Bodyguard's Love

Chapter 36

Three days later, the order of the Imperial Knights returned to the palace victorious. Upon their arrival in the courtyard of the palace, they were greeted by the emperor himself, Duke Lobelia, Count Taliny and their friends.

Dismounting from their horses, they advanced and bowed to Arthur while the servants took care of bringing the animals back to the stables to wash and feed them.

"I'm very proud of you, brave knights. You were truly up to my expectations and succeeded in your mission," Arthur said with a very big smile.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," the knights answered together in synchronization.

"You can rest now. You must be very tired from your expedition. To celebrate your victory, we're going to hold a banquet tonight. So, you should enjoy it to the fullest," he continued.

With these words, he ordered the servants to prepare the baths for the young men and to begin preparations for the banquet of the evening. Then, he turned to the young captain and his comrades.

"Sir Kiraxos, Sir Lobelia and Sir Carter," he called out.

"Yes, Your Majesty," they replied, looking him straight in the eye.

"I need you in my office. Meet me there once you've finished changing," he said as he turned to re-enter the palace.

"Understood, Your Majesty."

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A few minutes later, the three knights went to the emperor's office together. They knocked on the door softly before entering.

"Your Majesty," they greeted with a bow.

The emperor was sitting behind his desk, deep in thought as he looked at some of the documents that were placed in front of him, without even reading them.

"Sit down," he ordered.

The young men obeyed and sat down in the armchairs which were in front of the desk.

"So? Has Clanti revealed anything new?" he asked impatiently.

"Nothing new beside what Captain Arminel told us already," Lucas replied.

"Apparently no one knows the identity of this Grand Master. Even his most trusted servants are still in ignorance," Eric added.

"He distrusts everyone. That's why he doesn't want to reveal himself to anyone," Arthur concluded.

"The only new thing he mentioned was about something the Grandmaster is looking for... Something that disappeared decades ago..." Lucas said.

"Something that disappeared decades ago? What could it be?" Matthew wondered.

"I have no idea... If we at least knew what his purpose is, everything could become clear to our eyes... We will at least have some clues that will lead us to the answers of all our questions..." replied the young captain.

The emperor sighed heavily before leaning back in his chair and massaging his temples.

“Based on the events that happened earlier, in my opinion, there are three hypotheses,” he began.

"Which are ?"

"One, his goal is to kill me which resulted in the death of my wife Isadora instead. Two, to get rid of Luana because they knew she was a Leryta since the beginning. Three, this bastard just wants to get rid of the entire royal family to either wreak havoc on the empire or take my place and become the new emperor," Arthur explained.

"The three hypotheses are all very possible... That complicates things a bit..." Matthew answered.

"The third is the most tangible. This villain has very powerful mages and warriors as his loyal servants. I don't think they agreed to join his ranks for his beautiful eyes. They are all in search of wealth or power. Unless they're all in the same position as Captain Arminel which I highly doubt," Eric remarked.