Claudius couldn't do anything to Jack. Jack was still a Viscount, after all. Even though his Lord Commander's rank was high, it still didn't mean he could do as he like against a noble. Not when Jack didn't openly disrespect him.
"I will see how long you can still smile," Claudius spat at the ground beside Jack's feet. He then gave a command to the squad behind him. "Follow him. Make sure he only goes to the third prince's bed-chamber. If he wanders anywhere else, take him into custody!"
After giving Jack another hostile glance, Claudius then walked away, leaving his squad behind who continued to watch the two.
Commander Quintus gestured for Jack to follow. They entered the castle's side door and came to a wide hallway framed with large classical columns.
'If the side door's hallway is already this grand, I can't imagine the main entrance's hallway,' Jack thought. He looked back and saw Claudius' squad was indeed tailing them.
"I must say the crown prince's camp is rather strong," Jack said.
"That's true. He is not even the strongest," Commander Quintus said.
"I know. I've met another Lord Commander, Garland Thunderhand," Jack informed. "Don't tell me he is also not the strongest."
Commander Quintus didn't reply.
"Damn!" Jack uttered, understanding the commander's silence.
Since the squad was following them with a strict order to not let them wander, Jack could not ask the commander to take him for a sightseeing tour. They came to a large hall with a staircase and went up the staircase several floors above. After a few more turns, they arrived in front of a door that had the Themisphere royal symbol with the Therras Beast's head. Two soldiers were guarding the door.
The two soldiers saluted commander Quintus when he approached.
"I'm here to see prince Alonzo. Is he awake?" Commander Quintus asked.
"Yes, but he has guests at the moment. I have to let them know first," one of the soldiers answered.
"All right. Tell them I am with mister Storm Wind here, requesting an audience with the third prince."
The soldier nodded. He then went inside while his partner stayed outside.
Jack looked back at the squad who followed them. They had lined up at two sides of the hallway, standing guard there while not blocking others who were to pass.
Not long after, the soldier came out and said, "You two can enter." He opened the door wide and ushered them in.
The two of them went through the door and came to a small room. There was another door on the opposite side, Another guard was opening that door and gestured for them to enter.
'The prince's bed-chamber had its own foyer,' Jack thought, impressed.
After they passed through that foyer, they arrived at the bed-chamber. But to Jack, it looked much more like a small-sized banquet hall. There were several couches, a small bar counter at the corner to prepare drinks and light dishes. One side of the room opened up to a wide outdoor terrace that displayed the view of Thereath city. At the center of the room was a large and extravagant bed. Prince Alonzo was laying on this large bed. Several maids were attending the prince.
Three persons that Jack knew were beside the bed, they should be the guests the guard outside mentioned. One of these persons stood up.
"I'm delighted to meet you again, Mister Storm Wind," Royal Advisor Mason said. "I've heard how you saved the prince during the expedition. We are all very grateful."
"It is my duty," Jack replied with a bow.
"Mister Storm Wind, I'm glad you come," Jack heard Prince Alonzo call to him. His voice was strong, Jack hardly thought of it as the voice of someone sick. But when Jack approached, he could see the prince's face was pale.
The maids moved two chairs beside the bed to allow Jack and Commander Quintus to sit. The other two guests were Princess Sindral and Samuel. The princess was sitting with Mason on the other side of the bed, while Samuel was standing on the side.
"What happened?" Jack asked after sitting down.
"Let me be the one to explain. The prince needs rest so it's better if he doesn't talk too much," Mason offered. "This incident happened when the prince went into the training caves with the other cadets. When they were inside, the monsters that appeared were more numerous and stronger than they should have been. But because it was a training cave, the maximum level and number were still something the cadets could handle. However, when everyone was busy dealing with the monsters, someone ambushed the prince from the back using a poisoned dagger.
"The other cadets, realizing the prince was in danger, hurriedly came to his defense. The assailant with the poisoned dagger retreated before the other cadets could catch the person. After they broke away from the monsters, they carried the prince and exited the training cave. They found that the guard who was supposed to monitor them from outside the cave had been murdered. The murderer had tampered with the cave setting before going in for the ambush.
"Prince Alonzo had activated his alert beacon the moment he was ambushed. So guards arrived soon after, but they failed to find the perpetrator. That person had run away immediately after backstabbing the prince, he or she most probably knew about the prince's alert beacon. The poison had been a special kind. Our healers were unable to alleviate the poison effect directly but fortunately, it was not something uncurable, the prince just needs more rest for some time."
Jack pondered about Mason's tale. He asked, "Does the area with the training cave have a record of who is allowed entry? We can check who is in the record to narrow down the suspect," Jack remembered when he went there with Lindsey and Alonzo, the area was not a public space, so entry to this place should be controlled.
"There is, but there are two problems. Firstly, the record on that day had been destroyed, we are still investigating this incident. Secondly, even if the record is intact, the one who ambushed the prince wouldn't be in it, because that person should not have entered the training cave area."
"Why is that?" Jack asked.
It was Prince Alonzo who answered, "because the one who ambushed me was an outworlder."
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