Chapter 573

Chapter 573: WHEN THINGS GO SOUTH (1)

“YOUR MAJESTY, we made Lord Marcus take Anwir Pills- and he didn’t die.”

Nikolai was secretly relieved after hearing Warren Fletcher’s report.

[If Marcus didn’t die after consuming the Anwir Pills, then he’s innocent.]

Right now, Marcus- the Sage in charge of his health- was locked up in the Fallen Tower because of the issue regarding the stolen Seeds and Beads.

It was the tower used for interrogating nobles and other high-ranking people in the empire.

Since Marcus was a Sage with a high position, he was brought in a room in the Fallen Tower. The Healing Sage was imprisoned, but he was still treated like the noble he was.

“Making him consume the Anwir Pill must be degrading for a Healing Sage like him,” Nikolai commented while walking on the hallway leading to the room where Marcus was locked up. “How did Marcus react?”

.....

The Anwir Pills were the ‘truth pills’ used to make criminals confess to their crimes.

Only the Alethea could produce such pills.

Those pills were useful, so the Royal Family had a stock of premium Anwir Pills stored in the treasury. However, they would only use the pills to high-profiled criminals.

[If I were Marcus, I would be offended.]

“Lord Marcus was calm throughout the investigation, Your Majesty,” Warren reported politely. “He cooperated well, so we didn’t have a hard time questioning him.”

“And your verdict...?”

“Wyatt and I believe that Lord Marcus is innocent,” the Paladin said firmly. “Lord Marcus isn’t connected to the crows in any way. He also looked genuinely horrified when we purposely accused him of stealing Your Majesty’s Seeds in order to get a reaction from him.”

He trusted the Fletcher Twins and their verdict.

Nikolai practically raised the Fletcher Twins, so he had faith in their abilities to determine whether a criminal was lying or not even without the Anwir Pills. Moreover, his gut feeling also told him that Marcus was innocent.

[He has plenty of chances to steal my Seeds because he’s the only doctor who has checked on my condition ever since I was a boy, but it never happened.]

His thoughts were interrupted when Wyatt, the one guarding at the door of Marcus’ room, greeted him.

After that, Wyatt announced his arrival and opened the door for him.

He found Marcus having tea in the room. The Healing Sage stood up and greeted him formally as soon as he saw him.

“Marcus, do you resent me because I have you locked up in this tower without following the proper procedure?”

Since Marcus was a high-ranking noble, he shouldn’t have been locked up right away considering that there wasn’t evidence of the crime they accused him of.

Hence, he wouldn’t complain of the Healing Sage was offended.

“I don’t resent Your Majesty,” Marcus said politely, and he seemed genuine with his words. “I understand the situation. The Fletcher Twins haven’t told me anything directly. But based on their questions, I figured out the reason for this interrogation.”

“And that would be...?”

“It seems like there have been cases where the Seeds or Beads of high-ranking individuals have been stolen by the crows. Then they used them to create children who would inherit exceptional abilities from the stolen Seeds or Beads.”

As expected of the Healing Sage, he was quick to catch on.

“Do you think it’s possible?” he asked Marcus. “I’d like to hear your opinion.”

Of course, he believed Neoma completely.

However, he also wanted to hear the opinion of a celebrated Healing Sage regarding the fact that children could be conceived in a very unconventional way.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of that theory, Your Majesty,” Marcus said in a serious tone. “However, I believe we should discuss this thing with the Royal Archmage. As far as I know, Lady Barlowe is studying about how to conceive children using the Seeds or Beads in order to help women who can’t conceive a child to have a baby.”

“Then let’s do that,” Nikolai said, then he turned to the Fletcher Twins. “Summon Abigail Barlowe to my palace now.”

***

“AW, NOW we can’t find them,” Trevor said, a little disappointed. “My Moon Princess really doesn’t trust me anymore.”

“Princess Neoma has always been too guarded,” Gin, who was in his human form, said. “We just have to look for the lions’ hideout again after we rested for a bit.”

Right now, the two of them were having dinner in the only inn in the town proper.

Thankfully, Trevor and Gin were able to bring the masks that Princess Neoma made for them.

There were masks available in the market, but the royal princess’ masks were more effective. Some guys tried to force them to buy their low-quality yet expensive masks, but fortunately, his horns were enough to drive them away.

And now, no one bothered him and Gin while they were in the middle of resting.

“But I wasn’t hallucinating earlier, was I?” Gin asked, then he sipped his beer before he continued. “The royal princess has become a baby.”

“Yes, I saw that, too,” he said, nodding. “It’s not just her appearance. She also weakened significantly.”

It could have been easier to abduct Princess Neoma if her “children” weren’t there.

Moreover...

“I think Princess Neoma collected another baby to adopt,” Trevor said when he remembered the other baby that he saw earlier. “That baby who used a teleportation spell to escape with them has strong divine powers.”

The black cat nodded in agreement. “And the baby was able to use divine power in a place like that. Princess Neoma is really good at adopting powerful kids.”

He smirked proudly. “That’s my future wife for you.”

“Trevor, as your friend, I’m telling you to give up already,” Gin said while shaking his head. “Moreover, we’re here to kidnap her. So, instead of praising the royal princess’ “children,” let’s do our best to find the lions first.”

He was about to complain when he heard a noise outside.

Of course, it was normal for a place like that for a fight to break out suddenly. However, this time, the Mana that exploded felt familiar.

Gin, who felt the Mana as well, smirked. “And I was wondering where Princess Neoma’s favorite “son” has been all this time.”

As if on cue, Lewis Crevan entered the inn with a blank look on his face.

The fox boy quickly scanned the room before his gaze landed on Trevor and Gin.

“Ah, if it isn’t my son,” Trevor said, smirking. [If it’s Trevor, then I’m sure Princess Neoma will come to me herself in order to save Lewis at all costs.]

Lewis frowned at him. “I am not your son, demon.”

***

“CALLISTO DE LUCA,” Nero growled lowly when he remembered the detailed report that he read regarding Callisto de Luca’s appearance lately. “How dare you-”

“The Black Witch has a pretty interesting ability that I need, so let me borrow her in the meantime,” Callisto de Luca said in a voice that sounded like it came from under the ground. “Don’t worry, I won’t kill her since I don’t want you- our future emperor- to break down early.”

Nero couldn’t swing his sword carelessly because Callisto de Luca was hiding behind Dahlia.

Hence, he tried to come at the god, who was starting to turn translucent already.

However, his movements were restrained when Calyx Dalton hugged him from behind very tightly.

Nero tried to break out of his grasp, but to no avail.

[This crazy bastard’s physical strength isn’t normal!]

He had no choice but to drop his ice sword and summon Zeru in his Soul Beast form.

“Your Excellency, see you later!” Calyx Dalton said cheerfully. “I’ll take care of Prince Nero!”

Callisto de Luca just laughed, then he disappeared with Dahlia.

“No!” Nero yelled, gathering his Mana in order to create an explosion. “Dahlia!”

He finally broke free from Calyx Dalton’s grasp when he let his Mana explode- causing thousands of ice spears to come out of his body. Of course, the crazy bastard had no other choice but to let go of him in order to avoid the ice spears.

But he was already too late.

He couldn’t sense Dahlia or Callisto de Luca’s presence. Hence, he didn’t know where to follow them.

“Prince Nero, calm down,” Calyx Dalton, who suddenly appeared before him, said while leaning down- invading his personal space once again. “His Excellency won’t kill Dahlia. We just need her ability for our new experiment.”

Nero growled and grabbed Calyx by the collar. “You’re going to bring me to Dahlia- now!”

“Ah, what to do?” the crazy bastard asked, then he cupped Nero’s face between his hands. He even stroked Nero’s cheeks with his thumbs affectionately. “When you’re this close, I feel like I can’t say ‘no’ to you, Prince Nero.”

That made his skin crawl.

Nero summoned Zeru, his ice phoenix, in the form of an ice dagger. Without saying a word, he stabbed Calyx in the chest.

However, the crazy bastard grabbed the ice blade- causing his hand to bleed.

“As expected, this won’t do,” Calyx said, his eyes starting to look glazed over. “I feel like I’d give up my life if you asked me to, but I can’t die yet. So, I apologize, my prince.” He caressed Nero’s cheek with his other hand. “I’ll let His Excellency borrow my body for a moment.”

He knitted his eyebrows.

[Is he talking about Callisto de Luca?]

He didn’t get the chance to ask before Calyx Dalton fell to the floor.

.....

To avoid falling with the crazy bastard, he was forced to pull out the dagger in Calyx’s chest and move away from him. However, he didn’t miss the chance to attack the crazy bastard while he was still unconscious.

His ice dagger turned into an ice sword.

But when Nero was about to stab Calyx Dalton in the chest, his body disappeared.

Then he was suddenly crushed by an unseen yet powerful force.

The next thing he knew, he was already on the ground- his cheek pressed against the cold floor.

[Tsk.]

“Prince Nero, should we have a little talk?” “Calyx Dalton,” who was squatting down in front of him, said. Then he grabbed him by the hair to force him to look up at him. The crazy bastard’s eyes were glowing red now. “Should I turn you into a puppet now?”

Nero smirked because he didn’t have to answer the crazy bastard.

All of a sudden, the heavy aura that was crushing him disappeared.

Then the fragrance of roses filled in the room.

“How dare you touch my son with your filthy hand?”

Nero smiled at the person who appeared behind “Calyx Dalton.” “Mother.”

***

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