In Arsen's office, he and Oscar were already sitting across from each other on different couches. Reiga loyally stood silently behind Arsen.
The kings had known that Reiga was Arsen's most trusted right-hand man. Oscar knew him well too, so he didn't mind his presence.
The servants had already prepared tea and snacks for them, which Oscar happily accepted.
Oscar continued to talk about random things, not caring if Arsen was listening or not.
Arsen sighed and put down his teacup with a loud bang. Reiga grimaced nervously.
That voice made Oscar stop talking and look at his rival in confusion.
"What did you want to talk about, Oscar?" Arsen asked bluntly without any expression. He was in no mood for jokes.
Arsen just had the feeling that Oscar wanted to tell him something. And to be honest, Oscar's behavior, which was a bit different than usual, made Arsen suspicious.
Normally, when they met, Oscar would usually say something that would provoke him into their rivalry debate.
But from the beginning, Oscar only talked about unimportant things until Arsen suspected that something was going on.
Oscar blinked for a moment before laughing, "Come on, can't I spend some time with my favorite friend? We haven't seen each other for a long time."
Arsen snorted sarcastically, "No."
Reiga smiled nervously at his king's snide remark. Looks like Arsen is in a bad mood right now.
Oscar grumbled in exasperation, "You are so boring.''
It looked like his attempt to lighten the mood had failed. Not that he was surprised. His rival was indeed a difficult person to relax with. He was too stiff.
Seeing no reaction from Arsen, Oscar sighed in resignation. He preferred to enjoy the tea he had ignored from the beginning. Luckily it's not too cold yet.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt that the tea he was drinking was able to quench his thirst. It turned out that the time he had been babbling alone since earlier had been quite tiring.
Arsen gave Oscar a serious look that made him let out a long groan. Finally, Oscar nodded resignedly, agreeing to start talking seriously with him.
Arsen signaled to Reiga to leave them alone. Reiga immediately bowed respectfully to the two kings and left the room. But he stayed in front of the door as usual.
Actually, Oscar didn't mind if Reiga listened to their conversation. But if Arsen wanted their conversation to be more private, he would not protest.
"So?" Arsen pressed, starting to lose patience.
Oscar sighed. He shouldn't have been surprised by the strong instincts of his rival. Arsen must have sensed that something was wrong with him from the beginning.
Oscar ran a hand through his red hair and leaned back against the couch. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. This conversation was not going to be pleasant.
"I honestly don't know where to begin to explain. Besides, we don't have much time to find more information." Oscar said seriously. All traces of ignorance were gone from his face.
Arsen narrowed his eyes, feeling suspicious, "What happened?"
"Do you remember the group that almost broke into the birth celebration of the royal princess of Glatteis a few months ago?"
Instead of answering, Oscar asked a question that confused Arsen. He frowned in confusion, not understanding what Oscar's strange behavior had to do with the kingdom of Glatteis.
"What does that have to do with the incident?" Arsen asked, not understanding.
The incident had been quite shocking. But as far as he was concerned, the Glatteis Kingdom had managed to thwart the breach. All he knew was that all the members of the group managed to escape and were still in pursuit of the knights of the Glatteis Kingdom.
Oscar took a deep breath, "They will come tonight."
There was a moment of silence. Neither Arsen nor Oscar made a sound. Oscar waited for an answer from Arsen, who was stiffly silent after hearing the unexpected information.
"What?"
Arsen's tone sounded dangerous. He clenched his hand to hold back the anger that was about to explode.
"This information is still classified, but the Kingdom of Glatteis managed to capture one of the intruders a week ago," Oscar explained in more detail. He was also wary of his friend's magic getting out of control.
Among the kings, Arsen was known for his firmness and coldness. But there was another piece of information that only the kings knew.
Arsen could be very temperamental at times. He gets emotional easily. Even though he managed to control his emotions so that they didn't affect his magic, it didn't mean that he never almost got out of control. Fortunately, he never really got out of control.
Those nobles who often provoked the Arsen's temper would be good witnesses. They must have experienced it several times.
Looking at Arsen who was still silent, Oscar continued his explanation.
"Edric told me about this because of the upcoming Arion celebration." He held out some documents that he had deliberately kept in his magic storage. He handed them to Arsen.
It contained information about the group. Some of the members they had tracked down, their possible hideouts, and finally about the person they had captured.
Arsen looked at the picture of the man's face. There was nothing special about him. If Arsen didn't know, he would assume that the man was just an ordinary citizen.
"And Edric suspects that their group will break through tonight?" Arsen asked without taking his eyes off the papers in his hand.
Oscar nodded seriously, "Yes. And since you must be very busy, he told me first and I helped him. Then I told you."
Oscar sighed tiredly. Today he should be able to relax without thinking about work. But the world wouldn't let him relax for a second.
He grimaced when he saw Arsen's face, which looked crumpled, either from anger or frustration. Today was supposed to be a happy day.
"Sorry man, I don't want to ruin the happy atmosphere tonight. But I also don't want anything to happen to your family or your kingdom." Oscar said sadly.
He wanted to help more, but they didn't have any more time. Everything would happen tonight. Ready or not.
Arsen sighed tiredly and leaned back on the couch, "No need. I should be thanking you and Edric."
He didn't blame Oscar or Edric for this. He should thank them for being kind enough to tell him all this.
He also didn't want any of his family or citizens to be hurt by the actions of a group whose purpose was still unclear.
"Who would have thought that they would break in again during a big royal celebration. Either they are crazy or they have other goals."
Edric told him that nothing else had happened to his kingdom except that break-in. Even after one of the group's members was captured, they still hadn't gotten much information about the group's true purpose. This made him even more frustrated.
Actually, Seth's birth was only a few weeks away from the princess of the Kingdom of Glatteis. So he was already wary if they would show up again during Seth's birth celebration.
But they didn't appear. The group completely disappeared, as if they had never existed. It was only when Edric told him that one of the group had been captured that Oscar began to have a bad feeling.
"Does Philip already know about all this?" Arsen's question brought Oscar out of his reverie.
Oscar waved his hand, "No. Edric wants this investigation to remain a Glatteis Kingdom affair. Because so far they haven't bothered the other kingdoms."
He paused for a moment, "Well, I mean hardly bothered the other kingdoms. Because they're only going to do it tonight." He continued, trying to joke even though he knew what the end result would be.
"Then who already knows?" Arsen asked, ignoring Oscar's last words. Arsen knew that Oscar was only joking, but he was not in the mood to deal with it.
Oscar grimaced resignedly, "Apart from Edric's confidants in the Kingdom of Glatteis, the only ones who know are me, as Edric's intermediary. And now you too, as their potential victim."
Arsen frowned, "I understand."
Oscar shrugged, "But I have a feeling that Edric will explain everything in more detail tonight. Even to Philip."
Arsen nodded in understanding, "Even without this incident, the guard has been tightened. They shouldn't be able to enter the palace easily."
He had already tightened security not only inside the palace but also outside the palace. Each corner of the palace would have at least 5 soldiers standing guard.
Reiga had also made sure that the guarding would run smoothly without any mistakes. He was responsible for protecting the members of the Gewitter Kingdom, especially the twins and Arion. Arsen and Natalie could protect themselves very well.
Oscar felt a bad feeling, "Unless--"
"They have people helping them from the inside." Arsen's words made the atmosphere in the office even colder.
Oscar growled angrily. He never liked people who betrayed easily. He hates traitors.
Arsen gripped the paper tightly in his hand. His eyes mercilessly read every line of information his friends had painstakingly found.
Arsen looked at Oscar seriously.
"What other information did you get from Edric?"