First Arc (King of Euphorion) – 53. The King’s Wrath II

The knocking sounds accompanied by the sound of the door being opened came. Chancellor Allan entered the room with an old man. After taking a few steps, they quickly realized the room atmosphere was very heavy and frightening. They looked at the king who sat on his chair, dark aura enveloping him. From the look on his face, he tried to hold back his anger. They exchanged glances with each other and realized their bodies were already trembling.

'What happened? This is the first time I've seen His Majesty so angry,' Chancellor Allan thought.

Angel took a deep breath trying to calm himself and control his dark aura. Slowly the dark aura in the room disappeared, but the atmosphere in the room did not change. He turned his gaze to those who were still standing stiffly near the door.
"Why are you still standing there?" he said in an authoritative voice.

His voice made them return to their senses. They tried to approach him but their legs felt heavy. He stared at them impatiently before stretching his hand towards them. His dark aura enveloped them and drew them closer to his desk in an instant.
"Forgive my impudence, sir. But I don't have much time."

The old man stuttered.
"It-It's fine, Your Majesty."

Without further ado, Angel took out the handkerchief containing a blood sample that he had taken at Pearl Gate City.
"Can you check what's poison in it?"

The poison master took the handkerchief and unpacked his large bag on the desk. He opened a leather roll, placed down the handkerchief and began to drip some liquid from the bottles in his bag. After each drop, he paused a moment to examine the change of the blood colour on the handkerchief. Then he shook his head or fell silent while frowning. Finally, he turned his gaze to Angel before him.
"Your Majesty, I have never seen a poison like this before. This poison is very deadly, easy to spread and only requires a little to kill."

"Do you have any other clues?" he asked.

The poison master was silent, his forehead furrowed and thought hard for a moment. Then he looked like he had just remembered something. He had just opened his mouth to say it, but then he looked hesitant and pressed his lips. Finally, he shook his head again.

Angel realized his hesitation.
"Tell me what it is."

The poison master shook his head again.
"Forgive me, I-"

Angel realized the poison master still wouldn't say it and quickly interrupted him.
"Say it!" he demanded.

The poison master was silent, confusion mixed with hesitation visible on his face.

"I know you know something but you don't want to tell me!" he asked again with an impatient tone.

The poison master quickly bent his head in fear.
"Your Majesty, only the Heart Family of Zephyrus who can make such a strong poison like this."

He frowned and thought hard.
'Zephyrus? But why? Euphorion has never had a problem with Zephyrus. Why did King Eudon decide to help Asteria?'

The poison master raised his head to look at Angel.
"Your Majesty, please investigate this more clearly ... I do not want what I say to be the cause of war."

He knew very well that Euphorion had been peaceful for a long time. War was the last thing his people wanted, but in a situation like this, it was unavoidable. In addition, he could not tell them the reason yet, since it could cause a panic. Also, all of this was only based on his analysis, he needed strong evidence before making a declaration of war.
"I will definitely investigate it. Thank you, you may leave."

The poison master bowed to him and walked toward the exit accompanied by Chancellor Allan. After they took just a few steps, Angel spoke again.
"Chancellor Allan, I have something to discuss with you, order the guards to escort him," he added.

Chancellor Allan's steps stopped and turned to face him.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Then he accompanied the poison master out of the room and asked the guards to escort the poison master before returning to the room.

"I want you to inform all the nobles to attend the court tomorrow morning," said Angel.

Chancellor Allan looked confused since the court was never held on the first day of the new year. His curiosity prompted him to ask.
"Your Majesty, what happened?"

He sighed heavily and looked at Chancellor Allan with a serious expression.
"Pearl Gate City has been destroyed."

Chancellor Allan's eyes immediately went wide in surprise.

Meanwhile, Cley and Claire walked towards the study room after hearing that His Majesty was really furious. The party wasn't over yet but he called Chancellor Allan and the four elemental spirits to his study room in a rush. Besides that, Lady Ryia was also trembling after she returned to the main hall. When the others asked what happened to her, she only said she had just met His Majesty. They could not imagine how angry he was right now so he could frighten her like that.
"It's strange, His Majesty always control his emotions well, even when he is angry, " said Cley in confusion without stopping his steps.

"Maybe something bad has happened. His Majesty has never been angry over small things, " replied Claire who walked beside him.

"Did Lady Ryia do something to him?" Cley tried to guess.

Claire glanced at Cley sarcastically.
"Or did you do something to him?"

"This time it really wasn't me!" said Cley in self-defence.

"Are you sure?" asked Claire.

Cley frowned as he thought. He tried to figure out what he had done.
"I think..." he said doubtfully.

Claire sighed.
'He must have messed up so much, so he didn't know whether this matter was because of him or not,' she thought.

When they reached the study room, they saw Chancellor Allan come out with a pale-faced old man, fear also visible on his face. They stopped and exchanged glances for a moment as they had the same thoughts, this time His Majesty was really furious!

Chancellor Allan returned to the room, while a guard escorted the old man to the castle exit.

They approached the study room door and took a deep breath, trying to calm themselves. Claire raised her hand and was just about to knock the door but Cley held her.
"How about we listen to them first? At least we can prepare ourselves better..." said Cley in hesitation.
'Or at least I can make a better excuse if it's because of me,' he thought.

Claire sighed again, hoping that this time it wasn't Cley who screwed up.

Cley held the door handle and opened the door as quietly as possible. But the first words that they heard were worse than His Majesty's wrath or the punishment for copying the Kingdom of Euphorion's history books.
"Pearl Gate City has been destroyed," said Angel.

Suddenly their hearts beat violently and their bodies stiffened in shock.