First Arc (King of Euphorion) – 11. Infiltration to The Moonspark’s Mansion

As expected, with Lady Belle, he could pass the inspection at the capital's gate easily. And as they arrived at Moonspark Residence's gate, the guards shouted.
"Lady Belle has returned! Hurry up and tell the Duke!"

One of the guards ran into the mansion. While the rest approached them.

Angel reached out his hand to help her get off the horse.
"Thank you," she said.

He released his hand and bowed slightly as a farewell.
"I'll take my leave."

"Sir Zel, are you sure you don't want to work for the Moonspark Family?" she asked once more.

"Thank you for your offer. But I must go now." He nodded slightly, turned around and walked away.

After hearing that his daughter had returned, Duke Nicolin immediately ran out of his residence and embraced her.
"Belle, as soon as I heard your carriage being attacked, I thought I would lose you." He released his arms and examined his daughter's condition.
"How are you? Are you hurt?"

She gave a reassuring smile to her father.
"I'm fine, father."

"What happened?" asked Duke Nicolin worriedly.

"I was attacked by a monster on my way back but fortunately there was a hunter who saved me," she answered.

"Where is he now? I have to thank him."

She turned around and looked for him.
"He-" She swept her gaze towards the direction he went and searched for him but couldn't find it.
"Where is he?"

Angel sneaked into the Moonspark Residence and quickly walked down the corridor. Occasionally he hid behind the curtains and pillars to avoid the servants who were passing him. He opened several doors to peek inside until he found a room with a luxury desk with some bookshelves. After checking the room situation, he immediately slipped into the room. He approached the desk, his hands took some documents and examined them. His eyes widened when he found a document with a Euphorion's crest stamp on it.
'Court approval for attacking Asteria?' He quickly checked the document. From the document, he found that King Xenos wanted to turn Pearl Gate City into a fortress because he wanted to attack Asteria.
'He wants to start a war ... Of course, If I were him, I would attack Asteria first as the peace alliance's leader before any kingdom on the Andromeda Continent.' Even with his grudge, he never wanted war. Not only did he not want to kill innocent people, but he knew that the eight royal families of Andromeda should not destroy each other. So if one day the Dark King came back, they could destroy him like before. Unfortunately, he was the one who possessed that ancient evil king's power. He couldn't deny it even though he was confused, he kept going because the woman told him that he had to find the answer on his journey.

He put the document and examined the others. Another document caught his attention.
'Pearl Gate City's reconstruction plan.' He opened the document and read it. From the document, he discovered that King Xenos wanted to take care of Pearl Gate City's reconstruction by himself and he would leave in a few days.
'I can use this opportunity to attack him,' thought Angel.

He tidied up the documents and walked towards the exit. As his hand just touched the door handle, the sound of footsteps from the outside came. Immediately Angel hid between the bookshelves. Soon, the door opened and a middle-aged man in black Euphorion Duke's uniform entered the room accompanied by his assistant. Angel recognized him because he had just seen Lady Belle hugged him in front of the mansion and called him, father. Duke Nicolin Joce Moonspark, was one of Euphorion's respected nobles. He always acted carefully and had a big influence in the court. But even so, he still had to be careful to keep his head attached since King Xenos didn't hesitate to get rid of everyone who opposed him.

Duke Nicolin threw himself into his seat.
"Thank God, Belle was able to return safely. The king was so worried about her, he even ordered his troops to look for her."

"Looks like the king really loves her," said his assistant who stood before Duke Nicolin.

Duke Nicolin looked down and breathed a weary sigh.
"I don't know about that. There used to be some women who received the same treatment as her. But they all ended up miserable... I can only buy time and hope the king will change his mind before he marries Belle."

"Lady Belle just got into an accident. Will she still attend the king's invitation to lunch with him tomorrow?"

"She has to... The king has invited her several times and she kept avoiding him. Now she can't refuse his invitation anymore after what the king did to her."Actually, Duke Nicolin wanted to refuse the king's request, but right now, even with his position as Duke, he couldn't do anything to oppose the king.

Angel kept watching them between the bookshelves.
'Looks like King Xenos likes Lady Belle, but she doesn't like him. Now I understand why she looks unhappy when I ask her about the king.'

Feeling a strange flow of magic power around him, Duke Nicolin stood up from his seat and turned towards Angel.
"Who is there?"

He gasped in surprise.

'How did he know? I didn't make any noise.'
He closed his eyes, trying to feel the flow of magic power around him. A second later, he opened his eyes and glanced at Duke Nicolin.
'Magic user... He is a magic user, that's why he can feel the magic power within me and know where I am.'

"Call the guard!" ordered Duke Nicolin. His hand extended towards Angel as he cast his spell.

'I can't let them catch me.' He pulled out his sword and cast his dark aura on it. In an instant, the sword turned into the dark aura that formed like a human.

The fake person immediately stormed at Duke Nicolin. The duke shifted his hand to it but the fake person ran past him and jumped through the window behind the desk.

-SHCHING!

The window glass was shattered to pieces and the fake person vanished like smoke. Several guards rushed in to secure the room. Duke Nicolin and his assistant quickly looked out the window to find it, but he didn't find anyone.
"Get him!" Duke Nicolin ordered as he ran out of the room with his assistants and the guards.

As soon as they left the room, Angel extended his hand again. A second later the dark aura around him gathered on his hand and reshaped his sword. He quickly sheathed his sword, slipped out of the room and left the Moonspark Residence.