Throne of Magical Arcana
chapter-91

"Did you see Joel, Alisa and Iven? Are they safe now? Where are they now?" Recovering from the surprise of suddenly seeing the princess on his windowsill, Lucien asked so eagerly that he forgot to use the proper salutation.

Anyone who cared about his or her family would definitely react like this. And Lucien regarded them as his closest relatives in this world.

Although he had killed Janson and the squires in the dungeon, Lucien was still looking forward to the confirmation from the princess. After all, the battle tonight was so cruel that ordinary people like Joel, Alisa and Iven could easily become the innocent victims of the many powerful magic spells.

"Well… I was fighting on the frontline, Lucien," said Natasha a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, I should’ve paid more attention to your family… But don’t worry, Lucien. I did confirm with the knight who was responsible for saving the hostages, and they are safe."

"Thank you very much, Your Grace." A sincere smile appeared on Lucien’s face. As his whole plan was like walking a tightrope, any tiny mistake could kill the people that he cared the most in this world. "Then where are they now? When I can see them?" Lucien asked again.

"They are in the main cathedral right now, since they were tortured badly, both physically and mentally," Camil answered. "The pastors in the church will take care of them, and they need to be questioned later."

"But they are innocent! They’re just ordinary people…" Lucien shuddered to think of the questioning that he received, or say, the one this body once received, from the Church.

"I know what you’re worrying about, Lucien," Natasha comforted him, "Last time you were wronged as a suspect, but this time it’s different. The Church just wants to ask them some questions about the dungeon guards of Argent Horn, nothing else."

Then Natasha said to lady Camil, "The power of a radiant knight is surely impressive. That sudden attack you launched toward the great priest was so powerful that the poor people in the dungeon were even knocked out. I wonder when I will become a radiant knight."

"May… may I ask what is Argent Horn?" asked Lucien purposefully.

"It was Argent Horn that kidnapped your uncle and his family. They are followers of demon, and they call themselves Argent Horn," explained Natasha. "Their souls are completely corrupted by darkness. When we were trying to catch the heretics alive, they shouted ‘Return to the eternal silence’ and blew themselves up."

Speaking of this, Natasha’s heart was still beating fast. Although she was only one step away from becoming a radiant knight and was quite experienced in fighting, the horrible scene of the heretics exploding themselves in front of her was still bothering the princess’s mind.

"All of the heretics… they killed themselves?" Lucien of course hoped that they were all dead so the Church and the princess would never know how he actually awoke his Blessing.

"Most of the heretics died, and some of their leaders escaped." Then Natasha slightly raised her head and said with pride, "But I caught a priest alive. And we learned that the right hand of a powerful demon was sealed in the relic, but it was taken away by the heretics who escaped."

Hearing that a heretic got caught, Lucien’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly calmed down and asked, "Any other information? I’m afraid they’re plotting something toward you and the grand duke."

"Yes, they are planning on something big." Natasha touched her chin thoughtfully, "But only the great priests know the plan."

"We’ll investigate the personnel of our intelligence department. I’m sure we can find more later," added Camil seriously.

"I see… so I’m safe now, right?" asked Lucien although he already knew the answer. He felt he could be a pretty good actor.

"Although we did not find the person who was always watching you, I’m quite sure that you’re safe now. After all, the heretics suffered a great loss tonight, and they are currently busy with running for their lives."

Lucien nodded, putting on a relieved look.

"Thank you, Lucien. Your information helped us a lot this time," said Natasha sincerely.

"That’s my pleasure," Lucien lowered his head and answered politely.

At that moment, Camil’s face darkened and her eyebrows frowned together, which made her look even more serious than usual.

"What happened, auntie?"

"Viscount Stuart killed himself before our people arrived, Your Grace," answered Camil in a low voice.

Viscount Stuart was in charge of the intelligence department of the duchy, who was also a grand knight.

Natasha waved her right hand and her vambrace made a crisp clack, "Someone’s behind Stuart… But why did Stuart betray us? Why he wanted to become the enemy of the Church?"

"We should go now, Your Grace," Camil reminded her.

"Oh… I just realized that I’m still standing on the window. I gotta go now, Lucien." Natasha nodded to him, "The whole thing is even more complicated than I thought. And I’ll tell the Church that you’ve awakened your Blessing under my help."

Then she paused a bit and said to Lucien, "I’m sorry that I cannot make you a knight and give you a title, since according to the law, you’re not as powerful as a knight yet. Besides, making you a knight at this time might put you at great risk. I hope you understand."

"I totally understand, Your Grace," answered Lucien. "Your trust is the most important thing to me, and my family is safe. I cannot ask for more."

"I’ll reward you with a manor several months later. You have my word," said Natasha.

"A manor? Your Grace, that’s… that’s too much." Lucien refused subconsciously, knowing that he would be leaving Aalto sooner or later. Money was better than a manor to him.

Natasha waved her hands and insisted, "House Violet always pays. It’s our royal tradition. By the way, how did you find out the approximate location, Lucien?"

"I saw a special kind of long-tailed tit in the ball." Lucien was prepared for this question and thus lied without any hesitation, "When I was too poor to feed myself, I often went to the Black Forest for the wild mushrooms and I saw them a few times. Around Aalto, these birds only live around Melzer Black Forest and Lubeck Mountain."

"Interesting. Never heard it before." Natasha nodded, "Besides the manor, you should have a knight sword. I’ll find you one, Lucien."

"Thank you so much, Your Grace." Lucien bowed to the princess.

Natasha took a step backward and floated in the air. Although she was not a radiant knight, her Dragon Blood Armor could help her fly.

"Remember to take a walk in the moonlight, Lucien." Natasha laughed and then flew away with Camil.

After watching them leave, Lucien released a long sigh of relief. Suddenly, he felt very exhausted.