Vessels were having a tough time again?

Perched delicately on a slender branch, the goldfinch was a vibrant splash of color amidst the lush green foliage of the tree. Its bright yellow plumage shimmered brilliantly in the warm sunlight, the goldfinch chirped melodiously, its song a sweet, lilting melody that filled the air with a sense of serenity, however, this tranquility didn't last long.

*BANG*

"HOW CAN THIS BE POSSIBLE???", after slamming his fist on the round wooden table, Rainer roared, his eyes transformed into twin infernos, blazing with high intensity.

"Don't shout Rainer! Could you let me think for a minute?" Matthias, who rarely lost his composed demeanor, had an urgent expression on his face, ordering Rainer to shut up so that he could think about what to do.

A timid voice of a young man attracted both men's attentions that were nearly in the wrestling ring, ready to tackle each other.

"...We could ask His Majesty about this, I think His Majesty has changed."

Contrasting to those two vessel's expressions, Lothar has anxiousness clouding his face.

"Are you crazy? You want us to speak about this to His Majesty who had already given us a warning before, are you in that much hurry to lose your life?" Rainer, who was deprived of giving a cold reply to Matthias, shifted his frustration on timid Lothar.

"Oww!- why did you hit me, you oldie?" Rainer asked while pursing his lips in pain.

Matthias, who had just given a fresh hard knock on Rainer's head, felt a pang in his heart after hearing the word 'Oldie'.

"Who are you telling oldie, huh? I am only in my mid-thirties okay and also who gave you the right to talk like that to Lothar?" Matthias questioned Rainer who was feigning ignorance as if he had not listened to anything and only rubbing at his wound in an attempt to soothe it.

Getting no reply or comment from Rainer, Matthias turned to Lothar, whose face was cast by despondence.

"Don't worry, we will tell the Emperor about everything that has happened, I'm sure that His Majesty will understand that this time is not our fault." Matthias encouraged Lothar while patting his shoulder with a gentle smile.

*Their His Majesty, who was having a pleasant conversation with the Duke. *

Dew's knuckles whitening as he clenched his fist hard, a palpable tension lying underneath his brows that were furrowed, his voice's temperature dropped by a ridiculous amount when he asked the Duke.

"How do you know about last night assassination attempt?"

'Hmm, this is really intriguing' Sigurd, enjoying Dew's reaction, stated in his mind.

"A spy that I had planted on the assassin reported to me. That assassin had visited the man from the Vespera Empire before his assassination attempt, my spy simply chased that man till he jumped in His Majesty's room through a wide opened window." Sigurd enunciated every word in his deep, low voice that was enchanting to hear.

"A spy? Did he was there the entire time?" Dew said with a hint of stress appearing on his face, however, he turned and walked towards the window which just at a short distance and also succeeded to hide his distress expression from the prying eyes of Sigurd.

"No, even before he tried to catch that assassin, someone shot a poisoned arrow at him, but he had managed to do one good thing before dying that was reporting it to me through the magical communicating device." Sigurd watched how the Emperor turned his face away from him after asking that question.

An inaudible sigh of relief escaped from Dew's mouth but his discerning eyes observed the area around the window carefully that finally came to standstill at a spot that had a single drop of dried blood that was difficult to see without sharp vision.

How could Sigurd not know that the emperor was searching for that spy dead body? He chuckled at the sight which gained a look from the Emperor.

"Why are you laughing?" With a hint of annoyance in his voice, Dew demanded the answer.

"How could I spoil His Majesty fresh morning with a corpse lying below the Emperor's room, of course I had them dispose of the corpse." Sigurd's inky eyes resting on Dew's face and replying to the Emperor's question with a teasing tone.

*Knock*....*Knock*....*Knock*

Both the men's eyes glanced towards the door, of course without moving, after they heard the knock.

'Who is this time? Are there no guards in front of the Emperor's room's door? It seems anyone could enter his room as long as they knocked on the door. What was Eberhardt doing all these while?'

A mentally and physically exhausted Dew after already meeting and conversing with three people from the morning, cried out internally at the thought of seeing the fourth person in continuity.

*Knock*...*Knock*....*Knock*

The knocks sounded again which brought back Dew's attention to his situation, Sigurd whose expression returned to his usual smile that didn't reach eyes.

"Come in." At last Dew permitted them to enter.

"Greeting the sun of the Empire, Your Majesty." Adelheid gave her greeting to the Emperor in her sweet voice that had some resemblance to that goldfinch melody, her maid following her Lady's footsteps and also making an etiquette bow.

'That's quite odd, her behavior is different from before, is it because this twisted bastard is here? well whatever, I'm not in any mood to have a chat with her.' Noticing how Adelheid was acting unlike herself, a suspicion took root in Dew's mind.

"We can have the conversation later if it is not any significant topic." Dew declared, already giving indirect orders to all the other three people to leave him alone.

Adelheid's lavender eyes took in the figure of a well built man dressed in all black, his tall figure particular a catching sight when paired with the Emperor who was half a head smaller than him in height, although it was not like Emperor's height was short, it was just that man's tallness.

"A delegate from Vespera Empire will be visiting Eldoria during the upcoming banquet thrown by Duke Wynter." Adelheid informed both the men in the room in her neutral tone.