Antis smiled casually after he heard what Roland said. “If the royal family intended to punish you, they wouldn’t ‘invite’ you.”


  Evelyn looked at Roland hopefully.

  Actually, she did not trust Antis. She found Roland, who just saved her, more reliable and wanted him to escort her to the royal palace.

  If a seneschal who had always been by her side had betrayed her, how trustworthy could a remote relative like Antis be?

  Although it was unlikely that she’d be attacked again, Evelyn exemplified the saying, “Once bitten, twice shy.”


  Roland thought for a moment and nodded.

  Then, Antis took them to the royal palace with the city guards.

  On the way to the royal palace, Roland saw multiple men in black robes on the top of the tallest building far away.

  Morahu was obviously among them.

  Though they were far away, Roland could sense that they were glaring at him and their eyes were like sharp daggers, cutting him into pieces.

  Roland smiled and curled his finger at them. Seeing that, all of them disappeared from the rooftop, probably out of fury.

  Seeing Roland’s movement, Antis looked at where he was looking at, only to see nothing.

  But he guessed what was going on.

  They did not visit the king directly, but went to a side building first.

  Antis took Evelyn to Veronica, who was still sleeping.

  Veronica could not sleep deeply due to her ailment. She was woken up when someone opened the door.

  There was a maid in the building, and a candle had been lit.

  On the glamorous blanket, Veronica looked at the door and was delighted to see Evelyn. But she was angry when she saw Roland.

  “What are you doing here, jerk? Are you trying to deceive Sister Evelyn after deceiving Andonara?”


  Veronica tried to sit up.

  At this point, Antis had left.

  Evelyn hurried to run to her and support her. She said quickly, “You’re still poisoned. Don’t act tough.”


  Veronica panted weakly. “Don’t worry. My poison has already been taken care of.”


  After a brief surprise, Evelyn managed a smile. “I was really an idiot to be tricked so easily.”


  Actually, it was only because she was concerned about her family. She wouldn’t have fallen for such a trick if she had no feelings for them.

  Veronica was dazed. Then, her attention was distracted by Roland again. “Sister Evelyn, why did you come with this liar? How can he come to the royal palace?”


  “Our father invited him.”


  Leaning against Evelyn, Veronica said angrily, “Why did our father invite him instead of putting him in prison, when his third wife has been lured away by this man?”


  Amused, Evelyn did not know what to say.

  Veronica glared at Roland for a while. Then, she grew dizzy from agitation.

  After all, she was not fully recovered yet.

  At this point, Antis returned and curled his finger at Roland. “Come on now. The king is waiting for you.”


  Following Antis, Roland passed a corridor and encountered a spacious room ahead of him with at least twenty royal guards outside.

  Those royal guards all looked intimidating in their heavy armor.

  Antis opened the door and closed it softly after Roland came in.

  The room was quite big. A white blanket stretched from the door to the throne at the end of the room. On the throne was an old man who seemed strong, though his hair was already white.

  He was wearing white informal clothes, and the skin on his face was already loose. But still, he sat very straight.

  On the two sides of the blanket, two rows of well-trained royal guards were standing by.

  Their heavy armor, with the blue background and the white streaks, was quite artistic.

  Roland stepped forward, and a man stopped him when he was about ten meters away from the king.

  “You can stop here. Do not intrude upon the king.”


  Roland shrugged unconcernedly and observed the king.

  The king observed him too.

  They stared at each other for a minute, until the king broke the silence. “You’re different from what I thought.”


  “What did you think I should be like, Your Majesty?”


  The king replied slowly, “You should be handsomer than you are.”


  Roland smiled but did not say anything.

  “I have to thank you for escorting Evelyn back,” the king went on.

  Looking the king in the eyes, Roland said, “But it seems that you don’t really want her back, Your Majesty.”


  In silence, the king gazed at Roland gloomily.

  The room’s atmosphere grew more and more suffocating. Some of the guards were already sweating and swallowing.

  Roland stared back at him with a smile, not flinching at all.

  In the end, the king dropped his angry front and said slowly, “It’s the responsibility of a member of the royal family, particularly the female ones.”


  Actually, Roland had guessed a lot of things.

  The betrayal of the seneschal was actually the king’s order.

  How could a man who had served the royal family for thirty years betray them so easily?

  Evelyn was just a chess piece to set off conflicts between two particular forces while the king took advantage of both of them.

  As for Evelyn’s safety, it was not within the king’s consideration at all.

  It would be best if she was fine, but if something happened to her, he would have a good excuse to swallow the two forces.

  He knew that the Guild of Rogues was definitely one of the two forces, but he didn’t know the other. He had too little intelligence to run any analysis.

  After all, Isnas was the territory of the Guild of Rogues, and Evelyn lived there. Such speculation was not far off.

  Roland did not say anything. He didn’t agree with the king’s decision to use his daughter as a chess piece, but he also knew that the king was willing to pay a certain price when he was determined to do something.

  The king rose and continued, “My daughters have been living a luxurious life since they were born. But you have to pay for what you enjoy, which is only natural. I’ll send her to the battlefield without hesitation if I have to.”


  “You are truly a nonchalant father.” Roland shook his head.

  “There are no feelings within the royal family.” The king seemed rather natural. “But I didn’t invite you to talk about Princess Evelyn. I just want to know if Andonara is all right.”


  Roland felt rather guilty. Although nothing happened between him and Andonara, it was undeniable that he took someone else’s wife away with him. He had to take responsibility.

  “She’s fine.” Roland nodded.

  The king seemed rather pained to talk about his third wife. “I never thought that Andonara would leave me.”