Second Arc (His Art of War) - 133. Pontus' Royal Scandal I

Jyne fell silent. Her heart was pounding in panic and surprise. Her eyes stared at the elite masked Euphorion soldier in front of her. She had been hiding here for a year after she ran away from Pontus and managed to trick her father's soldiers so many times, but she had to pay the consequences by not being able to leave this village. During that time no one thought she was a princess since she always behaved like a commoner. Besides she did not hesitate to wear the commoner clothes, did menial jobs and slept with thin blankets and clothes. Even though it felt difficult for her at first, now she was used to it, moreover, the villagers treated her well. But the soldier in front of her could guess her identity easily with a little information she gave. She even didn't say she was a royal.

Unlike princes who occasionally went as delegates to other kingdoms, princesses spent more time in her kingdom territory, especially in the castle. Even if she went to visit a place in her kingdom, she would be accompanied by many guards. That's why princesses used to spend their time studying or hanging out with the nobles. Likewise with kings, apart from big and important events, they rarely leave their kingdom's territory. Therefore, the other kingdoms usually knew the new king from large meetings or met him at his castle.

Seeing Jyne's reaction, Angel calmed her down.
"Don't be afraid, Your Highness. I will not expose your identity to the other. But since you want me to give this letter to my king, I want you to tell me why you ran away from your kingdom and why you are looking for my king's help. At least, I want to make sure I won't lose my head for delivering this letter to His Majesty. " Angel decided to find out as much information as possible since even though Euphorion had trade relations with Pontus, he had never had close relations or knew any of its royal families. After all, he wanted to know how bad this problem was.

Doubts filled Jyne's head, but she had no other choice but to say everything. Besides, she had been stuck here for too long and didn't dare to go anywhere since she was afraid her father's soldiers would find her.
"Have you heard of the Pontus royal family's scandal?" If Angel already knew about this, she could explain it easier.

"Yes, I've heard of it. Including some bad rumours about you." A year ago when Angel wanted to start a trade relationship between Euphorion and Pontus, he decided to find out how that kingdom's economy was by visiting its capital with his teleport skill. Then he discovered about the Pontus royal family's scandal. According to the rumours, the King of Pontus fell in love with a commoner woman and eventually married her. Not long after this foreign woman entered the royal family, despite her status as a commoner she could give her influence in the court and even changed her husband's decisions, the king himself. In addition, the famous playboy, Prince of Pontus also obeyed her. But despite those rumours, the people and aristocrats still respected Pontus' royal family and the king was still doing his duty well. After all, by elevating a commoner status to become a queen, didn't that mean the king respected all of his people regardless of their status? It was Princess Jyne who made such an insignificant fuss since she kept accusing her stepmother with nasty accusations that she couldn't prove. Despite the king's patience with his beloved daughter, Jyne finally escaped from her homeland as she pretended to take a vacation at the royal villa.

"Since you already knew it, I can explain it more easily." She took a deep breath to shake off her nervousness.
"I know your king is the strongest magic user in Andromeda. That's why I hope that your king can help me release my father and brother from my stepmother's spell."

Angel's forehead creased in disbelief.
"Do you mean Mad Lover spell?" he guessed. The Mad Lover spell was a low-level spell commonly used by prostitutes that had magic power to attract men's attention. But this spell was easily broken by other magic users, especially since a king usually had several trusted expert magic users to make sure his family was not in any spell's influence. After all, the spell would disappear by itself in the Magic Shield.

Jyne nodded her head. She knew that maybe no one would believe what she was saying, but she saw with her own eyes how her stepmother used some kind of spell on her father and brother. And after she had searched through the books about their change in attitude and she had found nothing but that spell. Oddly, though according to the books and all the information she got that the spell was easily broken, the expert magic users who examined them could not detect it. While she guessed her stepmother had done something with the Magic Shield in the castle. That's why Jyne had no choice but to ask Angel's help, the strongest magic user in the Andromeda Continent, to help her release her father and brother. She was doing this for Pontus and her family, since, though it was not clear yet, she realized her father and brother were submitting to her stepmother. If she didn't do something right away, her family would lose their authority over Pontus.

Angel sighed. Logically couldn't believe Jyne's story, but given that he had experienced the same thing as Jyne in the past, he couldn't say anything before investigating it.

Jyne noticed Angel's disbelief.
"I know this sounds ridiculous, but trust me I'm telling the truth. I saw with my own eyes how she cast the spell on my father and brother. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done something this crazy." In order to go to Euphorion, she had to pass through Zephyrus' territory and since she ran away, she had to take the difficult and dangerous path to avoid the guards. Unfortunately, before she could reach Euphorion, her convoy was attacked.

"Are you sure it was a spell, not drugs or something?" Angel confirmed once again. Even though he could neutralize almost all spells, even epic-level spells, he couldn't neutralize the drug's effect. And since this was related to another kingdom's royal family, he couldn't act carelessly or this could lead to another war. Especially since he had already conquered the other three kingdoms so other kingdoms started to think he wanted to conquer Andromeda.

"I'm sure, sir," answered Jyne. But despite her words, there was doubt in her heart. Why wasn't there a single magic user who could neutralize it? If possible, she really wanted to bring Angel and King Eudon to her father and brother to make sure her family was not affected by any spell or drugs. It was just... She knew it was impossible, especially King Eudon. Since Zephyrus was often hit by rebellions.