>>Amber

"The Assassin confessed that Baron Hiddleworth had hired him." The King said, "Quite unfortunate news," He sat on his throne, looking down at the man in front of him, "Don't you think so, Baron?"

We all stood in the throne room a few days after the assassination attempt. It looks like it took the guards a lot of time to crack that assassin. I mean, he was good. When I entered Lyal's room that night, I wasn't able to tell someone else was there, not till he showed himself.

"Your Majesty!" The Baron stepped forward, "This is a ruse!! He's a liar!! I would never dream of hurting the prince!!" He looked at Lyal who stood at the bottom of the stairs on one end, while Nevan was on the other, "Your Highness! You have to believe me, why would I hurt you?"

The Baron is a very big supporter of Crown Prince Nevan. He must be on edge with Lyal's recent fame and decided to take the opportunity to kill Lyal while he was gravely injured.

Honestly, if I wasn't there, Lyal would have died and there wouldn't have been much suspicion.

...

I really don't know what to think of that, but I'm sure if he did die, everyone would wonder what the hell he was doing in the forest.

But today he's going to tell that with his own mouth.

I stared at Lyal

Will he pin the blame on Hael? What will he say? He's had time to prepare his answer and I'm anxious. I don't want Hael to be in trouble. I know he can't just say him walking to the forest was an illusion, pretty much no one will believe him.

I glanced at Hael who stood quietly besides me while we stood amongst the line of advisors and court officials.

"Well Baron," Lyal said, "Unfortunately, all odds are against you."

"Your Highness!" The Baron was standing in the middle of the red carpet, "I don't even know the bastard!"

Lyal as well as Nevan shook their heads at him, "Baron Hiddleworth, you just threw yourself in fire," Nevan said, "We already know that the sent assassin was a member of your staff." Nevan looked disappointed.

"W-what?" The Baron looked at the Crown Prince, "Your highness, I have never seen the assassin in my life, how could you say he was a member of my staff? We have no such staff at my manor!"

"Except that he was a staff member working at your fief," Nevan replied and Hiddleworth's face went pale, "Guards," He ordered, "Take the Baron away," He gestured with his hand as he looked away

"W-wait!" The Baron panicked as the guards came to apprehend him, "Your Highness, it wasn't me! Your Highness!" The guards began to drag him away but Nevan didn't turn his head to look at him, "Your Majesty!! I'm being framed!! I-I can explain!!"

Nevan let out a sigh but he didn't look back till the time The Baron had been taken out of the throne room.

There was a clear look of disappointment on his face.

"Well gentlemen!" The King said, "That was an unfortunate event. I am glad that my son overcame this trial and is well and alive," He looked down at Lyal and passed him a smile, and Lyal who looked back at his father returned the smile with a bow, "And," The King looked at us, "The trial he went through in the forest!" He stood up, "I am proud of my son who defeated that monster who lurks in the darkness of the forest. That bonewraith!"

The people in the hall cheered for him

That's right. Lyal had become the first person to defeat the monster that was haunting everyone.

I glanced at Hael while I clapped. He had a subtle smile on his face as he clapped for the prince as well.

The royal families around the whole world have a lot of mana. It's one of the reasons these people are the rulers.

"Tower Master!" The king called.

And Hael took a step ahead, getting out of the line of people, and looked at the King, "Yes, Your Majesty?" He tied his hands behind his back like a gentleman as he talked.

"What do you think of Lyal's feat!" Matthias looked really happy, "He accomplished something even you couldn't!"

Hael's attribute is fire while Lyal is a light magic user, like the rest of his family. This is why he had an upper hand. The bonewraith's are weak to light magic. It should have been obvious if one thinks about it, after all, other than Holy Power, only light magic users were able to fight off Miasma.

So of course, light magic would work against monsters that produce that very miasma.

"Indeed, Prince Lyal has surprised me too." He looked at the Prince with a professional smile, "He's made the war we are going to fight easier. We know now what works against these creatures and so we have a higher chance of winning."

"Exactly!" The King came down the steps, "While everyone was on an edge! Lyal decided to do something brave!" He stopped a step above Lyal, "He decided to face the bonewraith in our forest head on!" The Kings slammed his hands on his son's shoulders, "And he won!"

Ah,

So Lyal decided to make himself a hero instead of saying anything about Hael

...

Clever

"That's correct," Hael brought his hands forward and clapped again, "And he did it for us!" He smiled

"Exactly!" The King said and everyone cheered again, the sound of claps echoed in the room but I found it odd.

I narrowed my eyes at Hael as he praised Lyal.

He's doing it a little too easily, the words are sliding off his tongue like butter.

Wait,

It crossed my mind then.

Hael must have made this speculation about light magic users and miasma monsters. That's why he dropped Lyal in the forest to test his theory. Was this all part of his plan?

What does he intend to do?

And as if he heard the question in my mind, he asked The King a question, that answered my question.

"If," The noise in the room died down, "We are to lead a party into Hollow Woods to fight, I believe Prince Lyal should lead it," Hael smiled, and I felt something very weird as I watched him. Because this smile of his was genuine, "He's already showed how capable he is."

Lyal looked back at Hael in suspicion.

The people in the room began to whisper, "It would be a good idea!"

'He's capable!"

"But if he wins, he'll be a war hero- no, a hero of an apocalypse!"

"That will be his direct ticket to the throne!"

"The people would want him as their King,"

"Indeed," The king smiled, "Lyal has been showing a lot of promise," He nodded, "But, we'll put the final decision of who leads a troop to Hollow Woods on hold." He clapped his hands once, "The meeting is adjourned," He said, "Gentlemen, I'll meet you again tomorrow." He then turned around to go back up the stairs.

For the King and the other Royals, there was another entrance and exit, behind the curtains of the throne. The King walked there while Nevan and Lyal began to ascend the stairs to follow behind.

The other people began to leave as well and Hael came back to me.

"Let us leave," He said

"Why did we even come here?" I asked as we walked, "There was no need for us here." I was a little annoyed. I didn't like

"Yes," He agreed, "But we attended this meeting so that no one would question why we were in the palace."

???

"Hael," I looked at him, "Just tell me what we're doing here."

"We're meeting the King in private."

"In private?" I asked, "Why?"

"You'll see for yourself."

***

The King had the library closed as he guided Hael and I through it. I have been to the Royal library before but what His Highness was about to show us today caught me off guard. He took us to the sitting area, not the one in the center, but another one in the corner.

There was a two-seater couch there that he moved out of the place as we walked towards it with a flick on his finger.

Did he use his magic to do that? Why? And I thought that the couch couldn't be moved. Everyone talks about how it always remains in its place.

So can only a royal move it?

But that wasn't the surprising part. It was when he went over and stepped his foot against the tile that was previously right under the couch. A faint click echoed through the library, followed by a soft rumble as the tile sank into the floor.

!!!

My eyes went wide as a section of the wall beside us slid open silently, revealing a narrow staircase that spiraled downward into darkness.

Woah!

A secret room? Is this going to one of those dark and gloomy cobblestone rooms?

Hael and I glanced at each other, then looked at the King who had already started making his way down. So, we followed him without a word.

Heart pounding, I descended the steps, the stone cool beneath my fingertips as I trailed them along the wall for balance.

The further we went, the more a gentle light began to fill the space, and when we reached the bottom, we were met with a sight that stole my breath away. The secret room was nothing like I had imagined. It was vast, yet intimate, with high, arched ceilings painted in deep blues and golds, reminiscent of a starry night sky.

WOW!

A soft, ethereal glow emanated from crystal sconces set into the walls, casting a warm, inviting light that made the entire room feel as though it were bathed in perpetual twilight.

Shelves upon shelves of books lined the walls, their bindings gilded and adorned with intricate designs that spoke of knowledge far beyond what was kept in the library above.

Every detail of the room was meticulously maintained, from the plush velvet chairs that encircled the table to the delicate, flowering vines that trailed down from the ceiling, their blossoms a pale, shimmering white. The atmosphere was serene, almost reverent, as if this hidden sanctuary existed in a world all its own.

We moved further into the room, our steps quiet on the smooth marble floor. There was a sense of peace here.

"This is it," King Matthias stopped in the center of the room where a large circular table made of polished mahogany held several open tomes, their pages filled with cryptic symbols and flowing script

Hael and I stopped by the table and looked at the tomes.

Matthias pointed at the book in the center, "The rules don't allow it, so you'll have to read whatever is written in it here. You can't leave with it." We both looked at the open book but whatever was written in it, I couldn't read it.

"What language is this?" I frowned, "And what are we doing here?" I looked at Hael.

"This," Hael moved his hands and grabbed the book, "-Is Elvish," He picked the book up and started to read it, "And we're here to find out what's in the rift of Hollow Woods,"

Hollow Woods?

There's something in the rift of Hollow Woods?