Second Arc (His Art of War) - 115. A Secret Message

The dining tables in the inn lobby in Fortaare Town were filled with Euphorion soldiers who were eating their dinner. Some of them chatted casually and laughed. Occasionally, they took a sip of their warm tea or water. Yes, tea, not beer or any other alcoholic drinks. It was one of Euphorion's military ethics, that they were not allowed to drink any beverages that could get them drunk during a mission or assignment.

Large pots and pans of various kinds of food lined the other side of the room. Those dishes had been checked beforehand to make sure the food was not poisonous. Some of the Euphorion troops were seen lining up neatly and spooning the food onto the plates in their hands. Even though they were no servants, they only took it in moderation. This was done to reduce unknown people in the lobby.

A table covered with a white tablecloth with luxurious furniture in the centre of the room. Rose sat there as she finished her dinner. Next to her, Flare was drinking a cup of warm tea, her eyes watching the two servants serving in front of them. Previously, she had checked those two servants to make sure they had no weapons.

Rose glanced at Flare who only occasionally sipped her warm tea. Even though Flare looked after her from last night, she didn't look tired. Somehow it really made her curious.
"General, may I ask you something?" she asked.

"Of course, Your Highness," replied Flare without turning to Rose. Her eyes were busy watching her surroundings, like an eagle watching its prey.

"If you don't eat and don't sleep, where do you get your energy?" asked Rose curiously.

"We only need our master's magic power, Your Highness," replied Flare.

"Do you mean His Majesty King Angelus' magic power?"

"Yes." Flare turned to Rose.
"That's why only a person who has strong magic power can become our master and rule Euphorion."

'Strong magic power ...' Those words only made her curiosity grow. Was it true that Angel was a dark magic user's descendant and he intended to take control of Asteria?
"May I know, when His Majesty took over Euphorion, was he as strong as now? And how did he overthrow the previous king of Euphorion?"

Flare smirked since she could see Rose's interest in Angel.
"Hasn't the news spread throughout Andromeda?"

"The news only says King Angelus killed the previous king and took the throne. They did not say how he led his troops to attack the castle." Rose remembered how confused she was after hearing the news. How could a king be overthrown by a hunter from a small village? In addition, the news did not reveal his real name before and only said a hunter named Zel. That's why everyone only mentioned him as the new King of Euphorion or King Zel. Later, after he conquered Asteria, the news mentioned his real name as Angelus Raizel but at that time the public did not think he was the late second prince of Asteria, because everyone knew that Reinheart's descendants could not possibly have dark magic power like him.

A chuckle came out of Flare's mouth. She could vividly remember how Angel covered up his magic power, infiltrated the castle and defeated King Xenos and them five years ago, and he had done it alone without any assistance. That's why the rumours and the news were incomplete because a king and his troops being defeated by a hunter in his own castle sounded like a stupid joke that could make other kingdoms think Euphorion was a weak kingdom.

"Is something wrong, General?" asked Rose in confusion. She was sure there was nothing wrong with her question.

"Forgive my impoliteness, Your Highness." Flare returned to her composure and cleared her throat.
"His Majesty did not take anyone with him when he attacked White Moon Castle. He was alone."

Rose's forehead creased in confusion.
"Pardon me, he attacked alone? Did I hear you wrong?"

"You heard it right. He had that strength from the very beginning and now --- he is much stronger than he was five years ago." Flare smirked again, her eyes glancing at the two servants who were standing near them. She could see that their hands were shaking after hearing her words. Then she returned her gaze to Rose.
"That's anyone who's trying to against the king's order tantamount to suicide," said Flare as she took her cup of tea and took another sip.

'Is he that strong?' She could not imagine how one person could infiltrate the castle and kill a powerful king who was protected by an army and four powerful elemental spirits like Flare and Frost. But based on her observations when Angel fought together with her in Asteria hunting ground five years ago, he shouldn't be that strong.

'It's strange ... if he pretended to be weak, why did he allow himself to get hurt that night?' She remembered that when she checked him five years ago, he looked normal and his aura wasn't as scary as now.

- Tang!

A servant who was about to pour some tea into Flare's teacup nudged Rose's glass with his elbow and almost wet her dress.
"Fo-Forgive me, Your Highness," he said in a stammering voice. Quickly, his hand put his teapot and tidied up the fallen glass. Meanwhile, the other servant quickly opened the napkin and put it on Rose's lap to prevent the water from wetting her dress. When he put the napkin down, the servant's hand slid under the napkin and placed a folded paper into Rose's hand.

Realising with the paper, Rose turned to the servant. The servant looked scared, his face looked pale and his eyes were teary, holding his tears. His mouth moved slowly.
"Help us ..." he whispered in a barely audible voice.

Feeling something was wrong, Rose slipped the paper in her dress.

Meanwhile, Flare realized it but she pretended not to know. She had received the news about Angel's arrival as well as his orders to let the rebels show themselves. Flare turned to an elite soldier sitting at a nearby dining table. He sipped the tea in his hands calmly, his eyes staring at them, a black hood covering his head and a black masquerade covering one third of his face, only his mouth, eyes and nose were visible. On his sides the other elite members ate and talked reticently, indicating that that person was not an ordinary elite soldier.

Flare shook her head slightly towards the two servants, indicating something was wrong with them. The elite member nodded his head, turned next to him and said something to his friends. While Flare turned to the servants.
"You ruined the princess's dinner. You may leave," she said with a displeasure tone.

"Fo-Forgive us, Your Highness, General." The servants bowed with a trembling body and left.

While Flare's attention was on the servants, Rose took the dinner knife on her table and hid it in her dress.
"It's fine, General. I'm sure he didn't mean it," said Rose with a smile. She managed to take several knives and a rope. So she could make a rope dart out of it.

"At least they should send professional servants to serve you. Not trainees like them," said Flare. She knew those servants weren't real servants. But from their attitude, it looks like the servant who dropped the glass was one of the rebels since he looked professional and kept a close eye on his surroundings to create an opportunity for the other servant.
Meanwhile, another servant could be a hostage.

Flare glanced at a nearby table. The masked elite member and several people sitting there had disappeared following the servants. She smirked.
'Well, looks like, this will be easy.'