First Encounter with a Love Rival (Part Two)
"Knock knock"
"Knock knock"
"Coming, coming, stop knocking!"
"Squeak"
The gate slowly opened, and two travel-worn figures appeared before Murellia. Looking at the silver-haired boy in front of her, Murellia excitedly hugged him.
"Young Master Sordil, you've finally arrived! Miss Diphiya was running out of time; if you hadn't come soon, our entire operation would have been ruined!"
"Okay, okay, stop crying! I'm here now, everything will be alright, it's all right!"
"Sister Murellia, how long are you going to hold my teacher? We've traveled such a long way, aren't you going to let us in to rest?"
Faced with Anna's teasing, Murellia immediately released her arms from Sordil, then blushed and pounced on Anna, shouting, "What nonsense are you spouting, you brat? I'll tear your mouth apart!"
"Murellia is enraged! Murellia has killed someone!"
Watching Murellia and Anna run into the Home Minister and playfully fight, Sordil shook his head, a smile spreading across his lips. He slowly walked into the hall, closed the door behind him, and then headed towards his room, following Sordil memory. After a quick wash in his room, Sordil returned to the hall and stopped Anna and Murellia from their continued playful antics.
"Murellia, are you all alone here?"
"Yes! As you arranged, young master, Miss Diphiya lives in the house you bought and is responsible for contacting Duke Gould and obtaining information from within the royal family. Sister Mevajena is responsible for infiltrating the dark forces in Philiers and using them to spread throughout the entire Philiers. As for me, I stay here to make contact between the two of them. All the messages are exchanged in the abandoned house, and the three of us don't see each other normally."
"Is the Silver Moon Bar usually open?"
"This bar has never been open since you left, young master. I usually keep a low profile and have never revealed my whereabouts, so no one knows that anyone lives here, let alone that this is our intelligence base."
"Yes! You've all worked hard these past few days!"
After learning that Murellia and the other two had strictly followed his instructions, Sordil wanted to reach out and pat her on the shoulder to comfort Murellia. However, he had clearly forgotten that the person standing in front of him was Murellia's Thought Body, so his hand naturally passed through Murellia's body and landed on the table. Just as Sordil was wondering how to ease the awkward situation, there was a knock at the door.
"You hide yourself first, I'll go see who's here!"
"Yes, young master!"
After Murellia left the hall, Sordil leisurely walked to the door and opened it. Standing outside was a knight in silver armor. The knight's appearance seemed vaguely familiar to Sordil, but he couldn't quite place where he had seen him before. Upon seeing Sordil emerge, the knight immediately gave a crisp military salute and said, "General Oddek Sordil, His Majesty has ordered you to enter the palace immediately!"
The knight's words finally reminded Sordil of where he had seen him before. It was this very knight, accompanied by his guards, who had escorted him to the palace when Duke Gould led him to the training grounds. Hearing that the king was summoning him now, Sordil was inwardly furious with the husky. Couldn't this guy let him rest for a bit?
However, he dared not say this in front of the knight. Sordil opened the door completely and led the knight into the hall. Then he said to the knight, "Your Excellency, please rest here for a while. I will go and change into some clean clothes before I go to see His Majesty."
"General, please make yourself at home! However, please hurry, His Majesty's summons is very urgent."
After bidding farewell to the knight, Sordil instructed Anna to look after him, then hurriedly returned to his room to change into clean clothes before quickly running downstairs. Upon seeing Sordil come down, the knight immediately rose and led Sordil towards the palace.
Royal Palace, Council Hall
"Your Majesty, Langu is requesting an audience outside the palace."
"Oh, they've finally arrived! Let him in quickly!"
Upon receiving Belmod's order, the attendant immediately left the hall to relay the king's command to Langu. A moment later, a middle-aged general in white armor strode into the hall and knelt on one knee to pay his respects to Belmod, who sat on the throne.
"Your subject, Langu Cordelia, the Guardian of the Western Territory, greets Your Majesty!"
"Alright! Langu, get up and stand aside. We need to wait for one more person!"
"Yes!"
General Langu stood up, though filled with doubts, he obeyed the king's command and stood to one side of the hall. Upon seeing the prime minister standing before him, Langu nodded in greeting, and the prime minister returned the gesture. The three remained silent, the only sound in the hall the crackling of the candles. Time slowly passed, and Belmod's patience waned. Just as his endurance was about to reach its limit, a servant rushed into the hall.
"Your Majesty, General Oddek is outside requesting an audience!"
"That brat has finally come! Let him in!"
"Yes!"
The attendant immediately went to inform Sordil to come to the palace. Before long, General Oddek, with silver hair and silver eyes and dressed in a colorful robe, appeared.
"General, you have quite the airs! Whether you're summoned to the capital or received in the dead of night, you always manage to secure the last place. It's not easy!"
Sordil had barely entered and hadn't even had a chance to bow when Belmod, seated at the head of the table, tossed him a 'palm grenade'. Faced with this, Sordil abandoned any further bowing and instead stood there, bowing low, saying aggrievedly:
"Your Majesty, since receiving the decree from Earl Kaysir four days ago, I immediately set off, traveling day and night towards the capital. However, Kaysir City is far from the capital, and I only managed to arrive before the 25th, having rushed as fast as I could. I had no idea Your Majesty would be so eager to see me, so I spent some time tidying myself up, which is why I am late. If Your Majesty is angry, please punish me as you see fit; I have no complaints!"
"What? The imperial edict was only received four days ago?"
"Yes, Your Majesty! Is there something wrong?"
Seeing Belmod 'Sordil weary face and listening to his tearful description, and recalling Earl Kaysir's recent report that the Bell Dragon Rider Regiment were disobeying his orders, Vermouth believed Sordil. Knowing the truth, Belmod's anger towards Sordil gradually subsided.
"Prime Minister, after this matter is settled, you should personally investigate this Kesier!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Alright, everyone's here now. Prime Minister, tell Langu and Oddek about those two things!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The moment Belmod uttered the name Langu, Sordil's eyes widened as he scanned the hall, finally fixing his gaze on a middle-aged man standing to one side. Short black hair, a thick beard, wearing silver armor, a red leather skirt, and brown boots—yes, it was him! Sordil instantly recognized this 'Fairy Tail's Number One Scumbag.' Thinking of Irene, whom he had just parted ways with, Sordil felt an instant urge to strangle this bastard. He could forgive himself for being powerless to change things in his past life, but this time he absolutely wouldn't allow Irene to be ruined by this guy again.