After kicking out the saintess, being the master bootlicker he always was, Leonidas turns around and directly jumps in front of Scarlett, kneeling on the ground and bowing his head so low his forehead dug into the cold, marble floor.
"Your Highness, what made you come here?" he says in the sincerest voice he could muster, his words muffled by the floor.
Scarlett couldn't help but sigh at his pathetic bootlicking act. It was almost impressive.
"First, stand up and sit down. It's weird talking like this," Scarlett says, her tone sharp and annoyed.
Leonidas immediately stands up with a comedic jump, his movements quick and eager. "This way, my lady..." he leads the way, just a few meters away to a particular, ornate seat that was clearly meant for other nobles.
Scarlett sits down, making herself comfortable, while Leonidas himself sits on the ground, looking up at her. He positioned himself as if he was about to give a massage to Scarlett's legs, his posture one of complete submission.
"This is my place in front of you," he says with a chuckle, humiliating himself on purpose.
"He sure knows how to behave..." she mutters to herself, a little impressed by his acting. She had never met anyone in her life who was so perfect at bootlicking, but this was also what made him so dangerous. He was like a cockroach, weak on his own but very, very hard to kill for good.
"I had a lot of work, so I couldn't come before. I heard from Reiza that you died, but thanks to that resurrection spell I put on you, you got revived again," she says, as if she were just stating a simple, boring fact.
Leonidas immediately shivers, a cold dread washing over him. The memory of his death was no less than a trauma to him, a fresh wound he could never truly heal.
"Yes, having your head blasted like a watermelon is not a pleasant feeling at all," he says, his body shuddering at the gruesome memory, his face paling.
"Your head got blasted and you did nothing in defense?" Scarlett asks, a little curious, her head tilted to one side.
"How could I? That bastard Adam, he just came out of nowhere. Before I could realize what was happening, it was over," Leonidas sighs, his voice filled with a lingering fear and helplessness.
"So that priest has such an ability? Did he use psychokinesis like me? Or some unique skill?" Scarlett thinks to herself, pondering for a bit but then realized that she wasn't here to investigate his death. That could wait.
"Well, the reason I came here..." Scarlett goes directly to the main topic, a mischievous, almost predatory smile appearing on her lips.
"How many people know about you being alive?" she asks, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.
"Not many. I was afraid that the Holy Knights would come again, so I made it as secret as possible. Although the other nobles mostly hate me, they knew that whoever backs the next fake king will either be dragged into a war or die by their hands. Thus, they decided to cooperate with me," he explains, his voice a little proud of his own cunning.
"Good... good, you did well," she praises, and then raises her hand and pats it on Leonidas's head, like one would pat a dog. "But since you are alive because of me, how about giving me the credit for it?"
"Credit? How?" Leonidas asks back, a bit confused, his eyes looking up at her from the floor.
"Just be dead for now, and wait for me to resurrect you in front of the world," she replies, her voice a low, thrilling whisper.
"Umm... aren't I already alive? Are you going to kill me again?" Leonidas asks, still confused by what Scarlett was trying to say, his mind struggling to keep up with her devious plan.
Scarlett only chuckles, a low, throaty sound, and then lowers her head, leaning close to Leonidas's ear, and explains her little plan in detail.
"Ohh... a marvelous plan indeed! It'll certainly be a huge help in fixing your current reputation," Leonidas's eyes widen as he couldn't help but praise, a greedy glint in his eyes as he saw the potential for his own gain.
"So be ready and also arrange the stage for everything. Specially invite those newspaper people, article writers, etc. I need the breaking news to travel through the world," Scarlett says, standing up, ready to leave.
"You can leave it to me," Leonidas answers, showing all of his teeth in a wide, eager grin.
Scarlett casually waves her hand, ready to teleport away. "Be ready," she says, the air around her beginning to shimmer.
But then, someone else enters the throne room directly, running and gasping for breath, the face pale with panic.
"Your honor! One of the Holy Knights has come!"
It was a middle-aged woman with blue hair, wearing a light blue gown that shimmered slightly in the dim light of the palace. She was one of the noblewomen, a member of the throne room, and her face was pale with panic.
As she spoke, her gaze landed on Scarlett, and her eyes widened in a mixture of fear and surprise. She froze on the spot, her hand flying to her mouth.
Almost every main noble who had ever attended the throne room knew of Scarlett and how she looked. And why wouldn't they? Scarlett had made her appearances here many times, always leaving a lasting, and often terrifying, impression.
"Effie... which member is it?" Leonidas asks hastily, his voice a little shaky.
Realizing Scarlett was standing there, Effie realized that this time she had no ill intentions and was here for something else entirely.
Effie immediately clears her throat, trying to regain her composure, though her voice still trembled slightly. "It's Sir Adam," she says, the name hanging in the air like a death sentence.
It was Leonidas's time to be shocked. His killer was coming to his palace once again. His legs started trembling uncontrollably, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. The memory of his head exploding was still fresh, a nightmare he couldn't escape.
"Did you tell him anything? Is he on his way here right now?" Leonidas asks, his voice a high-pitched squeak of fear.
Effie shakes her head, "In fact, I didn't even meet him. It was your personal guard who alarmed me. What should I do? Send him back? Or call other noblemen to meet him?" she asks, her mind racing, trying to think of the best course of action, but coming up blank.
As Leonidas was thinking what to do, his mind a jumble of fear and indecision
Scarlett spoke, her voice calm and clear, cutting through the panic like a knife.
"Go and let him come here and have a conversation. We'll hide here and overhear what he wants to talk about," she says, her voice a literal command, leaving no room for argument.
Her gaze piercing through her purple blindfold. "And you better not leak any information about me or him," she says, nodding towards Leonidas, "or else be ready to die," she exclaims.
"N-no... Not even in my dreams," Effie trembles all over, her body shaking like a leaf in a storm. She immediately turns around, almost running out of the throne room, eager to escape the suffocating presence of the woman behind her.
As Effie leads Adam to the throne room, Scarlett and Leonidas run upstairs, their footsteps silent on the plush carpet. They looked down from the inner balcony.
Scarlett even casts a stealth spell, a shimmer of energy enveloping them, so that Adam couldn't sense their presence or stares by chance, just in case.
A few seconds later, Effie and Adam enter the throne room casually, as if they were just there for a friendly chat.
"No one will hear us here," Effie says, acting perfectly, but there was still a hint of nervousness on her face, a slight tremor in her voice that she couldn't quite hide.
Thankfully, Adam thought her nervousness was because of his presence, a sign of respect and fear, which he enjoyed.
Adam points at the empty throne of the king, his expression one of mock sorrow. "Lady Effie, it feels so sorrowful to see the throne empty. Who will be the new king?" he asks, his voice smooth and persuasive.
Effie shakes her head, "We have yet to decide. The Duke is ill right now. Earl Groy Cesser is on an expedition, and the Sword Grandmaster has already died," she immediately made excuses, her voice filled with a deep, theatrical sigh, showing how vulnerable the situation was.
"No one seems worthy to get acknowledged by the people and other members of the throne room," Effie adds, her voice a perfect mix of sadness and helplessness.
Adam turns around, taking a look at the scenery, his eyes scanning the room. "Troublesome indeed," he sighs, rubbing the chain with a cross locket hanging on his palm.
He then turns back with a holy, benevolent smile, his eyes gleaming with a hidden ambition. "How about you become the next king— I mean, queen?" he asks, his voice smooth as silk.
"Me?" Effie almost shouts in surprise, her eyes wide with shock.
The suddenly offer genuinely shocked her.
"Yes, you are countess, have enough reputation, and nothing is impossible with the Holy Knights' support. No one will question your worthiness," he proposes.
The offer was solid and very enticing, a chance to gain immense power. But Effie knew that Leonidas was still alive, Gwarga still had its king, and right now he and Scarlett were even listening to her from above. She couldn't accept this offer even if she wanted to.
But what should she say? If she refused such an offer immediately on spot, it would seem too suspicious.
With some quick thinking, she acted as if she was giving some real consideration to the offer, her brow furrowed in thought, and then lowers her head, a sign of humility and indecision.
"It's a generous offer indeed, but I need some time to think about it," she answers, not accepting but also not rejecting the offer.
Adam nods, his holy smile never wavering, "You can, but don't take too much time. Of course, if your answer is yes, then you just need to do a few small things," he says, his voice smooth as honey.
"Almeida is ready to attack the kingdom of Victoria. A few of our sub-branches of Holy Knights will aid them. DreadHaven has announced its neutrality. As for DreadHaven, Mystveil would have personally liked to devour it, but we can't without Gwarga's help," he adds, his voice casual, as if he were discussing the weather, not the invasion of a nation.
"Our help? How can Gwarga be a help to the mighty kingdom of Mystveil?" Effie asks, she was genuinely surprised by what Adam said.
"We have numbers, with experience and talents as well, but DreadHaven is just too far... Marching our unfathomable army on foot would take months. They'll have plenty of time to prepare and even sneak attack," Adam explains in a calm, measured tone, his eyes never leaving Effie's face.
"Not to forget, it's summer time. Food and water supply and so many things... It'll take a toll on us before we even reach there," he adds, his voice a little weary.
"Only the best option is teleportation. But teleporting an army of 20 lakh men is out of the question," he sighs.
While overhearing their conversation from the balcony above, Scarlett repeats what Adam just said, her brow furrowed in thought.
"20 lakh men? Is that a lot?" Scarlett rubs her chin, her mind trying to process the numbers.
She don't have much knowledge about battlefields, nor about Earth's history, about what level of army would've been considered strong in ancient times.
But she sure remembered that Gwarga had an army of eight hundred thousand soldiers, which she personally killed, a memory that was both a source of pride and a dark stain on her soul.
"They won't even have even thirty thousand remaining now", She thinks to herself, It just showed how weak gwarga have gotten.
Compared to that, Mystveil had more than double of gwarga's prime. But still, as per the reputation of Mystveil, as the strongest kingdom, it surely had to be more than that.
But after a quick thought, Scarlett realized that it wasn't just all about numbers. Not just quantity, but quality as well.
Not to forget, they have a powerful king holding a legendary blade and all the Holy Knights at its command. And who knows what kind of secret tricks they had up their sleeves? The army numbers were never the top priority; they were just to deal with the cannon fodders.
"DreadHaven barely has a population of fifteen thousand," she sighs to herself, a small, bitter smile on her face. "Well, I killed eight hundred thousand in one blink. What difference will their army make?" With that resolve, she decides to focus on their conversation again, her mind sharp and alert.
"Our main goal is to teleport an army of twenty to twenty-five thousand elite soldiers near DreadHaven and make a camp base before attacking. All the soldiers would be elites of the elite, including Holy Knights," he said in his calm voice.
"But you'll let us use your teleportation gates and teleport here before departing for DreadHaven, making Gwarga a key point. Then we can bring about fifty to seventy thousand soldiers instead and a safe place to rest and even retreat in future," he finally explains the true intention for asking for their help.
"These cunning bastards," Scarlett couldn't help but twitch in annoyance, her hands clenching into fists at her sides.
The biggest advantage she had was that they were very far away, but Mystveil had realized their own weakness as well.
But there was a more important thing that Scarlett realized.
"The attack is just to misdirect the world and keep them busy among ourselves, specially me. While we'll be fighting their forces, some of them would carry out that unknown ritual, They are preparing of every single kind of variable that can disrupt their ritual," she thinks, having a complete realization of the current situation.