Chapter 257: Into The Lion’s Den ( Part-3)

Glimmereach Royal Palace,

Inside one of the luxurious rooms of the Glimmereach royal palace, Dex and Maya sat together just as before.

They were laughing softly, leaning against each other on the sofa near the large window. Their eyes remained fixed on one another with the same mixture of love, obsession, and possessiveness.

Then—

The door opened.

Two knight guards entered first.

Between them walked a middle-aged man with a gentle smile. He had short brown hair streaked heavily with white, giving him an older appearance. He wore the robes of a priest, but the most striking thing about him was his right arm.

It was metal.

Grey metal with faint golden lines running across it, almost as if the arm itself was some kind of artifact.

The priest bowed slightly.

“Prince, you should prepare yourself. It is almost time for the wedding.”

Dex looked at him and smiled faintly.

“Priest Paul.”

Then, from behind the priest, another voice entered the room.

A smooth, slightly foxy voice.

“Princess, you should prepare as well.”

A tall man stepped inside wearing a black butler uniform. He had medium-length milky-green hair and a pair of fox-like eyes that almost hid the light blue color beneath them.

“Especially,” he added with a faint smile, “when you need to outshine every other woman there… or your future husband might get stolen away.”

Maya looked at him and laughed lightly.

“Oh, Hans…”

“How could you say that?”

She leaned slightly closer to Dex.

“Nothing like that will happen.”

“Dex only loves me.”

Then a sinister smile appeared on her face.

“And if he even thinks about another woman…”

She rested her head against Dex’s shoulder.

“I’ll cut off his genital.”

Her smile widened slightly.

“But he won’t do that… right, Dex?”

For the first time, a little fear appeared on Dex’s face.

Still, he smiled and nodded.

“Never, Maya.”

“I only love you.”

Priest Paul cleared his throat lightly.

“Prince. It is time.”

Hans gave a small bow toward Maya.

“You too, Princess.”

Dex and Maya finally stood up.

Soon after, they left the room, followed by maids and guards.

The large room became quiet.

Only Priest Paul and Hans remained.

The priest turned slightly toward the butler.

“Is everything prepared for the wedding, Butler Hans?”

Hans gave a smooth smile.

“Yes.”

“Everything is ready, Priest Paul.”

The priest nodded once.

“And the former prince Ron…”

“And former princess Lia?”

Hans nodded.

“They have already been brought here.”

“To the royal palace.”

Priest Paul smiled faintly.

“Good work.”

—

Meanwhile in Thesmeris Royal Castle

Officer Knight stared at maera and selene in knoght form suspiciously.

“What are you knights doing here?”

Maera lowered her head slightly and answered in a rough male voice, “Officer Knight, we were just heading toward the kitchen. Due to wedding preparations pressure the cooks were very busy, they needed something, so we offered to fetch it. But the storage room didn’t have it, so we were going to report it.”

The officer narrowed his eyes.

“Hm.”

He looked between the two of them.

“I don’t recognize either of your voices.”

Then his tone sharpened.

“Remove your helmets.”

Under their helmets, Maera and Selene glanced at each other.

The officer’s expression darkened.

“What are you waiting for?”

“Now.”

Both of them silently prayed that the shape-shifting artifact Zane had given them would hold.

Slowly, they removed their helmets.

Their disguised faces were revealed.

Middle-aged men.

The officer stared at them for a few moments.

“…I haven’t seen you around before.”

Maera answered quickly, “We were transferred from the 18th Order of Knights.”

The officer’s brows twitched.

“The 18th Order…”

He looked thoughtful for a second.

Maera and Selene exchanged a quick glance.

It worked.

Or so they thought.

Then suddenly—

The officer drew his sword.

“There is no 18th Order in this kingdom.”

His voice became cold.

“Who are you?”

“Assassins?”

Before either Maera or Selene could react—

A shadow behind the officer shifted.

Drevin emerged.

He blew softly into his pipe.

A bluish needle shot out and pierced into the officer’s neck.

The officer staggered.

But he didn’t collapse.

Instead, he turned with bloodshot eyes.

“What… did you do…?”

He looked at Drevin.

“Who are you…?”

Then his voice rose.

“This is an ambu—”

Before he could finish, Drevin tried to sink back into the shadows.

But the officer moved faster.

Even with the poison taking effect, he grabbed Drevin by the throat.

Drevin’s eyes widened.

The officer’s grip tightened.

“You used poison…”

His voice had become ragged.

“Give me… the antidote…”

Drevin’s mind raced.

Damn it… do I have to kill him?

Then—

Bam.

A punch landed directly on the back of the officer’s neck.

His body went limp instantly.

The grip around Drevin’s throat loosened.

He stumbled back and looked up.

Maera stood there, her fist still raised.

“Quickly,” she said.

“Hide him.”

“And wear his armor.”

Drevin nodded immediately and moved to catch the unconscious officer before he hit the ground.

—

Zane, Zayne, and Valeriana traveled toward the royal palace of Thesmeris in silence.

The atmosphere inside the carriage was awkward after what had happened earlier. Even Valeriana seemed quieter than usual.

After a while, she finally spoke.

“Mr. Zane, my knights have already arrived in the city. I currently have them on standby.”

Zane, still in his merchant disguise, nodded slightly.

“Good.”

“Pass the message to them.”

“If a battle starts, they should spread out across the city and stop any Vassel members from escaping.”

Valeriana nodded immediately.

“I will.”

She spoke respectfully to him, more respectfully than she had with anyone.

she know about the name confusion in the records wasn’t just some mistake during her time when she first met zayne in the town.

And more importantly—

He was the savior of the world.

She had already seen what Zayne could do.

And Zayne himself had told her many times that Zane was far stronger than him.

Valeriana wasn’t stupid enough to act arrogantly just because she was a captain of a knight order.

Lastly, He is technically her brother-in-law.

Zane glanced outside the carriage.

“It looks like we’ve arrived.”

Then he added calmly,

“I’ll leave here and head to my own carriage.”

The next moment—

He vanished.

Valeriana sighed softly.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to you and your brother disappearing like that.”

Zayne looked out the window.

“Neither will I.”

Soon after, their carriage stopped.

Both of them stepped out.

At the same time, Zane stepped out of his own carriage nearby.

Since there was no actual driver, he had simply summoned an E.I.R.A bot to handle it and placed an illusion over its face.

Everything looked perfectly normal.

Ahead, Valeriana and Zayne had already moved toward the entrance.

Zane followed shortly after.

At the checkpoint, a guard stopped him.

“Invitation.”

Zane calmly took out the copied invitation.

The guard inspected it briefly.

Then nodded.

“You may proceed.”

Zane stepped onto the platform.

A low hum filled the air as it activated and began carrying him upward.

Higher and higher—

Toward the floating royal palace of Glimmereach.

Zane rose higher and higher until the floating royal palace of Glimmereach came fully into view.

The palace was massive.

White stone walls, crystal towers, banners fluttering in the air, and countless lights illuminating the structure. It looked more like a city than a palace.

Security here was even tighter than below.

Guards stood at every entrance, mages scanned guests with detection spells, and knights checked every detail carefully to make sure no suspicious people entered.

Zane looked at all of it and smirked slightly.

Poor guys.

The suspicious people are already inside.

And they’re the same people who put all this security here.

He walked calmly toward the entrance checkpoint.

A guard stepped forward.

“Invitation.”

Zane handed it over.

The guard inspected it for a second, then looked up.

“VIP invitation.”

He opened a notebook and ran his finger through the list of names.

A moment later, his expression changed.

“…Your name isn’t on the list.”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“I’ll need to take you to an investigator.”

Zane simply smiled.

Then casually waved his hand in front of him.

“I am a VIP guest.”

“You will let me pass.”

“And then you will write my name in that register.”

The guard blinked.

Then his expression immediately relaxed.

“Yes.”

“You are a VIP guest.”

“I will let you pass.”

He turned toward the others.

“Quick check only. He is a VIP guest.”

The other guards nodded without questioning it.

A few quick scans later—

Zane was allowed through.

He stepped into the palace grounds and looked around.

Beautiful decorations, nobles, servants, knights, music, food—

Everything looked grand.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

“…Something interesting is definitely going to happen here.”

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