Chapter 205 - Episode 205: Better Than I Expected.
Chapter 205 – Episode 205: Better Than I Expected.
I enter Krestan's house and look around while Avriel is waiting for me in the woods. I don't see Jariel and there's only his wheelchair in the living room and the potion bottle laying on the ground. I grab the bottle and look at the wheelchair, I think he felt guilty and disappeared as soon as he drank the potion.
I leave Krestan's house and approach Avriel. I shake my head while staring at her.
"He's gone. I don't know where did he go, but I think he drank the potion as soon as we left the house."
Avriel is nodding with understanding. I cross my arms and lean on the tree.
"Do you want to look for him?"
Avriel weakly smiles and shakes her head..
"No, let's just focus on the plan. I'm okay now."
I look at her with concern but then nod with understanding.
"Okay then. Can you bring the heads, Avriel? We are planning to confront him and show him the heads of his subordinates."
Avriel is nodding with understanding.
"The heads are safe, I will bring them with me. I will follow you from the shadows, and you can just call me when you want me to give you the heads. I will be near you all the time since."
I shake my head.
"No, you're going to stay by my side until we manage to enter the palace. There are things that we need to discuss before we enter the palace since the plan has changed."
Avriel raises her eyebrows.
"Oh? Alright, I will follow you. But, what about Krestan? He's not here with us and don't we need him as well? We should wait for him to comes back."
I shake my head.
"For now, Krestan isn't needed. We will do this first step without him because I don't want to make a scene. His presence is the last thing I want to see. You can grab the heads now so we can go to Rodwane's house."
Avriel is humming with understanding, she leaves to grab the heads. A few minutes later, she comes back with a big bag on her back, and then I open a portal to the front of Rodwane's house. We both enter the portal and then enter Rodwane's house.
Ivonna and Rodwane are looking at both of us, and Ivonna is surprised to see Avriel again for the second time. Avriel is taking a glimpse at Ivonna and then walks behind me so Ivonna can't see her face that's hidden under the hoodie. Ivonna sees the bag on Avriel's back and she's curious about it, but Avriel is hiding behind my back so she can't take a good look at the bag.
I look at Ivonna and Rodwane.
"Are you both ready to leave? Today will be a long day, and we need to be careful to not attract attention."
Ivonna nods with understanding.
"We are ready to leave. We are going to the Hebraum Kingdom, right?"
I nod.
"Yeah, we are going to the Palace where King Crafnell is at."
I look at Rodwane.
"Rodwane, you need to cover your face because people might notice your face and it will be bad for us. If a word goes to King Crafnell's ear, you will be in a trouble, and when you're in a trouble, we are also going to be in trouble."
Rodwane is nodding with understanding, but then Avriel throws a coat at his lap. Rodwane is startled and looks at Avriel.
"Thank you…"
I nod and look at Ivonna.
"Avriel and I will be following you both from behind because I'm afraid if we are walking next to each other and since you're the only one who's not hiding your face will attract the attention of the players and NPCs, but once we are close to the Palace, I will approach you both while Avriel will be infiltrating the Palace on her own."
Ivonna is humming with understanding, but then she tilts her head.
"Are you sure that she can infiltrate the Palace? The palace is not like any place though. What if she got discovered?"
Avriel scoffs and shakes her head.
"I did infiltrate the Eluna Empire's palace without breaking a sweat, and if it's just a small kingdom like the Hebraum Kingdom, it will be a piece of cake."
I nod while pointing my thumb at my back.
"Avriel was the one who helped me stole Krestan's limbs from the Eluna Empire, so you don't have to worry about her skill. She's capable of doing anything like stealing candy from a baby."
Ivonna is nodding with understanding.
"Okay, let's go then."
I nod and then the four of us leave Rodwane's house and go to the teleportation device.
As planned, Ivonna and Rodwane are going ahead of us then we both are following them from far behind. I look around and I see a big notification board on the side of the road, I see my face is posted there and every player that's walking past by the board is looking at my face. They really want my head so badly, the community is quite strong in this game. Avriel is chuckling quietly while she's staring at the board and she doesn't say anything.
We are about to enter the Palace area, I look at Avriel then she nods with understanding. She's slowly walking away from me and goes to the side of the road then she disappears. I walk fastly toward Ivonna and Rodwane then stand behind Ivonna. Ivonna turns her head and she nods, I nod and walk next to Rodwane.
One of the royal guards who's guarding the entrance gate is approaching us.
"Hero Ivonna! What is your occasion to come to the Palace, my lady?"
Ivonna is pointing her hand toward me and Rodwane.
"These two people are someone important that King Crafnell needs to see. There's something important that I need to discuss with His Highness."
The royal guard is looking at us and then looks at Ivonna.
"Can we see their faces?"
Ivonna smiles and shakes her head.
"Unfortunately, I can't. I will let His Highness decide to that matter later since I still want their identity to be hidden right now. I hope you understand."
The royal guards are looking at each other and they both nod. The royal guard then looks at Ivonna.
"If that is what my lady says, then we have nothing to say. Please come inside, my lady. His Highness is in the palace right now."
Ivonna smiles.
"Thank you."
The gate is opening and we are entering the Palace area. I look around and I hope Avriel manages to enter the Palace area already. We are walking toward the Palace, but then Ivonna exhales deeply. I chuckle and look at her.
"Were you nervous?"
Ivonna looks at me and nods while slightly smiling.
"Yeah, this is the first time I do something like this. I'm not good at this but there should be a few more royal guards that will ask me the same thing. I need to keep my poker face and try not to look so nervous and suspicious."
I smile and raise my eyebrows.
"You're doing good. You're resting face is perfect in this kind of situation, and I bet they wouldn't dare to ask you a further question with that face staring at them."
Ivonna is staring at me from the corner of her eyes.
"Is that a compliment?"
I chuckle.
"Oh, do I sound like I'm being sarcastic? My bad. That's a compliment because your resting face is somehow intriguing. Sometimes I can't stop staring at your face in a curious way… never mind… I sound like a creep."
Ivonna is laughing quietly while shaking her head. Rodwane is smiling and closing his eyes.
"I guess I am bothering your lovely time. My apology, but there is something more important to do, is it not that right?"
Ivonna and I are looking at Rodwane and we just laughing nervously.
We manage to enter the palace, and we are standing in front of the throne room where King Crafnell is at. Ivonna is looking at me and I nod, then the royal guards are opening the door for us. The three of us see King Crafnell is sitting on the throne with someone standing next to him. I believe that person is his personal assistant or Minister. Ivonna takes a deep breath and exhales deeply, then she walks toward him while Rodwane and I are following him from behind.
King Crafnell is smiling and standing up.
"Hero Ivonna! What can I help you?"
Ivonna looks at me for a second and then looks at King Crafnell.
"Your Highness, there's something important that I would like to discuss with you, but I don't trust anyone else to hear this. Can we have a private conversation, Your Highness?"
King Crafnell is looking at the Minister and nods. The Minister is bowing and then walks down the stairs and walks past us without even saying a word nor looking at us. He then leaves the throne room and the royal guards are closing the door.
King Crafnell sits down and puts his hands together.
"So, what is it that you want to tell me, Hero Ivonna?"
Ivonna turns her head and I immediately remove my hood and scarf. King Crafnell is squinting his eyes, then Rodwane does the same and that's when King Crafnell's eyes are wide open with disbelief. King Crafnell is speechless and just staring at Rodwane with his mouth open.
"How?!"
Rodwane smiles gently.
"Long time no see, Crafnell. I believe we still have unfinished business…"
King Crafnell is looking at Ivonna.
"What is the meaning of this?! Hero Ivonna, capture him because he's a traitor!"
Ivonna is staring at nothing but I believe she received a quest. Ivonna lifts her head and stares at King Crafnell.
"I refuse, Your Highness…"
King Crafnell grits his teeth. I look around and take a breath nervously.
"Come out, Avriel."
A figure appears from behind one of the pillars with a bag on her back. She looks at me and smugs, she walks toward me, and then she looks at King Crafnell.
"Your game has ended, Crafnell. Or should I say, Lerst Eogura's dog?"
Avriel throws the bag at him and 3 heads are rolling out from the bag. Ivonna, Rodwane, and King Crafnell are surprised. King Crafnell stands up and slowly walks down the stairs to see his comrades' heads. His hands are trembling and then he's glaring at us and gritting his teeth.
"Come out!"
A secret door is opening on the corner and dozens of people are coming out from there. They're wearing full plate armor and holding weapons of very high quality that are not the same as the royal guards are wearing. Their faces are covered with the helmet and we can't see their faces, but as soon as I activate my [Understanding] skill, I immediately realize that they're not the royal guards, they're the subjects that we are looking for, all of them are.
Ivonna is looking at me.
"Who are these people?"
I'm looking at every one of them.
"They're the subjects…"
King Crafnell is smirking and looking at the door.
"Guards! Capture these traitors!"
We are surrounded by the subjects and there's nowhere for us to run. I call Azrael and immediately grab my chained sickles. There's no other way than to kill all of them before the guards are going to inform the players and the people of the Hebraum Kingdom. Then we can hear a lot of footsteps coming from behind the door, the sounds of metal hitting each other are making everyone nervous.
The door is slowly opening, but King Crafnell's face changes drastically. He's shocked and his mouth and eyes are wide open.
"Wha… how?!"
The four of us are furrowing our foreheads and then we all look back. Avriel is surprised and her eyes are wide open.
A man is entering the room with a big smile.
"How? Infiltrating this Palace is like walking in a garden. I came here not for you, but I came here to protect my daughter…"
Jariel with dozens of his men is standing in front of the throne room.