Jared was shocked to see those engravings because they weren’t any simple engravings; those letters were of the demonic race. But some demon race supporters invading the royal party to attempt murder was something they weren’t expecting. As Leon’s loyal subordinate, he also knew about the whole situation, and to face it, Jared was also preparing the best he could.

“I should have been more alert. The demon Lord caught us off guard,” Leon said.

“No, master, only if I had inspected more carefully they wouldn’t have entered the palace in the first place,” Jared said.

“It’s okay Jared what’s done is done. We should be more careful from now on,” Leon said.

“Yes, master I will make sure of it. But what should we tell the emperor?” Jared asked.

They had to report everything to the emperor as someone attacking the emperor invading the palace was a big deal. Still, if the news of the existence of the demon lord falls out, then things will get messy, and if they return empty hand, the emperor might use it as a chance to disgrace the name of Britannia. It was now on Leon how to handle the whole thing.

Jared retrieves the bodies.
“As much as I know the demonic marks on the bodies will vanish once the person is dead, so we don’t have to worry about that. I will deal with the reporting,” Leon said.

“As you order master,” Jared said.

Jared retrieved the assassins’ bodies, and Leon went back to the palace to report the whole thing. As Leon reached back to the castle, the nobles were still there discussing what happened, and the emperor was sitting with the crown prince beside him.

“What happened did you catch them?” Arthur asked.

“I apologize for telling you this crown prince, but two of them were killed, and the one left behind killed himself, not telling anything. We have retrieved the bodies and handed them over to the palace guards,” Leon said.

“It would have been better if you had caught them,” the emperor said.

“I apologize to interrupt in between your majesty, but rather than pointing out mistakes of my grandson who annihilated the intruders, I think you should take some actions against the knights responsible for guarding the royal hall,” the duke said.

The royal knights were at fault this time as they weren’t able to guard appropriately, because of which the assassins were able to sneak in. The duke protected Leon from the mocking of the emperor by pointing out that mistake, and the reason was correct; that is why the nobles didn’t see Leon at any fault.

“The one responsible for guarding today’s party will be taken into custody, and actions will be taken against them” the emperor passed the order.

While the emperor gave the order, Arthur was suspicious of Leon. It was like he knew something was not right, but he had no idea what it was.

“Are you okay grandfather?” Leon asked with concern.

“What’s gonna happen to me if I had a grandson like you” the duke replied with a broad smile.

After that, the party was not continued, and everybody decided to go back.

In the carriage - Leon and the duke are sitting opposite each other.

“Do you have something to tell me?” the duke asked with seriousness.

“Don’t worry grandfather, I will handle it by myself,” Leon said.

“Just like always, huh. But I am always there for you, and if needed, I can also step on the battlefield, so tell me if you need help,” the duke said.

“I know. If I really need your help, I will tell you, grandfather,” Leon said.

“I know how you are. You will keep everything till yourself for everybody’s sake. Just like that special army,” the duke said.

“Wait did you know about them?” Leon asked.

“I knew it from the very first day you returned from the western gates. I have spent more time on the battlefield fighting the monsters rather than living with humans. They are really good at hiding their presence but not as good as me,” the duke replied.

“If you could sense their presence does that mean...” Leon said.

“Nah, nobody in the party could sense them. Even that brat[*He is referring to Arthur] won’t be able to feel their presence,” the duke said.

Hearing this, Leon takes a deep breath. It was actual cause the duke was a skilled magician. His power was unmatched in the empire, and even at this age, he was competent. As both of them were talking, they reached the mansion.

At some unknown location -
A person informs something to the unknown being who was seated on the throne.

“I thought some pebbles would be enough to clear the trash. But to think that the trash was hiding some gold minerals in it. Isn’t that amazing? I should take a visit to personally meet them,” the person on the throne said in his deep voice.

[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED,2022©SAM]