Second Arc (His Art of War) - 141. Tea Invitation

Rose stepped into the Inn lobby which was filled with a few of the Euphorion troops who had just come to eat their breakfast. While the others were still in their room to rest after carrying out their mission last night. With this unexpected incident, Flare decided to delay their journey for a few hours since she knew that not only Rose needed to rest, but also her soldiers.

Meanwhile, seeing Rose arrive, the Euphorion troops stood up and bowed to her before sitting down and continuing their breakfast.

Just like last night, Rose sat at a table covered with a white tablecloth with luxurious furniture in the centre of the room. While the guards who were following her sat down and ate at the next table. The two servants that Flare had checked before, swiftly, brought small carts filled with good looking dishes. Soon well-made food dishes began to be placed before her one by one.

As Rose waited, her ears started to take in the conversation of the surrounding soldiers. And from that vague conversation, she could conclude that last night they weren't looking for her, but went to Whispering Forest to destroy the rebel hideout there. And it was done according to Angel's order.
'How did he know about that place?' she thought in confusion. Angel had just ruled Zephyrus for two days, but not only he had found the rebel hideouts around the capital and castle, he was also able to find their other hideouts like in the Whispering Forest.

Flare's footsteps' sounds interrupted her thoughts.
"Where's Rai?" asked Rose as her eyes swept around Flare. She took his nod as a sign that he agreed to accompany her.

Flare bowed and sat next to her.
"His Majesty called him for a mission, Your Highness. That's why he must return to the capital immediately." She concluded that Rai was Angel.

"Isn't that too much for him? At least he should rest or eat something before leaving," said Rose worriedly. Even, she intended to take a rest in her room for a while after having her breakfast.

"We've prepared enough food supplies for him, Your Highness. You don't have to worry about him," replied Flare calmly.

"But--"

Flare interrupted her.
"Believe me. Sir Rai will be fine. He is stronger than you think, Your Highness. Now, please enjoy your breakfast and take a rest. We must leave before noon or we cannot reach the next town before sunset. "

After those words, Rose pressed her lips. After all, it was Angel who had complete authority over his own soldier and she couldn't do anything about this.
'I hope he's all right.'

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The morning sun shining through the window in a VIP room in Scarlet Stone Castle was getting brighter. In that luxurious room dominated by red and gold, Frost sat on the sofa waiting for Angel to return. As usual, every time Angel came out using his teleport skill in secret, Frost would make sure no one was in his place so Angel could return without worrying about being caught. On the bed not far from him, Nightmare was asleep in his sleepwear or rather pretended to be sleeping since he didn't need it.

Frost's eyes stared out of the window, looking up at the morning sky over the sunny Ironwall City.
'I hope His Majesty is back before the servants wake him up for breakfast.' Even though Angel never changed his plans suddenly like this, since Frost had received Angel's Magic Messenger last night, he wasn't worried about Angel's condition. Moreover, Frost could feel that Angel's dark power was stable. So he was just guessing that Angel just needed more time to deal with the rebels. Frost guessed the rebels were more focused on killing Rose before she entered Euphorion's territory since their chances would be gone once Rose's convoy entered Euphorion. That was the reason why there weren't any attacks at the Castle last night.

After that thought crossed his head, a thick dark aura suddenly appeared in the centre of the room and an Angel appeared from there. Frost stood up from the sofa and bowed to greet him.
"Your Majesty." From Angel's bloody uniform, Frost could conclude that last night's rebel attack was quite bad.

Angel replied with a nod.
"Thank you for waiting for me." His hand pulled out the documents inside his blazer and placed them on the table. Then he directed his hand towards Nightmare who was still sleeping on the bed. In an instant, the fake Angel on the bed turned into a dark aura and reshaped as the sword in his hand.
"How's the castle? Did they attack King Eudon and Nightmare last night?" said Angel as he sheathed his sword and placed it on the table.

"Nothing, Your Majesty. Looks like they were focusing their attacks on Princess Rose," replied Frost.

His hands opened his mask and buttons of his blazer since he had to take a shower to get rid of the bloody smell on his body.
"Then are there any other suspicious moves? Or reports from Dark Agents regarding Duke Bartlet and Lady Ivetta?" Previously he had also ordered several squads of his Black Devil Army to Eldham Village to take care of the village secretly and retrieve important documents that were there. With these documents, the rebel aristocrats would not be able to avoid it any more.

"Nothing yet, Your Majesty. It's just Lady Ivetta requesting your time to meet her this afternoon. She said she wanted to bring some sweets and tea as a sign of peace and gratitude for forgiving the royal family."

Angel's hands stopped, he turned to Frost in disbelief as chuckles left his mouth.
“You mean she wants to invite me for tea?” His chuckles sounded between his words. He could say that was a desperate step since it was too obvious. Moreover, he just ruled Zephyrus and he just announced his plan to marry Rose yesterday.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Do I need to refuse her?"

Angel swallowed the rest of his laughter, his hands moved to unbutton his blazer again.
"I'm going to meet her. I want to see what she wants to do." He opened his blazer and placed it on the sofa, exposing his white shirt which had changed to the blood-red colour of the rebels he killed last night.
"But of course, place some Dark Agents as servants there. Looks like she will use that meeting to create a scandal to cancel my marriage," he said with a smirk.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Then do you already know who prince Ilex's spy is?" asked Angel.

"I'm still investigating, Your Majesty. But I have already identified several suspects."

"Good. I'll wait for your next report. If the servants come, tell them to wait. I will take a bath first," he said as he walked toward the bathroom.

Frost bowed.
"Yes, Your Majesty."