Free Web NovelChapter 396: Chapter 393: Who Told You to Take Out a Gold Coin?
The Guard Captain approached the Mage in charge. "The King and his family haven’t traveled this far in a long time. The journey has been rough. Could we take a short rest before the teleportation?"
The noble Mage nodded understandingly. "Please do. The Magic Array still needs a little more time to be ready. About fifteen minutes, is that acceptable?"
The Guard Captain nodded. "That will be fine."
The Mage paid it no mind and returned to his post. Another Mage, an assistant, came to him to confirm the Technique. "Armand, did you draw one of the circuits in this Magic Array incorrectly?"
Armand quickly made a hushing gesture. "Shh... Someone made an offer. Higher than the Guard Captain’s."
"Who?"
"Who else could it be?" The Mage’s expression was mocking. "Our old acquaintance, the noble friend of the commoners, the famous ’Mr. Equality’."
The Steam Engine roared, its exhaust carefully controlled to prevent the steam from drifting away and revealing their position. The circuits on the Magic Array gradually brightened, and the Alchemy Liquid began to boil.
First, a man wrapped in furs stepped out of the Teleportation Array. He spoke with a coastal Lowlands accent as he shook the Guard Captain’s hand in congratulation. "Congratulations, my friend, the teleportation link is established!"
"Thank you for your cooperation, Your Excellency." The Guard Captain had corresponded with this envoy from the Duchy many times. His appearance here from the Lowlands proved the teleportation path was correct.
The coachman soothed the horses, then guided the luxurious six-wheeled carriage step by step into the massive Teleportation Array.
A brilliant light flared, engulfing the luxurious carriage.
"Guard Captain, aren’t you going with them?"
The Guard Captain wore an expression of grim resolve. "No. I’m heading back to Valuva now to mislead the National Assembly’s judgment. It might buy His Majesty some time."
Everyone present was deeply moved. "To have a loyal subject such as you is a blessing for His Majesty and for the Kingdom!"
And so, the Guard Captain led away the carriage meant for the servants, along with the cavalry, leaving the teleportation site.
...
「Meanwhile, in the Royal Capital.」
"Make way, make way!" "No one is permitted to pass."
The grand square was being cleared once again. A troop of Guards was on patrol, cordoning off a large area in the city center.
The citizens of the Royal Capital were used to this. Based on experience, some important figure would soon arrive to give a speech, mobilizing them to defend the homeland—which meant going to the front lines and paying more taxes.
But everyone guessed wrong. With a sudden bang, a luxurious six-wheeled carriage appeared out of thin air in the square!
Was this Magic? A buzz went through the crowd, and everyone pushed forward, eager to get a closer look.
The Guards shouted, "Don’t move!" They were shouting at the onlookers as well as the people in the carriage. First, they subdued the coachman and unhitched the horses. Then they started banging on the door.
The carriage door was locked tight and proved to be very sturdy. The soldiers smashed it with their rifle butts and hacked at it with bayonets and swords, but they only managed to ruin the paintwork. Having heard that the King and his family were inside, the soldiers grew increasingly frantic. They finally just removed a wheel from one side and, shouting, "One, two... PUSH!" heaved the massive carriage onto its side.
Only then did the passengers inside surrender. They opened the doors and windows and crawled out, heads bleeding... It was noble attendants, maids, a cook, and others.
"Stop hitting me, stop! I’m not the King! I’m not Charles!" Although they hadn’t caught the royal family, their entourage confessed to Charles XVI’s escape under the public’s watchful gaze.
Under the repeated persuasion of a rifle butt, one noble attendant revealed the entire plan. The King’s plot deeply shocked the citizens and soldiers.
Their homeland had been abandoned by its former master; the citizens had been betrayed by their King! And he was even plotting to bring in foreign armies to slaughter anyone who disobeyed him...
Even more infuriating was what they pulled from the carriage’s luggage compartment: fine food and wine, exquisite Golden Artifacts, countless jewels, and even a vanity table with a silk-wrapped stool.
The King’s family’s "luggage" became spoils of war, laid out piece by piece in the square. Most commoners would never see such opulence in their entire lives; the extravagance was dumbfounding. It was ironclad proof of their guilt, fuel for the fire of the people’s rage.
The Guard Captain didn’t know what had happened on the other side of the Teleportation Array. But at the last moment, he had trusted his intuition and changed his mind, activating his backup plan: to flee across the border on horseback.
"Are we there? I didn’t feel anything during the teleportation." The Queen’s voice came from the servants’ carriage.
The Guard Captain reined in his horse, drawing close to the carriage’s thin wooden walls. "Your Highness, please keep your voice down... We didn’t teleport."
"What? You—" The Queen’s shriek was cut short, as if someone had covered her mouth.
Then came the King’s voice, quieter than the Queen’s and muffled by the wooden planks. "Did something happen?"
"You were right, Your Majesty. Those damn Mages can’t be trusted. The man who came out of the Teleportation Array at the beginning wasn’t a Lowlander! People from the coastal regions of the Lowlands all eat sea salt. Because of a specific mineral from the salt-producing region, anyone who eats it, noble or commoner, has teeth with a very faint bluish-green tint."
But that envoy didn’t have it! He was merely wearing the winter fashion popular in the Lowlands.
The Guard Captain had taken advantage of the break while the Mages were preparing, using the excuse of resting to have the King’s family switch carriages with the servants. To ensure the Mages were fooled, he had even used a precious Disguise Scroll.
’Was this a blessing in disguise?’ The Guard Captain let out a long breath. Because of the incident, the King’s family was finally no longer in the ostentatious luxury carriage, and they had shed their superfluous entourage.
However, it also meant their escape attempt would be completely exposed. From here on out, failure was not an option.
The Guard Captain’s mood inexplicably improved, but the Queen began to sob. "My jewels! My dowry... Oh, Charles, and that vanity table..."
"We’ll get them back. Worst case, we’ll just buy new ones," the King comforted her dismissively. After the near-disastrous incident, he was much more concerned with safety and concealment. "Guard Captain, are there any more Disguise Scrolls? The effect has worn off."
The Guard Captain gave a bitter smile. "Your Majesty, Disguise Scrolls are strictly controlled by the Guild and the Tower of Stars. I’ve already used up all the ones available on the black market.
"But don’t worry. As long as we stay away from the major cities, we’ll be fine. I’ll send the cavalry ahead as a vanguard to see if any Lords loyal to the Royal Family are willing to provide us with supplies and a place to rest."
However, the cavalry returned with nothing. As dusk fell, the cavalry commander reported that the horses had reached their limit and needed to rest.
’We’ll pose as merchants, then... We’re far enough from the Royal Capital, it should be fine...’ The Guard Captain finally decided to risk stopping at a small town along the road with the carriage.
He hadn’t wanted any further complications, but the Queen and the King’s children were strongly demanding "proper food and rest in a suitable location," and the wilderness clearly did not meet their standards.
The town they reached before nightfall had a wooden stockade and was protected by guards formed from the townsfolk and nearby farmers. At the gate, a sentry holding a "Village Good Gun" stopped the carriage and its riders to question the newcomers.
"Hey, what’s your business?"
"Sir, the people in the carriage are merchants. We few on horseback are their Bodyguards." The Guard Captain felt ridiculous calling a villager ’Sir,’ but his tone was even more fawning than that of his own subordinates when they addressed him.
The guard didn’t ask for identification papers, only for one thing: money.
"Heh, who wants worthless paper?" ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
"My mistake, I understand." The Guard Captain had no silver in his purse, so he could only take out a Gold Coin.
The guard took the coin and examined it for a moment. He was slightly taken aback by its golden gleam, and before the Guard Captain could stop him, he yanked open the carriage window. "How many people are in there?"
In the flickering torchlight, the face of the panicked man inside the carriage superimposed perfectly with the portrait on the Gold Coin. freewebnovёl.ƈom
The guard’s eyes grew wider than the coin. "It’s Charles XVI! The King has fled to our town!"
