[Dunha's P.O.V]
After waking up from her strange dream, Dunha was surprised to see Clover sitting in front of her.
"How are you feeling?" Clover asked. "You've been asleep for 8 hours," she added.
8 hours?! It didn't feel like 8 hours when I was talking with that bizarre creature...
Dunha then noticed Clover waiting for her to speak.
I should answer Clover first before I start thinking again.
"Yes, I'm okay," Dunha answered.
As Dunha answered Clover's question, she noticed something different about Clover.
"Hm?" (Dunha)
Clover was currently wearing a blue gambeson which made Dunha raise her eyebrows. It did not take long for Clover to notice her staring at her armor.
"Are you looking at this?" Clover asked as she pointed at her gambeson. "Well, if I'm going to stay here and protect the royal family, I'm going to need some armor."
"Huh?" (Dunha)
Clover began to smile.
"It seems like I'm going to stay here for a while with Lily," said Clover.
"..." (Dunha)
It took Dunha a few seconds to figure out what Clover meant.
"Ah! The deal!" Dunha shouted.
"Aye," Clover nodded. "Did you already forget our deal? You said you'll keep Lily happy if I stay by your mother's side."
Dunha was barely able to hold her excitement.
"Yes! Yes! Of course, I remember the deal!" said Dunha as she vigorously nodded her head which made Clover chuckle.
"Pfft, so cute," Clover thought.
While she chuckled, Dunha was internally screaming with joy.
"This is great news! " Dunha thought. "With this, mother's safety should be secured for now. All I have to worry about now is to figure out what or who killed my mother."
Dunha remembered the voice's words.
"Your mother's death was not caused by an illness or disease." (The voice)
Those words greatly unsettled Dunha.
"If it wasn't caused by natural causes then was she assassinated?" Dunha wondered. "Was it through poison? Or was it from..."
Dunha became lost in thought as she tried to think of all of the possibilities.
"..." (Clover)
While Dunha was lost inside of her mind, Clover was looking at her with a concerned expression.
"Dunha," said Clover.
Dunha realized she was lost in thought again and quickly shook her head to return to reality.
"Yes?" said Dunha.
"I should let you know that there have been some changes with the deal," said Clover.
"What is it?" Dunha asked.
Clover began to sigh.
"Ha... Your mother requested that I should keep you safe instead of her," said Clover.
This caused Dunha to make an "Eh?" expression when she heard what the changes were.
"Don't worry, I will make sure to keep her safe as well," said Clover. "Although she saved me more times than I saved hers..." she murmured.
Although initially surprised, Dunha was not particularly upset about the change.
"Well, as long as she stays with us until my brother is born, I guess this is alright," Dunha thought.
Clover began to stand up.
"Are you hungry?" she asked.
"I think I'm..." (Dunha)
*Growl*
Dunha realized she hasn't eaten anything since breakfast as she heard her stomach growl.
"Ah... Yes," she nodded as she blushed.
"Hahaha, just give me a minute. I'll go get someone to bring Omar here," said Clover as she laughed and walked out of the room.
"..." (Dunha)
After watching Clover leave the room, Dunha took a deep breath before falling backward. She was mentally exhausted after the incident in the library as it resulted in a strange dream which would result in raising questions and mysteries for her to solve.
"How was I able to come back despite dying? What was that strange dream that I had? If my mother did not die from an illness, then what killed her?" she wondered.
All of these questions nearly caused Dunha to scream in frustration.
"Ha... It's been a long day," Dunha thought. "Maybe eating something will help me clear my--,"
*BOOM*
Just as she began to calm down and relax, the sound of a flintlock pistol firing was heard throughout the entire castle.
"What was that?" Dunha wondered as she got startled by the noise.
She suddenly began to feel worried for her parents.
🔸🔸🔸
(Meanwhile...)
The King and Queen along with several members of the royal guards were in the underground interrogation room with the recaptured assassin who was currently tied to a chair for questioning.
"Who sent you?" the interrogator asked.
"Haha... I already told you... It was Lord Smith..." the assassin answered weakly.
The interrogator responded by punching the assassin across the face.
"Urg!" the assassin groaned in pain.
"There are thousands of people whose name is Smith." said the interrogator. "Be more specific," he asked.
"That's all I know! *Spit* Urg... I think you ripped open my stitches..." the assassin mumbled.
The queen, who was watching the interrogation from the side, began to sigh.
"Ha... He's telling the truth," said Seo-Yeon as her eyes changed colors from purple to brown.
"Did you use your lie-detection magic on him?" Henry asked.
Seo-Yeon nodded.
"S-See! Since that's all settled now, can you kill me?" the assassin murmured. "Please... I want the pain to go away..."
After the assassin's brutal encounter with one of Dunha's guards, his face was badly disfigured and was only given minimal treatment from the vice head-doctor so he wouldn't die from blood loss. As a result, the assassin was currently feeling excruciating pain.
Seo-Yeon glared at the assassin and slightly shook her head.
"No," said Seo-Yeo. "While it's unfortunate that we won't be able to find the mastermind right away that doesn't mean we're done here," she added.
Henry nodded.
"She's right. We still have a few more questions," said Henry.
"What is it? I'm telling you, I don't know anything else!" the assassin shouted.
The interrogator suddenly slammed the assassin's foot in with a hammer. This caused the man to scream in pain.
"You do not raise your voice in front of his Majesty and her Highness," said the interrogator.
Henry approached the assassin who was panting heavily and looked down at the man with a cold stare.
"How did you escape the cellars? Who let you out?" Henry asked. "Also, why were there blue veins all over your face earlier?"
"..." (The assassin)
Irritated by the assassin's silence, the interrogator grabbed the man by the hair and forced him to look up.
"Oi, speak up. His Majesty has asked you a questi--" said the interrogator before being headbutted by the assassin.
"?!" (Everyone)
The assassin began to shake from his chair as his eyes turned pitch black while blue veins began to appear all over his face.
"Darling, get back!" Seo-Yeon shouted as she tried to pull out her dagger from her ankle.
The assassin managed to snap the rope tied around him using brute strength and charged at Henry in an attempt to grab him.
"..." (Henry)
Henry took a step back without changing his cold expression.
*Stab* *Stab* *Stab* *Stab* *Stab*
Just before the assassin could reach the king, 5 spears pierced through the man. 1 through the side of the neck, 2 through the stomach, 1 through the thigh, and 1 through the chest.
"Your Majesty, please get behind us, we shall take care of this parasite," said one of the royal guards.
The royal guards who were behind the king already had their spears readied before the assassin even struck the interrogator. It did not even take them half a minute to react.
"Keek... Uck..." the assassin groaned.
Although 5 spears were piercing the assassin, he still attempted to reach for the king.
"How is he still moving?" one of the guards asked.
"Where is this strength coming from?!" another guard shouted as he struggled to keep a hold of the assassin with his spear.
Although the royal guards were certainly shocked by the assassin's resistance, both the king and queen did not show even the smallest hint of being surprised.
"Ah... Now it makes sense..." said Henry.
Before anyone else could react, Henry walked forwards as he pulled out a loaded flintlock pistol from one of the royal guards' holsters. He then pointed it at the assassin's forehead.
"You're possessed by one of the shadow beings, am I correct?" Henry asked as he cocked the flintlock pistol.
Hearing those words caused the assassin to smile as widely as he could.
"I shall return and your daughter's head will be a nice trophy for m--"
*BOOM*
The sound of a flintlock pistol firing rang throughout the castle.
*Thump*
As blood came pouring out of the assassin's forehead, he slowly began to kneel before collapsing onto the cold stone floor. After twitching for several seconds, his body stopped moving. He was finally dead.
"Take his body to Estrella. She said she needed another corpse for her research," said Henry. "Make sure to remove his head first. I don't want him to somehow come back alive," he added.
"Understood, your Majesty," said the royal guards.
After returning the flintlock pistol to one of the royal guards, Henry approached Seo-Yeon who let out a sigh of relief.
"Henry, you almost gave me a heart attack..." said Seo-Yeon as hugged Henry.
"Apologies, my love, I did not mean to scare you," said Henry as he kissed Seo-Yeon's forehead. "But thanks to this, we now know how he escaped,"
"The shadower cult?" Seo-Yeon asked.
Henry nodded.
"The mysterious deaths occurring around the capital and the sudden assassination attempt... I believe they're all connected to the cult," said Henry before turning his head around.
When the royal guards and the wounded interrogator saw Henry turn his head, they all nodded their heads and left the room while taking the assassin's body with them.
"Ugh... My chin..." the interrogator murmured as he rubbed his face.
He then glared at the body.
"I will be the one to remove his head," said the interrogator.
"I'm alright with that," said one of the royal guards who were dragging the assassin's body out.
After watching everyone leave, Henry began to continue with his explanation.
"A cultist probably manipulated a noble who's on the verge of ruins into sending those assassins to us so we could capture at least one of them," Henry explained.
After the war between Henry and his father came to an end with Henry being victorious, many aristocrats who sided with his father found themselves in a precarious position. Those who committed severe crimes were sentenced to death while those who committed lesser crimes were either forced to pay a large fine or had their lands, wealth, and titles stripped away. It would not be uncommon nor strange for those aristocrats to be vengeful towards the current king and send out assassins to kill him with what little money they had left.
"And those people who were found dead were used as a sacrifice to summon a shadow being... When the captured assassin got possessed, that's when he managed to escape..." said Seo-Yeon.
Henry began to chuckle.
"What an interesting beginning for this new year..." said Henry. "It looks like there's going to be another hunting trip soon," he added.
"Don't forget to take me this time," said Seo-Yeon. "With Clover staying behind, Dunha should be safe for the time being."
*Knock* *Knock*
Just as Seo-Yeon finished her words, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," said Henry.
"Your Majesty, your Highness," said one of the royal guards as he bowed his head. "We have been informed by Great General Clover that the princess has awakened!"
"!" (Henry and Seo-Yeon)
Henry and Seo-Yeon's expression instantly changed from being tensed to delighted when they heard the good news.
"We'll postpone the hunt for now," said Henry who was barely holding in his smile.
"I agree, darling. We should go see our precious daughter first. That's more important," said Seo-Yeon who was overjoyed.
"Agreed," Henry nodded.
As they held each other's hands, they happily left the interrogation room while ignoring a large amount of blood and gore behind them.
(To be continued...)
2020/12/15
[The Shadower Cult]
The shadower cult is a large cult that is known for worshiping a deity known as the "God of all darkness". The cult is currently attempting to find ways to wake the deity from its slumber to borrow its power to purge the world of all corruption. Currently, the cult has been able to summon some of the deity's disciples known as the "Shadow Beings" by offering the organs of 15 humans or demi-humans.
Despite sacrificing countless people, they have been unable to summon the mighty deity himself. They believed it would become possible if they sacrifice the life of someone who has royal blood running through their veins, hence they are currently targeting the royal family of the Star Kingdom.
The cult's total numbers are currently unknown but it is believed to be somewhere in the hundreds if not thousands. It is also believed that they originated from within the Star Kingdom as there have been no reports of the cult being spotted beyond the country.