After he made his way back to the mansion Alen took off his armor in a hurry and jumped into the shower, Lucy who had sneaked Alen back into the mansion had informed him that there was a summon to the mansion summoned by the princesses.
She had also informed Alen about some of the maids going missing, Not only did the maids go missing but so did some of the heroes. Alen felt like this information was not important until he heard one of the missing pair of heroes and a maid is Quinn and his maid.
Something wasn't adding up, he had only spoken to Quinn a few hours ago and now he was missing.
"Do you remember anything when you saw the maid last, was she acting weird in any way?" Alen asked.
"No, but I remember last seeing the hero Quinn with the great heroes" Lucy stated.
Alen was on his guard about this meeting, and he was surely going to bring this topic up with the three great heroes when he saw them. The other two heroes were still two days away, Alice and Adam wouldn't get here in time for the meeting, but he was sure they would be told of everything that would occur.
The carriages had arrived and had taken them to the palace, upon arrival Alen noticed the kingdom's flag raised high. But everyone seemed to be on edge about the meeting, no one knew what to expect during this meeting.
The nobles had made some daring moves during the short time when there wasn't any ruler and now, they were sweating buckets hoping the second princess was the next ruler.
the tension in the great hall was immense, and the silence as the people waited for the princesses to arrive was noticeable, suddenly a portal opened and from it, three heroes walked out, Chris, Lamis, and Jack.
The sight of the three great heroes together didn't sit right with him, he also remembered what Lucy stated. She last saw Quinn with the three of them, and now he was nowhere to be seen.
'Is that idiot running late' Alen thought as he focused his gaze on the three heroes walking like royalty, suddenly his expression turned dark, and his heartbeat increased as he struggled to breathe properly. Around Chris's waist was the advanced tier beast weapon Quinn had purchased a few days ago, and now Chris had it around his waist like it naturally belonged to him.
Alen's heart dropped; Quinn was last seen with the three heroes and now one of these heroes had his best friend's beast weapon on their waist. 'What happened to Quinn, where is he? Is he just running late why does Chris have his sword' Questions flooded Alen's mind as his body instinctively moved towards the heroes.
Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a loud trumpet and the announcement of the three princesses' entry. The mass got down on one knee as the royals walked from the door to the throne.
Even as he was down on his knees Alen's face looked pale, he was sweating buckets and hyperventilating his mind working against him as he thought of countless possibilities trying to explain why Quinn who'd give away his sword.
"We have seen what is happening to our kingdom, and we agree with the council the kingdom should not be without a ruler," The first princess said downed in light armor and a sword by her side.
"We have sat and discussed the actions that have been occurring behind our backs and factions formed to represent us, we wish to disclose that we never permitted you to represent us in the first place. And some of your actions have been too bold."
"As the oldest of my three sisters, I held a meeting and chose who would be the next Queen of the kingdom of Noel. The position of ruler should go to the rightful heir to the throne Princess Sakura!" Janet said.
Audible gasps filled the room as some people looked relieved that Sakura would be the next ruler, including the Holy Knights.
"But due to her not being of age yet, and the fact that she still lacks the proper experience to be a ruler, a representative would be appointed in her stead, princess Lily the second daughter of King Edmund would be the next ruler of Noel until Sakura has come of age within two years."
"This is our will and our decision; the ascension will be held tomorrow. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend this celebration as I have another task that needs to be done."
The tension in the room could be felt by everyone, most of the nobles had smug looks on their faces but Alen didn't care about any of these. His focus was on Chris who also seemed to have a smug expression on his face.
The meeting was concluded, and everyone went their separate ways, not without the noble faction gloating about their victory over the holy knights and the royal army. Who had nothing to say and departed swiftly.
**********
Somewhere in the mansion, a bloodied figure could be seen sitting on the floor and leaning against a wall with its head held down, covered in blood from head to toe, and sitting on his pool of blood. Quinn was chained by magical artifacts and a slave color on his neck.
His breathing was shallow, and his heartbeat was almost non-existing.
The next day the first princes had made preparations to leave the kingdom with a small militia to look for the late king's body or try and gather information on what on anything about the demon general that attacked them.
While this was happening the second princess was also preparing for her big day as the maids were hard at work, making the place look as amazing as possible.
The people were also hard at work as the streets were covered with decorations and magic spells flying left to right creating small fireworks-like explosions. The council had decided to hide the fact that the king was dead from the public and had opted to tell them the king had gone missing so until the return of the king the second princess would be in charge.
Most people were happy with this explanation as they prepared for the ascension of the second princess while they also saw off the first princess and wished her luck on her exhibition.
Alen was in his room; he had a lot on his mind and no time to process all of it. First, was his friend Quinn Second was his plan to leave the kingdom with the princess and third what were the three great heroes planning?
Suddenly Lucy came barging into Alen's room, she was gasping for air and sweat was dripping down the side of her face. She looked tired probably from all the running she was doing.
"Sir hero you need to run!" Lucy stated.
"What are you talking about?" Alen asked concerned.
"It's the princess, she is planning to kill..."
"We are here by the order of her majesty to escort the hero Alen to the throne room." A pair of royal guards donned in full black and gold armor said as they entered the room.
"What is this about?" Alen asked with a stern tone and serious expression on his face.
"Her majesty has called upon all the heroes currently present in the kingdom."
"Is that all? Please allow me to change attire, wait outside I'll be out shortly." Alen said. And the moment the two guards exited the room Alen charged at Lucy and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"What you wanted to tell me, is the princess trying to kill us?" Alen asked to which Lucy did nothing but lower her head trying to hold back the tears.
"I see, then listen up Lucy this is my last order, when the hero Alice arrives tomorrow tell her everything that has happened and ask her for a favor. Tell her to protect the last princess," Alen said as he changed his cloth.
"But sir, if we fight them, we can create enough room for you to escape!" Lucy said.
"And what after that, what happens to you and your family, your friends? There is a high possibility the second princess would try to kill the maids as well, so hide take the princess and hide until Alice arrives tomorrow." Alen replied as he calmly got dressed and walked past Lucy.
He opened the door before Lucy could say anything and slammed it shut behind him to keep the guards from entering the room. "Shall we?" he said in a gentle deep voice.