Ⅴ
"What?!"
Dill Buck cried out in shock.
The loyal hidden pawn actually sprang up from the floor.
Almost immediately, Dill Buck shouted-
"Please stay where you are, sir! I'll come get you right away!
No!
That won't do!
You can't stay there!
Please find somewhere safe to hide, sir-I'll reach the Inner Bay as soon as possible!"
With that, Dill Buck turned to leave.
But just as his hand touched the cabin door handle, the hidden pawn suddenly remembered the extraordinary order the Old Lion had given him-
"Dill Buck, remember: you and your men must do everything in your power to protect Arthur Credos. Except for my... no, from this moment onward, even my orders must be carried out only if they won't harm Arthur Credos. If they would harm Arthur Credos, his interests take precedence over everything.
You must remember that!"
That extraordinary order, combined with the strange situation in the Inner Bay, led the hidden pawn to a deeply unsettling suspicion.
But the fiercely loyal hidden pawn stopped in his tracks.
He spoke into the Communication Crystal-
"Sir!
Please trust me!
But apart from me, please keep your guard up even around His Highness, because I'm no longer certain whether the current His Highness is still the one I knew."
Having said his piece, Dill Buck lingered no longer.
The hidden pawn's figure vanished into the shadows.
The sound of him entering the water was barely audible.
As one of the Seven Golden-Bearded Consultants, he naturally had his own methods.
He might even have secret assistants in the Inner Bay.
But none of that had anything to do with Arthur.
He was soothing his little cat-
"Meow, meow, meow!!!"
Pendragon vehemently expressed his unease.
"All right, all right. Even I didn't know I had that identity."