At this moment, in the luxurious courtyard of the royal palace in Flor City, the capital of the Garrel Kingdom, King Garrel IX was furiously smashing precious porcelain imported from the East.
Pointing at a black-clad figure kneeling before him, the king roared, "You scoundrel! Where is my Angelina? How were you protecting her? If anything happens to Angelina, your entire clan will be buried with her!"
The kneeling black-clad man showed no change in expression, but his trembling body betrayed his unease. "Your Majesty, the princess insisted on seeking out the crown prince at the front lines. I dared not stop her," he said, bowing his head.
"Dared not stop her? You... you..." The king was so enraged that he could barely form words.
"Your Majesty, since the princess was so determined to find the crown prince, let her go. With the shadow guards protecting her, nothing will go wrong," came a soft, feminine voice from beside the king. It was the current queen.
"Hmph!" The king was not appeased by the queen's words. Instead, his anger flared even more. Princess Angelina, with her meager abilities as a low-level magic apprentice, could not have possibly left the heavily guarded palace unnoticed unless someone had helped her. And the most likely culprit was none other than his second queen.
But anger alone would solve nothing now. Action was needed. "Which squad of shadow guards was assigned to the princess?" the king asked the kneeling man.
"It... it was the Earth Squad Three..." the man stammered.
The king's gaze sharpened. As the ruler of a nation with nearly a million subjects, his aura seemed to freeze the very air around him.
"Good. Very good. My beloved Princess Angelina left the palace alone, heading for the front lines, and was protected by only one squad of shadow guards!" the king bellowed, his fury akin to a roaring lion ready to devour.
"Enough, Your Majesty. The capital already lacks sufficient protection. It makes sense to have sent only one squad," the queen interjected again. It was clear to everyone present that she cared little for Princess Angelina.
The king, who had been roaring moments ago, suddenly fell silent at the queen's words. But the trembling of his shoulders indicated that he was suppressing his rage to the limit.
The queen sensed the shift and said no more. She knew that if she continued speaking, the man known as the 'Lion King' would not hesitate to show her the consequences, even if she was the queen.
After calming himself, the king turned to his attendant. "How many shadow guard squads are currently stationed in the capital?"
The attendant, evidently a trusted confidant, answered without hesitation. "The Heaven Squads Two and Four, and the Earth Squads One, Two, Five, and Eight are all on standby."
"Send Heaven Squad Two and Earth Squads One, Two, and Five. Bring Angelina back safely," the king commanded.
"Understood, Your Majesty!" The attendant dared not disobey but hesitated before adding, "However, if we deploy all these squads, the capital's defenses will be compromised. And Your Majesty's safety..."
The queen and the black-clad man also voiced their concerns about the capital's security and the king's safety. If the ministers were to learn of this order, objections would flood in.
"Enough! Say no more!" the king snapped, clearly fed up. "With him here, the capital and I will be fine." He waved dismissively, silencing any further protests.
The queen's face stiffened as if she had realized something. "Your Majesty, do you mean..." she hinted.
The king cast her a sidelong glance. This queen, whom he had married three years ago, was the sister of Marquis Kent, one of the major lords of the southern Licia Alliance. Their marriage had been a political arrangement: to secure military cooperation and facilitate grain exports from the surplus-rich Licia Alliance.
Political marriages were common, and even kings were not exempt.
At this point, the frontlines were relatively stable. Revealing this secret was no longer a risk and might even calm the queen, Marquis Kent, and the Licia Alliance.
"Knight Roma has already touched the threshold of becoming an Earth Knight," the king said slowly.
Both the queen and the black-clad man looked shocked, while the attendant remained composed, clearly already aware of this.
Late at night, the gates of Flor City creaked open, and a group of shadowy figures slipped out into the darkness. They were the shadow guards dispatched to find Princess Angelina.
The leader of Heaven Squad Two was a sharp-eyed man. Before departure, the king had secretly met with him, emphasizing that the princess's safety must be ensured at all costs. Her whereabouts had been leaked to malicious forces. A princess lost deep in enemy territory would undoubtedly become a bargaining chip.
The leader, a dagger in the king's hand, needed no explanation. His mission was clear. "We reach Shiloh in three days!" he commanded. "Yes, sir!" came the unified response.
The distance between Flor City and Shiloh was thousands of kilometers. Even riding day and night, it would take a week. But these were no ordinary soldiers—they were elite shadow guards, all trained low-tier knight squires or higher. The leaders of Earth Squads were high-tier squires, and the leader of Heaven Squad Two was at the peak of his rank, just a step away from becoming a full knight.
Despite their strength, the leader dared not waste a moment. By the time they arrived in Shiloh, Princess Angelina would already be deep in enemy territory.
In the royal palace, after dispatching the shadow guards, the king summoned a mage stationed in the capital. Through a flame communication spell, he sent an urgent message to the crown prince at the frontlines.
"What? Angelina came to the frontlines to find me?" Prince Kensel exclaimed in anger and disbelief. Unlike his sheltered sister, Kensel immediately recognized this for what it was—a plot to harm Angelina.
"Send a cavalry regiment to the border immediately to intercept Princess Angelina!" Kensel ordered.
"But Odis City is already nearly under siege. If we withdraw the cavalry now..." protested one of the generals.
Other generals joined in, arguing that withdrawing the cavalry would risk prolonging the war indefinitely.
"She is my sister! Anyone who stops me will die!" Kensel roared, drawing his sword. His eyes were bloodshot with fury.
The tent fell silent as soldiers rushed in to protect the prince, swords pointed at the dissenting generals.
After a tense silence, one general finally spoke. "It's not impossible to send the cavalry..."
One after another, the generals began to agree, seeing no other way forward.
"Kensel, calm yourself!" came the king's voice through the flickering flame. "Send one cavalry battalion and instruct nearby forces to assist. The war cannot be delayed. In two months, I want to see Garrel's lion banner atop Odis City's walls!"
Kensel finally relented and issued the orders.
As the flame communication spell began to fade, Kensel spoke with icy resolve, "If anything happens to Angelina, someone will pay dearly."