Chapter 628 Early Arrival
Chapter 628 Early Arrival
To say that things were disorganized in the Palace that day was an understatement. The only way that they even managed to get enough staff for the lunch service was that the ones who were applying for family members had all been rushed through the application process, while none of the ones who were applying for themselves had been willing to leave the line until it was their turn.
It didn’t matter to them that it could take all day, they had their spot, and they were going to keep it.
The Palace was doing their best to keep things running smoothly, but that was the Steward’s job, delegated to the head Maid, who was currently on vacation in the countryside. Her assistant was filling in, but with the two top jobs unattended at the moment, she was swamped with work and left praying that the boss would come back early.
In the council chambers, an entirely different sort of chaos reigned. Prince John and his entourage had arrived early after seeing Wolfe flying into the Palace first thing this morning after dropping one of his lovers off at the Investigation Bureau. Or, that was how they interpreted it, anyhow.
“Advisor Alcott, what a pleasure to see you well. My apologies for arriving so early, but I saw the most intriguing thing this morning and simply had to verify it with my own eyes.” Prince John was greeting the senior Council Member.
“Oh, what might have been so impressive in our humble city that it drew you all the way here in such a rush?” The Advisor asked, with actual frost forming around her expression as her magic began to leak in annoyance.
lightsnοvεl “Come now, Alcott. We’re all friends here, plus we have a nonaggression treaty. But that brings me to the reason for my hasty visit. It appears that you have a Magi Patriarch here doing charity work, and I had hoped that he might do something for me. He is doing charity work, is he not? Surely, you wouldn’t do something as low as attempting to weaponize an outsider against your neighbours in violation of our agreements. Even for the Child King, that would be beneath the dignity of a Royal.” Prince John taunted them.
The Prince was an Overlord, a Rank Seven Demon close to Rank Eight, and if things turned ugly, it would be unlikely that the barrier cast by Wolfe and the Ministers would survive the influx of hostile magic. Everyone understood that the casters of the [Kind Intentions] spell simply weren’t on a level that could counter multiple Overlords fighting in the Palace, so they had to tread carefully.
“Indeed, he is here doing charity work. He is helping the staff with some personal requests today, but if you would like, we can arrange a meeting in the next few days.” Advisor Alcott suggested.
“Oh, I’ve already met him. Quite the interesting fellow. Did you know that he flies using Gravity Magic instead of Air Magic?” The Prince asked.
That was something that the Advisors didn’t know, as it had never come up before. Gravity was one of the advanced elements, available only to the true Noble Houses of the Magi. In fact, that was part of what made them the Noble Houses in the first place.
“Oh, how interesting. I hadn’t noticed, but his flight magic is quite the sight to see. As I recall, he participated in a capture challenge for the seat of Chief Justice not long ago and successfully escaped by flying.” Advisor Noctis, formerly the Intelligence Minister, informed him.
There were always suspicions that every other advisor was a plant for another nation, and it was in the nature of an Intelligence Minister to probe, but to his dismay the Prince actually hadn’t heard of the incident yet. So, if the challenger had been a spy, it wasn’t for Nephrite.
“I simply must hear that story later. Is it true what they say that a Magus can break the laws of nature to fly faster than a Blood Hunter?” The Prince asked.
Noctis gave a snort of laughter and nodded. “The story is an entertaining one. Find me when your official business is over and we can discuss it over tea.”
“Over Tea” meaning in public with witnesses, but that didn’t bother the Prince. He knew all about the paranoia of spies and the spymasters that ruled over them.
Part of what he had been sent here to accomplish this time was to determine who the successor to Noctis was, now that he had been outed as the former spymaster and elevated to the position of Royal Advisor.
“So, might I see the much vaunted Magi Patriarch in his natural element? I’m quite curious about what sort of public service he might be performing here in the Palace.” Prince John asked.
“Perhaps we could show you around a little, and I will point out a few of the improvements that he has made for the commoners since he arrived. I have found that he is quite enamoured of the common folk, and shows only respect but not favour to the Nobility.” Advisor Noctis suggested, naturally taking over the conversation as the others had issues with the headstrong Prince.
Now it was John’s turn to look startled. “You brought him here to help the Commoners on your staff? How unusual.”
Noctis chuckled. “On the contrary, he was literally dropped into our grounds by the Faerie Guard. I haven’t had a chance to hear the whole story myself, but it seems that they took exception to his presence and assumed he was a Demon, so they deposited him here.”
That gave them a perfect excuse for having Wolfe here that didn’t involve any plots on their part, and it wasn’t information that the Prince couldn’t get by flirting with a few maids in the city. Or even just asking one of the shopkeepers. The story had made the rounds of the city the very first day that Wolfe arrived, though most of them didn’t recognize him and assumed he was just another Demon hybrid.
“I agree, Advisor Noctis. A tour of his good works might be most enlightening.”