"As of the moment, His Majesty is not accepting any audience requests."
"Until when this will last?"
"I humbly apologize to you, Sir noble, but we were also not informed of the specifics."
"Can you put in a good word for me? I have important business to discuss with His Majesty."
"As I am only a castle guard, I am not permitted to raise any solicitations directly to the Emperor himself."
The noble clicked his tongue to openly show his frustration. The guard did not mind the petty act, since he's used to the mannerisms of the entitled aristocrats.
"How useless of you. Why are you even loitering near the castle, you peasant."
'If I'm not within the vicinity of the castle, why would I be called a castle guard? This noble is out of his freaking mind.' The sentry strongly desired to voice out a retort, settling to sigh internally at the insignificant remarks.
'In the first place, why can't they put in a good word themselves? They are the nobles, not us.'
The sentries assigned at the Seraphiel Castle deserved to be praised for their utter tolerance to the Blue Bloods who persistently insisted on getting their way out of the system. They were able to maintain their professionalism in spite of their unnecessary service as punching bags of the nobles.
The guard handled the boorishness of the noble with maximum sufferance. He ought to conduct himself properly because they were in the outermost perimeter of the castle, and some commoners could see their interaction.
"Cattle feed like you should not be talking to me."
Resisting from rolling his eyes, the poor sentinel merely bowed his head to the retreating aristocrat.
Viscount Bondre Suma, a noble with inexplicable aspirations, huffed on his way back to his carriage, stomping his round feet on the stone pavement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Zelel, what might be your purpose for coming here? You weren't required to come." Jibrail inquired to the Prime Minister who was rarely seen in the area.
Currently, they were in the training field built exclusively for the Knights of the Round Table. The place was simply a meadow, though the grasses are constantly trimmed to an inch length. What made the field exceptional was the presence of the invisible dome encasing it. The dome shielded the alfresco from the destructive drill sessions of the knights. This simplicity was adequate for the personages who liked to train without obstructions.
"I have a message from His Majesty. Where are the others?"
"Running late, obviously."
"We should wait for their arrival then."
"Alright. In that case, do you want to spar with me to buy time?" Jibrail touched the handle of his sword that was sheathed in the scabbard hanging on his waist.
Duke Claudas stepped back, itching to escape the interest of his battle-hungry comrade.
"Why are you picking on me, Sir Jibrail?"
"It is fun to beat up a herbivore."
Zelel's eyebrows instantly furrowed when he heard that statement. He cringed at the eccentric concept that he was a target of at present.
"Bullying the weak doesn't make you strong."
"But you are not weak, right?" Jibrail tilted his head to the side, clearly confused about the minister's perception.
"Well, compared to you, I am." With that reply, Zelel dropped his shoulders, unusually exhausted from the short conversation.
"Is that so?"
Jibrail Sagramore was the stern loyal dog of the Emperor who took pleasure in relishing the battleground. After all, the paramount knight order was composed of individuals who were nonconformists, so an oddball such as Jibrail immaculately belonged to the group.
The sound of footsteps made the duo turn their heads towards the source. It was Count Gaderel Lanval who decided to quicken his pace to meet his companions. He first gave a salute to Jibrail before greeting both men.
"A good dier to the two Lords. How are you faring so far?"
"Lanval, what took you so long? Anyway, I'm bored. Let's have a match."
Gaderel's reaction mirrored the one Zelel had earlier.
'Once we begin a match, he'll be insatiable. A dier won't be enough to quell his excitement.' The Count kept his complaints to himself, seeing that Jibrail wasn't one to empathize.
"Sure, Lord Sagramore. When the free time comes." Unfortunately for him, he couldn't deny the request of his superior. Gaderel simply cried in his conscience.
Count Lanval faced Zelel who was watching him with pitiful eyes. It clicked to him that the burden of entertaining Jibrail was evaded by this man.
"You seem to be having fun, Lord Zelel."
"I am, you saved me after all." Duke Claudas tapped the shoulder of the knight, aware of the trouble he passed onto him.
Gaderel observed the demeanour of the men in front of him as sorrow welled up in his chest.
"It is pleasing to see that the both of you are cheerful. On the other hand, I am still quite peeved about what happened last Nasha."
"Last Nasha? What ha-- Okay?"
Zelel had almost forgotten that there were five Rounds who were not privy of the chaotic meeting that took place inside the audience room.
"I hope that Lord Sarakiel will find his peace. I will pay my respects to him after this gathering." The Count gazed far off the distance, assimilating with the melancholy of death.
Unintentionally, Jibrail let out a contagious snicker, pulling in the minister who was trying to prevent his facial muscles from smiling.
"Y-you know, Lanval. You see-- pffft."
All of a sudden, the two became mortified when tears started to race down Gaderel's cheeks.
"Why in the world are you crying, Sir Gaderel?!"
"I am presently witnessing Sir Sarakiel's apparition working hard to train. His soul must've been longing to visit the field."
Zelel blinked, a few times, before finally allowing his laughter to resonate. Coincidentally, Jibrail was now on his knees, clutching his hurting stomach from giggling too much.
"I did not take you two to be so heartless!" Count Lanval shouted, feeling disappointed on how his colleagues were acting.
Concurrently, the knights, who were already in the middle of their workout in the field, caught on the bustle by the entrance. Thus, they each made their way towards it.
"Gaderel, you're here."
The Count quickly wiped his tears and gave Israfel a bow.
"Lord Morholt, I apologize for showing such a nasty appearance."
"I don't mind. And the two of you, what is happening?"
Consequent to sounding the Marquis, Duke Claudas instantly stopped from his jovial ceremony. He hurriedly straightened his back when he noticed that some knights were looking at their impoliteness.
'How embarrassing!'
Jibrail did cease in his merriment too. However, he glared at the man who just killed their enthusiasm.
"Shut up, delinquent."
"Who are you calling delinquent, you hoodlum."
Sparks flew in between the condescending stares of the delinquent and the hoodlum. Their nonessential rivalry ignited another useless confrontation.
'Are the barbarians outside of the border or in front of me?' Zelel thought as he diverted his gaze to a more peaceful scenery.
"What is with the commotion?" Sarakiel, who was concentrating on improving his magic enhancements, was behind in the assembly. Thus, he did not understand why it was astir.
"The ghost spoke!" Gaderel hollered again, astonishedly afraid.
Israfel and Jibrail simultaneously shifted their scrutinies to the racket maker and spoke in unison.
"Ghost?"
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister deliberated that it was unethical of them to not notify Gaderel that he was being ridiculous, considering that they were the ones hiding information.
"Sir Gaderel, that is Lord Sarakiel Helian in the flesh." Duke Claudas briefed Count Lanval with the least revealing explanation.
"What do you me-?"
Interrupting his talk was the cacophonous advent of Countess Lauviah Lukan, Leliel Geraint, Rehael Lamorak, and Barol Peniel Cador who were unfashionably tardy. These knights overheard the discussion, turning to look at Sarakiel to confirm for themselves.
Zelel sensed the uneasiness rising in the atmosphere, so he began his announcement.
"The four of you, welcome. I will expound on this in one go and won't entertain additional queries. Basically, it was a false alarm. There was no Demon Noble. It was just a general of one army legion."
'They are certainly hiding something.'
As expected, Lauviah was unconvinced of the explanation which was straight to the point. The countess angrily stormed the huddle.
"How could that be the case?! The agent saw the Demon Noble engraving its seal on the island! You're ly-"
"It was a false alarm." Mikhail, the final person to join the circle, repeated Zelel's words.
It wasn't that convincing of a logic, but it'd be troublesome if their excuses did not match up. The knights who're aware of the real reason recognized their manoeuvre and decided to play along.
"It was good that we were mistaken. It might have been too dangerous for the three of us. Luckily, it was a demon who slipped out of our radar from the previous north subjugation. It was a high ranking one that is why it was able to open a legion gate."