Chapter 14: Assault on the Capital - Part 3

Warning: The following is an original novel authored by me. It was originally written in Spanish and translated into English, so it may contain spelling errors. I would appreciate it if you could point out any errors in the comments. Thank you.

Today I dressed elegantly for my first date...

I know it may sound pathetic that I had to buy a woman for her to agree to go out with me, but she was the one who invited me, so it doesn't matter...

I went to a tailor whose shop was near the inn. He had formal suits for rent at a reasonable price, although I had to leave some extra coins as a deposit. We also rented Chizze's suit, though we had to buy the jewelry at full price. Luckily, Chizze managed to get 200 silver coins from the slave merchant...

Now, since the party is in honor of Prince Carlo Dante Rusthia, I suppose I might meet those people we fought in the monster zone, so I had to disguise myself. Gasthor helped me with this. He placed his hands on my cheeks while looking into my eyes; I had never felt so uncomfortable in my life.

"Done, it's finished."

He took out a small mirror from his pocket and I looked at my face. He had made me grow a thick beard and mustache. I admit it wasn't my style, but it might help me go unnoticed in the castle...

Since Chizze had nothing to hide, she only had to dress as elegantly as possible.

That evening, I rented a moderately elegant carriage and went to the inn to pick up Chizze, who was dressed in an elegant red gown and jewelry that highlighted her beauty. I really wanted to kiss her, but we had work to do.

We paid the carriage owner to take us to the Royal Palace, and while we were in the carriage on the way to the palace, I noticed Raiza was following us from a distance, across the rooftops of the buildings.

When we arrived at the Royal Palace, I saw that it was decorated in an elegant and flashy way, so much so that Chizze and I, even in our best outfits, didn't stand out at all among the crowd of nobles.

We went to the entrance while I was a bit nervous. We handed the invitation to the guard...

"You are the representatives of the slavers, welcome, gentlemen. By the way, your slave is very beautiful; you have good taste, my friend," said the guard while looking at Chizze in a very disgusting way. But I still couldn't make a scene...

"Thank you very much, yes, she is very pretty," I took Chizze by the hand and hurried into the party, which was on the second floor of the castle. The throne room was on the third floor, right above the event hall where the party was being held...

The plan was simple...

Gasthor's rats were already infiltrated and monitoring everything happening in the castle, so we knew the shortest path to the throne room, as the castle's security is nearly impenetrable.

If a door is closed, it cannot be opened, but the doors from the castle entrance to the event hall would be open, and the event hall is below our target.

I just needed to open a path to the throne room through the ceiling.

Gasthor gave me an explosive orb; I just had to charge it with my vitality, and the explosion could make a hole in the ceiling. That explosion would be the signal for Raiza to rush in and for the three of us to enter the door to the elf forest and forcibly release the ogres.

I just needed to wait for the perfect moment to blow up the ceiling, when the guests were more drunk from the alcohol, the servants and guards more tired, and the hero of Rusthia along with his entourage distracted...

At that moment, we could execute the plan, as we only needed a minute from the explosion to reach the entrance to the elf forest.

Already inside the event hall, I was amazed by the elegant palace.

The country of Rusthia is very poor due to the lifestyle of its people; even in the capital, which is considered the richest area of the country, the standard of living is not very good. The dock city of Zhanty has a much better standard of living; instead, the palace looks like a waste of public money, and those artificial servants walking around the palace are the biggest waste of money.

I thought about dancing a bit in the hall with Chizze, but when I noticed, she had gone straight to devour the palace's open bar. Her lack of manners was evident, which concerned me...

At that moment, the lights went out. The king, from a second floor within the same event hall, looked down at us with his main artificial servant and gave his speech, which only praised his children... But, ironically, none of them were with him.

I even think the Carlo Dante who is supposed to present himself today will not be the real one; I really don't like that guy.

When I noticed, they turned on the lights and I saw Prince Carlo Dante Rusthia enter the hall, heading for the stage, which was just below the second floor where the king of Rusthia was above all of us.

The new Carlo Dante had the same face as the one I saw in the monster zone, and I also recognized the two people who were on the stage. I think they were the same two companions of the fake Carlo Dante: the old, fat cleric and the girl with the blindfold.

I tried not to make eye contact with either of them... but it was too late.

I noticed the cardinal was looking at me and then I heard...

"GUARDS, CAPTURE THAT MAN OR WE WILL ALL DIE!"

The cardinal shouted from the stage and the guards, incredulous, surrounded me. I raised my hands. I know I had to make a scene in the event hall, but all this is out of my plans and I need a little more time to charge the explosive orb...

"Sorry, cardinal. Did I do something to offend the hero's team?"

"Don't play innocent. I remember you melting Carlo's face with your demonic powers. You must be a demon."

"I think you are somewhat mistaken, Cardinal. Prince Carlo Dante Rusthia is right here in front of you, and personally, his face is beautiful. I would never do such a thing. I am just a human being who came to pay my respects to the hero of Rusthia."

I was trying to buy some time with all this chatter while discreetly charging my vitality into the orb in my pocket.

"Cardinal Darwin, watch your words. What are you trying to achieve by making this scene? If you wanted to capture that man, you should have done it more discreetly. Guards, take him away so we can continue with the gala in honor of my dear son."

Kharla Dante frowned at her father's words…

The king had ordered my capture, but I still needed a bit more time to charge the orb…

And suddenly, I heard…

"Drop your weapons, or I'll slit this girl's throat!"

I don't know when Chizze slipped away and took the hero's white-haired, blindfolded companion hostage, putting her sharp claws to her neck.

"Drop your weapons and don't make any sudden moves!" the cardinal shouted with a pale face. He must hold his companion in high regard…

But the king shouted…

"Do not dare to defy me in my own castle. Carlo, kill that bearded man. Prove you are the true hero."

Carlo obeyed, charging at me. I dodged his attack, and as he leaped at me, I took the orb and threw it at Carlo, but he easily evaded it…

All of this was part of my plan. My target was never Carlo; it was the ceiling behind him…

The orb hit the ceiling near the King of Rusthia and simply exploded.

…

Once the explosion was heard from outside the castle, Raiza murmured…

"What is that idiot thinking? The explosion was supposed to happen much later."

But without wasting time, she ran at full speed from the palace entrance to the event hall, where many of the guests had fallen victim to the explosion…

The plan was to avoid harming as many people as possible, but we failed miserably.

Even I was on the floor with my legs broken from the shock, and without realizing it, Raiza was standing in front of me, looking at me lying on the ground. Without a word, Raiza picked me up and carried me to the throne room.

Before going up, I noticed that the king was being protected from the debris by the artificial servant who always accompanied him. I think we could agree that no other human would protect him with such loyalty.

As we had planned, Raiza, Chizze, and I entered through the hole in the ceiling into the throne room. We were surprised to find two Gasthor rats waiting for us.

The rats showed us the way to the door that connected to the elf forest, located right behind the throne, covered by some curtains. Without wasting more time, we entered the mist door…

…

We returned to Cardinal Darwin.

I don't quite remember what happened… I was supposed to just be a decorative piece for the fake prince. I didn't become a cardinal for this nonsense. I am no longer a child for these foolish things…

My memories are clearing up… I remember that priest's face and I remember an explosion… By the Goddess, my head hurts. Then I thought out loud…

"Princess Kharla, are you alright?" But I didn't see Princess Kharla anywhere…

The event hall of the royal palace was a disaster. I saw people dead, covered by debris. It was a terrifying scene. I wanted to vomit, but my duty was to protect the princess. I wanted to look for her, but before I could even start…

From among the rubble, an artificial servant grabbed my leg. I screamed in genuine fear, especially because those things are scary, and seeing it with its body destroyed only gave me a new feeling of terror… but that thing said…

"The king is unconscious, please go heal him."

I was still gripped by panic. This whole situation was horrible. I didn't want to help that pig, no matter how much he had that stupid crown on his head. My priority was to find the princess…

But then the servant said, "The king is not moving. If something worse were to happen to the king, I couldn't live with myself. Please, save him, please…"

I had the feeling that if this thing could cry, it would be crying its heart out.

I became a priest to alleviate the pain of people because, in my opinion, what unites all living beings is that we all feel pain…

I never thought I would pity one of these lifeless things…

I exhaled with consternation and said softly…

"Tell me how to get to the king…"