Chapter 32: Is this an attempt to seize power?

At the palace banquet, Londe’s officials and the Church’s leaders held a grand feast.

After days of travel, Lucia was famished. Upon entering the hall, she made a beeline for the food table.

Eyeing the array of delicate pastries and dishes, her appetite surged.

Though a carnivore, she’d grown tired of endless roasted meat in the cave.

Even the dry rations and pickles on the road tasted better than monotonous meat, let alone the feast before her.

Lucia sampled a piece from each dish, ready to gorge on her favorites.

Just then, two nobles approached, mocking her unrefined manners.

“Did the Church save a starving ghost? Rushing to eat like that—people might think you’re some beggar.”

“Yeah, how’d you even sneak in with the Church?”

Since Lucia’s return with the Church, riding alongside Fratina, few nobles dared belittle her.

But these two, drunk from last night’s revelry and absent from Duncan’s welcome, didn’t know better.

They’d washed up hurriedly and arrived at the banquet, spotting the conspicuous Lucia.

No one else hid their face and body so completely in a social setting meant for mingling.

Her magic cloak, though enchanted, was just black cloth.

Seeing the nobles provoke Lucia, Duncan rubbed his eyes, a chill running through him.

He opened his mouth to reprimand them, but Dorothy held his shoulder.

“Your Majesty, don’t you want to see a good show?”

Dorothy’s eyes glinted mischievously, but Duncan couldn’t smile.

A show was coming, but his men would play the fools.

And his kingly dignity would suffer.

As expected, Lucia paused at the taunts, and Fratina stepped forward, glaring at the nobles.

Still tipsy, they sneered. “Oh, look, it’s our Hero. Saved from the dragon and back to your old arrogance?”

The other noble’s words were cruder. “Haha, how’d that dragon treat you? Did you suffer any… indignities under him?”

Fratina’s fists clenched instantly.

She glanced at Dorothy, her eyes asking one thing: ‘Can I hit them?’

Dorothy nodded with a smile.

Fratina swung, one punch per noble, sending them to their knees.

Stunned that they, Londe nobles, were struck on their own turf, they first froze, then wailed in pain.

Fratina had held back.

With full force, these untrained nobles would’ve died horribly.

The hall’s attention had already shifted to the food table, and now, seeing Fratina attack nobles, the crowd frowned.

This was Londe’s territory. Even with Church protection, wasn’t the Hero going too far?

Duncan, now sober, looked at Dorothy with dissatisfaction. “Saintess, this is Londe’s land. You helped us with the dragon, but letting someone attack our nobles—isn’t that disrespectful?”

“Not at all.”

Dorothy shook her head, smiling.

“I think your people might be the rude ones here.”

“But?”

“But I admire the courage of Londe’s nobles.”

She walked behind Fratina, ignoring the groaning nobles, and pushed the stunned Lucia forward.

“To speak such vulgar words to a dragon—your nobles have some ‘guts.’”

At the word “dragon,” the room froze, especially Duncan.

He’d noticed Lucia earlier, assuming she was a mysterious figure with a special status, hiding her face.

He was about to ask Dorothy her identity when the conflict erupted.

Learning a dragon hid beneath that cloak, he collapsed in shock.

Who else could it be but Lucia, his sworn enemy?

Other nobles panicked, fleeing toward the hall’s exit.

Outside, Freeman, hosting the Church soldiers, heard the commotion and started to rise.

But Alexius pressed him down. “Let us handle this.”

As he stood, all Papal soldiers rose, grabbing their weapons and surrounding the palace entrance.

Fleeing nobles, seeing this, felt doomed.

Some bold ones tried to intimidate the soldiers. “Think you’re untouchable because you’re from the Papal State? Your actions here will spread, and every nation will lose respect for you. You’ll never get this treatment again.”

A more educated noble said this, met with cold stares from the soldiers.

Alexius approached him. “Pray tell, what have we done?”

“You… you’re trying to besiege the palace and hold our king hostage!”

Alexius shrugged, smiling. “Not at all. You’re free to leave. We’re armed only to guard against the dragon going berserk.”

He glanced at Freeman. “Minister Freeman, you can go discuss the treaty with your king.”

Freeman’s heart sank, but with Alexius singling him out, he couldn’t refuse. Under everyone’s gaze, he entered the palace.

The fleeing nobles, questioned and released, left in a panic.