Back to the Royal Palace

"What's going on here?"

"This... aren't we back at the royal palace?"

"You're right. The magic that hit us must be the teleportation magic that the monster mastered."

Leroy also looked at his surroundings and finally became certain that they had returned to the Lucano Royal Palace. The prince only remembered that he had returned to the camp. And as soon as he approached the place, a dazzling light suddenly disturbed his vision.

At that moment, Leroy could hear a commotion and several people casting protective magic to protect them all. However, the chaos only lasted for a few seconds. The second time Leroy opened his eyes, he had returned to the palace together with the people from the Mage Association.

The royal knights who came out to see them proved that they had indeed returned. Leroy fell silent but gripped the sword at his waist tightly. Leroy couldn't believe he had fallen into the enemy's trap even though the people at the scene were the greatest mages.

"Your Majesty, please do not be upset about this incident. So far, everything is still according to our plan, right? With this defeat... now we have a strong reason to make you the next king."

Leroy turned to look at Weiss, the Chairman of the Mage Association, who spoke to him and slowly removed the wrinkles on his forehead. Weiss was a top-level mage who should not have been easily fooled by the enemy's trap. However, because the man did not take action at that time, Leroy finally concluded that falling into the trap was also part of their plan.

Although he was currently upset about falling into the trap set by Lelitia, that annoyance began to subside when Leroy remembered that the resistance from the Audoran Forest residents had smoothed out his plan. With their defeat, Leroy could finally begin his second plan.

"Leroy, my dear, are you okay?"

Leroy looked up again when he heard Empress Helena's voice shouting as she approached him in a hurry. When Empress Helena heard that the group of princes had returned, she no longer cared about court etiquette in order to see her sons as soon as possible. Empress Helena's beautiful eyes filled with tears as she pulled Leroy into a tight embrace.

"You're back. Thank goodness you're back safely, Son."

Leroy stared at his naive mother, who hugged him while hiding the mocking smile she almost showed in front of everyone. At this moment, Leroy had to appear convincing to deceive the people who were surrounding him. The news of his return must have become big news. Soon, Leroy was sure that the nobles would come to hear his report.

"... I'm back, Mother."

Empress Helena smiled, then released the hug between them. The woman began to look away to look for her other two sons. However, as Empress Helena struggled to find them, her smile began to disappear and was replaced with a worried expression.

"Leroy, where are your younger brothers?"

Leroy didn't need to answer for Empress Helena to understand what had happened to her other two sons. The eldest prince only needed to lower his gaze. And in an instant, Empress Helena immediately understood and lost her balance because of the news she received.

"Mother!"

Coincidentally, Leroy caught his mother just as the nobles finally arrived at the royal palace. As soon as they saw Empress Helena crying in despair, the people could immediately tell what had happened to the group of princes. Their kingdom only had three legitimate princes at the moment. However, thanks to King Ducan's reckless decision, they only had one prince, who they considered worthy of becoming a king.

"We can no longer tolerate His Majesty's decision! Look at what has happened because of his decision. Because of his crazy obsession with the Audoran Forest, we have lost two precious royal families!"

Duke Clayton was Empress Helena's older brother, as well as the noble with the most influence after the king. As soon as the man saw that his nephew had returned alone, anger immediately took over his mind. Duke Clayton was one of the people who opposed King Ducan's decision to choose his heir from the start. However, after Duke Clayton lost his two nephews, his anger was on another level.

"You, you are the ones who persuaded His Majesty to send the princes, aren't you? Conspiring to assassinate the princes is a great crime. See what I will do to you after this!"

"Uncle, the people from the Mage Association know nothing about this. They came to help me. Without them, I might have met the same fate as my other brothers."

"Your Majesty?"

Although Duke Clayton was filled with anger, he still did not forget to listen to what his nephew had to say. All this time, the nobles only knew that the people from the Mage Association had persuaded their king to send the princes into danger. But at that moment, Leroy was trying to tell them otherwise.

"My father... His Majesty seems to want to kill the monster of Audoran Forest so that he can go to the Tree of Life. You must have also heard the legend that the lake above can revive the dead. The Mage Association has tried to stop Father's plans before. But with their position, these people have no choice but to provide information regarding what they know about Audoran Forest."

When someone inserts the truth into their lies, their words will sound more convincing in the eyes of others. No one did not know how much King Ducan loved Empress Alma, who died of an illness. It was also common knowledge that until now, King Ducan had not yet let go of his first love. Leroy's words made everyone start to think about one thing. Their anger grew even greater, especially when they saw with their own eyes how King Ducan never paid any attention to the princes.

"I think we should remove His Majesty from his position as soon as possible. Nothing good will happen if we continue to allow someone who is obsessed with those who have died to remain in the king's seat."

Leroy secretly smiled when he heard Duke Clayton had made up his mind to make a difficult decision. One by one, the nobles present also began to agree with Duke Clayton's words. King Ducan's madness towards his first wife was indeed uncontrollable. They could not help but believe that for the sake of Empress Alma, King Ducan was willing to sacrifice the lives of his sons.

Moreover, even if they were sure that King Ducan had been informed of the return of the group of princes, he had decided not to come to see his sons. King Ducan's actions made the nobles feel even more certain of their decision. As long as they had a new king candidate and the support of more than half of the nobles, overthrowing King Ducan's rule was no longer a problem for them.