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Looking at the dejected His Majesty the King, the cautious young master Sordil timely offered a reassurance, calming Belmod's fragile heart that was on the verge of collapse, lest she act rashly in desperation.

"Your His Majesty the King, there is no need to be so discouraged. As long as you stop sending messages to the Western Continent and stop undermining the stability of the United Front Alliance, the Kingdom of Tsuyioru Xiu will be safe and sound, and you will remain the most esteemed Your His Majesty the King."

Although Belmod knew it was a carrot thrown by Sordil, it was still so attractive in the face of the stick of death, and at least His Majesty the King had no way to resist it at the moment.

"Prince Sordil Belmod will definitely repent and never dare to do anything that would harm Ishgar or the United Front Alliance again!"

Sordil walked up to the king, patted him on the shoulder, and said with satisfaction, "If Your His Majesty the King can truly do this, it will be a blessing for Ishgar!"

"Your Highness the Prince!"

After responding to Sordil's praise in a calm tone, His Majesty the King slowly moved to the vicinity of the palace gate, adopting a posture of respectfully seeing Sordil off. However, the young master seemed not to notice, and went on to talk about another topic.

"Your His Majesty the King, although our issues have been resolved, the problem of the leak is not yet over. We still owe the soldiers at the front a reasonable explanation."

Having navigated the political arena for decades, Belmod was perfectly aware of Sordil's underlying message. However, this scapegoat was not so easy to hand over. If Arthur were handed over to Sordil, she would lose not only the Division Commander of the Royal Mage Corps but also the loyalty and trust of all the kingdom's subjects. But if she refused, would Sordil let her off so easily?

For a moment, His Majesty the King was torn between the fire pit and the boiling oil cauldron, unsure of which to choose.

"If this puts His Majesty the King in a difficult position, then let it be! After all, this is a matter for the United Front Alliance United Front Alliance, and it's better to leave it to them. However, in that case, the outcome of the investigation will be beyond our control!"

Hearing Sordil's seemingly gentle but actually sarcastic words of comfort, Belmod felt like killing someone, but she had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill, since she had done something stupid and been caught red-handed.

"Prince Sordil, please rest assured, I will definitely give you, the United Front Alliance, and the soldiers on the front lines a reasonable explanation."

"Very well! Then I will await His Majesty the King's good news!"

After speaking, Sordil led the Black Robe flying off the balcony and disappearing into the inky night.

Having witnessed everything that had transpired within the palace, a torrent of emotions—panic, fear, humiliation, and hatred—rushed into Leshia's (Leshia Fannel, the Queen) mind, shattering her already fragile heart. Tears of grievance and fear streamed incessantly from her beautiful, almond-shaped eyes, while betrayal and loneliness weighed heavily on her frail body, making it hard to breathe.

"Bang"

As her delicate body, leaning against the wall, slowly slid down, she accidentally knocked over a flowerpot stand placed to the side. The flowerpot fell to the ground, making a crisp sound of porcelain shattering, which startled His Majesty the King, who was also heartbroken in the palace.

"Squeak"

The palace gates slowly opened, and a tall figure appeared at the entrance.

Seeing the Queen slumped against the wall and on the floor, Belmod exclaimed in surprise, "Le... Leshia, what are you doing here?"

"Your Majesty, I... you..."

"Leshia, you knew all along?"

Upon hearing His Majesty the King's question, scenes from the palace that had recently unfolded flooded her mind once more, bringing back that silvery-white despair. After struggling with all her might to break free from the nightmare, the Queen stood up, tears streaming down her face, and nodded forcefully in response to His Majesty the King.

"Leshia, do you... resent me?"

"Your Majesty, what are you saying? You submitted to that Evil Dragon for the safety of everyone in the kingdom. How could I possibly blame you? I only regret that I am too weak to even kill a chicken and cannot defeat that Evil Dragon for Your Majesty!"

Belmod quickly stepped forward and embraced the tearful Queen, offering her comfort.

"It's my fault for being useless; I couldn't defeat that Evil Dragon, and I've made you, Queen, suffer because of it!"

"Your Majesty, I am not wronged!"

The star-crossed lovers embraced each other, comforting and confiding in one another. Time slipped away unnoticed as they spent their days together. However, the hatred and disgust hidden in the Queen's eyes did not disappear with time. Instead, it moved from her pupils to the depths of her heart, where it brewed a great storm that would sweep across both the dragon and human races.

Northwest of Ishgar, in a primeval jungle

"Sigh! If I had told that Bandit before I came, I wouldn't be like this now, wandering around aimlessly like a headless fly!"

Looking at the identical scenery all around him, the ultimate directionally challenged Zeref was completely exasperated! Thinking about why he had ended up in such a predicament, he mentally cursed each of the dragons who had fought alongside him. After all, if it weren't for them, he would have already found the Cuyis Tree Sea by following the path he had discovered!

Um... okay! I have a terrible sense of direction, and even without those dragons blocking my way, I might not be able to find the Cuyis Tree Sea. But at least I can encounter other travelers and ask them for the Cuyis Tree Sea. At least I won't be wandering around in circles in this dark jungle like I am now.

"Forget it, there's no use thinking about this now. I'll search carefully again and see if I can find another way to the outside world!"

After expressing his feelings, Zeref tightened the white cloth straps around his body and continued his search for a way out.

Dragon Clan Secret Realm, Montes Sakureta

Since Acnologia led most of the dragons in the secret realm to war, the entire secret realm has become much quieter. However, whenever news of victory arrives from the front lines, the tranquil secret realm becomes noisy, just like it is now.

"Come quick, everyone! The food's being distributed!"

Hearing the captain's shouts, the residents who were staying at home came out one after another.

"Captain, why are you distributing rations again? I haven't finished the last batch you gave us; it's still piling up at home!"

"Haha! Lazybones, have you forgotten the days last year when you were begging for food with a bowl in your hand? Back then, didn't you ever complain about having too much food?"

"Hehe! Captain, don't expose my secrets! Besides, I'm not wrong, this year's grain distribution is a bit too much, so much that even this lazy bum has grain stored up at home!"

"Ha ha!"

"Ha ha!"

"Captain, although Lazy Second has never said a word clearly in his life, he is right this time. The grain distribution this year is quite frequent."

"Blacksmith, how come you've also sided with that lazy guy?"

"Captain, I'm not on Lazy Two's side. I'm just stating the facts. If you don't believe me, you can ask the most honest person here—the doctor—and see if he says the same thing!"

Upon hearing that he had been tagged, the doctor, standing on the outskirts of the crowd, looked at everyone with a bewildered expression, unsure of how to respond.

"Doctor, are we right or wrong? You should give us an answer!"

Seeing all eyes on him, the doctor's fierce eyes suddenly began to dart around, avoiding eye contact. But the onlookers seemed determined to get him to talk; countless eyes followed him relentlessly, trying to force him to speak. Left with no other choice, the doctor forced himself to suppress his discomfort and squeeze out a half-baked "yes" as his answer.

"Doctor, you can't do this. You have to tell me whether I'm right or the captain of the guard is right!"

"Lazy Er and the blacksmith are right, the grain distribution has indeed been a bit too frequent lately!"

After mustering all his courage to say those words, the doctor fled in panic, hiding in a side alley.

"Haha! The doctor is shy!"

"Lazybones, you'll get beaten up if you keep mocking the doctor like that!"

"That is!"

After saying this, the captain of the guard and the blacksmith vanished, leaving Lazy Two alone on the spot. The next second, a net of death rays emitted by countless young men, women, married women, and old women surrounded the criminal Lazy Two and brought him to justice.

Godeswet Mountain, Western Continent Camp

"The person shrouded in Black Mist, possessing extremely strong combat power, and whose whereabouts are mysterious and unpredictable—all these conditions match up. Could it be that the person who assassinated the members of Bohr Leviers in the Western Continent was really that Prince Sordil on the other side?"

"That's right! Before he died, Selisliu said that he encountered that mysterious being shrouded in Black Mist on his way to Ishgar, and Sordil was a member of Ishgar. It makes sense! It all makes sense! That mysterious being shrouded in Black Mist must be that guy Sordil!"

"Oh no! This is troublesome. If Sordil reveals what happened back then, I'll be doomed!"

"No, I can't just sit here and wait to die. I have to think of a way to get Sordil away or use his power to get rid of Goodpes and his men."

Having figured out his priority, Glaide began to work his CPU at full speed, looking for the best solution to the current situation.

"Ah! If only Hit were still here!"

"Hmm? Hit? That's it! I just need to find a way to lure Goodpes and the others into the heart of Ishgar, and then Sordil will naturally take care of them for me! But how?"

Although Glaide had clearly identified the location for the murder, figuring out how to get both the knife and the person there simultaneously would require Glaide to put in considerable effort.

Just as Glaide was agonizing over how to carry out his second murder by proxy, the eldest son of the Sordil had already begun a grand drama of eliminating traitors.