The central area of ​​the royal capital is where the royal family members live. It is separated from the areas where the people live outside by a high wall. It is guarded by the elite troops of the empire at all times. If any non-royal members trespass without permission,

If you enter, the soldiers will kill you without mercy.

This situation has never happened since the establishment of the empire, because the people of the Elnos Empire have been taught since childhood that royal power is sacred and supreme, and the royal bloodline is the most outstanding. Ordinary people cannot step on it at will, no matter how high their title is.

Entering the royal territory is only possible by invitation, so those invited will always feel extremely proud.

Although the wall that serves as the separation wall is particularly gorgeously decorated, showing the openness, generosity, grace and elegance of the imperial royal family, the people know very well that everything inside the wall makes people feel nervous and fearful.

However, when the position of king is vacant, those elite troops are only guarding an empty palace, so the soldiers have become quite unorganized. Some nobles with higher status have to go to the palace for business, and they will not say anything at all.

.

Among the buildings in the royal domain, there is a particularly conspicuous building. It is a tall tower, more than a hundred meters high. Even when the royal family is in such decline, this tower still stands like a giant.

It's like he is supporting the entire empire on his own.

This tower becomes narrower as it goes higher, that is to say, it is tapered as a whole. Except for the bottom three floors, other floors are inaccessible because they are faked just for the sake of beauty.

There is a big bell hanging on the top floor of the tower. Whenever an hour passes, the bell ringer who lives in the tower all year round will pull the rope on time and use the transmission device to ring the big bell to tell the time for the royal members.

Of course, the bell is so loud that even the guards at the gate of the royal capital can hear it. According to popular saying in the streets, everyone in the royal capital is equal when it comes to listening to the bell.

At this time, the moonlight was just right, covering the ground with a silver carpet.

A space crack suddenly appeared in front of the tower, and two figures walked out of it. Cornes turned into an old man again, and Elena followed him with her head lowered.

After Cornes knocked on the bell tower door, the person inside opened the door slightly and poked his head out.

"Excuse me, are you..."

The person in charge of the bell tower was an old man in his sixties or seventies. He saluted and then asked respectfully.

He knows very well that the status that can enter here must be extraordinary, and he is the person with the lowest status here, so naturally he has to treat everyone with respect.

Although he has lived here for decades, he has never met Cornes, but he can also understand that maybe the other person is a newly promoted noble.

"We are guests of Lord Leonard. I have been here before. Why..."

"Oh, I'm really sorry," the old man apologized quickly, and then explained, "I'm afraid it was my son who received you when you came here before. I went out to purchase supplies because I heard that Lord Leonard was coming back.

So I went out to buy good wine and food. You don’t know, but I once served Lord Leonard. Unfortunately, Lord Leonard later left the royal capital and has been there for five years... Ah, I’m sorry.

I'm too talkative, please come in."

Cornes couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief. He almost lost his temper and stabbed this guy after listening to his ramble. Fortunately, he finally regained his sense. After all, he still had to restrain himself before falling out with his partner.

, don't cause any trouble.

After entering the tower, there was a rather spacious hall, where banquets could even be held. Cornes couldn't help but think that it was a waste for the father and son to live in such a good place.

"Hey, Cornes, you're finally back. Have you finished everything?"

The person who said this was Leonard, who was sitting on the luxurious sofa. Even at this time, he did not forget to lean on the soft sofa comfortably and drink.

"Of course, my Lord Leonard," Cornes said with a smile, "you can rest assured that I will do my job, so without further ado, let's start the next step of the plan."

"Oh, don't be in such a hurry. Have you had dinner? My old servant has prepared good wine and food. Let's have a drink together. After all, you have helped me so much."

"...Lord Leonard, I don't have that leisure right now." Cornes' tone was cold.

Even the old man beside him felt chilled. He didn't understand how high this person's status was, and he dared to speak to a candidate for the throne in such a tone.

"Uh... Okay, okay, then where should we go next?" Leonard had no choice but to compromise.

He understood his situation. Although Cornes had promised to help him seize the throne, he might kill him to silence him after that. Unfortunately, even if he could guess this outcome, he could do nothing but let it go.

At the mercy of Cornes.

"Right here." Cornes pointed to the floor.

"What?" Leonard was slightly surprised.

Now that he got the key, he should open the locked place next, but he knew very well how this tower could be the destination.

"Don't you understand? What I'm trying to say is, this tower has a basement, and that's where we're going."

"……ah?"

The one who exclaimed this time was the old man standing aside. After all, he had been ringing the bell here for more than fifty years, but he had never known that there was a basement under the tower.

"Okay, stop talking nonsense, we are pressed for time."

After Cornes finished speaking, he walked directly to the center of the hall on the first floor, where there was a round dining table. He casually drew out his magic sword and slashed it down, causing the dining table to fall apart instantly.

"Oh my god, you, what have you done!" When the old man saw this, he immediately fell to his knees and said in grief, "That is an antique table with a history of more than a hundred years, it is a priceless treasure!"

"Huh, so what, it's just trash in front of me."

"This, this..." The old man was so angry that he was incoherent, and then asked Leonard, "My master, what is the origin of this guy? Why don't you stop his rude behavior?"

"Oh, why do you care so much?" Leonard suddenly became impatient. "It's really troublesome. I'm not in the mood for dinner today. You should take your son home quickly and don't bother me."

"...Master Leonard, are you trying to drive me away?" The old man couldn't help but burst into tears, "I watched you grow up. When you were a child, you always pestered me to tell stories. Why?

Are you going to kick me out today just because I shouldn’t talk too much?”

"..."

Cornes couldn't help but feel angry, and quietly put his hand on the sword. Leonard immediately saw it and rushed to the old man.

"Just leave if I let you go. Where is all this nonsense? When will I drive you away? It's just that we have important things today, and they are extremely confidential. If you are here, we will have to silence you, so if you are not afraid of death, then

Just stay, I don’t care anyway.”

"Ah, this...yes, I understand." The old man couldn't help but feel his heart sinking after hearing this. He quickly ran to the kitchen, called his son, and left together.

Until they went out, Leonard stood between Cornes and them. As the only loyal servant around him, he did not want to see them die in vain.

"Haha, do you think I can't see it?" Cornes couldn't help but sneer.

"...Forget it, we are just two ordinary people, why bother so much?" Leonard quickly advised.

"Hmph, please listen to me clearly," Cornes grabbed him by the collar, "The reason why I let them go is just because I'm afraid of getting my sword dirty. Don't think it's for your sake. Don't

You take yourself too seriously.”

"Yes, yes." Leonard nodded repeatedly.

At this time, he felt bitter in his heart, thinking that he, a candidate for the throne, had been fighting for power for almost half his life, almost sacrificing everything, and finally ended up like this. It was really miserable.

Then, Cornes kicked away the remnants of the dining table, and then tore a large hole in the luxurious carpet. What came into view was a round metal cover, about five meters in diameter.

After opening the lid, there is a rough stone platform underneath.

"Come on, stand up."

After everyone stood up, Cornes squatted down and pressed his hand on the platform. With the injection of magic power, the platform began to slowly move downwards.

Ten minutes later, the platform continued to fall, and Elena couldn't help but wonder.

"Father, why don't we just open the space crack and teleport down?"

"Haha, silly boy, the destination must be a place I have been to personally for that kind of magic to be effective."

"I understand, I am too stupid."

"You do still have a lot to learn. Unfortunately, when this plan is successfully implemented, your mission will be completed and we will never see each other again."

After speaking, Cornes sighed, seeming to be really sad that that day was coming.

Elena didn't say anything. If it was before, she would have been excited when she heard that her mission was about to be completed, but now she only feels fear.

Then, she inadvertently glanced at Leonard next to her, and her mood suddenly became complicated.

Just now, Kones killed Leonard's daughter with his own hands, but he was still working for Kones, and Elena was hesitant to tell him the truth.

But if you think about it carefully, what can you do if you learn the truth? He can't even protect himself. If he learns of his daughter's death at this time, what else can he do except become more sad? And the result of resistance is a dead end.

In this way, after a long period of silence, the three of them finally reached the deepest part of the tower underground.

Perhaps it was because he was relatively close to the underground river, and the clear sound of flowing water could be heard in his ears. As Cornes took out the crystal ball for lighting and threw it into the darkness ahead, the surrounding area was illuminated.

Only then did Elena realize that after leaving the platform, there was a straight road paved with bricks. On both sides of the road was fast-flowing water. She didn't know how deep it was below.

Then, they continued to move forward, and after a while, they finally reached the end, and a door more than six meters high appeared in front of them. The door was surrounded by darkness, and it was unclear whether it was a black wall or something else.

"Great, the moment has finally come. The next step is to let humans..."

Cornes was talking excitedly as he opened the box containing the key, but suddenly stopped because he found that there was only one key in the box, and there were actually two keyholes in the door.

With the mentality of giving it a try, he inserted the key into one of the keyholes, but he was still disappointed. The door did not open. It seemed that he really needed two keys.

"Well, where can I find the other key?"

Seeing that he was helpless, Leonard said tentatively.

"Since this key was found in the warehouse of the Magic Academy, the other one is probably in the hands of my sister."

"Oh? How do you know?"

"Well," Leonard scratched his head and continued, "Although I don't know what is behind this door, since this is also royal territory, my father should know about this place, or even better, this is my father's home."

It is the place where the king keeps important things, and the two people he loved most during his lifetime were the former dean of the Magic Academy and the other one of my sisters, Agnes, so it is very likely that he gave the key to them for safekeeping."

"Haha, can't you tell, you are still somewhat useful." Cornes saw hope again and couldn't help but praise him.

"It's just a guess." Leonard said sheepishly.

"It's okay. It's better to have clues than to be a headless fly. Let's go."
Chapter completed!