The Belated Assassination

The Kingdom of Donagunov, capital city

Inn Guest Rooms

"Criminal Sordil, I advise you not to take any chances. Quickly confess what you just said to Queen Irene. Why did she suddenly announce that she would marry you in three months?"

Kneeling on the floor, Sordil trembled all over as he listened to Lady Diphiya's questioning, his head bowed as he pondered his answer. Just then, Anna, the 'traitor' standing to the side, said, "Judge Diphiya, the prisoner Sordil has hesitated for so long without answering; he must be weaving lies in his heart to evade his crimes."

"Criminal Sordil, I warn you, confess and you will be treated leniently, resist and you will be punished severely. Don't try to escape your crimes and avoid punishment by relying on lies!"

"Confess and you'll be treated leniently, rot in jail. Resist and you'll be sent home for the New Year. You think I don't know that? Hmph... you little girls are still a long way off!"

After mentally cursing Diphiya, Sordil said tearfully, "Lady Diphiya, I only told her that the condition for peace was that she would teach me the Augmented Magic, not that I would marry her. As for anything else, I didn't say anything else!"

Before Judge Diphiya could speak, the 'traitor' Anna interrupted, saying, "Your Honor, when the criminal Sordil was speaking, his eyes kept moving to the upper left, which means he must have been lying."

"Oh? Lying? Sordil, you've got guts!"

Seeing Lady Diphiya's face growing increasingly dark, as if a torrential downpour was about to erupt, Sordil swallowed hard, then cried out loudly, "Judge Diphiya, don't listen to Anna's instigation! She's settling a personal score; she's framing a villain! I was really just discussing Augmented Magic with Irene; we didn't discuss anything else!"

"Real?"

Sordil nodded frantically, shouting, "It's true! Everything I said is true!"

"Alright! I'll let you off this time, but if you dare to do it again... hmph!"

"Yes... yes... I'll never dare to do it again... I'll never dare to do it again..."

After being declared innocent and released in court, Sordil stood up from the ground trembling. Just then, Judge Diphiya suddenly turned around, stood behind Sordil, and whispered, "Sordil, besides the matter of the Augmented Magic, what else did you and Irene talk about?"

"Aside from Augmented Magic, we didn't talk about anything else, just..."

His words abruptly stopped, Sordil stiffly turned his head to look at Diphiya standing behind him. The dark cloud that had just dissipated from Diphiya's face had gathered again, threatening to unleash a storm at any moment.

"Speak! But what is it?"

"But she refused my request and insisted on marrying me in order to solidify the alliance."

Diphiya scanned Sordil up and down with her sharp eyes, circling him and trying to find Sordil flaw. After about ten minutes, Diphiya still hadn't found anything, and Sordil narrowly escaped punishment. Having confirmed Sordil's innocence, Diphiya left Sordil's room with Anna. As they reached the door, Diphiya suddenly turned back and said to Sordil, "Oh! Right, there's something I forgot to tell you. Just now, Igneel and Grandiere came to Fostadu looking for you."

After speaking, the two villains flicked their sleeves and disappeared into the corridor. Hearing Diphiya's words, Sordil was overwhelmed with joy at regaining news of Igneel. However, a vague feeling lingered that he had forgotten something important. Sordil sat in his chair, pondering for a long time, but still couldn't come Sordil -legged on the bed to meditate and replenish his depleted magic power.

As midnight approached, Sordil, lost in meditation, suddenly opened his eyes. After a night of processing, Sordil finally emerged from the joy of receiving news of Igneel, and at this moment, he finally remembered what he had forgotten. From learning of the impending attack from the Western Continent, to securing the opportunity to go on a diplomatic mission, to dealing with Langu, and arranging a marriage alliance with Irene, he had been so busy that he hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath, to the point that he hadn't noticed a major oversight in his plans. If Diphiya hadn't mentioned Fostadu just now, Sordil wouldn't have remembered this matter; if that had happened, his true identity would soon be exposed.

With this in mind, Sordil left his Thought Body in the room, while his real body took advantage of the dark night to go to the embassy to meet with Kaldiz and discuss countermeasures.

"Boom!"

At dawn, an oval-shaped boulder streaked across the sky, flying towards Sordil's room. Moments later, the boulder smashed Sordil's room to Crush with a deafening explosion. Hearing the explosion, the members of the Peace Negotiation Delegation staying at the inn rushed out to investigate the source of the sound. When they arrived at the scene, they were all stunned.

Looking at the deep pit before them, Anna and Diphiya knelt on the ground, tears streaming down their faces, repeatedly muttering, "No, it can't be," "Impossible," "This isn't real." Just as the rest of the delegation were wondering how to comfort the two, a roar came from behind them.

"What the hell! I just went out to get something to eat behind your backs, and you guys had to tear down my room? Where am I supposed to sleep now?"

Everyone turned around, their faces full of exasperation, to look towards the courtyard gate, where Sordil was busy gnawing on a chicken leg. For a moment, everyone was unsure whether to congratulate this idiot on his miraculous survival or to criticize his excessively oblivious nature. This eerie silence didn't last long, because Sordil was soon surrounded by two Mother Tyrant who had gone from wailing to raging fury.

Sordil hurriedly stuffed the food in his hands into his mouth, then waved his empty hands at the two of them, saying awkwardly, "Sorry, you're too late, I've already eaten everything."

Everyone around, witnessing Sordil's outrageous actions, covered their faces, turned their heads away, and silently mourned for Sordil for an infinite number of minutes. At this moment, the captain of the guard stepped forward and said to Anna and the other woman, "Please be gentle, and don't hit their faces. After all, His Excellency the Ambassador has to meet Queen Irene tomorrow."

The two nodded to the captain of the guard, indicating they knew what to do. Having received the promise, the captain of the guard instantly disappeared from the group of three, joining the nearby crowd of onlookers. Completely unaware of the danger he was in, Sordil, observing the captain and his men's unusual behavior, asked, "Hey, captain of the guard, what do you mean? What do you mean by 'go easy on them'? Who are you going to attack?"

"Ah!"

Ouch!

"Wait! You two are... Ah!"

"What did I do... Ouch!"

The Kingdom of Donagunov, capital city

Royal Palace, Central Court

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! A major disaster has occurred!"

The Prime Minister, having lost his usual composure, hurried toward Irene, who stood beneath the statue in the courtyard, calling out repeatedly. Irene stepped aside from the statue to meet the flustered Prime Minister, demanding, "Prime Minister, what has happened to make you so panicked?"

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Peace Negotiation Delegation from the Kingdom of Cuiyiorxiu has been attacked by villains at their guesthouse!"

Upon hearing the Prime Minister's report, Irene's body trembled violently, and she froze on the spot, the flowers in her hand falling to the ground.