The advisors sitting at the small tables below began whispering frantically among themselves.
The king focused his gaze back on Ersak.
Rising from his throne, the king spoke, “Your crimes are severe, daring to rob and murder the citizens I personally sent out.” The king narrowed his eyes, staring directly down at Ersak, “The actions you committed can be classified as treason against the crown.
That carries a death sentence, do you understand?…” Ersak’s empty gaze met the king’s sharp, freezing glare.
The heavy atmosphere grew so thick it felt suffocating.
Everything seemed to halt at this exact moment, leaving only Ersak’s cold, vacant expression as the teenager knelt on the floor.
His pupils widened slightly, growing larger and larger…
bit by bit…
One of the advisors suddenly blurted out, “You…” Ersak lowered his head slightly, his hair falling between his eyes.
With a weary look, he parted his lips and spoke in a perfectly calm, flat tone, “So, when’s my execution?” The sudden statement caused Enmie, who was standing right next to him, to widen her eyes in shock, her mouth hanging wide open as she stared at Ersak.
Standing nearby, Hawen broke out in beads of cold sweat, thinking to himself, “Is this guy…
completely insane?…” Lusia whipped her head around to look at Ersak, “What’re you even talking about?!…” The advisor standing beside the king burst into laughter, pointing a finger at Ersak, whose gaze was fixed on nothingness, “HAHA!!
Just executing you would be way too easy on you!” The advisor marched down the stairs and stepped right up to Ersak, thrusting his staff toward the boy, “Do you have any idea how important that village is to this kingdom?!” Suddenly, a book tapped against the staff, forcing it downward.
Seeing this, the advisor looked over in utter confusion.
Hawen spoke up, “Let’s not do anything rash.
The king hasn’t passed judgment yet, so you shouldn’t be acting like this either, Sir.” The advisor pulled his staff back.
With a thoroughly annoyed expression, he turned on his heel and walked back up toward the king, grumbling in his mind, “Tsk!…
Brats…” “That was the very last village capable of handling the mission!
Now that you’ve killed them, who’s gonna help the king?!” The advisors sitting below and the official next to the throne chimed in, “Are you intentionally trying to challenge the king?” The air went dead silent…
everything plunged into a cold stillness following those words.
The king walked back to his throne, sat down, and rested his chin on his hand, tilting his head to stare at Ersak.
Ersak thought to himself, “I’m gonna die in the end anyway…
at least if I die, it won’t affect anyone else anymore…” Out of nowhere, Enmie stepped forward and knelt right in front of Ersak.
She bowed her head, crossing her arms over her opposite shoulders, keeping her eyes fixed on the monarch.
Ersak looked ahead, watching Enmie kneel down in such a formal, polite manner, completely puzzled.
Enmie suddenly spoke up, “Forgive me, Sir, for interrupting.” Enmie gestured behind her toward Ersak and continued, “And I apologize for letting him speak so disrespectfully, but I’d like to ask you, Sir, to temporarily postpone the execution.” Hearing Enmie’s words, Ersak flinched in surprise, thinking to himself, “Is she…” The scene from last night flashed back into his mind.
Enmie had stood before him, speaking clearly, “Let’s count it as you agreeing to the proposal, alright?
I’ll help delay your death sentence.” The corners of Enmie’s mouth had turned up, “If you wanna see that kid again, I think cooperating’s gonna benefit you.” Returning to the present, Ersak kept his eyes on Enmie, wondering, “Is she actually helping me?…
Why’d she do that, what does she even gain from this?…” The chief advisor calmly opened his eyes, looking down as his voice rang out, “What’s your reason?
Why do you want to delay his death sentence?” Enmie shifted her gaze back to the king, lowering her head.
The monarch suddenly spoke, prompting Enmie to lift her head as the king let out a heavy sigh.
“Basically, looking at him, I don’t see a single trace of someone capable of hurting others…
sigh…
Oh well, just do as you say, I don’t really have any objections.” Stunned by the king’s words, the advisor yelled out, “M-MY LORD!!…
You can’t, if we do that then…” “SHUT YOUR MOUTH!” The entire hall went dead silent…
The advisors below broke out in beads of cold sweat, keeping completely quiet…
The official sitting next to the throne closed his eyes without uttering a single word.
The advisor looked at the king, only for the monarch to glare back at him, “I’ve noticed you being a bit too chaotic lately!
Will you just shut up?!” The official bowed his head deeply, shifting his gaze away as he stepped back into his position, “I’ve been disrespectful, Sir…” The king looked back down, raising his hand to signal them, “You two, stand up.” Both Enmie and Ersak rose to their feet.
A smile broke across the king’s face, and he spoke down to them in a casual tone, “Well then, let’s consider this matter settled.” “I’ll leave the rest to you field agents!” Enmie bent her body into a respectful bow, “Yes, Sir.
Just leave everything else to us, we’ll definitely keep things on schedule.” The king chuckled, rose from his throne, and walked out through the doors leading behind the room, his voice echoing back, “You’re dismissed, you may leave.” The advisors rose from their seats and departed, while the guard and the official who had been sitting relaxed next to the throne stood up to follow the king.
Everyone left, leaving only the four of them inside the magnificent hall.
Enmie turned her head to look at Ersak, “I told you I could pull it off!” Hawen pushed up the frame of his glasses and spoke, “We should probably head down to the training camp first, right?
Basically, there’re still those other prisoners who haven’t been processed yet.” Lusia stepped closer, adding in a serious tone, “Exactly.
This guy’s dealt with for now, but we still have the others.
We can’t be wasting time here.” Enmie walked right past Ersak, strolling casually back toward the entrance they had used earlier, “Let’s go, let’s go.” Hawen followed along with Ersak.
Lusia kept her focus on Ersak’s back as the boy left with the other two, a question forming in her mind, “Even though I knew this would happen…” “But how could the king agree so easily?”, “Could it be…” A memory flashed back—inside the barracks at the camp, Lusia had looked out of the second-floor window, watching the ground below as Enmie slowly appeared, slipping out of the camp in the dead of night.
Suddenly, a voice rang out, pulling Lusia back to reality, “Hey Lusia, let’s go.” Lusia flinched, looking over at the three of them staring back at her.
She started walking toward the group, “Yeah.” The four of them stepped out of the hall, walking down the path toward the palace gate while servants on both sides watered the plants.
The servants chatted among themselves as the heavy wooden gate was slowly hoisted upward.
The guards bowed, seeing the four of them off.
The group exited the palace, walking down a street lined with citizens.
Hawen reached into his coat to pull out his book, flipping through the pages until he reached the one with Ersak’s name.
Hawen thought to himself, “I got his name, but there’s still not as much information as I expected.” Ersak, who was walking right next to him, glanced over.
Hawen looked back at Ersak, their eyes locking, prompting Ersak to speak up, “If you wanna ask something, just ask.” Ersak turned his head back to face forward.
Stunned by the boy’s words, Hawen blinked before answering with a chuckle, “Haha, well then, let me…”