Chapter 115 - 115: 115 Trap 1
The next day.
The bleak autumn wind stirred up dust all over the sky, enveloping the entire Silver Moon City, making it look even more gloomy.
This Garden City, originally immersed in a festive atmosphere, turned into gloom and desolation in just one day.
Although the tragedy that occurred in Queen Isa’s bedchamber was only spread among the Half-Elf Nobles, the commoners in the city also felt the current tense and oppressive situation.
After all, the closed city gate, the order prohibiting entry and exit, and the patrolling soldiers visible everywhere on the street were all indicating something major had happened in Silver Moon City!
At eight in the morning, Duke Miller, who hadn’t slept all night, followed Prince William to the main hall of the Royal Palace.
To tell the truth, after knowing that the king had summoned him, Duke Miller was greatly relieved.
In his view, as long as the king was willing to see him, it meant that the Miller family had not been entirely abandoned, and there was still a glimmer of hope.
The Miller family, which has just suffered an unprecedented crisis, is now desperately trying to grasp any lifesaving straw.
“Good Morning, Your Majesty!” Duke Miller saluted with a hand on his chest, trying to act as natural as usual.
However, the dark circles and messy hair had already exposed his inner fear and weakness.
“Good morning, Duke Miller,” the old king, leaning on his scepter, stood on the high platform of the main hall, looking at his old minister from afar.
The old king actually valued Duke Miller very much.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have entrusted the position of Prime Minister of the Half-Elf Kingdom to him.
And Duke Miller didn’t disappoint the old king. He had been serving as Prime Minister for more than ten years and managed the Half-Elf Kingdom well.
When the king married Isa Miller as the queen, it was also to win over this capable prime minister and plan for his next generation.
Otherwise, he had no need to marry Isa.
Of course, Isa was beautiful, but he was over seventy years old. Even the most beautiful woman could only soothe his eyes. What was the point?
Moreover, from the first day Isa entered the palace, the old king could see her hatred for him.
No matter how much she disguised, she couldn’t escape the old king’s sharp eyes.
The old king didn’t care much about this. In his eyes, a young girl as beautiful as a flower, being forced by her father to marry an old man on the verge of death, how could she bear no grudge?
But he never thought that this grudge would bring such a disaster to him, to the Modewen family!
Yes, although he couldn’t get anything out of Queen Isa last night, the old king still firmly believed – this woman lied!
The incident that occurred in the queen’s bedchamber was certainly not as simple as it seemed.
It was the intuition of an old politician who had gone through ups and downs in the turbulent political arena for a lifetime! He had no evidence, but he didn’t care about evidence.
“Did you not sleep well last night?”
“Not bad…”
“As you get older and face many things, it’s easy to have insomnia.”
The old king’s leisurely attitude made Duke Miller somewhat confused. With the current situation, he still had the mood to chat?
However, it seemed that the old king did come to talk with Duke Miller: “I remember you told me, you have two sons, right?”
“Yes.”
“How about your grandson?”
“I have one.”
“How old is he?”
“Just one month old.”
“Just one month old.” The old king slowly stepped down from the high platform, came to Duke Miller, and hinted, “Such a young child, not many people know him, right?”
Duke Miller suddenly looked up, seemingly understood the old king’s meaning.
His lips trembled slightly, and his eyes flashed with complex emotions, like pain, resentment, but also gratitude…
After a long while, Duke Miller replied, “Of… of course, after all, he is a child and hasn’t met many people yet.”
The old king nodded and sighed, “That’s right! And children grow fast, one day at a time. Even if someone saw him as a baby, they wouldn’t recognize him after one or two years.”
By this point, Duke Miller naturally fully understood the old king’s meaning.
Obviously, the old king was telling him that the Miller family could no longer be saved, but he could help him preserve a bloodline -that is, Duke Miller’s month-old grandson!
Tears immediately streamed down Duke Miller’s face as his whole body began to tremble.
It wasn’t clear whether it was due to fear, gratitude, or both.
“Your Majesty… thank you… for everything you’ve done for the Miller family!”
The old king extended his hand, gently patted Duke Miller’s shoulder twice, and softly said, “I hope you don’t resent me.”
“I won’t resent you.” Duke Miller smiled bitterly, “This is our Half-Elf’s fate.
Stuck between giants, it’s inevitable to be crushed into pieces.”
The old king sighed, seeming to agree deeply with Duke Miller’s words.
He leaned towards Duke Miller’s ear and whispered, “Rest assured, I will have someone replace your grandson.”
Duke Miller nodded his head, and took one last look at the old king.
Then, without any hesitation, he pulled out his sword. But just then, the old king raised his hand to stop Duke Miller.
“Your Majesty, do you have any other orders?”
The old king held out his right hand and said coldly, “You are my knight, if you must die, it should be by my hand.”
Duke Miller was stunned, but he still handed the sword to the old king.
Then, he closed his eyes.
Hisss!
The long sword pierced his chest.
Outside the palace, Prince William was accompanying the siblings of St. Prowse.
“Prince William, when is His Majesty going to meet us? We’ve been waiting for such a long time.” Anna picked up a small stone from the ground in boredom, and asked impatiently.
“It should be soon!” Prince William hastily explained with a smile, “The King is currently meeting with Duke Miller, it’s your turn next.”
Count Evan was still drinking wine on his own, and suddenly asked, “Your Highness, after all, what happened yesterday, won’t you tell us?”
Prince William waved his hand and said jokingly, “Well… when you meet the King later, you will naturally know.”
“Fine.” Count Evan didn’t mind, and continued to pour wine into his mouth.
After a long while, a guard hurriedly ran over to Prince William and whispered a few words in his ear.
Then, Prince William turned to the siblings of St. Prowse and invited, “Both of you, the king is ready to see you now. Please!”
Count Evan and Anna strode forward towards the palace.
“Prince William, aren’t you coming in with us?” Count Evan suddenly turned back and asked.
“No, I won’t. The King only wants to see you two.”
“Alright.”
The siblings, having no doubts, entered the palace.
However, the palace was empty. There was not a single figure in sight.
“Your Majesty?” Count Evan tentatively called out, but only heard his own echo. Anna wrinkled her nose and said in surprise, “Why does it smell like blood?”
“The smell of blood?” Count Evan’s heart tightened instantly, realizing that something was wrong.
“It’s coming from that direction.” Anna walked deeper into the palace.
As they walked a few steps further, they were horrified to discover a bloody corpse lying on its back on the ground, with a long sword piercing through its chest.
They hadn’t noticed it immediately because their line of sight had been blocked by the pillars in the palace.
“We need to leave now!” Count Evan quickly grabbed his sister’s arm and started running towards the exit of the palace. “What’s wrong, brother?” Anna asked, puzzled.
“It’s a trap!”